Marist's Master of Public Administration online program provides a convenient, flexible way for working professionals to attend graduate school, regardless of their schedule or location, without sacrificing academic quality.
Using highly interactive eLearning technology, students in the online MPA program interact extensively with their instructors and classmates. A pre-assigned PIN (Personal Identification Number) allows students instant access to course content, assignments, the calendar, group discussions, and each other. Communication is ongoing via e-mail, bulletin boards, group conference rooms or private chat rooms.
Online MPA courses are offered in an accelerated cohort format. Each cohort is prescheduled for 2 courses per semester. Online MPA courses are taken sequentially, enabling students to complete 6 credits per semester, while concentrating on one subject at a time.
Online MPA courses are 8 weeks long and accessible 7 days per week, 24 hours per day. Although accelerated, web-based courses are identical in content to campus-based courses and taught by the same exceptional Marist faculty. Online students following a cohort schedule are assured of receiving the courses needed to complete the program within a prescribed timeframe.
Online cohort schedules begin in September and January and run through early July. Online students are strongly encouraged to remain with their group in order to complete the program on time.
Online Masters of Public Administration courses require no more technical skills than a basic familiarity with Windows. To successfully access course content, at a minimum you will need a personal computer with a Pentium 166 processor, 32 megabytes of RAM, 28.8 modem (56K recommended). Access to the Web via MS Internet Explorer (version 5.0 or higher) or Netscape (version 4.7 or higher) is essential. In order to read attached files and to share work with other classmates you will also need Microsoft Office 97 or higher.
