I've been reading about AJU's sponsored tuition program and have been contemplating signing up. I just have a quick question: Should I choose the MPA or the MBA? Just a little background: my BA is in liberal arts and I currently am employed with a federal agency, (so NA should be ok.) The MPA should help me to hopefully advance in my agency. But would an MBA give me more utility if I ever leave government service? I guess if the sponsored tuition program continues, perhaps I could complete both. Thanks for your advice.
If this will be your 1 and only grad degree I'd go with the MBA. Often govt. jobs will substitute a business admin and public admin educational requirement as if they were interchangeable, at least in my experience.
As far as utility, the MBA will certainly be worth more in the private sector. In some cases it might even be considered more prestigious in the public sector. If your present position would be enhanced by an MBA that would probably make it a win/win situation. The AJU MBA is a more rigorous accounting/finance/economics based degree than the MPA. With your liberal arts background you might feel more at home in the MPA program. If you are considering doing both, you might want to look at the Columbia Southern University MBA Concentration in Public Administration degree http://www.columbiasouthern.edu/programs/mba_publicadmin.asp . It's more expensive than AJU - $250 a credit for 37 credits - but the tuition includes books and you would be getting the best of both worlds with only one degree.
The MPA is more relevant, but not by much. The MBA is more flexible, by a lot. I suspect there aren't too many public sector jobs that would be open to an MPA, yet closed to an MBA. I suspect that in the private sector, the reverse may often be true. There was a time when the MPA was considered much less math-intensive when compared to the MBA. It was an attractive alternative for public servants when the typical MBA required a calculus background, and had courses like operations research. But computers did away with a lot of that, as did the MBA's popularity--and, thus, its outreach to non-business majors. These days, the MBA isn't any harder quantitatively.
Right now I am leaning more towards the MPA. Just because I thought I could follow up with an MA at Western New Mexico with one concetration area in Political Science. I would really like to be able to teach some adjunct classes either locally or online. The sponsored tuition looks really good to my limited budget right now.
Will Western New Mexico accept NA transfer-credit/degrees? From what I have seen, WNMU only accepts RA credits for undergrad degrees. http://www.wnmu.edu/Catalog2007-2008/Admissions%20Academic%20Records%20and%20Regulations.htm I haven't seen that the grad requirements specifically mention RA but ....
From the MA Faq: Can I transfer graduate credit from another school into the program? WNMU’s policy is to allow a maximum of 6 graduate credit hours to be transferred into the program. These credits must be approved by the applicable faculty advisors and/or academic Deans/department chairs. Looks like they will allow 6 hours of transfer credit if approved. My intention was to complete the degree without any transfer credit.
I’m doing a lot of consulting right now in the non-profit and public sector. We just did a huge executive recruitment, and I must have read 500 different resumes. Even in this sector the MBA carries a lot of weight, but in the private sector the MPA does not carry equal recognition. I would consider this when deciding..
why not hedge your bets I have seriously looked at their MPA too, considering doing it myself. 2 of the required courses are also part of the MBA (OB, Communications), and you can do one common elective (MIS is a MBA course offered to MPA's). You could try one common type term of 3 courses...see if you like MPA. Although since your undergrad is Liberal Arts, why not take the MBA course you hate the most, try it...see if its for you! Then go that route. One suggestion I would make is don't do two at once. I am currently doing 2 at Aspen, and I always feel torn as to what to work on.... Good luck and keep in touch
