Master of Public Administration: Public Sector Management and Leadership

Steps Required to Complete Your MPA Degree

Conditionally Classified Graduate (GRAD) Status

It is important to achieve full classified standing prior to completing more than 12 units of graduate coursework on the program of study. No more than 12 units of work taken prior to attaining fully classified status will be applied to a master’s degree program.

Classified Graduate Status

Students who meet all University and departmental requirements as outlined in the current catalog.

Graduation with Honors

Students who satisfy all program requirements and maintain a grade point average of 3.885 or higher on their coursework will receive their MPA degrees with distinction. The notation "with distinction" is posted on the transcript and will appear on the diploma.

Applying for the Degree

Students eligible to apply for graduation will receive an email from the Office of Graduate Studies with information regarding how to complete the online graduation application. To be eligible, students must be classified and completed 18 units OR be classified and be in progress of completing 18 units. This application will initiate a graduation evaluation—which advises students of existing requirements for their degree. Graduate students are required to be enrolled the semester in which their degree is to be awarded.

Graduation Application Deadlines

https://www.csun.edu/graduate-studies/evaluations/dates-steps-graduate/graduation-deadlines

How to Apply for Graduation Online

CSUN’s Application for Graduation is now available online. To be eligible to apply, graduates will need to have completed/be in progress of completing 18 units. Students should apply one year in advance of their intended graduation date. Students that are eligible to apply will receive an email from Graduate Studies. A $47 fee is required.

Online Graduation How to Guide (.pdf)

Reinstatement to the MPA Program

If a student withdraws from a cohort, s(he) may be admitted to another cohort at a later date. The reinstated student will be assessed the same tuition and nonrefundable fees as apply to all other students in the new cohort.

Note: All cohorts, once begun, will be taught out through to completion. However, there is no guarantee that new cohorts will follow in a specific area or within a specific amount of time.

Graduate Project Requirements

The only culminating experience for the Master of Public Administration program is the graduate project. Students take graduate project course as the last class in their program. In the graduate project course, it requires students to demonstrate their mastery of their specialization in Public Administration.

In addition to being fully classified, students must seek approval from the program’s academic lead in order to enroll in the graduate project. This implies having passed the requisite units of coursework, while also maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Technical Requirements

Please carefully review the technical requirements for this program.

MPA Withdrawal and Refund Policies for Cohort Students

Please carefully review the The Tseng College Withdrawal and Refund policies.

Academic Dishonesty

Cheating or plagiarism in connection with an academic program at a CSU campus is listed in Section 41301, Title 5, California Code of Regulations as an offense for which a student may be expelled, suspended or given a less severe disciplinary sanction. For more information, please go to http://www.csun.edu/catalog/policies/academic-dishonesty/.

Program Policies

Please carefully review the full list of Program Policies, including Academic Honesty and Integrity Requirement, Time Limitations for Earning Degrees and Certificates, Temporary Disruption of Attendance, Withdrawal Policy and Refund Policy.

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