Admission to the M.P.A. program is selective. A completed application must include the following:
UMKC Office of Admissions
120 Administrative Center
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110-2499
*You must have completed a bachelor’s or first level professional degree from a regionally accredited institution.
A one-page goal statement that describes your career plans, why you desire to attend UMKC, and why you want to obtain the M.P.A. This should be your own original writing. Any direct quotations or outside sources should be properly attributed to the author.The MPA is for students seeking leadership roles in public service, public policy, and/or public administration. The MPA degree is appropriate for students seeking to make an impact by working in the public or nonprofit sectors.
Both the MPA and the MBA offer training and education in management and leadership. However, the key difference is that the MPA is designed to prepare aspiring public service leaders. Course projects and course content in the MPA program will generally focus explicitly on public and/or nonprofit organizations. Social impact is generally embedded in most MPA coursework and experiences.The B.A. (Urban Studies)/MPA Program
Students obtaining a B.A. in Urban Studies degree at UMKC may pursue early admission to the M.P.A. program and obtain a master’s degree in a shorter time frame. The program allows students to utilize some of the M.P.A. courses to satisfy Urban Studies requirements, thereby reducing the number of courses needed to complete both degrees.
The B.B.A./MPA Program
Students completing the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree at UMKC may complete their M.P.A. degree in approximately three semesters. For more information about this option, contact your academic advisor. Please note that this program is available to UMKC undergraduate students only and must be started while still enrolled in the BBA degree program.
Pathways Options with Other Degree Programs
Students completing other bachelor’s degrees at UMKC may be qualified to begin MPA coursework during their final year as an undergraduate. Please consult with an admissions staff member for more information.
Coursework for the MPA degree includes both required core courses and electives. Core courses cover material relevant for public service careers including evidence-based research methods; budgeting and financial processes; policy and program formulation, implementation, and evaluation; political and legal institutions and processes; economic and social institutions and processes; and leadership and management concepts and behavior.
Elective courses allow students to develop a personalized concentration or select from a focused coursework option to earn a graduate certificate as part of their MPA degree in one of these areas:
Summer session is more intense than regular semester classes because it is compressed into half of the time. Staying on top of readings and assignments will ensure your success.
A three credit-hour internship, which comprises of 150 hours of service, is a required part of the curriculum. The internship experience provides students with a dynamic, professional forum in which to apply the analytical and managerial knowledge they acquire in the M.P.A. program. Students who have at least one year of relevant professional or managerial experience when they apply for admission may be granted a waiver upon submitting a petition and providing evidence of relevant work experience in the form of a detailed resume to their faculty mentor.
Listed below are some of the organizations where M.P.A. students have completed internships over the past few years.
UMKC’s graduate tuition changes every year, but you can find up-to-date information about tuition and fees at https://bloch.umkc.edu/students/paying-for-school/
For financial aid and scholarship information, please visit https://finaid.umkc.edu/The M.P.A. prepares students to work in leadership and management positions in the health care, public and nonprofit sectors. The website http://www.publicservicecareers.org offers a good overview of what it means to have a career in public service.
Please see https://www.naspaa.org/resources/career-resources for examples of positions often obtained by M.P.A. graduates, starting with entry level positions. Note that the salaries for these positions vary greatly due to several factors, including but not limited to work experience, location, and sector.The most valuable career-planning resource for our M.P.A. students is our community. Current students draw on mentoring relationships with faculty, friendships and networking with classmates, alumni, and membership in our student organization, Public Administration Student Association (PASA), to gain guidance as they shape their career paths and information about local job opportunities in the public and nonprofit sectors. Also, all Bloch students have access to the Bloch Career Services as well as UMKC Career Services. Finally, a weekly e-newsletter to students often lists many job opportunities in the public and nonprofit sectors- including many that are advertised by UMKC MPA graduates!
Here is a list of where some of our alumni are employed:
For the 2023-2024 reporting year, the total number of students enrolled in the program was 52. The statistical breakdown is as follows:
Total Number of Students in the ARY-5 Cohort (2018-2019)
Initially Enrolled: 23
Graduated within 2 years: 5
Graduated within 3 years: 15
Graduated within 4 years: 17
Total Students Graduated and Persisting to Graduation: 17
Employment statistics for students graduating in the 2022-2023 academic year
