Prospective Students

About the Program
What kind of students enroll in the programs?
What is the MS in Public Service Management Degree?
What is the MS in International Public Service Degree?
What is the MS in Health Law and Policy?
What is a certificate?
What are the prerequisites for admission?
Who teaches? Part-time or Full-time faculty?
Can I visit a class?
What do I do next?

How to Apply
What is the application deadline?
How long does it take to get accepted?
When will I know?
When can I start?
Can I take a course while my application is under consideration?
Do I need to take a GMAT or GRE?
What about financial aid?
Can I transfer credits from other programs?
Can I apply courses to both a degree and a certificate?

Concentrations
What is a concentration?
What concentrations does the Public Services Graduate Program offer?
Do students need to have a concentration?
Is there any paperwork involved?
Are the core courses the same for all concentrations?

Our students are:

· Beginning or early career professionals looking to get started in a professional position or to change careers;
· Mid-career professionals looking to strengthen administrative and analytical skills because they expect a promotion or have received one;
· Between 22 and 60 years old, with a majority falling between 25-35;
· Nonprofit professionals. About 40% work in the nonprofit sector, many in healthcare;
· 18% come from government careers including law enforcement, local, county, state and federal agencies;
· 15% come from the field of education, mostly higher education administrators
· 8% are association managers;
· 20% work in the for-profit sector;
· either from the Chicago area (45%) or other Illinois cities (40%), as well as other countries (13%);
· graduates from over 100 different 4-year institutions. Most have degrees in liberal arts or sciences, some have advanced degrees in medicine, law, business, engineering, social work and pharmacy.

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Some students call our degree the MBA with a conscience or the MBA for the nonprofit and government sectors. Ours is a master of science degree-a proper academic degree but well-suited to practitioners. It is suitable for careers in each sector.

Our founder, Dr. Dominic Parisi, insisted that people who work in either the government sector or the nonprofit sector should learn together because the sectors were so interdependent. Our current faculty agrees.

We offer the following degrees:

· Master of Science in Public Services Management
· Master of Science in International Public Services

And the following Joint Programs are offered by the MPS and the College of Law:

· Master of Science: Health Law and Policy (with the Law School)
· Juris Doctorate/Master of Science in Public Services Management (with the Law School)

Our faculty believes that our degree provides flexibility for our graduates to move in several different career directions and that our program builds on the intersection of students from various sectors and backgrounds. These factors distinguish the MS in Public Services Management from other programs.

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Certificates are three-course programs of graduate study in specific fields.

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There are no specific course prerequisites for our programs. We accept students with a variety of backgrounds and degrees. Applicants must submit an application, a personal statement, a resume, a $25 application fee and original transcripts from undergraduate university.

Those students applying for a Master of Science in Public Services and Joint MA/MS students must have a 2.7 college GPA on a 4.0 scale. Health Law and Policy students must have a 3.0 GPA and must interview with the Director.

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In general, full-time faculty teach core courses and courses within their specialties. Part-time faculty teach courses in their specialties and, on rare occasions, core courses.

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Call or write for an appointment or application. Applications are available in person, by mail and on line. pubserv@depaul.edu; 312/362-5564.

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We accept applications year-round. It is best to submit an application at least two full months before the beginning of the term one wants to start.

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It is really up to the student. The process ranges from one week to two or more months. Most students take up to a month to send their materials—transcripts, letters of recommendation, resume and personal statement. Once the application file is complete, MPS faculty take only a few days to make a recommendation to the dean. The dean issues letters of admittance weekly.

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You will know whether you have been admitted when the dean’s letter arrives. Most students receive a phone call from the director when the faculty have made their recommendation to the dean—as a courtesy.

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Loop-based programs generally begin in the first week of September, January and April; Naperville and Lake Forest programs begin in the first week of September. Students may also begin in an executive, one-week intensive course in Dublin, Ireland—in July.

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With special permission of the Director, an applicant may take one course, MPS 500, Introduction to Public Service Management, while the application is pending. The applicant runs the risk of the dean denying the application.

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We do not require any tests or exams. Applicants who have taken such exams may submit their scores to strengthen their application.

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In general there is far less financial aid available to graduate students than to undergraduate students. Most of our students use employer reimbursement, personal savings or loans. But several fine scholarship programs are available to students on a need basis. Application deadlines for scholarships vary from term to term.

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Admitted students may petition the dean to accept up to two courses from an accredited, graduate program, if appropriate, for the degree they seek. We accept transfer courses with grades of B- or above (2.7/4.0) only.

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Students who are admitted to both a degree and a certificate program may count one course for each.

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The director assigns faculty advisors to all students at the time of admission.

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Students report spending a minimum of three to five hours in preparation for each course per week, longer when projects or exams are due. Some students may be unaccustomed to the level of reading, writing and analysis expected by graduate faculty.

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All DePaul University students receive e-mail accounts at the time they receive photo identification cards. Students also have Internet access available for a reasonable quarterly or annual fee. Students are required to use e-mail, the web, word processing software each term. Computer labs are available to all students at every DePaul University campus.

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Select online courses are offered every quarter. Students are free to take an online class as long as it fits into their curriculum of classes. Online courses are facilitated through a collaborative University web tool called Blackboard.

We now offer the full MS in Public Service degree online. For more information please contact Megan Balderston at mbalders@depaul.edu or 312.362.5565.

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It varies by program. For the Master of Science in Public Services Management program, students take 13 four-quarter hour courses, 36 hours of core courses, 16 hours of electives for 52 total hours.

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Most students take courses part time while pursuing a professional career. We restrict part-time students to one course, MPS 500, during their first term. After the first term, students take either one or two courses per term, depending on their jobs, families, personal preferences, and academic or financial ability. Some students attend full time taking three courses per term.

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Yes. An independent study is usually a course designed by you and an MPS professor in an area you're interested in. Independent study students create a signed agreement between themselves and the faculty member. Through independent study, you can design your own project and work one-to-one with an expert in the field. You cannot take more than one course as an independent study.

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Loop Campus classes meet one night a week (Monday-Thursday) from 5:45 until 9:00 with a 15 minute break.

Suburban Campus classes meet on Saturdays from 8:30 until 11:45 and 12:30 until 3:45 with 15 minute breaks.

Courses last ten weeks; the final exam occurs in the 11th week.

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Most students finish their program of study in two to five years. Many factors come into play here—which program the student elects; whether the student attends full- or part-time; whether job requirements restrict the student’s availability; family and personal preferences; and, of course, funding.

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At the Loop Campus core courses are offered once per term, generally speaking. Electives are offered at least once every two years. At suburban campuses core and elective courses are offered on a scheduled rotation to satisfy students taking one or two courses per term.

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Students may take a term off from attending at any time. Students who take one year off must reapply to the program.

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We offer internships to all students; none is required. We recommend internships to students who want to change careers and to students whose work experience is weak.

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Students have two capstone options for completing their degree. The Integrated Seminar is a learning experience designed to broaden and intensify research skills and engage the student through a comprehensive project applicable to a specific organization or community. Integrated Seminars may be structured around one of three applied research courses: MPS 590 Needs Assessment, MPS 591 Program Evaluation, or MPS 592 Organizational Effectiveness.

A senior thesis is a report on a significant research project conducted by a student under the supervision of an MPS faculty member. This option is intended to provide students with the experience and skills needed to plan and carry out an investigative project in an area of interest to them. The process includes formulating valid research questions and hypotheses, designing a research plan, collecting and analyzing data, and summarizing the data in written and oral formats. Students wishing to complete a thesis must take MPS 595 Thesis Design and MPS 598 Thesis Research.

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Yes, students in good standing may elect to take courses at any campus—and they often do. We encourage it.

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We recommend that each student plan to take at least one course abroad.

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Most of our students work full time and do not seek a new job at the time of graduation. However, many students get promotions or take new positions during or shortly after our programs—based on the knowledge and skills gained in the classroom. The types of jobs differ depending on seniority, sector and experience.

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All students and alum have access to the DePaul Career Planning and Placement Office and its services. In addition, we offer placement service for students and alum directly out of the MPS main office.

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• We offer monthly the Belden Avenue Seminar, an informal fireside gathering in the home of a faculty member, for students, alum, faculty and a guest speaker—since 1988.
• We offer an annual lecture, a nationally-prominent academic, author or practitioner in nonprofit or government speaks to students and alum—since 1995.
• We also offer programs through the Chaddick Institute—since 1993.
• Quarterly guest lectures by local experts; occasional meet-the-author parties.
• Newsletters, fall, winter and spring term

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A concentration is an area of academic specialization that provides a marketable credential—which appears on university transcripts—indicating that the student has successfully completed extensive coursework in a particular area beyond the basic competencies provided by the core curriculum.

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We presently offer nine concentrations:

• Association Management
• Fund Raising and Philanthropy
• Health Care Administration
• Higher Education Administration
• Metropolitan Planning and Urban Affairs
• Nonprofit Administration
• Public Administration
• Public Policy

Health Law and Policy and International Public Service Management are not concentrations; each is a distinct degree program.
Click here to learn about the Concentration Requirements

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No. Students who have difficulty arranging their schedules around particular classes, prefer to choose elective courses from diverse areas, or seek to retain maximum flexibility in accumulating credits, may find that the disadvantages of declaring a concentration outweigh the advantages. For these reasons, many MPS students will likely choose not to pursue a concentration.

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Yes, but it is minimal. You need to fill out a postcard size form, which is available in the MPS office, and give it to the administrative assistant. This can be done independently or in consultation with your advisor. We’ll then keep a record of your progress.

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No. While all students will continue to take a common set of required courses, such as MPS 500, and MPS 582, those pursuing concentrations may have different core requirements than other students. Those earning concentrations, however, choose from a list of elective courses appropriate to their area of study, thereby providing some latitude in the course-selection process.

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