Department of Public Policy and Administration

MPA Student Advising Checklist

  1. An advising hold automatically placed each semester for every MPA student, so each MPA student must schedule and attend an advising meeting with Ms. Daniella Long, MPA academic advisor, at least once per semester. Please schedule your advising meeting by reaching out to 305- 348-5890 or dlong@fiu.edu. Failing to schedule and attend an advising meeting may result in delays in course registration.

  2. Course selection

    1. Course selection based on MPA subplans

      1. MMC students must take all core courses on campus in-classroom; but may take a combination of in-class and online courses for MPA electives

      2. Online students must take all courses (core and electives) fully online

    2. Core courses (9 courses in total, 27 credits)

      1. 6053 first semester, 6056 last semester

      2. 6701 prerequisite to 6726

      3. Offered in bands and by color codes

      4. Course schedule at a glance for planning purpose, https://mpa.fiu.edu/mpa/mpa- schedules-at-a-glance_march2020.xlsx

    3. Electives (5 courses in total, 15 credits)

      1. Choose electives strategically around a Certificate. Students are likely and will graduate with a Certificate and an MPA degree

      2. Apply for a Certificate early, for dept. course planning and course offering purposes

      3. Certification application must be submitted to FIU University Graduate School one semester before graduation

      4. How to apply? https://mpa.fiu.edu/certificates/ http://gradschool.fiu.edu/documents/Certificate_Application.pdf

      5. Submit your signed certificate application form to Ms. Long for your eligibility and MPA Director’s Signature

  3. Internship

    1. All pre-service students (without at least 3 years’ experience at the time of admission) need to complete an internship

    2. Should start an internship after 18 MPA credits

    3. Internship opportunities distributed via emails

    4. Mr. Dirk Hart (dhart@fiu.edu), Senior Program Coordinator overseeing internships

    5. Contact Dr. Shaoming Cheng (scheng@fiu.edu) if an internship waiver is justified

  4. Professional development attendance

    1. At least once attendance per semester

    2. Required for both Online and MMC students; no exceptions

    3. Sign-in sheet or selfies/pics with the banner/logo of the event required

    4. Examples of professional development events; online or in person attendance

      1. SoFL ASPA luncheon, SoFL ASPA conferences, ASPA related meetings

      2. ICMA@FIU, AGA@FIU, and FIU MPA Pi Alpha Alpha meetings and activities

      3. Internship/job fairs and workshops

      4. Other events

  5. Career development and advancement