New Meridian University · School of Public Administration
School of Public Administration
Three research doctorates in public value — for the people who deliver the services trust depends on, and the analysts who prove what works.
The school of public value
Government does not get to fail quietly — and the research on public trust says the quiet failures are adding up.
Pew’s trust series, asking the same question since 1958, now records 17 percent of Americans willing to say they trust the federal government to do what is right. The distrust, the research suggests, is less about politics than delivery — people judge government by what it does to them: the permit, the benefit, the emergency response. And the delivery layer is being restructured in real time: 219,000 fewer federal employees in a single year, 105,000 of them retirees walking out with institutional knowledge that took careers to build.
Managing through that — delivering services, evaluating programs, and stewarding the workforce — is the hardest version of management there is, and the least studied at the level it deserves. This school does the studying. Its three doctorates cover the public system end to end: Public Administration for the people who run the agencies, Public Policy for the people who design and evaluate what they do, and Public Sector Human Resources Management for the people who rebuild the workforce everything else depends on. Each is a research doctorate for working professionals — 60 credit hours, 100% online, one to two years, ending in a dissertation designed to be acted on, not shelved.
The three specializations
DPA / Ph.D.
Research doctorates across the public system — delivery, design, and the workforce behind both.
Public Administration
Only 17% of Americans trust the federal government. Delivery is where that trust gets earned back — lead the delivery.Explore the specialization →
Public Policy
Every policy is a bet placed with the public’s money. Train to produce the evidence that makes it defensible.Explore the specialization →
Public Sector HRM
The federal workforce changed by the hundreds of thousands in a single year. Steward the public workforce through it.Explore the specialization →
The path every specialization shares
Five gates between admission and the title — the same five for every specialization in the school:
The coursework
Sixty credit hours online, paced around a full-time career.
The Candidacy Qualifying Exam
Command of the field and the research methods, confirmed in one sitting.
The dissertation proposal
Your question, defended before your committee before a word is written.
The ethics review
New Meridian’s registered IRB keeps the research publishable and credible.
The final defense
Your findings, your committee, and the conversation that ends with the title.
The school at a glance
| Structure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Degrees | DPA (practice track) or Ph.D. (scholarly track) |
| Credits | 60 credit hours |
| Format | 100% online and asynchronous — no campus requirement |
| Time to completion | 1–2 years, paced around a full-time career |
| Dissertation | Original research on a problem from your own agency or field, IRB-approved |
Questions, answered
Can I finish while working full-time?
Yes — the school was built for working public servants. Coursework is 100% online and asynchronous, and most students complete the 60 credit hours in one to two years while serving.
Is this only for government employees?
No — the programs serve government, nonprofit, and military professionals alike. The common thread is the mission: managing organizations whose product is public value.
DPA or Ph.D.?
The DPA is the executive practice track; the Ph.D. is the scholarly research track. The coursework is largely shared, so you can settle the choice with your advisor once your dissertation question takes shape.
Ready to serve with evidence?
Explore the specializations, then speak with faculty about your path from application to defense.