Applicants with an earned professional or graduate degree or with six or more years of progressive, responsible experience at the professional level in the public sector (government, military, or nonprofit) and an undergraduate grade point average of at least a 3.0 may request permission to substitute their exemplary career record for the entrance exam requirement. Top performing graduates with an American Humanics certificate may also request that their high quality performance substitute for the entrance exam.

Applicants to the MPA program must demonstrate their capacity to be successful in graduate school. They can meet this requirement by performing well in a accepted graduate entrance examination, including the GRE, GMAT or MAT.  The MPA admission committee will make admission decision s based on the applicant's entrance examination score in concert with the rest of the portfolio. All applicants are encouraged to take one of the approved entrance exams.

Or, alternatively and in limited fashion and based on enrollment size, applicants may demonstrate their capacity for public service graduate work if they satisfy the professional experience criteria explained below:

The MPA admissions committee will make admissions decisions based on the applicant's portfolio but will assess the following indicators of MPA potential in lieu of an entrance exam:

A. American Humanics

To be eligible for the waiver, top performing American Humanics students must satisfy the following:

1. Receive certification from the American Humanics national office.
2. Exhibit leadership in AHSA by serving as an officer, committee chairperson or other position of leadership.
3. Graduate with an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better but with a GPA of 3.5 or above in nonprofit management minor courses.
4. Demonstrate exemplary accomplishment in areas such as volunteering, fundraising and recruitment documented in letters of recommendation from a nonprofit agency.

B. Military Experience

To be eligible for the entrance examination waiver, high performing military officers must satisfy the following:

1. Graduate with an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better
2. Successfully completed undergraduate study in basic management and organizational skills, personal management, and ethics training (programs routinely available in ROTC courses or at the military academies).
3. Reached the officer O-3 or equivalent rank (generally requires 6-8 years of military experience).
4. One of the letters of recommendation must come from a military officer in the applicant's chain of command (current or previous).

C. Public Service Experience

To be eligible for the entrance examination waiver, high performing public service professionals must satisfy the following:

1. Graduate with an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better.
2. Have 6-8 years of public service experience.
3. Successfully reached supervisory or managerial positions in public service, which may include independence of authority, responsibility for program design, and/or budgetary authority.

Demonstrated exemplary accomplishment in their public service career or their community volunteer activities documented in letters of recommendation. The Admissions committee will hold personal interviews with applicants requesting the entrance examination waiver in order to assess the quality of the applicant's experience and communication skills. In addition to the standard letter of intent, the applicant must include a letter addressing how the applicant satisfies the requirement for the waiver.  Applicants satisfying all but one of the criteria can request special consideration based on an exemplary record on all the other criteria. The admissions committee will assess the entire portfolio, quality of the appeal for an exception, quality of the personal interview, and fit with the program's public service mission and make a recommendation to the Division Director.

Entrance waiver applicants will only be admitted to the program for Fall Semester and must have all of their materials submitted to the Graduate School and MPA program by August 1 (international students, however, must have their materials in by May 1).

Applicants admitted to the MPA program who receive the entrance exam waiver must take PADM 7600, Administrative Theory and PADM 7601, Research Methods and receive a grade of "B" or better before proceeding to register for other graduate classes. They should also successfully fulfill all program prerequisites within one year of the admission decision.