M.P.A.-J.D. Course Requirements
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

Note: Applicants must be separately admitted to both the J.D. and M.P.A. programs and must request admission to the joint program. (See the Special Admission Procedures for M.P.A./J.D. and visit the College of Law's Admissions Information page.) 

In This Document

• Degree Requirements
  • Required Core Courses
  • Electives
  • Internship

Degree Requirements 

The M.P.A. component of the joint degree curriculum consists of 22 hours of required courses, a minimum of 14 hours of electives, and a 3 hour internship. The J.D. component of the joint degree consists of 43 hours of required courses and a minimum of 47 hours of electives. Students should visit the College of Law website for up-to-date J.D. course requirements. Courses are 3 credit hours unless otherwise indicated.

1. Required M.P.A. Core Courses:

   PAUS 8111    Public Administration and Organizations
   PAUS 8121    Applied Research Methods and Statistics I
   PAUS 8131    Applied Research Methods and Statistics II
   PAUS 8141    Microeconomics for Public Policy
   PAUS 8151    Public Personnel Administration
   PAUS 8161    Public Budgeting and Finance
   PAUS 8171    Public Management Systems and Strategies
   PAUS 8181    Executive Leadership in the Public and Nonprofit Sector (1 hr.)

2. M.P.A. Electives:

   Students in the M.P.A./J.D. program do not typically declare a concentration, but rather substitute 14 hours of J.D. coursework toward the M.P.A. Students must earn a minimum grade of “C” in J.D. courses to be counted toward the M.P.A., and courses must be approved by the M.P.A./J.D. advisor. Students who wish to take more than the required number of courses are welcome to take M.P.A. electives, pursue one of the Andrew Young School certificate programs, or follow a formal concentration.

3. Internship:

   An internship through the M.P.A. program is required of M.P.A./J.D. students who do not have significant prior administrative experience in a public or nonprofit agency or related organization. Internship students must register for three hours of credit through PAUS 8941. Students in the joint program often choose to fulfill this requirement through internships in legal affairs and administrative law offices and law firms. Students who are taking an externship through the College of Law may be able to use that work experience to fulfill the requirements of the M.P.A internship. That option should be discussed with the M.P.A./J.D. faculty advisor and the M.P.A. internship coordinators prior to beginning the externship.

Students with substantial prior administrative experience may petition to waive the internship requirement. Forms are available through the Office of Academic Assistance. Alternatively, students with more of a research orientation may elect to conduct a practicum in lieu of an internship. The practicum is an applied research project conducted under the supervision of a faculty member. Students interested in this option must write a proposal to be submitted to the PAUS practicum coordinator prior to beginning work on the project.

All plans for the internship, including waiving it or substituting a practicum for it, should be discussed with the M.P.A./J.D. faculty advisor prior the beginning of the term in which the student would like to take action.

To obtain application forms for the College of Law, contact the admissions office:

        Georgia State University 
        College of Law
        P.O. Box 4049
        Atlanta, GA 30302-4049
        Phone: 404/651-2048