UNCW Master of Public Administration Program Receives National Accreditation
8/15/2006 4:00:34 PM
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Wilmington, N.C. - The Master of Public Administration degree program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), a national and international resource for the promotion of excellence in the profession of public administration and service. Its institutional membership includes 253 U.S. university programs in public affairs, public policy, public administration and public management.
"This accreditation is a milestone for the Department of Political Science. It is a testimony to the dedicated work of the faculty, students, alumni, advisory board and all the leaders in the university and wider community who have so strongly supported the program from its inception," said David P. Cordle, dean of UNCW's College of Arts and Sciences. The MPA program was established in fall 2001 and has a current enrollment of more than 60 students and graduates approximately 20 students annually. A member and sponsor of the local chapter of the American Society for Public Administration, the program is also an institutional member of the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, the American Political Science Association and the North Carolina Political Science Association.
The MPA program offers a core curriculum in management as well as public policy and concentrated areas of study in coastal management, public policy analysis, nonprofit management and regional planning.
"The MPA program is exemplary of how UNCW is making a difference in the quality of life in the Cape Fear region and beyond. Through internships and applied research projects, MPA students learn about government and nonprofit sectors while making significant contributions to an array of agencies. When they graduate, students are being hired by these same agencies for leadership roles," said Tom Barth, chair of the department of political science and director of the MPA program. "With more than 80 alumni, our graduates are serving in City of Wilmington and New Hanover County governments; in towns such as Leland, Burgaw, Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach; in nonprofit agencies such as the United Way and Girls Inc.; in regional agencies such as the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust; at the Brooklyn Arts Center; at the U.S. State Department, Social Security Administration and with FEMA."
Professional accreditation, such as that awarded by NASPAA, supplements regional accreditation, the highest level attainable by an institution as a whole. UNCW is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Although regional accreditation includes review of all programs within an institution, professional accreditation commits individual programs to further strategic planning, self-study and evaluation by peers chosen from a particular academic, practitioner field. An NASPAA-accredited public administration program is permitted to use the NASPAA Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation logo, a symbol of quality that further assures students that the master's degree program they are investing in is the highest quality program in the disciplines and fields of public affairs, public policy and public administration.
For more information on the Master of Public Administration degree program at UNCW, please contact Tom Barth, chair of the UNCW Department of Political Science and MPA program director, at 910.962.3385.
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