Graduate Degrees

Grade Point Average Requirements

All graduate degrees in the School of Public Administration require a grade point average of 3.0 (B). A minimum grade of 2.0 (C) is required in a course to receive graduate credit.

Master of Public Administration

Admission

The Master of Public Administration programs are under the jurisdiction of the School of Public Administration. All admissions decisions are made by the school, following guidelines set by the university. See the Admission section of this catalogue.

With the exceptions noted below all questions about the programs and all materials required for admission should be submitted to: M.P.A. Programs, Admissions Office, VKC 232, University Park, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0041.

Exceptions to this procedure are those candidates applying for admission to the M.P.A. programs in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Admission to each of these programs is determined by the faculty and admissions committees connected with those areas. Application packages should be sent directly to the program office. For applicants to the programs in Sacramento: Master of Public Administration Programs, Sacramento Center, 1201 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814; For applicants to programs in Washington, D.C.: Master of Public Administration Programs, Washington Public Affairs Center, 512 Tenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.

Applications

The admission decision is made using criteria which include verification that the applicant has completed a bachelor's degree from an accredited college, has maintained a B average in undergraduate course work and has earned an acceptable score on the verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) or the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). Other elements of the applicant's educational and experiential background are also evaluated. International students whose national language is not English must also submit a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score.

Each candidate should submit the following to the school: (1) official transcripts of all previous college and university work, showing an awarded degree where appropriate; (2) copies of GRE or GMAT scores; (3) an essay answering questions on the admission questionnaire provided by the school; (4) an up-to-date resume which includes academic and professional accomplishments; (5) three or more letters of evaluation from previous instructors and from professional associates who can attest to the applicant's potential; (6) completed USC Graduate Admission Application, along with the nonrefundable processing fee; and (7) completed School of Public Administration Supplemental Graduate Application.

Applicants to the Judicial Administration Program may submit LSAT scores in lieu of GRE or GMAT scores.

International applicants may be asked to supply additional information. See the Admission section of this catalogue.

Deadlines

Applications for admission are evaluated monthly. Those students who are also applying for financial aid, or who must meet other deadlines for admission, should submit application materials early enough to allow the admissions decision to be made in advance of those other deadlines.

The admissions process generally takes about four to six weeks after all necessary materials have been submitted.

Prerequisites

Social Science

Any undergraduate major is acceptable as preprofessional background, provided the applicant has had at least 12 semester units (16 quarter units) of undergraduate course work in cultural anthropology, economics, ethnic studies, social and human geography, political science, sociology or related social science area courses; no more than two of these courses may be in the same field.

Deficiencies in the social science prerequisite may be met while in residence by taking appropriate courses in other departments, but such course work may not be counted toward the course requirements for the master's degree.

Statistics

A basic competence in descriptive and inferential statistics is also required for the M.P.A. programs. This prerequisite may be fulfilled by successfully completing the school's Statistics Competence Examination, or by successfully completing PPMT 404, which may not be used for graduate credit.

All prerequisites must be fulfilled within the first 12 units of graduate course work. The statistics prerequisite must also be met before enrolling in PUAD 506, PUAD 514, PUAD 525, PUAD 526, PUAD 558 or PUAD 591.

Transfer Credit

The Degree Progress Department determines whether work done elsewhere is available for consideration for credit toward the USC degree. That office requires official transcripts of all course work done before entering USC. A Transfer Credit Statement of these official transcripts, done after a student has been admitted to regular status at USC, will indicate which units are available for transfer. These courses do not apply toward the degree unless, and until, the student's major department submits a memo assigning transfer credit to the Degree Progress Department in the Office of Academic Records and Registrar.

Generally, a candidate for the M.P.A. who has done graduate work at a recognized institution or holds a master's degree from a recognized institution may receive transfer credit for a limited number of semester units: eight units in programs requiring 33-40 units; 12 units in programs requiring 41 or more units.

Application of any available transfer credits toward a graduate degree will be determined by the faculty of the particular degree program, based on the semester units available for transfer as shown on the Transfer Credit Statement.

These general guidelines are followed by the admissions evaluator and by faculty members: (1) the work must be completed at an accredited graduate school; (2) the grade must be B or better; (3) the work must be a fair and reasonable equivalent to current USC course work at the graduate level which fits into the logical program for the degree; (4) the units are not more than seven years old at the time of petition for transfer; and (5) the units must reflect current knowledge in the field.

USC does not give transfer credit for life experience, credit by examination, noncredit extension courses or thesis course supervision.

Waiver of Course Content

The school recognizes that some applicants may have covered the material contained in core courses or courses required for a particular specialization. Under these circumstances, one particular course requirement may be waived, allowing the student to complete a more advanced course in the same area. Students who have a background in a particular area of study may be allowed to substitute other courses. In these situations students do not receive unit credit but are permitted to take course work which does not repeat earlier academic experiences.

Waiver of content is usually given only in the case of previous academic study of the subject, not in the case of experiential background in the area.

Students who believe they are eligible for content waiver decisions must petition the faculty of the school, providing evidence of the previous work through transcripts, syllabi and other pertinent material. Contact the school's Student Services Office for information.

Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995
David Henriquez
univpub@stuaff.usc.edu