MPA vs MBA

Okay guys, I've been speaking to various people of letter

and they seem to think that with my criminal justice background and a BS in CJ I would be best served getting an MPA instead of an MBA. One of my concerns and a couple of others was my lack of training in finance and accounting, suggesting that an MPA would be less math intensive than would be an MBA. Is there any truth to this?

What it the real world utility of one over the other?

 

MPA vs. MBA

Why do you need the degree? (ie: what is your degree purpose?)

Can't help you without knowing your intentions. These degrees are very different.

 

Well to be honest with you I would really like to teach criminal justice or the like at an Academy, vocational school or junior college. (someday)

I would also like to remain working in the public sector in some type of federal or state law enforcement or social type of job. Other possibilities would include potentially starting my own business or going to work in the private sector as a security consultant or executive.

Personally I would probably be getting an MBA simply for the credential and knowledge and should anything occur such as getting injured so that I cannot work in law enforcement, I would like it to have the utility of qualifying me to able to work in some type of business enviroment. I manage law enforcement officers now, but I believe management is it's own skill, therefore not only am I interested in just law enforcement, but management as a whole.

As for an MPA, I believe this would probably help me in the public sector since government is it's own world. I have also been told that an MPA qualifies people to work in educational institutions and in non-profit organizations.

I really like doing work that matters. I'm not into working for say a phone company as a middle manager, but perhaps running a rehab clinic or police type unit would be awsome.

I hope that helps. Heck I confuse myself sometimes.

My plan initially was to get an MS in CJ from U of Phoenix but I was told that an MS in CJ would have very very limited utility and I should try for an MPA. Some others said that an MBA would do everything an MPA would do and more. Still the MPA advocates tell me that the MPA is less math intensive and would not require me to remidiate in calculus and accounting.

 

I don't know if the MPA would be any less math-intensive than the MBA. At my beloved alma mater City University www.cityu.edu the MBA and the MPA have the exact same 30 quarter hours of common core courses, just different 15 quarter hours of concentration courses. And, might I add, at the time (12 years ago), they did offer an MPA in Criminal Justice. Quite frankly, I had never heard of Criminal Justice being housed in Business Administration until I heard about the Northcentral University www.ncu.edu PhD program in Business Administration (which I lust after for its E-Commerce concentration) having a concentration in Criminal Justice.

 

I realize that you may only be looking at distance/online programs, so I'm not sure what's available. However based on what you have said the implications, I'd go with an MPA. If you have managerial experience, you have what most young MBAs so not. That experience coupled with an MPA may carry you further into the public sector. Pick a major that either substantially extends your current knowledge or gives you another competency that you dont' currently have, but that complements what you know and sets you up for taking advantage of opportunity. Plus, get 18 hours in whatever you want to teach in because many community colleges require this.

The MPA will make you more suitable for upper management.

 

Again thanks guys. I have been looking at the course descriptions for several schools and have noticed that the MPA does seem to have less accounting involved most of the time. Still listening though.

 

MPA

As was mentioned, you cant' get out of doing accounting, statistics, etc. But, if you are more suited to the public sector, the MPA will present the information in a very different format than MBA, which is private sector accounting.

What is true is this. It's going to be work for you and the MPA will be easier for you to get through the tough courses with, because it will be more interesting and relevant to your current work experience. The case studies will seem less abstract and you will get more out the degree.

 

If you want to teach criminal justice at a regionally accredited college or university at the AA or the Bachelors level, you will be required to have 18 graduate-level credits in the field that you want to teach. Thus, if you get an MPA or an MBA, you will not be allowed to teach criminal justice based exclusively on those curriculums.

 

Best answer I've had all day. Thanks guys, that makes perfect sense.

 

You might check out Tiffin University's online MCJ. www.tiffin.edu

 

As someone who works in the public sector as a decsion maker, the MPA is actually more valuable if you want to work in the public sector. The rules of the game really are different. I have hired both MBA's and MPA's, and both are succesful, but the latter have a better understanding of government.

 

If you want to teach Criminal Justice, then I would go for the Master's in CJ. All things being roughly equal, the applicant with the Master's in CJ is going to get the CJ teaching job over the applicant with the M.P.A., every time.

If you aspire to a public-sector management position, then obviously a M.P.A. would be the better choice.

Check out my lists of CJ programs below, there are many options at the graduate level.

 

We really enjoyed the MPA curriculum that was added to our CJ MA program. We learned a lot of valuable information which would probably bore-to-death the average Joe, but for whatever reason, captivated us.

 

Bruce's post

I agree with Bruce. Alternatively, find out what courses could be added to the MPA in order to get the 18 hours needed for teacing. The MPA will provide more career options and avenues over time. Ultimately if you do teach, your experience may trump anyone's MS in CJ, if they are less experienced from a real world perspective.

 

Another option that would be available is getting your MBA, with a concentration in Public Administration.

I work in law enforcement and my peers told me this would be the ideal degree to pusue. So, I took the advice and just finished my degree a few month ago at Columbia Southern University.

I'm sure there are other regional schools that offer the same degree and concentration. I'm just not sure who or where they are.

CSU is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Training Council (http://www.detc.org).

 

I'm familiar with Heriot-Watt and UF's MBA programs, and I wouldn't call either of them math "intensive" by any means. Add, subtract, multiply, divide, and raising to powers. Possibly a log every now and then. Even then you are allowed a calculator or spreadsheet program. The hard part is figuring out which numbers to add, subtract, etc....
Definitely no calculus was needed.

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the responses.

jagmct1........I have looked into CSU's program for an MBA with MPA emphasis and have not yet found an RA school with such a degree. That degree shure does look tempting.

I'm really going to have to put a lot of thought into this. On one hand I would really like to teach CJ at some point in time, on the other hand, should that not pan out, I would be stuck with a RA degree that costs an arm and leg that is pretty much worthless in the private sector.

As for an MBA or MPA, they would likely not qualify me to teach CJ without a ton of experience behind them.

Another degree that has come to mind is an MS in Management or an MM. This degree seems to be a good fit since a management degree would be good in both public and private sector and a good deal of CJ instruction involves managing law enforcement officers, which can be a bit different than private sector.

If I did do a RA MS in CJ I would like to get an MBA/MPA from a NA school like CSU or Southwest just to have the knowledge and a fall back in case the CJ thing doesn't work out in the future, (such as becoming disabled or injured, which happens more often than reported).

If I get an MM or MS in Management then I would probably hold off a little while on an MBA/MPA and just ride that degree as long as possible, possibly getting a RA CJ in the future or a NA MBA depending upon where life takes me. The RA MS in CJ really would not be good for anything except teaching since most CJ professions prefer you to be good at something else other than being a cop. Like accounting, computer science, management, etc.

Choices....

 

Tough choice

If it were me given your continued input, I'd consider an MBA with CJ. NCU's has 18 hours in the concentration. And so I wonder, could you later transfer in these NCU CJ courses into an MS CJ program if you felt you needed it?

I don't know much about CJ, but the MBA is the most versitile degree in the private sector.

Talk to potential employers and make a list of possible career options. Call counselors of schools that offer these degree programs (traditional B & M universities, not DL schools) and listen to their sales pitch but what's crucial, is for you to find out where these programs are placing their students. You wont' get this from DL schools, but traditional universities will tell you. The best case is a school where they offer both programs, so they know the differences. But don't let them spew about the programs. Make them talk about what you can do with it and back it up with placement stats and alumni you can call and discuss these issues with. Ask to speak to a few folks in their program that are almost complete so they know about the job market. This IS your best bet in my opinion.

PS: I realize you need a DL RA school, but that does not mean you can't do all your research with B & M schools.

Good luck.

 

Messagewriter.........

Sounds like a good plan. I may give a couple of B&M schools around my area a call.

I think the MBA is a very respected credential in the private sector and in Govt. work. The only place I have seen the limitations of a DETC degree is at the state level of which I have no desire to become a part of due to crappy placement, crappy pay, crappy raises (if you get one, most often you do not) crappy benefits and rounded out with a half-assed retirement. I think I'd sooner go work for a city govt.

As for the MBA with a CJ emphasis, I love the way that sounds, but realize that I probably would not be even remotely a top cadidate for becoming a college instructor with it. Though you never know.

To be honest I am going to have to talk to a lot of folks, including God, to make sure I know what I'm doing. As for NCU, that looks like a really great school, however they do not participate in any type of federally backed tuition assistance, which is a gigantic bummer since my employer will only reimburse up to 18 credit hours a year at a % of the actual cost or state rate. Thus my financing options are fairly limited, meaning that tuition assistance at the graduate level will be a necessary evil.

If I were paying out of pocket for an NA degree, tuition would be more than covered by my employer....so much the sadness.

 

A lot, if not most, CJ subjects are theoretical. If you want to teach CJ, you really need at least a Master's degree in CJ in order to be seriously considered for most teaching jobs. Business-related courses like Budgeting sound wonderful, but they only apply to upper-level police management, who are little more than politicians with a badge.

To be brutally honest, there aren't many job opportunties for disabled cops outside the CJ system. I worked with a guy who decided to "buck the system", and got his M.B.A. from Anna Maria College, a perfectly respectable, but rather generic, RA school in Massachusetts. He was convinced that his M.B.A. would give him a leg-up outside the PD. Long story short, he was medically retired after a bad motorcycle crash, and found that he was totally unmarketable outside the PD, because he had no business experience. Last I heard, he was selling real estate.

Other than Management (previous warning about politicians with a badge applies), I don't know of any PD that looks for Accounting or Computer Science majors. That kind of expertise is almost always contracted-out to civilians, who will usually do a better job, for less money.