MPA Program Requirements

The MPA Capstone is the culmination of the Bowling Green State University Master of Public Administration program.  This capstone course is designed to provide graduating students with a summative experience that allows them to synthesize and apply their cumulative learning throughout the MPA program while completing a service-learning project of value for a community partner. Students will develop a professional portfolio that provides evidence of their learning relating to the program’s core learning competencies.  They will reflect on the body of their academic and professional work to construct a document that provides evidence of their mastery of the core competencies.

Internships are required for most students. We believe that the internship is one of the most valuable educational experiences the student will have in the MPA program if it is appropriately structured and supervised. The MPA program works with the BGSU Michael and Sarah Huklin Hub for Career Design and Connections to help students find and coordinate internships. Students must register for COOP 50 which is a 0 credit course with no tuition/fees, but allows for transcript documentation of your postion.

Students may pursue the thesis option instead of the internship and capstone course. The thesis is a significant undertaking that typically requires 2-3 semesters of work to complete, so please consult with the MPA coordinator by the end of your first semester of coursework.

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. You can read more about graduate college thesis requirements here.