Looking for: DPA or PhD in Public Administration with the following criteria...

This may be a big order, but I'm looking for a school that offers:

1. A DPA (preferably) or a PhD or MBA with an emphasis in Public Administration

2. Regionally accredited

3. Short residency is fine

I would also prefer that it met the following characteristics:

1. NO GRE or GMAT required for admission (I took and passed the GRE 25 years ago and, unfortunately, my scores are over 20 years old and will no longer be reported by ETS. I could do it if I had to, but prefer not to go through the whole standardized testing thing again. Life's too busy for me to worry about calculating areas of triangles and trig functions.)

2. NOT a for-profit. Just a matter of personal preference.

3. A school that also offers bricks and mortar programs

4. Christian-influenced school preferred

Probably a big order...but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

I'd check out Nova Southeastern. Their SBE (School of business) offers such a program. They do require the GMAT or GRE - but it really isn't a big deal to take it. NSU is non-profit, but has no particular religous orientation.

Regards - Andy

 

Thanks, Andy -

I've just started to look at programs and Nova Southeastern will definitely be on my list. As far as the GRE or GMAT -- I agree with you -- not that big of a deal -- but I was just feeling a bit intimidated about the potential trig or geometry components, as I have been away from both for a very long time. However, after posting, I found my way to some of the sample GRE test sites and have discovered -- much to my surprise -- that I'm not nearly as rusty as I thought I might be!

Since posting, I have also found my way to a couple of 'weekend warrior' type programs that are offered thorugh two of our public universities in Maryland. I'll post that information here if anyone is interested.

University of Baltimore offers a 100% WebMPA, but no distance learning for their doctoral program. They do, however, offer a Weekend DPA that I am considering. Residencies for their doctoral program are 5x per semester -- all day Saturday and all day Sunday. Time frame: Min. 3 years (but not typical) and max. 7 years.

Tuition and fees for UB's Graduate School are charged as follows:

Part-time tuition is charged at $547 per credit in-state, $944 out-of-state. *Web classes are an additional $73.00 per graduate credit hour. University fees are $50 per credit (not to exceed $309.50). Technology fee is $5 per credit (not to exceed $60).
Flat fee is $60 for up to 11 credits, $340.50 for 12 credits or more.

University of Maryland - Eastern Shore offers a weekend Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership -- with all the emphasis tracks focusing on public sector leadership. This one is a lot less expensive ($187/credit hour in-state), but requires a lot more face-to-face time. (18 weekends the first year and 10 weekends the second year). Their weekends start on Friday night at 5 pm and end on Sunday night at 6 pm. They also expect everyone to finish with their cohort and doctorates to be conferred in 3 years.

UMES Tuition and Fees:
Maryland Resident
Graduate: 187.00 per credit hour
Undergraduate (11 cr. hrs. or less): 148.00 per credit hour
Student Fee: 30.00 per Semester
Technology Fee: 10.00 per Semester

Non-Maryland Resident (Part-time)

Graduate: 339.00 per credit hour
Undergraduate (11 cr. hrs. or less): 21.00 per credit hour
Student Fees (same as in-state)

I've certainly got some time to decide what I want to do, but today, I'm leaning toward the UMES program -- it would be a lot of work, but it would also be a lot less expensive Since my employer has a cap as far as tuition reimbursement per year, this certainly factors into my decision. Plus, after 3 years -- I'd have my PhD.

 

There are a couple of points I'd like to make before offering some scant information. The first is that I'm unaware of any US schools offering DPA degrees via DL. The second is that the few DL DBA/PhD (business) degrees offered have been well discussed and can be found in the degreeinfo archives with a bit of searching. My guess is that these could easily be tailored to suit your specific interests as it is the nature of doctoral degree programs to focus on a rather narrow topic. The third is that you have stated an interest in an MBA program that specializes in Public Administration. Does this mean that you do not already have a Masters degree? Does this mean that you are not interested in any MPA programs? These would seem more suitable considering your stated interest. Here's what I've got for MPA programs:
Cal Sate-Northridge
Central Michigan
Florida Inst. of Tech
U of London
Valdosta State U
and of course, my perenial favorite,
UNISA (which also has a DPA program)
Good luck,
Jack

 

Northcentral University has a PhD program with specialization in Public Administration. It's RA and 100% online. No GRE or GMAT.
http://www.ncu.edu/university_information/dpro_spec.asp?dpro_id=20&dpro_section_main_id=61


They aren't B&M yet, but by the time you graduate they might be, since they are opening a 45-acre campus.
http://www.browningmoore.com/news.htm

For-profit and no religious affiliation, but you can donate the money you save on tuition to your church.

 

Thanks to all...

Jack -- to answer your question, I'm already in the middle of an MBA program, so just planning ahead. (In fact, when I finish my MBA, I'll actually have two master's degrees.) I'm thinking a doctorate would be the next logical step for me and it's something I have always had in the back of my mind. Now that my kids are just about grown, the timing seems right.

I think you're right...I can probably find something and tailor it to my needs. At this point, I'm really leaning toward the 'weekend warrior' options, but I have lots of time to decide.

Upton - thanks for the recommendation. You're right -- they might have a campus by the time I am ready to do something. I'm just a little leery of NCU, as it seems they don't have the best reputation on this forum.

Again...thanks to all of you. This forum is a great resource!

 

Hang out in better places.
http://www.collegehints.com/boards/

 

The best program to get in Public Admin/Policy is at Walden University. They have a PhD in Public Policy AND Administration with numerous specializations. They are similar to Capella University and have a similar class format and residency schedule. I would have pursued my degree there if they hadn't scrimped on my MPA courses - OU uses 2 credit courses, which didn't convert well enough into Walden's QTR system, so I would have had to start over from scratch!

It is a good program though. Check them out:

http://www.waldenu.edu/prospect/programs/ppaphd/intro_admin.html

 

Thanks for the recommendations. I will take a peek at both of them.

 

Distance Learning DPA

I have not found a totally DL RA DPA... I have found two schools that have components of DL with some residencies required each semester.

University of La Verne DPA
La Verne, CA (Eastern LA County)
www.ulv.edu
ULV's program is well established and is fully a practitioner oriented program. The DPA program is somewhat flexible in that you can attend weekly classes by telephone if necessary... have heard rumors of an online DPA cluster (ILO attending weekly classes in the LA regional area) the periodic weekend intensives (beginning of semester, mid-semester, and end of semester) must be attended in person.

Hamline University DPA
Minneapolis-St Paul area, MN
www.hameline.edu
HU's program looked very interesting... but it has disappeared as best as I can tell... Hopefully it will reappear.

Bruce Pawlak
A.S., University of the State of New York
B.S., SUNY College at Buffalo
M.P.A., Golden Gate University
M.A.Ed. (Ed. Psych.), Azusa Pacific University (In Progress)

 

Re: Distance Learning DPA

Ooops! The URL is bad... here, try this one...

http://www.hamline.edu/graduate/gpam/

I also checked and the DPA program appears to be alive again... however there is no discussion of the classes being intensive or weekend based... Those who are interested should send for more detailed information.

Bruce Pawlak
A.S., University of the State of New York
B.S., SUNY College at Buffalo
M.P.A., Golden Gate University
M.A.Ed. (Ed. Psych.), Azusa Pacific University (In Progress)