Gallaudet MPA program admitted to NASPAA

Gallaudet’s Master of Public Administration program, introduced in March 2012 with classes beginning in the fall of 2012, was admitted to the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA), an accrediting body of the MPA program.

NASPAA’s twofold mission is to ensure excellence in education and training for public service and to promote the ideal of public service. NASPAA is the membership association of graduate programs in public administration, public policy, and public affairs. NASPAA’s Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation is the specialized accreditor of these master degree programs, as can be seen at NASPAA’s organization definition.   

Effective April 2016, Gallaudet’s MPA program is now part of the “principal representatives” list within the NASPAA program, and is among 300 other schools that also offer similar MPA programs.  

“This is an important achievement for our program,” said Dr. Francis Duffy, director of the MPA program. “Our graduates are finding important jobs with promising careers. For example, some of our students have been hired by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.”  

Duffy added an important note about communication barriers being overcome.  

“We also have a memorandum of understanding with the National Association of State Agencies of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing that creates a working relationship between the MPA program and that agency,” said Duffy.  

Twenty-two students will join the program in fall 2016 as the fifth cohort group, with a total of 48 students enrolled in the program. When the program started in fall 2012, 14 students enrolled in the first cohort group.

You can view a detailed, comprehensive guide on obtaining a MPA degree on the Masters of Public Administration organization website.