I am looking for an affordable (under 15k)online Master's of Public Administration degree. I do qualify for military discounts at some universities, but I no longer have the GI Bill. I will be self-funding. I have a bachelor's degree from a state university so I am new to online education. I am employed in a management position in state government and I am looking for an online MPA for the following reasons. 1) career advancement 2) possibility of becoming an adjunct professor in the future 3) personal education I am a married father of two small children so the time I can commit to the degree is limited. I plan on working on my lunch and at night on my education by taking one class at a time. I have no interest in taking the GRE. The universities I am looking at so far are 1) Arkansas State 2) American Public University 3) Western Governor's University 4) Liberty University 5) Grand Canyon (a bit expensive) 6) Columbia Southern (only nationally accredited) If anyone has been to any of these schools or can suggest other affordable schools I would love to hear from you. if I choose to go on to a doctorate in the future would choosing a nationally accredited school hurt me in the future? What about national accreditation and becoming an adjunct?
You should strongly consider only programs that are accredited by NASPAA, which is the programmatic accreditor for public administration and public affairs programs in the same way that IACBE, ACBSP, and AACSB accredit business programs. This won't matter for personal education, might matter for career advancement, and could likely matter for teaching purposes. I would steer clear of nationally-accredited programs, the potential for problems is much greater for everything on your list but personal education. For online NASPPA-accredited programs, here's a good starting point list; MPA Graduate Center for Public Policy& Administration Online Courses - Courses - MPA - College of Business and Public Administration Online MPA Degree | Public Administration (M.P.A) Online MPA and Graduate Certificate Programs: SPEA Connect https://onlinedegrees.kent.edu/programs-courses/graduate/public-administration-mpa/ Online Master's Degree in Public Administration | MPA Graduate Degree Master of Public Administration | MPA Degree | Northeastern Online Penn State Online | Master of Public Administration Online Master of Public Administration | Home troy.edu - College of Arts & Sciences / Master of Public Administration Online M.P.A. - University of Baltimore MPA Online Option | Academics | University of Colorado Denver https://www.sppa.udel.edu/grad-education/graduate-education/online-mpa The MPA Online – Department of Public Administration - University of Illinois Springfield - UIS Public Affairs: Online Master's Degree | Mizzou Online | University of Missouri Master's of Public Administration | School of Public Administration | University of Nebraska Omaha https://onlinempa.unc.edu/ Online Master's in Public Administration | Public Administration | Degrees | Online Distance | Extended Learning | Academics | UND: University of North Dakota Online MPA Degree | University of San Francisco Online Masters in Public Administration | MPA Degree | USC http://www.villanovau.com/programs/graduate/mpa-degree-online/
I would take a long look at Mizzou's program (in Bruce's list). They're cheap (about $11K last I looked), 100% online, and pretty well ranked (33 in USNews last I checked). If I had to do it over again (I went to Illinois-Springfield), I would probably go with Mizzou. Their program wasn't online when I was in the market for the MPA. Good luck finding something that works for you. Public Affairs: Online Master's Degree | Mizzou Online | University of Missouri
If NA is acceptable then the University of Management and Technology might be worthy of consideration. With the military discount I paid around $750 per course with the final burn off of my GI Bill. Another consideration might be Franklin University. We don't talk about them much here. But they do focus on working adults. The price tag is fairly steep (around $25k) for an MPA. But they have flexible course lengths within their fixed terms (so, within a term, you can elect a 6 or 12 week course). When trying to balance a schedule with kids that flexibility may prove valuable. Also, they are RA and the MPA has programmatic accreditation. If it matters to you Franklin is also non-profit. I've never taken courses from them but my company has a subsidiary in Ohio and a number of employees there have utilized our TA to finish off (primary) undergraduate degrees. At $30k the Villanova MPA also looks tempting and would put a pretty decent name on your resume.
