PhD Program – Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Public Administration at Rutgers SPAA is a research degree. It trains students for careers as scholars, researchers, and teachers in the diverse and dynamic fields of public affairs and administration.
Specifically, the Learning/Program Goals are:
- The development and attainment of research, scholarship and teaching skills in the fields of public affairs and administration
- Conducting and producing original research
- Professional career preparation
Through disciplined research, the PhD in Public Administration produces scholars who expand the knowledge base and problem-solving capacities of universities, independent research organizations, and government and nonprofit agencies.
Program Quick Facts
- Credits: 60 (48 course work / 12 dissertation research)
- Application Deadline: Jan. 10
- PhD Program Director: Lindsey McDougle, PhD
Rutgers SPAA is one of the top-ranked schools in public management and leadership and nonprofit management in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report. We have a widely published and internationally recognized faculty, and our doctoral graduates are teaching and gaining tenure at dozens of universities throughout the United States and around the world. We are also proud that the Rutgers-Newark campus is one of the most diverse in the U.S., and that our PhD program contributes substantially to that diversity.
Curriculum
The PhD requires 48 credits of course work beyond the attainment of a relevant master’s degree and 12 dissertation research credits for a total of 60 credit hours. Up to 9 transfer credits from the master's degree are allowed. Most core and elective curriculum classes meet on Monday through Friday afternoons. Some electives meet in the evenings. Students may also take elective offerings at other Rutgers departments.
For course descriptions and prerequisites see Courses.
Core Courses
(15 credits – All Required)
- Intellectual History of Public Administration (3)
- Public Budgeting and Finance (3)
- Study of Public Organizations (3)
- Governance and Politics (3)
- Leadership, Equity and Diversity (3)
After completion of all core courses, students are required to complete Comprehensive Exam I (Comp I) that covers the content of these core courses. After completion of Comp I, as well as methodology courses and electives related to their field of specialization, students are required to complete Comprehensive Exam II (Comp II) in the form of an essay representing student’s specialization. More information on the format and requirements of each comprehensive exam can be found in Academic Policies, Procedures & Forms.
Research Methods
(12 credits / 3 courses plus 1 methodology elective – All Required)
- Quantitative Methods I (3)
- Quantitative Methods II (3)
- Qualitative Methods I (3)
- Methodology Elective Course (3)
The methodology elective course can be taken in a school or department outside of SPAA with the approval by the PhD Director.
Specialization Fields
(21 credits – All Required)
Students are required to identify a research field of specialization before they take elective courses. Their specialization field must be in public administration and fit the research interests of SPAA faculty. Students should consult with their adviser on their specialization field and receive approval from the PhD Director. Students are required to complete at least 9 credit hours for a specialization field.
SPAA attempts to offer electives each semester to fulfill specialization requirements. Students are strongly encouraged to take these courses. Independent studies should be taken with SPAA faculty and preferably with student’s main adviser. Independent studies cannot be taken before students complete all 5 core courses, Quantitative Methods I, and Qualitative Methods I.
Students may take up to 4 elective courses (12 credits), including the transfer credits (up to 9), from outside of SPAA upon approval by the PhD Director. Elective courses taken outside of SPAA can be taken in the School of Business, the Bloustein School, the Division of Global Affairs, the School of Criminal Justice, other units of Rutgers University, and also NJIT.
Students are allowed to transfer up to 9 credits from their prior masters programs in public administration or related fields into the PhD program upon PhD Director’s approval. The transferred credits are counted as elective courses and may fulfill student’s field of specialization.
Below are some suggested research fields of specialization, although students may propose other specializations in consultation with their adviser and the PhD Director:
- Public management
- Public budgeting and finance
- Comparative public administration
- Human resource management
- Organizational theory and behavior
- Nonprofit management and philanthropy
- Technology and e-government
- Health policy and administration
- Urban affairs and administration
- Ethics, transparency and accountability
- Historical and legal foundations of public administration
The dissertation is a work of original scholarship and the most important and challenging requirement of the PhD degree. Working closely with a faculty advisor, a core member of the SPAA faculty (who chairs the dissertation committee), the student identifies a significant question or problem in public affairs and administration to investigate, develops and defends a dissertation proposal (which includes the relevant theory, literature, and proposed methodology), implements the study (including the collection and analysis of qualitative and/or quantitative data), prepares a comprehensive written research report suitable for publication, and defends their dissertation orally in front of their committee.
The dissertation committee must consist of at least four faculty members; one committee member should be from outside the core faculty of Rutgers SPAA. The committee must be approved by the PhD program director.
- Year 1: 21-24 Course Credits
- Year 1 Summer: Comprehensive Exam I
- Year 2: 21-24 Course Credits
- Year 2 Summer: Comprehensive Exam II
- Year 3 Fall: Dissertation Proposal
- Year 3 & Year 4: Dissertation
Students may take longer to complete the degree depending upon the number of credits taken each semester, progress on the exams, development, and approval of the dissertation proposal, and completion of the dissertation. However, full-time students are expected to complete their degree within 7 years and part-time students may spend up to 8 years.
Students are responsible for their own degree requirements/completeness.
In order to be awarded a PhD degree, students must complete two applications – a candidacy application and a diploma application – and submit their dissertation electronically by the deadline dates.
There are three certification/degree periods (October, January, and May), but there is only one joint convocation ceremony each year in May.
Application for Candidacy
All students must complete the candidacy application and submit it to the Graduate School Dean's Office by the deadline date.
Candidacy application deadlines are:
- For October graduation, the deadline is October 1
- For January graduation, the deadline is January 4
- For May graduation, the deadline is May 1
Application for Diploma
All students must complete the Online Diploma Application by the deadline date.
Students with outstanding financial obligations after May 1 will NOT receive their diplomas on commencement day.
Diploma application deadlines are:
- For October graduation, the deadline is August 1
- For January graduation, the deadline is November 1
- For May graduation, the deadline is March 1
Dissertation Submission
All dissertations must be submitted electronically. Dissertations must be converted to a PDF file and then uploaded online to RUetd (Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations) so that it will be permanently available through RUcore (Rutgers University Community Repository). See PhD Dissertation information above.
To Apply / Admission Requirements
For admission requirements and application information and deadlines see Apply Now.
Academic Policies, Procedures & Forms
Public Administration Graduate Program to Prepare Individuals for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and to establish Careers as Effective Scholars, Researchers, and Teachers
The SPAA PhD Program in Public Administration consists of the knowledge foundations of the field of public administration and the premise that performance is a key to effectiveness in the field of public administration. As with other academic fields, curriculum of the program is based on the body of received knowledge and current knowledge accepted by the field.
The PhD faculty is responsible for the curriculum and on-going processes of evaluation of curriculum and student performance. PhD faculty members meet regularly during the academic year. A key element of these meetings is faculty members' evaluation of emerging literature in respective fields, and its importance to students' learning and directions. For example, a shared focus and emphasis emerging from these dynamics is that of performance. Performance measurement, management, and improvement are important dimensions of competence, knowledge, and service in public and nonprofit sectors. A performance focus encourages both facts and purposes of the public and nonprofit sectors, that is, effectiveness.
Faculty evaluation of curriculum takes place throughout the academic year in both formal and informal meetings and discussions sometimes generating formal proposals and sometimes leading to informal adjustments. On-going measures of curriculum and program performance are:
- qualities of faculty who teach in the program as measured by faculty performance in relevant academic settings, i.e., scholarly contributions, professional contributions, service contributions, and PhD student performance;
- curriculum proposals and changes in the context of program and student goals.
- faculty teaching, assignments and feedback to students as measured by evaluation of faculty teaching evaluations and other feedback from PhD students;
- evaluation of students' understanding of knowledge foundations and emerging emphases (e.g., performance) as dimensions of knowledge and practice, measured by grades and faculty feedback;
- timely student successful completion of curriculum components (course assignments, papers, exams; summary examinations, unexplained student incompletes and withdrawals);
- feedback from professional colleagues about student competence based on guest lectures and professional conference interactions with students;
- successful employment in the academy where that is the graduate's goal, and effective participation in selected areas of the academy (papers, publications, participation in professional associations).
Program Goals
Learning Goal 1: The development and attainment of research, scholarship and teaching skills in the field of public administration.
Assessment of student achievement, Goal 1:
- Grades in graduate courses.
- Successful completion of the general comprehensive examination upon completion of all core courses; successful completion of a specialized field comprehensive exam upon completion of all field courses; successful completion of a research methods comprehensive exam and a dissertation proposal.
- Annual review of students by the PhD Executive Committee, indicating the Advising by student's PhD committee members.
- Successful teaching reviews for those students engaged in teaching and pedagogy.
- Attainment of employment in positions requiring the expertise obtained with the degree.
Role of the program in helping students to achieve Goal 1:
- Close advising by PhD Director and other faculty mentors in subfields to ensure that students are being prepared in a coherent and academically rigorous fashion.
- Effective monitoring of student progress at every stage.
- Mentoring of students who receive low reviews during the annual review of Ph.D. students.
- Assisting students prepare to make paper presentations at annual national and regional conferences in public administration, including funding.
- Encouraging students to join professional associations, including funding to join leading association in the field.
- School newsletter that highlights the publications, presentations, grants, awards and achievements of both faculty and students in the public administration program. This serves to illustrate the importance of communicating research and scholarship to the scientific community and the general public.
- Evaluations of teaching effectiveness of instructors.
- If effectiveness is below expectations, work with instructors to improve effectiveness.
- Review of the curriculum by the Ph.D. Executive Committee to insure that course offerings are sufficient and current in content.
- Providing guidance on job market preparation.
Learning Goal 2: Conducting and producing original research.
Assessment of student achievement, Goal 2:
- Attendance and presentations (posters or talks) at regional and national conferences during the graduate career.
- Attending bi-weekly seminars offered by the school; presenting at least once at such seminars.
- Attainment of internal and external grants/fellowships for research.
- Attainment of awards for research.
- Submission and acceptance of peer-reviewed articles.
- Completion and defense of PhD proposal by end of third or fourth year.
Role of program in helping students achieve Goal 2:
- Advise students to meet with their Ph.D. advisor and committee frequently to act as mentors throughout the student's graduate career.
- Introduce students to research possibilities during orientation for new students and during the first semester.
- Assisting students prepare presentations at bi-weekly seminars.
- Assisting students prepare paper presentation for regional and national conferences.
- Providing funding for students to attend conferences.
- Track publications and presentations, and nominate eligible student candidates for awards.
- Provide advising at every stage of the program, both from field experts and from PhD Director.
- Nominating eligible dissertations for "Best Dissertation Award" in the field.
- Advise students on avenues and opportunities for publishing dissertation, including books.
- Opportunities to write and submit grants for external funding.
Learning Goal 3: Professional career preparation.
Assessment of graduate student achievement, Goal 3:
- Student teaching evaluations.
- Assist in preparation of curriculum vita.
- Advisement on relevant places to submit applications.
- Track number of publications, presentations, and outreach activities.
- Placement of students upon completion of degree.
Role of graduate program in helping students to achieve Goal 3:
- Provide students with an academic culture that fosters professionalism by treating students as junior colleagues and expecting them to act in that manner.
- Provide students with access to teaching skills classes both within the program.
- Provide networking opportunities by providing access to seminar speakers and visiting scholars through one-on-one meetings, funding to regional and national meetings and professional organizations.
- Keep students informed of the academic job opportunities available to them.
- Keep students informed of professional development opportunities as they become available through the university.
The Graduate School–Newark Student Handbook is used as guidance for SPAA PhD students. It outlines degree requirements and academic standards.
Course/Summary Worksheet
To plan and keep track of coursework.
Student Annual Evaluation
Complete and submit by email to the PhD Program Director no later than May 20.
- Annual Evaluation Form for First Year PhD Students [doc]
- Annual Evaluation Form for Second Year PhD Students [doc]
- Annual Evaluation Form for Third Year PhD Students [doc]
- Annual Evaluation Form for Fourth Year and Beyond PhD Students [doc]
The PhD Committee conducts PhD student annual evaluations with consideration of the evaluation forms completed by students and their advisors. Each student will receive a letter grade (A, B, B-, C, D, and F) as a result of the evaluations, which will be used for decisions on graduate fellowships, award nominations, etc. Students must receive an annual evaluation grade of B- or higher to be eligible for SPAA graduate fellowships in the following academic year.
Registration Form
Must be signed by the PhD Program Director before you can register.
Independent Study Form
Must be completed and approved in advance of registering for an independent study.
Application for Transfer Credits
Must be completed and approved in advance of registering for an independent study.
Application for Admission to Candidacy
To be completed at the time of Dissertation Defense.
Students can contact the director of the PhD program, Dr. Lindsey McDougle (lindsey.mcdougle@rutgers.edu), with any questions about coursework advisement.
PhD students must complete two comprehensive exams (or “comps” for short), which are described below.
Comp I
Upon completion of all five core courses (without any outstanding incompletes), the student must complete their first comprehensive exam (Comp I) that covers the content learned in the core. This a closed-book exam administered by the PhD director and assistant dean for graduate programs on campus and consisting of two essays, one completed in the morning (10am to 1pm) and one completed in the afternoon (2 to 5pm). The essay questions are not provided in advance and will change from semester to semester, but students will have some choice in the questions they answer. Comp I will be given only in January and June (the dates will be announced in advance) and should be taken as soon as possible after the student completes the core courses. The essays are generally graded by faculty members who teach in the core.
If the student receives a failing grade on one or both of the essays, an additional faculty member selected by the PhD director will be asked to read the essay(s). The student may then be asked to re-take the exam, following the same format but with a new question. If the student fails a second time, they cannot continue in the program.
Comp II
Upon completion of all of the relevant elective courses in their specializations (without any outstanding incompletes), the student should complete their second comprehensive exam (Comp II), which reflects knowledge the student has learned through his or her elective coursework. The exam takes the form of an essay, representing one of the student’s areas of specialization. The exam is administered by the student’s main adviser, a core member of the SPAA faculty (or if the student does not yet have an adviser, by a core SPAA faculty member with expertise in the specialization) as follows:
- The adviser, in consultation with the student, schedules the exam and notifies the PhD director.
- The student submits the essay in final form to the adviser. The essay can be any combination of a quantitative empirical study, a qualitative empirical study, or a literature review essay and should be comparable in length, style and quality to a journal manuscript. The essay may be extensions of work the student has done as part of an independent study or other elective coursework. Important: The essay must be sole-authored original work by the student – an essay that have been written in part by a faculty mentor, another student, or any other co-author cannot be submitted for Comp II.
- The adviser identifies an appropriate second reader for the essay; the second reader should be a faculty member with expertise in the relevant area of specialization.
- The adviser and the second reader review the essay and prepare written feedback and criticism (similar in style to a journal’s peer-review process); as a result, the student will receive two reviews of the essay (one from the adviser, one from the second reader).
- The adviser, in consultation with the second reader, may decide to require revisions to the essay. The student will then revise the essay, generally within a one-month period. The student will have only one opportunity to revise and resubmit the essay before receiving a final grade.
- The adviser, in consultation with the second reader, will notify the student of the final grade for the essay, copying the PhD director.
If the student receives a failing grade on the essay, an additional faculty member selected by the PhD director will be asked to read the essay and the student may be given one last opportunity to revise the essay. If the student still receives a failing grade, he or she will not be allowed to continue in the program.
Academic integrity is essential in all aspects of the PhD program, including Comp II. Any indication that any part of a student’s Comp II essay is not the original work of the student will be grounds for a failing grade (with no chance to revise and resubmit the essay).
Grades
For both comprehensive exams, the possible grades are as follows:
- High pass (pass with distinction)
- Pass
- Fail
Key Stages and Policies of the Dissertation Process
- Dissertation Proposal (Prospectus) and Qualifying Exam
- Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)
- IRB Review and Approval
- Writing the Dissertation and Policy on Using Published or Co-authored Work in the Dissertation
- Applying for Graduation
- The Dissertation Defense
- Submitting your Dissertation for Publication
1. Dissertation Proposal (Prospectus) and Qualifying Exam
The first stage of the dissertation involves developing and defending a proposal (also called a prospectus). Working closely with an adviser, the student develops a written research proposal of about 30-40 pages in length (not including attachments).
With advice from the student’s adviser, a committee is formed to review the proposal and participate in a public and open defense, known officially as the qualifying examination. The committee should be composed of three SPAA core tenured or tenure-track faculty members (including the adviser, who chairs of the committee) and a fourth, outside member from outside SPAA (either another department at Rutgers or another university).
Upon successfully passing the qualifying examination, the student is admitted to candidacy (and known then as a PhD candidate). At the defense, it is important for the committee and candidate to complete and sign the Application for Admission to Candidacy, which is available from the forms page of the Graduate School: https://www.gsn.newark.rutgers.edu/phd.
If the defense is unsuccessful, the Application for Admission to Candidacy provides an option for the committee to not recommend admission to candidacy.
Students can be reimbursed for up to $500 in dissertation expenses (e.g. mailings).
2. Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)
All Rutgers University faculty, students, and other individuals involved in human subjects research are required to complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Basic Course and complete the CITI Refresher Course every three (3) years thereafter. Doctoral students should complete their CITI training as soon as possible after entering the program, but certainly must do so in advance of preparing their dissertation proposal. For more information, visit the Office of Research Regulatory Affairs CITI webpage at: https://orra.rutgers.edu/citi.
3. IRB Review and Approval
All doctoral dissertations involving human subjects must be reviewed and approved by the Rutgers Institutional Review Board (IRB) before beginning the dissertation research. The IRB is charged with the protection of the rights and welfare of human research subjects while facilitating ethical research. The IRB is part of the Office of Research and Regulatory Affairs, who provides subject matter expertise and administrative support to the IRB committee itself, which is comprised mostly of Rutgers faculty who are also researchers. In addition, the IRB includes individuals with expertise who are not part of the Rutgers community, as required by the federal regulations governing research with humans. Review by the IRB is required for research involving human subjects regardless of the funding source, and also covers human subjects research without funding. For more information, visit the Office of Research Regulatory Affairs, Arts and Sciences IRB webpage at: https://orra.rutgers.edu.
4. Writing the Dissertation and Policy on Using Published or Co-authored Work in the Dissertation
A dissertation is generally expected to be the original work of the sole author. In order to encourage PhD students to publish work before their dissertation defense, the PhD program in public administration accepts published work (including accepted and conditionally accepted work for publication) to be included in a dissertation if it is the student’s sole-authored work or co-authored work with SPAA full-time faculty where the student is the lead author with a greater than 50 percent contribution.
Unpublished co-authored work (including work under review and with revise-and-resubmit status) is also allowed to be included in a dissertation only if the student co-authors with a SPAA full-time faculty member and the student leads the project and contributes more than 50 percent. Co-authored work with other doctoral students or people outside SPAA faculty will not be accepted. The dissertation committee has the authority to judge the student’s contribution in the work, regardless of whether or not it is published.
Only two pieces of co-authored work are allowed to be included in a dissertation. For copyright and citation issues, students must comply with the guidelines endorsed by RU Library, which can be found here.
5. Applying for Graduation
Diplomas can be issued three times per year: October, January, and May but there is only one commencement ceremony (in May). You should have an idea of when you will complete your degree requirements and review this with your advisor. When you have selected a date, you need to complete a Graduate Diploma Application by the appropriate application deadline.
Diploma application deadlines are:
- For October graduation, the deadline is August 1
- For January graduation, the deadline is November 1
- For May graduation, the deadline is March 1
The Graduate Diploma Application is available on the forms page of the Graduate School: https://www.gsn.newark.rutgers.edu/phd.
6. The Dissertation Defense
Your defense is ready to be scheduled once your Chair informs the PhD Director to that effect. You will then select a date and time when your committee members are available and book the room in consultation with the SPAA staff.
Electronic and hard copies of your dissertation must also be submitted to SPAA two weeks in advance of your scheduled defense for public review. Coordinate scheduling and the public announcement of the defense with SPAA staff.
Before the defense, also schedule an appointment with the Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs to ensure that all of your student records and transcripts are complete and in order.
You must bring to your defense:
- Two original copies of the first (title) page of your dissertation printed on 100% cotton thesis paper so that all members of your committee can sign them.
- The Dissertation Defense Report, which can be downloaded from the forms page of the Graduate School: https://www.gsn.newark.rutgers.edu/phd.
7. Submitting the Dissertation
Rutgers requires doctoral dissertations to be submitted exclusively in electronic form. Dissertations must be converted to a PDF file and then uploaded online to RUetd (Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations) so that it will be permanently available through RUcore (Rutgers University Community Repository).
To ease into the process, doctoral students can do practice runs as often as necessary and receive feedback from the Graduate Dean's office as to whether all is in order prior to making their final submission. The formatting instructions have been rewritten for electronic submission and are posted on the RUetd at the check box, "Author Guidelines" at the bottom of the Step 1 page. Instructions are included for copyright and submission to ProQuest/UMI (University Microfilms).
The electronic dissertation will be maintained in the Rutgers University library system. Two original cover pages hand-signed by the student's dissertation committee members will still be required to be submitted to the Graduate Dean's office for permanent record, even when the dissertation is submitted electronically.
Students are responsible for their own degree requirements/completeness.
In order to be awarded a PhD degree, students must complete two applications – a candidacy application and a diploma application – and submit their dissertation electronically by the deadline dates.
There are three certification/degree periods (October, January, and May), but there is only one joint convocation ceremony each year in May.
Application for Candidacy
All students must complete the candidacy application and submit it to the Graduate School Dean's Office by the deadline date.
Candidacy application deadlines are:
- For October graduation, the deadline is October 1
- For January graduation, the deadline is January 4
- For May graduation, the deadline is May 1
Application for Diploma
All students must complete the Online Diploma Application by the deadline date.
Students with outstanding financial obligations after May 1 will NOT receive their diplomas on commencement day.
Diploma application deadlines are:
- For October graduation, the deadline is August 1
- For January graduation, the deadline is November 1
- For May graduation, the deadline is March 1
Dissertation Submission
All dissertations must be submitted electronically. Dissertations must be converted to a PDF file and then uploaded online to RUetd (Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations) so that it will be permanently available through RUcore (Rutgers University Community Repository). See PhD Dissertation information above.
Visit the Rutgers University–Newark Bookstore to order a rental gown or purchase a custom gown.
Please see the Rutgers SPAA Policy on Student Travel Support [pdf] for information on available conference travel funds for SPAA PhD and MPA students.
PhD Dissertations, Job Placements & Fellowships
For more information on PhD dissertation topics and committees and positions see PhD Dissertations, Job Placements & Fellowships.
PhD Alumni
See the PhD Alumni Directory for a listing of PhD alumni and SPAA Alumni Highlights for information on SPAA PhD alumni activities.
For More Information
To learn more, Request Information or Join a SPAA Info Session. If you have questions about a program or the application process, contact Aaron Gibbs, associate dean of student and academic services, at algibbs@rutgers.edu.