Arizona State University Watts College of Public Service & Community Solutions 13 courses 42 total credits
ASU ranks No. 16 for best graduate public financing and budgeting program and No. 11 for best graduate public affairs programs by U.S. News & World Report, 2025. The Master of Public Administration program is a professional degree program that prepares you for public service at all levels of government as well as in the nonprofit and private sectors. The MPA program can be completed full time or part time. The program consists of a core curriculum emphasizing managerial and analytic skills needed in a wide variety of careers that serve the public good. Through a focused set of electives, the concentration in public finance provides knowledge and skills for you to excel in areas in which financial management plays an integral role in governance. The concentration deepens your knowledge of urban economics, managing money in the public sector, public budgeting, and capital budgeting and financing.
| Required Core | 27 credits |
| Concentration | 9 credits |
| Electives or Research | 3 credits |
| Culminating Experience | 3 credits |
| Total Credits | 42 credits |
Required Core
| Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAF 501 | Public Service Research I | 3 |
| PAF 502 | Public Service Research II | 3 |
| PAF 503 | Public Affairs | 3 |
| PAF 504 | Microeconomics of Public Policy I | 3 |
| PAF 505 | Public Policy Analysis | 3 |
| PAF 506 | Public Budgeting and Finance | 3 |
| PAF 507 | Public Human Resource Management | 3 |
| PAF 508 | Organization Behavior | 3 |
| PAF 574 | Diversity, Ethics and Leading Public Change | 3 |
| Total Required Core | 27 credits | |
Concentration
| Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAF 521 | Managing Public Money | 3 |
| PAF 522 | Advanced Governmental Financial Management: Capital Budgeting and Infrastructure Financing | 3 |
| PAF 570 | Microeconomics of Public Policy II | 3 |
| Total Concentration | 9 credits | |
Electives or Research
Culminating Experience
| Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAF 509 | Public Affairs Capstone | 3 |
| Total Culminating Experience | 3 credits | |
Additional Curriculum Information
To meet the Electives or Research requirement, students choose one course from NLM 520, PAF 590 and PAF 584 for three credit hours.
Click a course code or title to read the full course description.
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