Shared-Credit Degrees Program

Traditionally, students are not able to begin their graduate degree until their undergraduate degree is completed. However, the School of Public Administration and the degrees below have partnered to offer an accelerated way to complete two degrees - the Bachelor of Liberal Arts (BALA), Bachelor of Arts in Economics, or the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology degree and the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree. Qualifying students can earn graduate credit towards an MPA degree during their senior academic year in the BALA, ECON, or SOC degree program.

Essentially, a year after obtaining your BALA, ECON, or SOC degree, you may earn an MPA degree as well!

The BALA, ECON, and SOC degrees require a minimum of 120 undergraduate credit hours and the MPA requires 42 graduate credit hours. In this Shared-Credit program, 18 of the MPA graduate credits (6 courses), except ECON, are taken during the senior year of a student's BALA or SOC degree program and the credits are "shared" to both the MPA and BALA or SOC degree requirements. Thus, this reduces the time needed to complete the two degrees, compared to the traditional model, and results in significant savings. 

Qualifying Criteria

The School of Public Administration is looking for the best and brightest bunch that satisify the program's invite requirements. For consideration, the Shared-Credit applicant must be in one of the partnered degrees, have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.25 or greater, and have completed at least 90 credit hours while taking an average student's workload (4-6 courses) a semester.

Application Process

Please confirm you qualify for this program prior to applying through your undergraduate academic advisor and/or SPA academic advisor.

If you qualify, apply online to the Master of Public Administration program and submit the following materials for a complete application:

  1. Letter of Intent (2-3 pages; include the shared degree program you are applying for)
  2. Current Resume
  3. 3 Letters of Recommendation (need to provide recommenders' email addresses)
  4. Upload one unofficial transcript from EACH academic institution you have attended, including your UNM transcript, to your online application. 
  5. Online Application Fee ($65 at the time you submit your online application)

If you have questions or are interested in an MPA Shared-Credit Degree program, contact spadvise@unm.edu / 505.277.1092 to arrange an appointment with the program's MPA advisor.