The MBA 590 Capstone course must be taken only after all other courses in the program have been completed.
Explore MBA with Public Administration Specialization
Are you ready to embark on a journey of professional growth and excellence in the dynamic field of public administration? Our Online MBA with a Graduate Certificate in Public Administration is your gateway to success in the public sector. This program provides an advanced business education with the latest theories, practices, and trends that are shaping the world of public policy and management.
Students of the program will benefit from our comprehensive business curriculum, and gain real-world insights into public administration, policy analysis and design, and the intricacies of budgeting and financial management in the public sector. The certificate program equips professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the complexities of public environments and make collectively informed decisions that drive public value.
Build Your Career Future
Having a master’s degree sets you apart from the competition and improves your long-term career potential. Champlain’s online MBA program is designed to provide a framework for today’s business professionals to think more critically, work more collaboratively, and approach complex workplace challenges more holistically. You’ll emerge from the program with a systems-thinking mindset, the ability to approach modern business challenges with confidence, and will be prepared to lead in a variety of roles in a dynamic organization.
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Academic Excellence and Recognition
Regionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education
Ranked among the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs by U.S. News & World Report
Designated as a Military Friendly School for our commitment to the military community
Named the among the best schools with accelerated bachelor's degrees by Intelligent.com
What Can You Do With an MBA?
Accredited online MBA programs are in high demand in the business world, and employment in master’s-level occupations is projected to grow by 15% from 2019 to 2029. A master's degree also pays off: the median salary for professionals with a master's degree is $78,210.*
Additionally, management occupations are expected to grow 5% from 2019 to 2029, resulting in more than 500,000 new jobs. Professionals working in management positions earn a median annual salary of $109,760, which is the highest wage for all major occupational groups.
* Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2020; job titles: Monster, 2020
Possible Career Paths for MBA Holders
- Chief Executive Officer
- Public Administrator
- Management Consultant
- Operations Manager
- Administrative Services Manager
- Chief Operations Officer
- Business Development Manager
Program Details
Learn more about Champlain's 100% online MBA public administration program.
MBA Course Descriptions
Champlain's online MBA courses encompass the top skills needed by today's business professionals.
MBA Required Courses (24 Credits)
Public Administration Specialization Courses (9 Credits)
MBA Required Courses
The world is increasingly characterized by diversity and an integrated economy. Balancing the business opportunities and risks associated with dynamic and uncertain global changes is critical to effective leadership in this global economy. Leaders must learn how to integrate their understanding of culture, ethics, economic and policial issues into their decision making and strategy development.
Throughout history, technology provided opportunities for innovation, resulting in changes in business and society at a global scale. These technologies often disrupted business policies and processes, impacting jobs and organizational structures. Students examine how technological innovation is experienced in society and viewed over time and into the future by business people, philosophers, and sociologists. Students explore the question, How do we imagine that business, society and our place within will be affected as technology continues to advance?
Students learn organization analysis from a holistic perspective. Financial reports and financial ratios are the basis for traditional organizational analysis and builds from that foundation into the analysis of customer, supplier and employee metrics. Focus is on the Balanced Scorecard and other holistic approaches.
Students use a framework to explore the dynamics of human interaction within and between organizations. Throughout the course, they will use a perspective that a key function of management is to negotiate for resources and use that perspective to develop collaborative relationships with employees, vendors, suppliers, and interested communities.
Students explore the development and execution of an innovative and imaginative business strategy for the future. They consider answers to questions such as, How do you identify an opportunity for a new business that meets an otherwise unmet need? What happens when an organization fails to change when faced with a challenge to their traditional model? How can you mitigate risk? What are the processes that organizations use to keep themselves focused on changing stakeholder requirements and needs?
Communities look to business to have a positive impact on the world through their actions, so organizations are changing the way they do business. Mission-driven for-profit organizations are examining their HR policies, supply chains, organizational structures, marketing and even finance as they adapt to purpose-driven business models. Students explore what it means to be a purpose-driven organization by examining new business models, and the fundamental changes and challenges an organization experiences when they view business through a multidimensional lens.
Explore concepts and frameworks for how to lead effectively in today's ever-changing world. Using an integrative reflective practice approach, students examine their own approach to leadership and create an initial plan for their own leadership development, as well as the leadership development opportunities for their organization.
This course is built around a project that is designed to apply, in a comprehensive manner, the core areas of knowledge around which the MBA has been built. The project may be performed for a current employer, a sponsoring workplace or as an internship as either a service-learning project for a qualifying nonprofit organization or another organization of the student's choosing.
Prerequisites
In this course students will focus on the key theories, practices, and trends in public administration. Topics include the historical development of public administration in the United States, politics of political institutions, management, leading in public administration, key roles and functions of public administration, organizational structure of government organizations, analysis of key public administration theories, understanding bureaucracy and its role, public administration reforms, and future trends.
In this course, students will focus on the methodology for analyzing, developing, and implementing public policy. Topics include types of public policies, understanding the policy-making process, analyzing public policies, impact analysis of public policies, understanding the role of stakeholders in public policy, economic, social, and political factors influencing policy, and case studies in public policy analysis.
Students will examine public budgeting processes, financial management principles, and fiscal decision-making specific to the public sector. Topics include: the public budgeting process: formulation, execution, and auditing; revenue generation and sources of public funds; expenditure management and cost control; financial planning and forecasting; accountability and transparency; and the evaluation of case studies in public budgeting and financial management.
In addition to developing advanced communication and analytical skills, and a strategic mindset, graduates of the MBA online program will demonstrate a mastery of the following industry-specific competencies:
- Analyze leader actions for self-awareness; emotional, social and cultural intelligences; and/or strength- based approaches leading to change in organizations.
- Formulate an opinion or conclusion using an approach that includes questioning one's own assumptions, reasoning through logic, and considering diverse points of view, utilizing both primary and secondary research.
- Communicate with diverse groups and individuals, including internal and external parties in a way that shares knowledge and meaning.
- Ethically influence and lead others to maximize their efforts toward the achievement of a goal through collaboration and teamwork.
- Develop potential business-related strategies and positions through original and divergent thinking as well as synthesis of existing ideas reflecting a willingness to embrace change.
- Generate solutions to business-related problems using the appropriate technology and then clearly communicate the findings.
- Influence decisions through the organization, analysis, and communication of numeric and statistical data.
Public Administration Specialization Learning Outcomes
- Synthesize key concepts, theories, and practices, and apply this knowledge to address complex issues in public administration.
- Examine public policies, integrate different perspectives and contexts in policy evaluations, and propose policy recommendations.
- Interpret the formulation and implementation of public budgets and finances, and critically evaluate the ethical and legal ramifications of fiscal decisions in public administration.
Champlain College Online's business faculty, led by Department Chair Dr. Albert Orbinati, are expert practitioners in the field. Their industry expertise ensures that our business management curriculum is aligned with the needs of employers, and reflects the skills today’s business professionals need for success. Classes led by our seasoned experts will give you real-world insight into the business world, and create a rich community of career-focused learning.
Alumni of the Champlain College Online MBA program work in corporations, small businesses, government organizations, and non-profits nationwide, including:
- Alliance Bank
- Ben & Jerry's
- Burton Snowboards
- Cabot Creamery
- City of Burlington
- Collins Aerospace
- Dealer.com/Cox Automotive
- Deloitte
- Fidelity Investments
- GE Healthcare
- Internal Revenue Service
- JP Morgan Chase
- Keurig Dr. Pepper
- MetLife
- Mylan Technologies
- National Life Group
- Northrop Grumman
- People's United Bank
- Social Security Administration (SSA)
- University of Vermont Health Network
- UTC Aerospace Systems
Titles our alumni hold include:
- Accountant
- Auditor
- Business Administrator
- Business Analyst
- Chief Engineer
- Chief of Staff
- Chief Operating Officer
- Claims Specialist
- Consultant
- Contract Specialist
- Financial Analyst
- Financial Manager
- Global Inventory Planner
- HR Specialist
- IT Auditor
- Management Analyst
- Program Analyst
- Program Officer
- Quality Assurance Analyst
- Sr. Software Engineering Manager
- Underwriting Analyst
Increasing your career mobility is at the center of everything we do. As an online master's degree student, you get free access to the Fast Start Formula Career Bundle for getting noticed and getting hired, taught by Jen Morris, a leading executive career coach that partners with us to support our students in their job search journeys.
Tuition & Costs
Graduate Tuition Fall '23 - Summer '24
$595
per credit
$1,785*
per course
$450**
PER CREDIT FOR ALUMNI WHO EARNED A DEGREE FROM CHAMPLAIN, ON-CAMPUS or online
$450
per credit military service members (family members see truED tuition)
$150
One-time graduation fee
*Based on a 3-credit course; cost will vary if course is a different number of credits
** Starting Summer 2024, not retroactive
See the graduate cost of attendance and fees here
Meet the Program Director
Albert Orbinati, PhD
Department Chair and Assistant Professor, CCO Business Programs
Oversees
- Business (A.S., B.S., M.S., Certificates)
- Human Resource Management (B.S., Certificates)
- Leadership (M.S.)
- Management Information Systems (B.S.)
- Organization Development & Human Relations (M.S.)
About
Albert Orbinati, PhD, is Assistant Professor and Department Chair for the undergraduate and graduate business programs at Champlain College Online.
Prior to Champlain, Dr. Orbinati's roles have included Assistant Vice President of Online Learning and Continuing Education at Medaille University in Buffalo, NY; Dean of the School of Professional and Continuing Education at Russell Sage College in Albany, NY; and Director of Online and Non-Traditional Programs at Utica University in Utica, NY. In addition to his career in higher education, Albert is a member of the U.S. military, and currently holds the rank of Major in the Vermont Air National Guard.
Dr. Orbinati holds a B.A. in Urban Planning from Binghamton University, an M.A. in Adult Education from Central Michigan University, an M.B.A from Champlain College, and a Ph.D. in Adult Education from Capella University.
Why Champlain
Career Growth
"Champlain provides dynamic programs that correlate to real-world scenarios and provide the flexibility you need to execute your day-to-day job. I'm thankful I earned my MBA because my career would not be where it is today if I hadn't."
Randy Blanchette
Master in Business Administration (MBA)
Program Manager, United Technologies Aerospace Systems
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