Program Goals for the Master of Public Administration

The Master of Public Administration degree program builds upon Southern Utah University's individualized, experiential learning through our mission and goals.

Mission Statement

The MPA program develops professional public service leaders through engaged learning, reflective practice, and dedication to civic responsibility, in concert with 91ɬÂþ's commitment to personalized experiential learning.

MPA Core Competencies:

  1. Lead, manage, and apply effective public governance.
  2. Participate in and contribute to the public, fiscal, and economic policy process.
  3. Solve problems using analytics, critical thinking, ethical thinking, and conceptualizing and applying best practices.
  4. Articulate and apply public service perspectives, norms, and legal skills.
  5. Communicate orally and in writing in a way that is productive and effective in a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry.

Our Core Values include:

  1.  Lead through change
  2.  Engage the community
  3.  Improve decision making based on data, reliable information, and analysis
  4.  Protect public resources and ensure they are used in the most efficient and effective manner
  5.  Model ethical behaviors
  6.  Partner with students for lifelong learning

These six Core Values go hand-in-hand with our mission statement, as well as our key public service values: serving professionally with competent leadership; cultivating participation and awareness; demonstrating critical thinking and objectivity; protecting public resources with efficiency and effectiveness; modeling ethical decision making, and engaging with students for ongoing professional growth.