The Bush School of Government & Public Service and the Department of Sociology offer a 5-year (3+2) degree program that allows sociology majors to enter the Bush School at the start of their senior year (typically year four) at Texas A&M University. This enables students to receive their sociology undergraduate degree (B.A./B.S.) and a Master of Public Service and Administration (MPSA) graduate degree in five years.
Description | Core Required | MPSA Required | Admissions | Curriculum | Advising
Description
To be considered for the 3+2 degree program, sociology students must have a minimum 3.25 GPA and have completed 102 of the 120 hours of course work required to receive a bachelor’s degree. These courses must include all of the specific prerequisites for either a B.A./B.S. degree in sociology, as well as the courses required by the College of Liberal Arts and by Texas A&M University for an undergraduate degree.
Sociology Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Science
Texas A&M Core = 54 hours
- ENGL 104 (3 hrs)
- Speech & Writing (3 hrs)
- ENGL Literature (6 hrs)
- MATH 131-467 (some exclusions) (3 hrs)
- MATH or PHIL 240 (3 hrs)
- Life and Physical Science (9 hrs)
- Creative Arts (3 hrs)
- Language, Philosophy, & Culture (3 hrs)
- Creative Arts/Lang, Phil, & Culture (3 hrs)
- Social Sciences (6 hrs)
- POLS 206 & 207 (6 hrs)
- US HIST (6 hrs)
- International & Cultural Diversity (6 hrs) – may be used to satisfy any other requirement
Major Area = 33 hours
- SOCI 220, 230W, 420W, 430 (12 hrs)
- SOCI Electives (21 hrs)*
B.A. Requirements = 33 hours
- Foreign Language: Levels 1-4 (14 hrs)
- General Electives (19 hrs)*
B.S. Requirements = 33 hours
- Additional Sciences (12 hrs)
- General Electives (21 hrs)*
- Foreign Language (0-8 hrs) – 2 yrs of same language in high school or 2 semester college sequence
Bush School’s MPSA First-year =up to 18 of 24 hours can double-count for SOCI undergrad credit
- Major Area/SOCI Electives =9 hours can count
- BUSH 631 (3 hrs)
- BUSH 635 or 636 or PSAA 630 (3 hrs)
- One approved Bush School/PSAA elective (3 hrs)
- General Electives =9 hours can count
- PSAA 601, 611, 621, and/or 643 (up to 9 hrs)
- PSAA 622,634, or 644 (3 hrs)
- Any approved PSAA course (3 hrs)
*9 hours can double count from Bush School courses
MPSA Degree Requirements
Admitted students will be enrolled in Bush School graduate courses with an undergraduate classification (U4) during their fourth year and will be re-classified as degree-seeking master’s students (G7) prior to the start of the fall semester of year five.
Five-year students are required to complete the same 2-year, 48-hour curriculum as other MPSA students. The curriculum combines ten core courses with six electives. Students choose a track in Public Management (PM), Public Policy Analysis (PPA), or Nonprofit Management (NPM) and are encouraged to select from one of our elective concentrations or create their own area of interest. A non-credit bearing professional internship is also completed in the summer between the first and second years for those without substantive professional experience. A capstone project for a “real world” client in the final two semesters caps the learning experience.
Admissions
Sociology majors who have at least a 3.25 GPA and who will have taken all of their prerequisite courses and otherwise completed 102 hours by the fall of their fourth year (meaning you have the summer before entry to complete any required hours) will be eligible to apply for the 3+2 program in their junior year. Admission criteria for the 3+2 program will be the same as for other students. Applicants will submit the same support materials, with the exception of an internal 3+2 application found on the Bush School website (this is in place of the GradCAS application and portal, so no app fee is charged). Detailed app instructions are online.
Students who choose not to finish the MPSA degree after being admitted to the 3+2 program may exit the program at any time. Completed Bush School courses will be applied to their bachelor’s degree in sociology, as appropriate. Failure to complete the MPSA will in no way impede their ability to attain a bachelor’s degree when the requirements for that degree are completed.
Those who pursue the 3+2 program will receive both Texas A&M degrees upon completion of the entire program, earning a B.A./B.S in Sociology and a Master of Public Service and Administration at the end of their second year in the Bush School. Although they earn both, students will only walk for their MPSA graduation.
Curriculum
Fourth Year
Fall
- PSAA 601: Foundations of Public Service**
- PSAA 621: Economic Analysis**
- BUSH 631: Quantitative Methods I*
- PSAA 643: Foundations of the Nonprofit Sector
Spring
- PSAA 611: Public Policy Formation**
- Quantitative Methods II requirement: *
- PM: BUSH 632: Quant Methods II or PSAA 630: Program Evaluation
- PPA: BUSH 635: Quantitative Methods II, Policy emphasis
- NPM: PSAA 630: Program Evaluation
- Track requirement: **
- PM: PSAA 634: Public Management
- PPA: PSAA 622: Public Finance
- NPM: PSAA 644: Mgmt & Leadership in Nonprofits
- One approved Bush School/PSAA elective*
Summer
- Professional Internship
Fifth Year
Fall
- PSAA 675: Capstone Seminar I
- Track Requirement:
- PM: PSAA 623: Public Budgeting
- PPA: PSAA 615: Policy Analysis
- NPM: PSAA 632: Fiscal Mgmt of Nonprofits
- Two approved electives+ (one must be PSAA)
Spring
- PSAA 676: Capstone Seminar II
- Three approved electives+
* BushSchool courses counted as SOCI electives
** Bush School courses that can count as General electives
+ Up to 2 approved electives may be taken at TAMU
Advising
Advising for the 3+2 program is coordinated by the SOCI Dept. for undergrad and the Bush School for grad courses. Dept. advising helps ensure that interested students have satisfied prerequisite courses for the bachelor’s degree and have set aside relevant SOCI courses by the start of their senior year. Appt. scheduling is available through the navigate app or website.
Sociology advisors:
Ziena Miller and Zuleika Carrasco: sociadvising@tamu.edu
You may also contact the Bush School for admissions information and curriculum advising.
Kathryn or Ashlee, Admissions, bushschooladmissions@tamu.edu, 862-3476 for overview
PSAA Contact Information, 458-8027 for degree-level follow-up
