Degree Information
The Degree of Master of Public Service and Administration
The George Bush School of Government and Public Service offers an interdisciplinary, non-thesis program leading to the degree of Master of Public Service and Administration (MPSA).
The curriculum in the Bush School provides a professional education for those persons seeking to lead and manage organizations concerned with furthering the public interest. Successful leaders in public and not-for-profit organizations must possess a combination of substantive knowledge and critical skills. This knowledge includes an understanding of the structures and processes of policy formation and the political, social and economic forces that shape policy transactions. Coalition building, personnel motivation, policy analysis and effective communication are skills crucial to productive public service. The Bush School will equip students having a disposition toward leadership and public service with vital skills and knowledge critical for professional careers, whether in federal, state or local government, or in the not-for-profit sectors.
The MPSA program offers a two-year, full-time course of study in one of two tracks: Public Management or Public Policy Analysis. In addition, a student has the option to choose a concentration in a substantive area such as non-profit organizations; state and local policy and management; natural resources, environment and technology policy and administration; security, energy and technology policy; and health policy and management. The program includes a non-credit-bearing internship and two semesters of capstone policy seminar which gives a student the opportunity to apply his/her knowledge and skills to a real-world problem or issue.
The Bush School, in conjunction with the Political Science department, also offers a joint degree program that enables a student to receive the Political Science undergraduate degree and a Master of Public Service and Administration (MPSA) degree in five years. A student admitted into this program will be enrolled in Bush School graduate courses with an undergraduate classification for the fall of their fourth year and will be re-classified as master’s degree students upon completing 116 credit hours, typically in the following semester. To be eligible for the joint program, a student must have completed the specific course prerequisites either for a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science, as well as the courses required by the College of Liberal Arts and by Texas A&M University for an undergraduate degree. A student who is admitted will complete the same two-year, 48 hour curriculum as other students admitted to the Bush School’s MPSA program.
For further information about the Bush School, including requests for admission materials, please contact: Bush School, Texas A&M University, 4220 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4220, email admissions@bush.tamu.edu or on the website bush.tamu.edu.