THE EXPERIENTIAL PAPER

Students writing the experiential paper should identify an advisor early on who can assist them with developing a topic and researching the paper. The paper itself should build on your internship experience using scholarly research. The purpose of the experiential paper is not to simply recount your internship experience, but rather to integrate your experience in a research context. In addition, students may also gather their own data through survey research, or run statistical analysis using available data sources. While no oral defense is required, experiential papers are kept on file in the department.

Suggested Guidelines

• Length of 20-35 pages (not including graphs, charts etc..)
• A sample outline of an experiential paper could include: an executive summary, description of the internship experience, thesis statement, scholarly research, application of the internship experience to the research and conclusions.

An experiential paper could be set up as follows:
• A brief introduction explaining the student’s internship experience and situating the program in which he/she worked within the larger organizational context.
• A theory of public administration or policy analysis that serves as the paper’s theoretical framework
• A case study based on the internship experience that will be used to evaluate the theoretical framework against
• A comprehensive review of the significant literature involving the theoretical framework
• Analysis of the theoretical framework’s explanatory potential for the case study and an accounting of the potential differences between the theoretical framework and the internship experience
• Conclusion

Recent Topics

• Stakeholder management and local watershed organizations
• The role of NGOs in the United Nations system
• UNDP Development Policy

THE THESIS OPTION

Every year a few students decide to pursue the thesis option instead of the experiential paper and comprehensive exams. The thesis is a significant undertaking that typically requires 2-3 semesters of work to complete. An MPA Thesis will demonstrate a student's mastery of a substantive body of scholarly or practice literature as well as using appropriate and academically defensible methodologies to analyze research questions, test hypotheses or contribute new theoretical knowledge. An oral defense of the thesis is required.

Students who are interested in the thesis should consult with a professor in the department early in the program with whom they are interested in working, and who has an expertise in the area of research. Together the professor and student will identify other faculty members who may be appropriate to serve on the thesis committee. The choice of both the thesis adviser and committee members is very important, as the student and faculty members will work closely on developing and refining a topic, revising and editing chapters and preparing for the final oral defense.

Developing a Thesis Topic

• Determine whether there is current interest in this topic in the field.
• Identify the gaps in knowledge that work on this topic could help to fill.
• Determine if there is sufficient literature available for your research.
• Talk to a faculty member about being the thesis adviser.
• Narrow the topic down to a manageable segment of this topic.
• Develop a preliminary method of data collection
• Determine if financial assistance is required to carry out your research.
• Identify the project purpose, scope, objectives, and procedures.
• Establish any potential limitations of the study.
• Determine if there are any skills called on by the study that you have yet to acquire (e.g. advanced statistics, language skills) and figure out how to obtain them.
• With your adviser identify additional faculty members who could serve on the thesis committee

Recent MPA Thesis Topics

• Historical progression of problem definition for the practices of polygamy and prostitution in the United States
• The Essence of Government: The Development of Public Administration in China