The AMCTO Diploma in Municipal Administration Program (DMA) provides essential and integrated knowledge of the processes and administration of local government in the areas of systemic organization and management, legal framework and interpretation, finance, and human resources management.
The DMA is an academic curriculum offered by AMCTO which results in an academic certification for Students who, having explicitly registered into the DMA, have successfully completed all required program elements.
The four elements of the DMA are as follows:
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The 4 units of the Municipal Administration Program (MAP) - complete in two years;
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The 2 Units of the Municipal Accounting & Finance Program (MAFP) - complete in one year;
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The 4 Units of the Municipal Law Program (MLP) - complete in two-years;
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The Employment Law & Human Resources Program (HR) with a Research Report - complete within the same year as one of the above elements.
Although a maximum timeline of 8-years is provided to complete the elements of the DMA, Students have graduated within 5-years by following the suggested timelines above for each element. For full details, please refer to the "DMA Terms of Reference" posted below.
Each year, AMCTO presents an award for academic excellence to the graduate of the AMCTO Diploma in Municipal Administration who attains the highest cumulative mark throughout the four elements (MAP, MAFP, MLP and HR) of this diploma. Graduates of this diploma program are authorized by the Association to use the initials "Dipl.M.A.".