Master of Public Administration Program Director: Todd Ely, PhD

Introduction

The School of Public Affairs and the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Law jointly sponsor the Dual Master of Public Administration/Juris Doctor program. The program may be of particular interest to students who wish to practice law within the public sector, obtain a senior administrative post, represent public-sector clients, represent private-sector clients in transactions with government agencies and institutions, and/or develop scholarly expertise in the relationship between law and public administration.

Admission

Students interested in pursuing the dual-degree program must apply to and be admitted to each of the programs. Students admitted to one program may choose to apply to the other program at a later date. Upon admission, students may begin full-time study at either the School of Public Affairs or the School of Law; however, law study must be initiated no later than the beginning of the second year of enrollment in the program, and the first year of law study must be taken in its entirety and exclusive of non-law course work. Learn more about how to apply to the Master of Public Administration portion of the dual degree.

Program Delivery

• Courses at the School of Public Affairs are offered on campus, online, and in remote and hybrid formats.

Program Requirements

• Students are required to complete 101 semester hours to complete the dual degree.
• Students without pre-service experience in the government or nonprofit sectors will also be required to take a 3-credit internship course, bringing the total number of semester hours to 104.
• Students must earn a minimum B- grade in each required course applied to satisfy degree requirements and must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
• No more than 6 semester hours of Independent Study may be applied toward the degrees.
• For more detailed information about course sequencing and requirements, contact your advisor.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required MPA Core Courses
PUAD 5001	Introduction to Public Administration and Public Service	3
PUAD 5002	Organizational Management and Behavior	3
PUAD 5003	Research and Analytic Methods	3
PUAD 5004	Economics and Public Finance	3
or PUAD 5503	Public Budgeting and Finance
PUAD 5005	The Policy Process and Democracy	3
PUAD 5006	Public Service Leadership and Ethics	3
PUAD 5008	Evidence-Based Decision-Making (pre-req PUAD 5003)	3
Required JD Core Courses		65
Consult your advisor for a list of required core courses.
Required Elective Courses		12
Students must take four elective courses at the 5000-level or above, three of which must be from the University of Colorado Boulder School of Law.
Internship		3
PUAD 6910	Internship 1
Capstone Course		3
PUAD 5361	MPA Capstone Seminar
or PUAD 6950	Master's Thesis
Total Hours		104

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Students who have not had at least one year of professional work experience in the public or nonprofit sectors must complete PUAD 6910 Internship, bringing the total number of credits to complete the dual-degree program to 104.