The Bloch School’s MPA program has three different emphasis areas that students may choose from. Additionally, students may tailor a general or specific program not covered in the below emphasis areas in order to meet individual needs or job requirements. Such a program must be developed in consultation with a faculty advisor. Questions can be directed to the faculty contact (below) or to the Bloch Student Services Office.
After choosing an emphasis area, students must fill out a Declaration of Emphasis Area form (if the emphasis area was not previously listed on the UMKC application, or the student has changed emphasis areas).
Nonprofit Management
Nonprofit organizations are integral to the social and civic fabric of every community in America. They help sustain and strengthen our communities, combat illiteracy, educate disadvantaged youth, and enhance our quality of life through the arts and culture. The MPA in nonprofit management prepares students with the knowledge and skills essential to careers leading and managing nonprofit public service organizations. Management in nonprofit organizations shares many elements with management in other sectors, yet some of the most crucial management and leadership tasks in nonprofits are unique. And the Bloch School created one of the country’s first and most respected academic programs in nonprofit management.
Faculty contact: Dr. David Renz, 816-235-2342
This emphasis requires 12 credit hours and includes the following courses:
- PA 455 Nonprofit Leadership Issues (1)
- PA 495 Voluntarism, Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector in the United States
- PA 5551 Strategic Management in Nonprofit Organizations
- PA 5552 Community Organizations and Public Policy
- PA 5553 Legal Framework and Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations
- PA 5555 Topics in Nonprofit Fundraising (1-2 hours each)
- PA 5585 Seminar: Social Entrepreneurship (1-3 credit hours)
- PA 5598A Supervised Research in Nonprofit Management
- HA 5571 Management Issues: Health & Human Services Organizations
Students selecting this emphasis should choose at least six of their twelve emphasis credit hoursfrom among the following courses: PA 495, PA 5551, PA 5552, PA 5553, and PA 5556.
Urban Administration
How do cities become important places? How do ideas get turned into great projects like Times Square in New York City or Union Station in Kansas City? How do cities turn blight into revitalization like 18th and Vine in Kansas City or South Beach in Miami? Local government administrators are responsible for turning urban vision into reality through their expertise in urban development. This emphasis is designed to give students specialized instruction in how cities approach the issue of urban development, the tools cities use to manage development, and the administrative skills necessary to be successful in this area of local government. Coursework in this track focuses on building expertise for positions in local government departments of Economic Development, Community Development, Neighborhood Improvement, Housing and Urban Development, and Planning.
Faculty contact: Dr. David Renz, 816-235-2342
This emphasis requires 9 hours of coursework and includes the following courses:
- PA 5535 Urban Policy and Administration (required)
- PA 5536 Managing Urban Economic Development
- PA 5538 Comparative Urban Administration
- PA 5539 Urban and Regional Planning for Urban Administrators
- PA 5552 Community Organizations and Public Policy
- PA 5565 Topics in Community Economic Development (1 credit hour)
- PA 5581 Seminar in Urban Administration
- PA 5598C Supervised Research in Urban Administration
*Students choosing the Urban Administration emphasis are allowed to use no more than three hours of internship to fulfill the emphasis area. If additional internship hours are taken, they may only count toward elective hours.
Health Services Administration
The Health Services Administration program area enables students to acquire the knowledge and skills that are currently in demand in the field of health care in the United States. As the health care economy has grown, it also has become diverse in occupational structure, modes of service delivery and client demographics. Health administrators find that they must develop innovative administrative skills and approaches in order to meet these challenges. In addition to the increasing opportunities in hospital administration, the number of employment opportunities outside of traditional hospital administration also continues to grow rapidly.
Please note that this emphasis area requires additional application materials that can be found here.
Faculty contact: Dr. Arif Ahmed, 816-235-2319
This emphasis requires 9 hours of coursework and includes the following courses:
- HA 465 Contemporary Issues in Urban Public Health
- HA 5577 Health Service Administration and the Health Professions
- HA 5581 Health Policy in the United States
- HA 5597 Supervised Research in Health Services Administration
