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Executive MPA

Spring Start
Spring Priority Deadline: September 1st
Final Deadline: October 1st; International F-1 students August 1st

 

Executive Master of Public Administration at I-75 @ Miramar

FIU's Executive Master of Public Administration is accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).

The program is designed for public service professionals with extensive experience in local, regional, state and federal agencies as well as in nonprofit organizations. Applicants are required to have five to ten years’ cumulative experience. Many applicants even hold managerial and supervisory positions. FIU's program serves professionals who aspire to become successful public leaders and are dedicated to public service, social good and justice, and civic engagement.

Within a cohort, lockstep program, students start together and finish the program together – allowing for a peer supportive environment and plenty of opportunities to network. All courses are taught by full-time faculty and experienced public leaders and practitioners.

  • Exclusively designed for experienced public and non-profit professionals
  • Earn your EMPA degree in 12 months
  • Program with Saturday only face-to-face classes
  • Cohort environment
  • Classes are offered at FIU I-75 Miramar Campus

Program Highlights

The Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) track is designed for public service professionals in upper management, executive and senior management positions in state, local, regional and federal agencies as well as those in senior positions in non-profit agencies.

The EMPA provides an opportunity for senior and upper management public sector and non-profit employees to finish their degree in an expedited fashion over a 12 month period.

Consistent with the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration's (NASPAA) definition of executive education, the EMPA at FIU reaffirms that: “a typical Executive MPA student is a college graduate (any major) who has five to ten years of cumulative experience with public or non-profit organizations and at least three years of middle-to-upper level managerial experience”

  • Targeted: Only applicants with substantial public sector and/or non-profit experience are considered for this program. Students must have 5-10 years of experience in the public sectors. The EMPA meets the needs, and is designed to serve, experienced leaders such as directors, assistant directors, high-level technical staff, senior managers, and advisors.
  • Accessible: All courses are offered in a state-of-the-art FIU facility located in Miramar.
  • Reasonably-priced: The cost of the FIU EMPA makes it one of the most competitive programs – considering tuition cost and quality – both nationally and locally.
  • Quality MPA: The EMPA has the same curriculum and faculty as all other MPA tracks. The FIU MPA program was recently ranked among the top programs in the nation. As the only NASPAA-accredited MPA program and the highest ranked in the Miami-Dade region, the program promises to bring quality and prestige to the doorsteps of the region’s executives
  • Supportive Environment: The EMPA schedule is sensitive to the needs of the working executive. The EMPA has dedicated staff to help students with their needs. As a cohort track, EMPA students start together and finish the program together – allowing for a supportive environment and plenty of opportunities to network with other executives in the region.
  • Accelerated: Students start the EMPA track in the Spring semester, attend classes on Saturdays, and complete the program by the following Spring – finishing 36 graduate credits in 12 months.
  • Top-Quality Faculty: The FIU MPA Faculty is the largest in South Florida and is the only full-time public administration department in Miami-Dade County. The majority of the program’s courses are taught by full-time FIU Public Administration professors who are also top scholars in the field of public administration

Review the MPA Student Handbook to learn more about the program curriculum and requirements, departmental and university policies, and the resources available to MPA and EMPA students.

 

Top Quality NASPAA-Accredited Curriculum:

FIU’s EMPA program is accredited by The Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).

Degree Program Hours: 36 Credit Hours

Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the program requires a completion of 36 credit hours.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition for the EMPA program (36 credits) is $32,000. This tuition includes FIU university fees and is subject to change.

Under the revised Florida Board of Governors’ (BOG) Regulation 8.002, all institutions of the State University System (SUS) of Florida are required to provide students with a side-by-side Tuition and Fees comparison for continuing education programs.  The tuition comparisons are made between a traditional program vs. its counterpart Market Rate/Self-Supporting program. This approach provides students an opportunity to become aware of options that are available upon selecting a degree program of study.

Please click on the following link, which will take you to a searchable database that provides the side-by-side tuition and fees comparisons between the Executive Master of Public Administration: https://continue.fiu.edu/programs/side-by-side-tuition-comparison/embed.html

 

  • Admission Requirements

    Applicants to the Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) program must:

    • Have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution;
    • Have five to ten years of cumulative experience with public or non-profit organizations and preferably two to three years of managerial and supervisory experience;
    • Submit three academic or professional letters of recommendation from faculty member at their undergraduate institution or from employment supervisors and;
    • Demonstrate graduate level writing competency by submitting an essay between 3 and 5 pages in length explaining how earning the Executive Master of Public Administration is consistent with long-term career goals. Students may also use this letter to discuss their passion for public issues or policies and to communicate to the admission reflect their potential to succeed in graduate school and;
    • Submit a GRE Score if their GPA in their last 60 credits of upper division coursework is less than 3.0 and;
    • Submit a current resume and;
    • Submit all above documents by the application deadline
  • General Requirements

    Students must maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA. A grade of ‘C’ or better is required for every core course. Note: A ‘C-’ is not acceptable. The program reserves the right to withhold the awarding of credit for course work taken out of sequence and without appropriate prerequisites.

  • Curriculum

    Spring Semester

    PAD6437: Dynamics of Individual Growth

    This course focuses on the importance of small group theory to the personal growth of the administrator, and the role of interpersonal abilities in effectively serving client groups. The course also deals with the expansion of the phenomenological world view of each student; and will look at existential theory and the dilemma of personal growth.  

    PAD6053: Political, Social and Economic Context of Public Administration

    Examines the context in which public organizations operate, stressing the relationship between such organizations and their multifaceted environment. Emphasis is on examining relevant social and cultural mores and patterns, political values and processes, governmental institutions, economic systems, resource availability, and other environmental factors currently significant to public organizations.

    PAD6417: Human Resource Policy and Management

    The course focuses on the role of the personnel manager and how the manager performs tasks connected to human resources development, policy and management in public and nonprofit organizations.  

    PAD6227: Public Finance and the Budgetary Process

    Examines the theory and practice of public budgeting and its relationship to the administrative processes of control, management and planning. Special emphasis will be given to the social balance question; the kinds and scope of government expenditures; the fiscal role of government in a mixed economy; sources of revenue available to government; administrative, political and institutional aspects of the budget and the budgetary process; and problems and trends in intergovernmental financial relations.  

    Summer Semester

    PAD6726: Applied Research Methods for Accountability in Public and Nonprofit Organizations

    Tools, methods, and concepts employed to reengineer public and nonprofit agencies and to design performance indicators needed to enhance customer satisfaction and strategic service delivery.

    PAD6807: Urban and Municipal Government Administration

    Detailed examination of problems facing the municipal administrator; of the pressures upon the contemporary urban environment; and of the administration of large metropolitan areas comprised of numerous entities. Emphasis will be on determination of current trends, discussion of cases, and arrival at suggested solutions.

    PAD6701: Quantitative Methods in Public Administration

    An intensive introduction to statistical and forecasting tools appropriate for public, nonprofit, and health professionals. 

    PAD6306: Policy Analysis

    This course presents techniques and tools for the practice of policy analysis in public, nonprofit, and health organizations, with emphasis on constructing policy analysis useful to decisionmakers.

    Fall Semester

    PAD5460: Performance Management

    Provides knowledge and skills regarding the work with measures and data to improve organizational performance.

    PAD6718: Smart Governance

    Examines smart governance systems that use cyber technologies for organizational management and delivery of public services. It explores innovative designs for achieving democratic values effectively.

    PAD6056: The Practice of Public Management 

    This capstone course for the MPA Program will deploy skills, concepts, and knowledge acquired in previous course work in analytic exercises related to students’ areas of specialization.  

    PAD6434: Leadership and Decision-making

    Readings and case studies examine how effective leaders in the public and non-profit sectors make decisions in fluid and challenging environments.

  • Apply Now

    In order to be officially considered for admission to the EMPA program, applicants must complete the following steps:

    • Submit an application online. Follow the link to start an application online via FIU Graduate Admissions.
    • Submit an application fee. A $30.00, non-refundable, application fee payable by check, money order, or credit card is required.
    • Submit official transcript/s. Transcripts of all degree granting institutions must be sent directly from each college or university either electronically or in a sealed envelope to the Graduate Admissions Office (Note: If your undergraduate degree was from FIU you don’t need to do this because your student records are accessible by computer from the Department).
    • Submit three letters of recommendation, resume, and essay to the Graduate Admissions Office.
    • Submit all above documents by the application deadline.

Pursuing your EMPA is one of the best investments you can make – one that will open doors to personal and professional opportunities. Our tuition represents the best value in higher education.

Contact Us

Susannah Bruns Ali, Ph.D.
Associate Professor &
Director, Master of Public Administration Program
Florida International University
Modesto A. Maidique Campus,
11200 S.W. 8th Street, 350A
Miami, FL 33199
Phone: Phone: 305-348-1350
Fax: 305-348-5848
E-mail: sali@fiu.edu

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