Program: Master of Public Administration with Seoul National University - University of Southern California

Apr 04, 2025

USC Catalogue 2023-2024

This graduate program offers students a unique opportunity to develop skills and expertise in the field of public administration from a U.S. and Korean perspective. The program is designed and offered in partnership with Seoul National University (SNU). Students spend a year at USC Price and a year at Seoul National University and earn the MPA degree.

Admissions

Students wishing to pursue the dual MPA degree will have to apply to both SNU GSPA and USC Price separately and fulfill both institutions’ admissions criteria independently. Please see the Price Website for further information.

Sample Program - Price Students

Year One - USC (24 Units)

PPD 503 Economics for Public Policy Units: 4 or
PPD 540 Fundamentals of Public Administration Units: 4
PPD 504 Essential Statistics for Public Management Units: 2
PPDE 505 Professional Workshop in Public Administration Units: 2
PPD 541 Public Financial Management and Budgeting Units: 4
PPD 545 Public and Nonprofit Organizational Behavior Units: 4
Electives: one 4-unit management elective and one 4-unit analytics elective Units: 8

Year Two - SNU (19 Units)

M2856.000100*   Theories of Global Public Administration, or

M2856.000600   Economics and Public Administration   Units: 3

Electives    Units: 6

PPD 546  **   Capstone in Public Administration    Units: 4

*Price students would take either PPD 540 or PPD 503 in their first year, and then would take the equivalent SNU GSPA course for the other one in their second year.

**The capstone course is taken in the last semester at Price.

Sample Program - SNU Students

Year One - SNU (18 Units)

M2856.000100   Theories of Global Public Administration    Units: 3

M2856.000300   Social Research Methods of Public Administration   Units: 3

Electives    Units: 6

Independent study (thesis preparation)    Units: 6

Year Two - USC (24 Units)

PPD 503 Economics for Public Policy Units: 4 or
PPD 540 Fundamentals of Public Administration Units: 4
PPDE 505 Professional Workshop in Public Administration Units: 2
PPD 541 Public Financial Management and Budgeting Units: 4
PPD 545 Public and Nonprofit Organizational Behavior Units: 4
Electives: including one management elective and one analytic elective Units: 10

Variations from the above:

Price students could take both the PPD 540 and PPD 503 courses in either their first year or their second year, instead of one of the two in each year.

GSPA students could take Economics and Public Administration in their first year rather than in their second year at Price, and they could take PPD 540 in their second year at Price rather than in their first year.

Price students could take Social Research Methods of Public Administration at GSPA in their second year instead of their analytic elective at USC in their first year, and GSPA students could take Policy and Program Evaluation (PPD 542 ) at Price in their second year instead of Social Research Methods of Public Administration in their first year.