UCF to Offer Nonprofit Management Master’s Degree Program

By Karen Guin

The UCF Board of Trustees approved on March 25 a Master of Nonprofit Management (M.N.M.) program to be offered starting this fall by the university’s Department of Public Administration. The program will be one of 13 of its kind nationwide and only the second to be offered completely online.

The M.N.M. program will bolster UCF’s role as a metropolitan research university by contributing graduates with nonprofit management and analytical skills to the region’s workforce. There are currently about 2,000 nonprofit organizations in Central Florida with more than 151,700 employees, according to Mary Ann Feldheim, M.N.M. program coordinator and public administration faculty member.

Potential students of the new program include mid-career employees of small-to-medium-size nonprofits, board members of and volunteer leaders in nonprofits, and individuals who want to start a nonprofit. Public administration and American Humanics students may be interested in the program as well.

Students in the program must complete 33 credits of online study, including nine core courses and a thesis or two elective courses. They must also participate in extensive service-learning activities. Graduates are expected to have competencies in fund raising, proposal writing, board development and governance, strategic planning, budgeting and accounting and legal structure.

Feldheim anticipates that the program will enroll 36 students within the next five years.

Note: For further information about the program, contact the Dr. Mary Ann Feldheim at mfeldhei@mail.ucf.edu or the Department of Public Administration office at 407-823-2604.