Bachelor of Public Administration (B.P.A.) Major in Public Administration

Minimum required: 120 semester credit hours

General Requirements

  1. The general education core curriculum courses are listed in the degree plan below along with the statewide component code number. See the General Education Core Curriculum section of this catalog for the Texas State requirements and options in the core curriculum, including Honors courses.

  2. Students must select a minor from the approved list of Undergraduate Minors.
  3. Students must complete a minimum of 36 advanced hours (3000 or 4000 level courses).
  4. Nine hours of writing intensive (WI) courses are required for graduation.
  5. The Bachelor of Public Administration (B.P.A.) degree with a major in Public Administration requires the following 36 hours of Public Administration courses:
    PA 3301Political Institutions and Public Service3
    PA 3300Introduction to Public and Nonprofit Administration3
    PA 3330Public Personnel and Human Resource Administration3
    PA 3310Public Finance Administration3
    PA 3311Analytical Techniques3
    PA 3350Public Policy Process3
    PA 4389Internship in Public Administration3
    Advanced Public Administration Electives (choose five of the following)15
    State and Local Government
    Metropolitan Politics
    Comparative Public Administration
    Urban Management and Regional Policy
    Issues in Law and Public Policy
    Latina/o Politics
    Administrative Law
    Government, Nonprofit and American Business
    Ethics in American Government
    Internship in Public Administration
    Research in Public Administration
    Total Hours36
  6. Students are strongly encouraged, but not required, to choose their free electives from the following career support areas:
Local Government
PA 3316Metropolitan Politics3
GEO 3310Urban Geography3
GEO 3320Community and Regional Planning3
International
PS 4321American Foreign Policy3
PS 4352International Law3
PS 4353International Organizations3
ECO 3317International Economics3
Social Services
SOCI 3328Complex Organizations3
SOWK 2375Social Services in the Community3
SOWK 4310Diversity and Social Justice in Social Work3
SOWK 4355Policy Practice3
Legal Services
PS 3332Constitutional Law: Basic Structures and Principles3
PS 3333Constitutional Law: Individual Liberties3
PA 4340Issues in Law and Public Policy3
CJ 2360Fundamentals of Criminal Law3
Health Services
HA 3308Healthcare Organization3
HIM 3380Quality Management for HIM3

      7.  Enrollment in PA 4389 requires completion of 24 hours of Political Science courses, a Texas State GPA of 2.25, and a Major GPA of 2.25.

     8.  There is no foreign language requirement for those who have completed two years of the same foreign language in high school.

Course Requirements 

Freshman
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
ENG 1310 (Communication Component Code 010 [TCCN ENGL 1301])3ENG 1320 (Communication Component Code 010 [TCCN ENGL 1302])3
US 11001POSI 2320 (Government/Political Science Component Code 070 [TCCN GOVT 2305])3
POSI 2310 (Government/Political Science Component Code 070 [TCCN GOVT 2306])3American History Component Code 0603
Modern Language 14104Modern Language 14204
Mathematics Component Code 0203PHIL 1305 or 1320 (Language, Philosophy, and Culture Component Code 040 [TCCN PHIL 1301 or 2306])3
 14 16
Sophomore
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
COMM 1310 (Component Area Option Code 090/091 [TCCN SPCH 1311])3PA 33003
ENG Literature (Component Area Option Code 090/094) [ENGL 2322, 2323, 2332, 2333, 2327 or 2328]3ENG 3303 or 33043
Elective3Social and Behavioral Sciences Component Code 0803
PA 33013Life and Physical Sciences Component Code 0303
American History Component Code 0603HIST 2310 or 2311 (TCCN HIST 2311 or 2321)3
 15 15
Junior
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
ART 2313, DAN 2313, MU 2313, or TH 2313 (Creative Arts Component Code 050 [TCCN HUMA 1315])3PA 33103
Life and Physical Sciences Component Code 0303PA 33113
Advanced PA Electives6SOCI 3324, 3328, 3353, or 33653
PA 33303HIST 2312 or 2320 (TCCN HIST HIST 2322 or 2312)3
 Minor3
 15 15
Senior
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
Minor6GEO 3310, 3320, or 33403
Advanced PA Electives6Minor6
PA 33503PA 43893
 Advanced PA Elective3
 15 15
Total Hours: 120