Critical Information

Department of Public Administration
San Francisco State University
835 Market Street,
5th Floor Room 515,
San Francisco, CA 94103

E-mail: mpa@sfsu.edu
Phone: 415-817-4455
Fax: 415-817-4464
Office Hours: M--TH 8:30am-6:30pm

Why Study Public Administration at SFSU

The only nationally accredited M.P.A. degree (by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) in San Francisco.
Ranked the first among all CSU MPA programs in the last two public affairs rankings by the U.S. News and World Report; ranked 4th among all California MPA / MPP programs
Has competitive admissions and highly qualified students from a wide variety of work settings and interests

SFSU faculty are nationally known scholars who have work experience in the public and nonprofit sectors and are actively involved in research and applications at the cutting edge of public administration.
Faculty take seriously the teaching mission of the California State University system and focus upon innovative and creative teaching methods in their classrooms.
Faculty work to incorporate SFSU’s urban mission into the educational experience by including project-based learning activities that benefit many Bay Area public and nonprofit agencies.

The MPA provides a sound foundation of core competencies, knowledge and skills--- then builds upon those with complete flexibility for a student to design their elective emphasis to meet their own career needs and goals.
Provides an interdisciplinary education in public administration-- incorporating public administration itself, political science, public policy, economics, and organizational psychology, among other disciplines.
Special emphases on the development of writing, oral presentation, and team work skills
Contains the intellectual and practical content needed to prepare students to work in today’s world and in the organizations of the future.
Strong student learning outcomes assessment efforts shows us that our students are learning and succeeding in the field of public administration

Located in downtown San Francisco among a wide variety of local, state, federal and regional government agencies and numerous nonprofit organizations
Located right on the Pacific Rim with quick access to Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia

Now located conveniently in downtown San Francisco in the new SF State Downtown Campus at the Westfield Center (site of the historic Emporium Building)-- located directly over the Powell Street BART and Muni Stations-- convenient to San Francisco, Alameda, Marin and San Mateo Counties
The Department of Public Administration is attuned to the needs of the adult working student in delivering courses at convenient times and formats, including online distance learning.

The Department of Public Administration sponsors a wide variety of activities for students, who can use these to network with fellow students and MPA alums. These include social events, guest speakers, career development workshops, alumni brown bags, community service events, special events for commencement as well as others
Pi Alpha Alpha Honorary Society -- the public administration national honorary society is available to students with outstanding academic records

The Department of Public Administration and SF State have a wide network of MPA and university alumni who can help students build their professional networks
San Francisco State University, the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, and the Downtown Campus have the computer and other resources necessary to provide public administration students with the training necessary to succeed in today’s rapidly changing public sector environment.