Public Administration, Executive, M.P.A.

The Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree is offered in a traditional track and an executive track by the Department of Public Administration. Complete information on the M.P.A. program can be found on the department website.

The North Carolina Central University Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program trains leaders in public service by enhancing their knowledge, skills and abilities through scholarship and professional development with a global lens. We advance diversity through truth and service to promote social equity. The M.P.A. is a professional graduate degree that enables graduates to be effective public sector and nonprofit agency leaders.

The Executive Master of Public Administration

The Executive Master of Public Administration (E.M.P.A.) is a track within the regular M.P.A. degree program. The program is composed of candidates with 4–5 years of full-time executive or supervisory experience in the public, private or nonprofit sectors. E.M.P.A. students continue their employment while completing their course of study in an 18-month period. The E.M.P.A. for NC Central is offered as two required summer experiences and three full semester experiences. Students are enrolled in three classes per semester. Both summer semesters (8 weeks) are 100% online. The Fall and Spring semesters (16 weeks) have a hybrid model where two classes are face-to-face, and one class is 100% online. Face-to-face classes are held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The E.M.P.A. program offers a hybrid learning model (60% online and 40% face-to-face) in which students complete their coursework online using the Blackboard learning management system.

Students are admitted into the E.M.P.A. track as part of a cohort of approximately 20 students. The students proceed through their course of study as members of this cohort. Each cohort participates in the same set of learning experiences. The requirements for graduation for all M.P.A. tracks are the same. The M.P.A. program is structured so that students are able to earn a degree in 18 months.

The E.M.P.A. track is designed to accommodate:

1. Students who are seeking to improve their professional skills and qualifications
2. Students who are seeking to advance to upper administrative and higher management roles in their organizations
3. Students who are public and private sector employees who have made a career change or are pursuing a career closely associated with the public sector

For more information, please contact the program manager, Dr. Larrisha McGill-Youngblood, at lmcgilly@nccu.edu or 919-530-6622.

View Catalog Information

The North Carolina Central University Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program trains leaders in public service by enhancing their knowledge, skills and abilities through scholarship and professional development with a global lens. We advance diversity through truth and service to promote social equity. This professional graduate degree enables graduates to be effective public sector and nonprofit agency leaders.

The NCCU M.P.A. program has seven core full-time faculty. The E.M.P.A. program instruction is also provided by academically and professionally qualified adjunct and part-time instructors who bring extensive experience in their fields.

Tuition and fees for the M.P.A. are available in the Tuition and Fees document for the university.

The NCCU Office of Scholarships and Student Aid (OSSA) aims to provide financial assistance to students through scholarships, grants, loans and work-study. The E.M.P.A. program offers limited aid on a merit basis.

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents

• Fall: No admission
• Spring: November 1
• Summer: April 1

International Applicants

• Fall: No admission
• Spring: September 1
• Summer: No admission

All individuals who would like to apply to an NC Central graduate program (except the law program) must apply using the correct online graduate admission application. 

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The NCCU M.P.A. program learning outcomes are for students to be able to:

1. Analyze policies and programs
2. Compose communications for public administration
3. Improve management for organizational effectiveness, diversity and inclusion
4. Develop leadership, ethics and professionalism
5. Combine theory and practice in scholarship and service

In addition to the professional development offered by the Master of Public Administration program, the NCCU Career and Professional Development Center is dedicated to helping NCCU students get career ready for life!

The M.P.A. traditional track internship requires students to work in a professional position for 300 hours over a semester (fall, spring or summer). Students maintain a weekly report of activities and address four questions each week regarding their activities, problems or difficulties and also write a brief narrative highlighting an activity or event they experienced. All internship placements must have a supervisor who oversees the student and offers a midterm evaluation and final evaluation of the student in consultation with the internship instructor. Students receive a letter grade for the internship.

Recent internship placements include:

• Common Cause North Carolina
• North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation
• Triangle Nonprofit and Volunteer Center
• Wake County Human Services and NC Cooperative Extension
• North Carolina Office of the Governor, Constituent Services
• Durham County, Office of Strategic Management, Public Affairs and Special Projects
• Alamance County Department of Social Services
• Wake County Board of Commissions
• Triangle Nonprofit and Volunteer Leadership Center, Chapel Hill, NC
• North Carolina Department of Transportation
• NCCU Student Health Center
• Health Educator
• Transportation Security Administration, Morrisville, NC

The NCCU M.P.A. program is the second largest in the UNC system, with 61 degrees awarded in 2020–2021.

For the 53 students who started in the academic year 2015–2016, 47% (25 students) graduated within two years, 75% (40 students) graduated within three years, and 79% (42 students) graduated within four years.

We have successful alumni in almost every public service sector. Forty one percent of graduates in 2019–2020 began work with state or local governments, 24% entered the private sector, and 18% entered non-profit work.

Detailed Employment Statistics for 2019–2020  EMPA Graduates: