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Public Administration
In this specialization, you will acquire the administrative knowledge and skills needed for public administrators who may oversee local, state and federal government agencies. You will explore such diverse areas as budgeting, government relations, personnel policies, politics and urban planning. As a final research project, you will investigate a workplace problem and recommend a plan of preventative action. As a graduate, you might choose to pursue a variety of related positions, including business analyst, policy analyst, budget analyst, budget director, evaluation consultant, program evaluation director, economic research analyst and economic development director.
MBA Degree Requirements
An MBA in Business Administration requires 30 credit hours beyond the bachelor degree level. The MBA program includes 15 credit hours of foundational courses. The foundational courses are taken by all students regardless of their undergraduate degree to form and strengthen their fundamental business skills. The remaining 15 credit hours encapsulate a specialization aligned with a student’s career goals. Students may also opt for a General Business specialization, electing 15 credit hours of cross-discipline courses. Elective courses must be appropriate to the student's degree program.
Students in the MBA program are required to demonstrate competency in the areas listed below:
- Research - MBA students are required to show competency in writing skills for research purposes through their Northcentral University coursework.
- Computer Competency - MBA students are required to use appropriate computer skills that are necessary in writing research papers. Students must be able to prepare documents using APA formatting and advanced word processing skills, such as the creation of title pages, abstracts, tables and figures, headers and footers, page breaks, tables of contents, and hanging indents.
Students assume full responsibility for understanding both the foundational and specialization requirements of each program. Switching programs after completing coursework may result in reevaluation, monetary loss, loss of credit hours and/or the need to take additional credit hours. Students' Academic Advisors can assist with any questions related to program requirements.
The University may accept a maximum of 6 semester credit hours in transfer toward the Master of Business Administration for graduate course work completed at an accredited college or university with a grade of "B" or better.
Completion Period for Master's Degrees
Northcentral University allows 5 years to complete all 30 credit hour master's programs. Normal time to complete varies depending upon course take rate and credits transferred.
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
BTM5000 / BTM5000-8 | Foundations for Graduate Study in Business | This course is an orientation to Northcentral University and to the essential skills needed to pursue a MBA degree in Business. Graduate level skills, such as academic integrity, time management, effective use of the Northcentral Library, comprehending complex scholarly texts and research articles, and APA form and style in professional communication are also introduced. Students will complete the course with a better understanding of personal goals, strengths, and challenges, and a roadmap to navigate their way to completion of their educational aspirations. |
SKS5000 / SKS5000-8 | Comprehensive Strategic Knowledge Studies | Students will describe, discuss, and apply knowledge in 12 business topical areas necessary to address a wide variety of business-related situations. The course focuses on demonstrating core proficiencies in the following business areas: Marketing, Business Finance, Accounting, Management, Legal Environment of Business, Economics, Business Ethics, Global Dimensions of Business, Information Systems, Quantitative Techniques and Statistics, Leadership, and Business Applications. The intent of this course is not to introduce these core business concepts, but rather to verify a bachelor-degree-level threshold competency within each topical business core area. The course includes a comprehensive case study that will allow the students to demonstrate their competency with all 12 common professional components. |
MGT5019 / MGT5019-8 | Ethics in Business | Ethics and social responsibility are terms frequently applied to businesses often in the context of describing the lack of them. Using a case study methodology, students in this course will explore the responsibilities of a business and the stakeholders to whom it is responsible. The course includes case study analyses of business law, labor laws, discrimination, and applications pertaining to affirmative action, conflicts of interest, honesty, and moral responsibility. Students will also investigate sexual harassment, social responsibility, government contracting, and workplace safety. |
MGT5028 / MGT5028-8 | Business Statistics | This course introduces the graduate student to the calculation, use, and interpretation of descriptive statistics and inferential statistical analysis. The emphasis of this course is on providing a working knowledge of basic statistical concepts and helping students to understand statistical methodologies used in business, and more generally, to develop a working knowledge of statistical usage in everyday life. |
HRM5000 / HRM5000-8 | Human Resource Management | Throughout this course, students will work to develop an understanding of and will focus on the management of human behavior in organizations for optimal organizational effectiveness as well as individual outcomes. Students will also examine human resource management in a global context. Theories of managing the dynamics of individual, group, and system relationships to achieve organizational goals are explored in detail. |
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
PUB5000-8 | Introduction to Public Administration | In this course, bureaucracy is examined at the federal, state, and local levels with particular focus on how government functions. Major emphasis will be on public policies and their implications for the society at large; such as, the impact of Citizens power on decisions related to public accountability, and making choices for the benefit of the society at large. |
PUB5002-8 | Public/Government Relations | This Masters level course is designed to deal with the issues of lobbying at the national and local levels. Students will examine the ways that government officials influence public opinion and the informative role that government plays on major social issues, using publicity, advertising, press agency, public affairs, issues management, investor relations, and development. Finally, the course offers the student to chance to develop a comprehensive public relations campaign. |
PUB5005-8 | Public Budgeting and Finance | The major focus of this Masters level course is to acquaint the student with the administration and management of public funds for organizations in the public sector. Organizational units could be at local, state or federal levels, as well as in the private sector in the form of nonprofit organizations such as the United Way Agencies and a myriad of other organizations. |
PUB5007-8 | Quality Management in Public Administration | This Masters level course provides students the opportunity to examine the principles and methods for implementing an effective Total Quality Management system in a governmental environment. The course materials also provide a variety of planning methods to sustain such a system. By differentiating between strategic planning and operational planning, this course helps to define a vision of quality improvement and insures those efforts stay on track. |
PUB5009-8 | Public Program Evaluation | The purpose of this course is to expose students to the processes, techniques, and practices associated with program and public policy evaluation. The course is designed to create greater understanding of the policy analysis process, the challenges of program evaluation in the public sector, and to learn about specific policy analysis procedures. |
PUB5015-8 | Grant Writing | Public funds are a major source of funding for research and investigative programs within both the public and private sectors. This course is designed to introduce students to the area of public funding and grant writing. Course participants will gain awareness and understanding what public sources of funds are available and how to prepare grants and program applications at all levels of government. |
Course Code | Name | Course Description |
|---|---|---|
PUB6010 / PUB6010-8 | Public Administration Research Project | This course requires the graduate student to complete a set of progressive exercises regarding a specific subject area of Public Administration that incorporates analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of research methods. The student will complete a signature exercise in order to demonstrate the ability to synthesize theoretical and conceptual knowledge, professional application, ethical implications, and fundamental areas of research methods and critiques in their chosen field of specialization. Evaluation of peer-reviewed journal articles will include case studies, research studies, real-world scenarios, reports, seminar proceedings, theories, practicum, postulates, and any other scholarly, peer-reviewed data that will complement the specific area of program emphasis. |
At Northcentral University, we pride ourselves in being completely transparent when it comes to tuition and fees. We have adopted an all-inclusive tuition model that gives you the cost of your Master of Business Administration tuition and fees in one flat program rate*. The only additional cost above your MBA program rate is books. Learn more about the NCU’s MBA costs below:
- Per credit cost: $688
- Per 3 credit course cost: $2,063
- Program cost: $20,640
- Average book cost per course: $150
- Application Fee: $0
- Technology Fee: $0
- Registration Fee: $0
Click here to learn more about payment and financing options.
*Program rates are subject to change and generally increase at the start of each calendar year.
Total Program Tuition was calculated by taking the degree program’s maximum credits x cost per credit. Degree programs used for this comparison are: NCU – MBA; Capella – MBA-Business Administration; University of Phoenix – MBA; Walden – MBA. Institutions may charge additional degree program costs such as technology fees, resources fees and books. NCU’s Total Program Tuition is inclusive of all fees and charges, except for books. All rates are subject to change. Total Program Tuition is based on information obtained from referenced institutions' websites on October 5, 2012 and is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about our students, it’s that they are motivated and ambitious—but they are also busy! At Northcentral University, we’ve designed our education experience to work with you, not against you, so you can achieve your academic goals without sacrificing the quality, flexibility and support you need to be successful.
- Regionally Accredited
- No Physical Residency Requirements
- One-to-One Teaching
- 100% Doctoral Faculty
- Flexibility of Online Learning
- University Resources
To learn more, request information or call 1-866-776-0331 or start a live chat to speak with an enrollment advisor today. We offer new courses every Monday of the year so you can get started when it’s best for you.
ACBSP Accredited Online MBA Degree Program
In addition to NCU’s regional accreditation from the HLC, our business programs in the School of Business and Technology Management have received programmatic accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). ACBSP promotes continuous improvement and recognizes excellence in the accreditation of business education programs around the world.
