UAB Master of Public Administration Program Wins Reaccreditation

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program has received reaccreditation from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA).

Posted on July 30, 2002 at 12:48 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program has received reaccreditation from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA).

NASPAA is an accreditation organization for graduate programs in public administration, public policy and public affairs. The UAB MPA program was awarded unconditional accreditation for seven years, which is the maximum period allowed by NASPAA.

“This level of recognition is exceptional and means that NASPAA has complete faith in the integrity of our program,” said Akhlaque Haque, Ph.D., MPA program director.

The NASPAA site visit team commended the UAB MPA program for several accomplishments:

  • The quality of its leadership and committed faculty;

  • The level of involvement alumni and professionals have with the program;

  • The program’s efforts to obtain feedback from graduating students through focus groups led by alumni.

UAB’s MPA program is an academic unit in the Department of Government and Public Service, which is housed in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The program has more than 50 students and seven faculty members. It offers managerial and policy courses to students seeking public service careers in federal, state or local governments as well as the nonprofit and health management sectors.

The MPA program was ranked 65th nationally in this year’s U.S. News and World Report’s annual “Best Graduate Programs” issue. The magazine ranked the program’s health management track as 14th in the nation, tied with the University of Chicago.

“NASPAA accreditation means that the experience of our MPA students is the same as those in MPA programs at other NASPAA accredited schools, such as Harvard, Columbia and Princeton universities,” said James D. Slack, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Government and Public Service. “It means that our MPA alumni are able to list this prestigious designation on their resumes as a sign to all prospective employers that by hiring the UAB MPA graduate, they are hiring the very best.”