Master of Public Administration

at Kaplan Group - Arizona State University - Downtown Phoenix Campus USA

This top-ranked concentration within our MPA program (#5 in Nonprofit Management, U.S. News & World Report) will help you turn your desire for public service into a rewarding career as a nonprofit leader. The program can be completed full time, part time or entirely online.

The MPA is a professional degree program designed to prepare students for public service at all levels of government as well as the nonprofit and private sectors. The program consists of a core curriculum emphasizing managerial and analytic skills needed to work in a large range of careers that serve the public good.

The nonprofit administration concentration builds on the core program though the application of administrative and leadership principles to train students as professionals who choose careers in the nonprofit sector. Students focus on the managerial aspects of running nonprofit organizations that solve specific challenges in communities around the world, and that provide needed services not available through traditional markets or government providers. Students gain important skills to succeed including financial management, volunteer management, fundraising, strategic planning and how to work with boards of directors.

The BS in population health program integrates the fields of public health and health care delivery to teach students about the factors that impact health.

Students learn how social determinants of health, access to care and infrastructure influence the health of defined groups, as well as the roles of stakeholders and how to work across systems to improve health. Students benefit as the field of population health requires training in disciplines fundamental to the College of Health Solutions, including biomedical informatics, economics, social determinants of health, program and community assessment, program planning, and health care delivery.

The multidisciplinary program features experiential learning, including student engagement as citizen scientists, to better understand population health. Students can customize their learning by focusing on environmental health systems, food systems, mental health systems, compliance in the health care industry, health education programs, the design and improvement of population health systems, or health informatics.

This top-ranked concentration within our MPA program (#3 in Homeland Security and Emergency Management, U.S. News & World Report) prepares you to be a results-driven leader within the field of emergency management. The program can be completed full-time, part-time, or entirely online.

The MPA is a professional degree program designed to prepare students for public service at all levels of government as well as the nonprofit and private sectors.

The program consists of a core curriculum emphasizing managerial and analytic skills needed in a large range of careers that serve the public good. Through a focused set of electives, the concentration in emergency management provides students with the skills and knowledge to manage and assume positions of leadership in government, private, nonprofit and civic roles, within the field of emergency management. An all-hazards and all-threats orientation, together with an focus on community resilience and communication, provides the student with a generalist perspective, which is critically important for the disaster managers of today and tomorrow.

The professional program leading to the MSW degree prepares social workers for advanced professional social work practice. The program is designed to prepare social workers to be capable of responding effectively to the needs of special populations, particularly in the American Southwest.

The first year of the standard program focuses on curriculum and skills that build a foundational knowledge in social work. The second year of the program allows students to focus their coursework in a specific area to build specialized practice knowledge.

The BA program in general studies offers students a flexible, innovative path to degree completion. Graduates of the program are informed and effective members of society who are well prepared for a changing global marketplace with its diverse cultures.

The theme of this degree is society and the individual. Students explore the tensions between individualism and collectivism, the public and private selves, domestic and global, and the interplay of culture and identity constructions.

The MS program in nutritional science prepares students to translate nutrition science into practical use for human health and wellness. Students immerse themselves in the latest nutrition topics and research partnered with accomplished faculty, developing practical understanding through internship experiences and their own guided research. Building on the scientific foundations of human nutrition, students learn strong writing and problem-solving skills, grow computer literacy, and increase interpretive expertise. Students are afforded research experiences grounded in the latest science that can match their own interests and goals.

Sports nutrition, a new track in the program, provides an option for students to select specialized courses in sports nutrition and exercise science and obtain hands-on training and research with sports dietitians and nutrition faculty who are experts in the field. Students in this track complete the same core nutrition graduate cour but take track-specific courses and electives that focus on sports nutrition, hydration, exercise physiology and other vital parts of the discipline. The culminating experience research is under the guidance of sports nutrition professors in the College of Health Solutions.

The School of Public Affairs offers a concentration in criminology as part of the BS in public service and public policy.

Criminology continues to be a highly sought-after area and it presents broad policy implications for future public sector professionals. This program introduces students to the fundamental foundations in criminal justice and criminology by preparing them to think critically, contribute to society and enhance public safety.

Biomedical informatics is a multidisciplinary field that involves the generation, acquisition, management and analysis of biomedical and health data and its translation into information and knowledge for improving individual and population health.

The BS program in biomedical informatics curriculum includes biomedical informatics, computer science, biology, chemistry, mathematics and statistics. Students learn approaches to acquiring data, data management and knowledge representation, modeling and machine learning and using these capabilities to address problems in the biomedical and health domains. Students have the opportunity to do research alongside faculty who are experts in bioinformatics, imaging informatics, clinical informatics and population health informatics.

The program prepares competent, entry-level recreational therapists with the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities needed to improve functional outcomes and increase participation in life activities for individuals experiencing health conditions. It is designed for students who want to learn to conduct assessments, develop service plans, implement therapeutic interventions, and evaluate and document outcomes of care. They gain skills to effectively provide comprehensive therapeutic recreation services that include program design and evaluation, individual and group service provision, and advocacy. The required fieldwork component of the program facilitates the development of competencies to provide quality recreational therapy services.

Students who choose this degree program are committed to improving people's lives and contributing to their communities. This degree program is one of two such programs in Arizona, both offered by the School of Community Resources and Development. This program has a heavier emphasis on healthcare settings such as hospitals and human service agencies while the Bachelor of Science in parks and recreation with a concentration in therapeutic recreation prepares students to provide recreational therapy services in community settings such as youth programs, adaptive sports, or parks and recreation.

The School of Public Affairs offers a BS in public service and public policy with a concentration in parks and recreation management.

Leisure and quality of life are an essential part of U.S. society. This program provides students a transdisciplinary education in the management of parks, protected areas and community-based recreation services.