Public Administration

The public sector operates differently than the private sector. Miami's program in public administration gives you the insight you need to work in a public agency. This major is for students interested in public service careers, including work for federal, state, or local government; city management; international organizations; nonprofit institutions; government relations in private firms; consulting firms; or post-graduate education in public administration, policy analysis, or law.

Distinctive Features at Miami

Broad exposure: The program combines social science preparation with skills in management and research.

Professional emphasis: You'll get a well-rounded liberal arts education along with courses that will help you apply professional practices in public administration.

Program of Study

In your first two years, you'll complete liberal arts courses as well as introductory courses in public administration. Courses in the core and related requirements allow you to study topics such as policy analysis, urban policy and administration, public personnel administration, and public budgeting and financial administration

After your sophomore or junior year, you're encouraged to pursue an administrative internship. Students often work with their local governments or those in nearby cities, such as Hamilton, Middletown, or Cincinnati.

In your junior and senior years, you focus on courses in the public administration major as well as related electives.

Student Organization

The Miami Association for Public Administration (MAPA) provides a forum for students to discuss issues with faculty and visiting professionals. MAPA has co-sponsored activities such as internship seminars, professional and academic speakers, trips to the local chapter of ASPA in Cincinnati or to the national conference, as well as social outings.

Careers

Upon graduation, public administration majors generally do one of three things:

You work in the public sector, usually in entry-level management positions in federal, state, regional, and local governments.

You go on to graduate schools. Public administration and public policy programs are the most common choice, while a significant number of graduates enter programs in hospital administration, public labor relations, urban planning, criminal justice, business, and law.

You also go to work in the private sector. Most often you enter management trainee programs with large industrial or service companies. Others have found work with private consulting firms as researchers and with nonprofit organizations in general administrative positions.

Planning for Law School

Students of any major may be admitted to law school, but the biggest numbers, nearly a third, come from the political science department. Miami's pre-law advisers will help you plan your program and guide you through the law school admission and testing process. Our rate of acceptance to law schools is excellent, typically 84 percent.

The Pre-Law Society is a student organization open to students in any major. It meets regularly and sponsors such activities as Mock Law Classes, LSAT preparation sessions, and Law Career Day, when representatives of leading law schools come to interview prospective applicants.

Law schools require that you have graduated from an accredited college or university with a good grade point average and that you have a good score on the Law School Admission Test, which you usually take in the fall of your senior year.

In addition, some law schools require and all law schools recommend some accounting courses. Technical writing and economics courses are often recommended. Beyond that, you have no specific courses that you must take, but you'll find it helpful to take courses that develop your logical and expressive skills (both written and oral). Since a practicing attorney must draw upon a wide variety of knowledge, it's useful to have a good foundation in the liberal arts, which you receive through the Miami Plan curriculum.

For More Information

For general information about Miami University, please contact:

Office of Admission
301 S. Campus Ave.
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056-3434
513-529-2531 (v/t)
www.muohio.edu/requestinfo

For specific information on the Public Administration major, please contact:

Department of Political Science
Harrison Hall
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-2000
www.muohio.edu/politicalscience