Valdosta State DPa program FAQ

I don't think residency status is a consideration for admission since all students pay the graduate e-tuition rate.

 

That's one of the reasons why I asked the question. It is an affordable program for many, especially out of state students. The school is state supported, so I just wasn't sure if they have a certain target percentage of in-state students to enroll or is the admissions decision purely an academic / material decision. We may never know but thought it would be interesting.

 

It could be, but I've never heard of residency status as any sort of consideration in graduate programs. Programs want the best students to help increase the reputation of the school/department/degree through important scholarly work, so I doubt if graduate ad comms are considering where the student lives. I imagine this is especially so in a distance learning environment. That said, I was in-state when I applied and wasn't admitted last year (and wouldn't have been paying tuition either way since I'm a USG employee), so it didn't help me at all! Good luck to everyone - should be any day now.

 

Updated to decision being processed.

 

Some people are getting their notifications because I have been contacted by a couple of them who were accepted in the last few days.

 

Got that too. Judging on the posts from last year that doesn't appear to be a positive sign.

 

Best of luck to all of you waiting. I've just completed my first year. Some ups and downs, but I have enjoyed it overall. I know truckie270 is doing a great job of keeping folks informed, but feel free to drop me a line if you like. And as has been advised, if you get in..get the books and get to reading. While PA is an interesting area, no one ever claimed the texts to be enthralling, lol.

 

Truckie, thanks for your outstanding summary on Valdosta's DPA program. Now I'm thoroughly confused as to what doctoral program I will apply for. This program is really hot and I'm applying for it since it's up my professional alley. I have 21 years in federal government and teach MPA grad course at a college in NYC. If I get accepted, I plan to start in the Fall of 2013.

Question: Did you already have an MPA before applying to this program? I do and a lot of the coursework seems to be a repeat from my MPA courses I took years ago. Any how, I know they are much more rigorous.

Best -

Boethius

 

Yes - I did have an MPA before applying. At first glance a lot of the courses in the DPA program seemed to be repeats for me as well but upon getting into the content it was on another plane, especially for the core courses. I will admit that I did not think that my MPA was that difficult and I had been teaching PA courses at the time of my application to VSU, so I was under the impression that it would not be that difficult for me due to my familiarity and comfort with the topic. However, I was not prepared for the volume and pace of work in the DPA program and it took me a couple of semesters to fall into a comfortable rhythm. I will also note that at the time of my application to VSU I was a Doctoral student at NCU so it was not like I was unfamiliar with the depth of Doctoral study - the courses at VSU were by far more difficult than anything I took at NCU.

You would have the opportunity to complete many of the MPA offerings for electives and specialization credit so the level of difficulty is the same there. The core courses, and this did vary a bit by Professor, were more detailed than my MPA courses in the same topic. In the first couple of courses at VSU we covered about the same amount of material in the first two weeks than I did in a whole semster in the comparable course in my MPA program. It may be the same topic, but when you have to read hundreds of additonal pages each week and complete more assignments that are significantly longer - is it really the same course?

 

No. Definitely not the same course. In fact, I'm a little apprehensive about the coursework because it will take some family time away (a significant opportunity cost), especially in the beginning of the program. But it seems a worthwhile investment, especially for those of us already in adjunct teaching scene. (Hey, not guts, no glory! )

Truckie, what can you tell me about the 15 credit concentrations? I know about policy analysis. Are there any concentrations that are more quantitative like stats and research methods?? I suppose these courses would be in the policy analysis concentration? I coudn't find this info on Valdosta's website, just a list of PA course descriptions

Best -

Boethius

 

Truckie,

No. Definitely not the same course. In fact, I'm a little apprehensive about the coursework because it will take some family time away (a significant opportunity cost), especially in the beginning of the program. But it seems a worthwhile investment, especially for those of us already in adjunct teaching scene. (Hey, not guts, no glory! )

Truckie, what can you tell me about the 15 credit concentrations? I know about policy analysis. Are there any concentrations that are more quantitative like stats and research methods?? I suppose these courses would be in the policy analysis concentration? I coudn't find this info on Valdosta's website, just a list of PA course descriptions

Best -

Boethius

 

The "concentrations" when I was in the program were a bit of a misnomer. I will speak from my experience, but keep in mind I was in the first group and it has been four years since I was in the coursework portion of the program. I know they have made adjustments to the program along the way and the concentration concept may have evolved.

Simply put, the concentration was simply a group of courses that was supported through the offerings of the PA department at the time. They have an MPA with a City Management concentration so the elective offerings available to me during my time in the program were those courses, so in effect I graduated with a DPA with the City Management Concentration. The Policy concentration is new, so it may just mean that they are now offering new courses in policy aspects that you could take for electives. The concentration is not a formal "thing" that shows up on your diploma or transcript - it is just up you to highlight your area of focus on your resume or CV.

You could take courses from any graduate program at VSU to fulfil your elective requirements and build your own concentration. Roughly half my group was in higher education adminstration in either the Georgia or Florida state university systems and these people tended to take education administration courses from VSU's school of education if they took courses outside of the PA department. The other half were from the private sector, non-profits, public safety, and state/local government sectors and took classes accordingly.

Most seemed to take the electives offered by the MPA program because they were available and related to the focus of the DPA, but several students took a few courses from other departments at VSU in their individual areas of interest. Those who were local had significantly more options in taking courses in other departments. You could also transfer in courses (6 s.h.) in your area of interest to help build your own concentration.

A good friend of mine in the program was a police chief and he designed his own concentration from courses in the CJ department, but he had to jump through a lot of hoops and coordinate with several people to design his own path. He was not local. Frankly, I intended to do the same thing but eventually just took the easy route with the exisiting online MPA options because of the amount of extra work required to make this happen was not worth the perceived payoff in my view.

 

Truckie -

Again, thanks for sharing. I'll check the "concentrations" again. The college where I got my MPA catered to local governments and not-for-profits. However, there were enough elective courses for me to develop a concentration with a federal government focus. I modeled my electives after other MPA programs that were specifically designed for Feds.

Anyway, specializations at the MPA level are kind of moot as far as I'm concerned. The MPA should be a "generalist" management degree for the public and not-for-profit sector, even though I understand some folks want to be policy wonks. Other folks in the not-for-profit sector take courses like grant writing. The doctoral level is a bit different. There should be some specialization, or maybe that's reserved for PhD folks who specialize in things most people never heard of. (I find this amusing because most PhDs in the USA aren't productive enough in publishing in their own specializations - the hallmark of a PhD. I mean, when was the last peer reviewed article a breakthrough in western thought?? There are some metrics to support this but I have to consult with my PhD buds on where I can access them.)

Valdosta's DPA clearly states it's a "practitoner-oriented" degree. So the training really should prepare one to learn how to practice PA in any field I suppose. Does it? Also, has your DPA realized any "economic" utility for you? Since you already teach MPA courses, I'm sure it's a plus. Has it done anything else for you?

Boethius

 

You can specialize in any direction you decide to go in within the framework of the program. It really is up to you to articulate how you specialized in a sub-topic either through coursework or in your dissertation focus.

As far as return on investment for me personally goes, I spent a total of $15K on my DPA to include residency travel from the West Coast. Since I started the program in 2007 until now, I estimate that I realized roughly $100K in increased income from additional opportunities that presented themselves to me as either a Doctoral student or as a Doctoral holder that were not available to me before I started the program. Not a bad ROI in my view.

 

That's great Truckie! I'd say that's a pretty good ROI!! (LOL! :biggrin I'm trying to get my wife completely on board with this decision since it would involve some time away from family. She already had to go through my two part-time masters degrees at RA B&Ms. I think your last post, however, helped make her feel better about this investment. I'm already a bit past mid-career in federal government and have taught several MPA, economics, and religion courses since 2004, thus I've paid for my grad degrees nearly twice over.

As far as cost is concerned, Valdosta's DPA program is still pretty darn competitive at $255 per E-credit with a postive ROI. The total cost for me would still be about 20k including the residencies in today's money and tuition E-credit. I hope VSU accepts me and that I be able to get through their "weed out" courses.

Thanks a ton for your input Truckie.

Best -

Boethius

 

I've applied for acceptance into this program for fall 2017. I scored 298 on the GRE, I completed my MPA with a 4.0. Does anyone know what the typical criteria for acceptance is and does anyone have any info about the classes and the amount of work involved? I've seen older reviews but wanted to see if anyone had any updated information. Thanks.

 

PAK133, Did you get accepted? I’m curious as my GRE score is similar and I am applying for 2018...

 

Truckie,

Based on your user name, I am guessing you are in the Fire Service? If you are still around, I would be interested to hear how your DPA has benefited your career. I am in the Fire Sevice as well and I am interested in pursuing my DPA... Thanks!

 

Sorry for bumping up this old thread but it appears the DPA program is no longer requiring test scores of GRE or a similar exam starting Fall 2022. This could be good news for anyone looking to apply. I was reading into the program and wanted to know what it requires, this thread has been the most useful especially the initial post.

ADMISSION DEADLINES

• Fall Semester: April 15
• Spring Semester: No Admission
• Summer Semester: No Admission

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
*The test score requirement is being removed for Fall 2022.*

https://www.valdosta.edu/academics/graduate-school/our-programs/doctor-of-public-administration.php

 

Seems like it's only being waived for Fall 2022. A lot of schools have done that because of COVID-19.

I know a tenured associate professor at Clark Atlanta who graduated from their DPA program. Always good to see people with nontraditional doctorates earning tenure-track positions in higher education