Continuing Professional Development through the Management Development Centers
The MDCs have established partnerships with two prominent universities that support our commitment to leadership development. Our partnerships are intended to provide our graduates with enhanced opportunities to join with their colleagues from other public agencies-Federal, state and local-as well as those from the nonprofit sector, in advanced degree programs designed for:
- Public or nonprofit sector executives who seek the opportunity to engage in structured studies in public management and policy
- Senior professionals contemplating a career change who can benefit from acquiring an advanced degree
- Managers on the verge of promotion into senior ranks who wish to enhance their analytic, managerial and leadership skills
University of Colorado/U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Executive Master's of Public Administration Program
The Executive Master's of Public Administration Program (Executive MPA) is the result of a unique partnership between the University of Colorado's School of Public Affairs (SPA) and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Management Development Centers: the Western Management Development Center (WMDC) in Aurora, Colorado and the Eastern Management Development Center (EMDC) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
The Executive MPA program requires 36 semester hours of credit. Students should begin their program with the "Leadership Assessment Program - Level 2" seminar (2 credit hours) at the WMDC. The other required WMDC course is the "Executive Development Seminar: Leading Change" (4 credit hours), which is best taken when the student nears completion of the program.
Students must then select four courses from among the six core courses offered by SPA (for a total of 12 credit hours). The core courses include:
- Introduction to Public Administration and Public Service (Required Course)
- Organizational Management and Change
- Information and Analytic Methods
- Economics and Public Finance
- The Policy Process and Democracy
- Leadership and Professional Ethics
These courses may be taken on-line, or for students who live in Colorado, they may be taken at one of SPA's sites (Denver or Colorado Springs).
Students also take five elective courses (15 credit hours), which may be selected from the offerings at either the Western Management Development Center or Eastern Western Management Development Center or from SPA. Since students must take at least 18 units of their coursework at SPA, at least one of the five electives must be taken at SPA. The balance of credits can be from the WMDC, or from a combination of WMDC courses and transfer credits from other programs. Note: the maximum transfer credit that students can bring in to the Executive MPA program is 9 credit hours, i.e., if the units are taken at a NASPAA-accredited master's program. At or very near the end of their program, students participate in an Advanced Seminar (3 credit hours), also referred to as the "capstone."
Most students take approximately two to two-and-a-half years to complete the degree program.
For more information please contact Cynthia Dewey at cynthia.dewey@opm.gov or (303) 671-1020.
American University in Washington, DC
American University's Key Executive Leadership MPA Program is a 36-credit graduate degree program designed for busy professionals at or above the GS-13 level. Key courses cover all ECQs required for Senior Executive Service (SES) consideration.
The Key MPA is the only NASPAA-accredited executive MPA in the nation. U.S. News & World Report ranks the School of Public Affairs at American University 10th in the nation and the Master's of Public Administration program 8th in the nation.
Students who wish to reduce their Key credit load by 6 credits must transfer 9 OPM credits (earned prior to or during the Key program) from the following OPM courses:
- Crisis Leadership Workshop;
- Dynamics of Public Policy Seminar;
- Environmental Policy Issues Seminar;
- Executive Development Seminar;
- Federal Budgetary Policies and Processes Seminar;
- Natural Resources Policy and Issues Seminar;
- Science, Technology and Public Policy Seminar;
- Management Development Seminar;
- FEI, Leadership for a Democratic Society; and
- FEI, Applied Leadership for a Democratic Society.
For application information, contact Jacqueline McLaughlin Linde, Assistant Dean, Marketing, Admissions & Outreach, School of Public Affairs, American University, at (202) 885-6248 or linde@american.edu.