Professional Development

Students in the M.P.A. program are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities that enhance their professional development.

Students may receive up to 6-semester hours M.P.A. credit depending on the length of the internship (a rule of thumb: 1 month internship working full time equals 1 credit hour).

Students are encouraged to find their own placement. At the conclusion of the internship the student must submit a substantial paper which integrates practice and theory. Please contact the graduate coordinator or the faculty member supervising your work for more details

The M.P.A. Program is part of an extensive internship program under the auspices of the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium, a cooperative program with the M.P.A. programs at Arkansas State University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. A stipend is provided for students selected for this program. However, many of our students have sought and found their own internships in the immediate area. The City of Fayetteville, several nonprofit organizations in the region, as well as the City of Fort Smith have worked with us in the past

Please note: other national internship opportunities are available. For example, the International City Management Association has developed its own set of internship guidelines that closely mirrors those adopted by our accrediting body, the National Association of Schools of Public Administration.