Admission to Program
Students can apply to the pathway if they have at least a 3.7 GPA and 60 hours completed with at least 30 credits earned at UGA. We expect that most students meeting the admission requirements will apply for the program in the fall semester of their third year at UGA. To be approved, a preliminary plan of study must be approved by the Religion Undergraduate Advising Contact and the Public Administration and Public Policy graduate coordinator.
Curriculum
Graduate-level courses that may be used to satisfy undergraduate and graduate program requirements.
Although both programs have a similar focus on writing and communication, they provide complementary rather than overlapping knowledge and skills. Courses in the Master of Public Administration program are not equivalent in content or focus to the required Religion courses. To complete the Bachelor’s degree in Religion, students will need to satisfy the existing required courses in Religion and take 12 credit hours in graduate level public administration courses that would count toward the 39 credit hours of general electives required by the major. Any four (3 hour) 6000 or 7000 level graduate course may be used to satisfy the undergraduate requirements but at least two of the four courses must be from the following list of the public management core courses:
PADP 6910 Public Administration and Democracy
PADP 6920 Public Personnel Administration
PADP 6930 Public Financial Administration
PADP 6950 Economic Foundations of Policy Analysis
PADP 6960 Public Management
Additional requirements that are unique to this Double Dawgs program:
To complete the 120 credit hour Bachelor’s degree in Religion and the 41 credit hour Master in Public Administration in 5 years, students will either have to dual enroll in the spring semester of their 4th year and/or take M.P.A courses during the summer at the end of their 4th or 5th year.
Admission to Graduate Program
Students will apply to the MPA program during the fall (if they want and are able to be dual enrolled as both an AB/MPA student for 1 semester) or the spring of their senior year. Students will follow the same guidelines and procedures as required for the current MPA students (http://spia.uga.edu/degree/master-of-public-administration-mpa/). The admission application requires completing a Graduate School application that includes a resume, statement of purpose (conveying how this program is a good fit with your career and educational goals) and three letters of recommendation. The application also requires the student submit their transcripts and Official GRE general test score report if their undergraduate GPA is less than 3.5 (it is only recommended for those with a 3.5 or higher undergraduate GPA). TOEFL scores will also be required from any applicant whose primary language is not English.