University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Master of Public Administration Program

The university's Master of Public Administration Program was established in 1966 to offer the MPA degree. It was a joint program of the Department of Political Science and the Institute of Government though its director was appointed by and responsible to the chairman of the Department of Political Science. In 1997, it became part of the Institute of Government.

From the description of Records of the Master of Public Administration Program, 1966-1978 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 26707502

The roots of the graduate program in public administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill can be traced to the early 1930s. A School of Public Administration was formed in June 1932 under the direction of Professor Walter C. Jackson, who was succeeded in 1934 by Howard W. Odum. The school's mission was defined vaguely as providing training for government service. Failure to obtain additional foundation support coupled with administrative problems led to its closure in 1936.

In the 1940s and early 1950s, the North Carolina City and County Managers Association petitioned the university to provide a more formal public service training program. In the fall of 1951, the Department of Political Science was authorized to offer a program in public administration that included classroom instruction and internship training leading to a Master of Arts degree in political science with a certificate of professional proficiency in public administration. Lack of departmental resources and the inability to offer the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree hampered full implementation of the program's training aspect. Meanwhile, the Department of Political Science, the Institute of Government, and the North Carolina City and County Managers Association continued to press the need for a professional training program leading to the Master of Public Administration degree.

In the fall of 1965, the Department of Political Science requested approval from the Administrative Board of the Graduate School for a two-year public administration program. Approval was granted and the Master of Public Administration Program was inaugurated in the fall of 1966. The program was supervised by, and responsible to, the chairman of the Department of Political Science. A student-faculty MPA Policy Committee, appointed by the Political Science chairman and the director of the Institute of Government, advised the program's director on general administrative and curriculum matters. Decisions on program requirements were subject to the approval of the Political Science faculty and the Administrative Board of the Graduate School. The curriculum included three major components: first year on-campus classroom instruction; second year work experience/internship; and a research paper and oral defense before a review committee.

Funding for the MPA program came from state appropriations via the Department of Political Science and the Institute of Government. These funds were supplemented, especially in the area of student aid, by foundation support and federal aid. The R. J. Reynolds Company, the Wachovia Bank and Trust Company, the Burlington Foundation, the P. H. Hanes Foundation, the North Carolina Fund, the North Carolina City and County Managers Association, and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration are agencies in the private sector that have supplied funding. On the federal level, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have made grants directly or indirectly to the program. Funding from these has supported faculty and curriculum development as well as aid to MPA students.

In 1997, the Master of Public Administration Program became an integral part of the Institute of Government (later School of Government).

From the guide to the Master of Public Administration Program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records, 1966-1978, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives.)