MPA Students
USC Price and the MPA program gave me the opportunity to put leadership into practice.
Amber Savage, MPA ’10
Students from a wide range of backgrounds and interests are drawn to the USC Master of Public Administration program. Many enter immediately upon completing their undergraduate work, while others have achieved significant positions in public management prior to applying.
Although most MPA students hold bachelor’s degrees in the social sciences, students with an undergraduate degree in any academic field are eligible for admission and encouraged to apply. Faculty, employers and program advisors often remark on the characteristics of the typical USC MPA candidate:
- strong leadership abilities
- good analytical and writing skills
- an active curiosity and probing mind
- an ability to aggregate numerous data points and complex interrelationships into concrete plans for significant action
MPA Student Characteristics
| MPA Program Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Total Enrollment (on-campus) | 241 |
| Total Enrollment (on-line) | 72 |
| % Enrolled Full Time | 83% |
| % Minority | 46% |
| % International | 17% |
| % Outside Southern California | 29% |
| Average Age | 27 |
| Average Class Size (Core) | 26 |
| Average Class Size (Elective) | 16 |
| # New Students (Fall and Spring – on-line) | 72 |
| # New Students (Fall – on-campus) | 107 |
| GPA (second and third quartile range) | 3.11-3.55 |
| GRE (second and third quartile range) | 1080-1320 |
* Academic Year 2011-12