MPA Admissions Process

Application Materials | Admission Process | Application Deadlines

International Students | Questions

The Master of Public Administration program at Western Michigan University considers applications for admissions three times each year, once each for the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.  Admission decisions are made by a committee of SPAA faculty members and are based on the applicant's undergraduate grade point average, work experience, letters of recommendation, and career goals.

These criteria provide an opportunity to admit both students who have strong academic performance and those who, for various reasons, did not earn a high undergraduate GPA, but have proven themselves through a strong record of performance and advancement in their jobs.  Although the policy tends to generate a high ratio of admissions to applicants, the MPA program incorporates a rigorous set of standards and expectations that demands a high level of performance to complete the degree requirements.

Application Materials

Prospective applicants to the MPA program can obtain application materials from the School of Public Affairs and Administration.  Applicants living in the United States can request a packet be mailed to them by contacting the School of Public Affairs and Administration by phone at (269) 387-8930, by e-mail to , or by submitting a request for application materials online.

All students (including international students) may alternatively download a copy of our application materials packet; please note that this packet includes only the departmental application materials and NOT the Application for Graduate Admission to the University or mailing envelopes.  Students may also choose to complete and submit electronically the departmental application materials via our online form.

Master of Public Administration (MPA) Admissions Process

Applicants may submit the Application for Graduate Admission online.  Online applications can be completed by following the appropriate links on the Graduate Admissions application webpage. 

Applicants may submit required departmental materials (items 2, 3, and 4 above) online here.  As noted above, the Application for Graduate Admission may also be filled out online here (NOTE: the online Application for Graduate Admission only needs to be filled out once).      

Application Deadlines

All of the preceding elements must be submitted by the following deadlines. Applicants will receive notification of the MPA Admissions Committee's decision within the time frames listed below.

	Fall Semester	Spring Semester	Summer Semesters
Deadlines	June 1	October 1	February 1
Notification of  Admission Decision	Early July	Early November	Early March

International Student Applications

Students who are not United States Citizens or do not have an I-551 Permanent Resident Card need to apply to the University via the Haenicke Institute's International Services and Student Affairs (ISSA) office.  More information on applying to Western Michigan University as an international student is available on the ISSA's webpage here.  

Please note that the Departmental Information Form, essay responses, current resume, and letters of recommendation referred to in the Admissions Process section should be submitted directly to the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) and should not be sent to ISSA.  These materials can be downloaded or submitted online by following the links here.  

In addition, international students are NOT required to submit transcripts from academic institutions outside of the United States to the School of Public Affairs and Administration.  These transcripts are sent to the ISSA for evaluation and forwarded to the SPAA.

Questions?

Some questions regarding admission are addressed in the FAQs page of the website; any additional questions concerning the Master of Public Administration program admissions process can be directed to the School of Public Affairs and Administration offices via e-mail to .  Prospective students may also wish to contact an advisor with the MPA program for more information on the admissions process or the program itself.  Advisors are available at all of the WMU campuses offering MPA courses; please refer to the list below:

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