The Certificate in Applied Public Administration is fully online, with 1-credit hour courses offered in a 5-week format. The Certificate in Applied Public Administration assists working professional and students with an applied, skills-based approach to hone their management and leadership skills and policy development expertise in the unique environment facing public service organizations across public, private, and non-profit sectors. The purpose is to focus on a more skills-based and technically oriented education to students, so they can enhance their skills and marketability for employment in the public service. This will not replicant current coursework being offered in the Master of Public Administration program, but rather focus it in on specific practical and applied aspects of that curriculum. Students will still be held to high standards for academic rigor, and students will be expected to perform at the same level as other students in traditional programs. Each of these courses align with one or more of the following program outcomes:
- Describe the unique challenges associated with the practice of public administration and its relationship to democratic institutions as well as non-governmental organizations.
- Apply strategies to make informed decisions that enhance public services.
- Select and apply appropriate skills for public managers in a diversity of organizations and settings.
- Use theoretical knowledge to enhance practice skills to solve problems related to specific policy challenges.
- The goal is for students to walk away with bite-sized skillsets that they can then apply in their current jobs.
The Certificate is available at the Graduate-level. Students attending full-time should be able to progress through the program in one year. Current students should be able to incorporate the certificate into their existing degree program, but should consult their advisors.
Certificate in Applied Public Administration
How to apply:
There is no application process for undergraduate students currently enrolled at Boise State. Undergraduate students should consult their advisors on how to add the program to their degree plan.
Graduate Students must apply and be admitted to the program though. Applicants are required to have earned at least a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university or a degree from a non-U.S. institution of higher education that is judged equivalent to a U.S. baccalaureate degree by the International Admissions office and have an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 (based on a 4-point scale) computed for all undergraduate credits from the applicant’s most recent baccalaureate degree.
Deadlines for applications are:
January 15 for fall admission priority and April 10 is the final deadline for fall.
September 15 for spring admission priority and November 15 is the final deadline for spring
A prospective student should follow the general graduate application procedure for degree-seeking students (see Graduate Admission Regulations). Admission to the program is based on:
- Official transcripts from all colleges attended.
- A current detailed résumé highlighting your professional work and/or volunteer experience.
For more information contact:
Dr. Monica Hubbard
Associate Professor and MPA Program Lead, School of Public Service