This undergraduate program can lead to an accelerated graduate degree, with approval from both the UG advisor and graduate program director. Please review the Graduate Catalog as needed. Or for more information on the accelerated master’s degree programs at NIU, please visit the Graduate School web site.
Admission
Students must also apply for admission to the NIU’s M. P. A. program no later than February 1st of the applicant’s junior year. Students must meet the application deadlines given by the Graduate School.
Admission will be on a competitive basis, and the likelihood of admission will depend on the number and quality of applicants to the program, the number and quality of applicants to the MPA program in general, as well as other factors normally considered in admissions decisions by the admissions committee of the Department of Public Administration.
Political Science majors who want to pursue this accelerated program must work with their Political Science advisors to complete the following requirements by the end of their junior year:
Participate in an oral interview with a faculty or staff member of the Department of Public Administration.
Curriculum
Students must complete all the requirements for the Political Science B.A. or B.S. degrees as well as all general education requirements by the end of their junior year. Beginning with the first semester of their senior year, students will start taking classes in the M.P.A. program as well as complete undergraduate departmental honors. These courses will count toward the final 20 credits of the undergraduate degree. Upon receiving their undergraduate degree, students will then follow the standard timetable for receiving the M.P.A. in Public Administration. Students in the Accelerated Political Science/M.P.A. program are not bound by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences policy that prohibits students from earning more than 60 credit hours in their major.
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