Application of current theories of the public policy process to current issues in public policy and management. Emphasis on the dominant theories of the process, including policy streams, advocacy coalitions, punctuated equilibrium, institutional and rational choice models. Graduate standing or seniors with instructor's permission.

Typically offered in Fall only

This course is offered alternate even years

Principles governing the interaction of politics and markets, and their application to public policy and public administration. Economic and political market failure, dilemmas of public choice and effects of political institutions. Case studies ofpublic policy-making.

Prerequisite: EC/ARE 401

Typically offered in Fall only

Exploration of the critical roles public administration plays in the American constitutional system of government with emphasis on public institutions, policy making and implementation, intergovernmental and intersectoral relations, public service values, administrative discretion, and ethical responsibilities and decision-making.

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

Methods and techniques of analyzing, developing and evaluating public policies and programs. Emphasis given to benefit-cost and cost-effectiveness analysis and concepts of economic efficiency, equity and distribution. Methods include problem solving, decision making and case studies. Examples used in human resource, environmental and regulatory policy.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

Examination of generalized budgetary process used at all levels of government in the U. S. Understanding of the process based upon comprehension of institutions involved, roles of politicians and professionals and the objectives of budgetary systems. Focus also upon budgetary reforms and on Planning-Programming-Budgetary and Zero-Based Budgeting as management tools.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

Major conceptual frameworks developed to understand organization behavior. Motivation, leadership, group dynamics, communication, socio-technical systems, work design and organizational learning. Application of theories and concepts to public sectororganizations.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

Use of management systems by public and nonprofit organizations to monitor and manage their programs. Results-based management approaches, including strategic planning, goal setting, and output/outcome measurement. Ways of increasing managerial effectiveness through the use of structural changes, process improvements, project planning tools, performance-based budget systems, and individual and group rewards.

Prerequisite: Six hours of graduate PA course work

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

A focus on behavioral approach to study of political and administrative behavior. Topics including philosophy of social science; experimental, quasi and non-experimental research design; data collection techniques; basic statistical analysis with computer applications.

Prerequisite: ST 311

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

Focus on professional written and oral skills and the applications needed by public and nonprofit administrators. This includes drafting, editing, and presenting factual and persuasive materials. Use of visual aids, handling question and answer sessions, dealing with media, and holding effective meetings. Composing memos, position papers, and press releases. The course develops competency to communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry.

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

Students will demonstrate their achievement of core competencies developed through their MPA course of study. The course will include three key components: (1) Academic Portfolio; (2) Capstone Project; and (3) Reflection Essay. Students will develop a professional academic portfolio in which they identify activities and assignments from their course of study that demonstrate their attainment of the program's expected learning outcomes. Students will complete a hands-on, supervised course project focusing on a major public service problem or issue and that demonstrates practical application of core competencies. Students will prepare a reflection essay of what they learned in the MPA program during their preparation for a public service career.

P: PA 510, PA 511, PA 512, PA 513, PA 514, PA 515 and PA 516.

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

A seminar focusing on analytical techniques and managerial principles required for policy formation and implementation in a complex urban governmental environment. Specific topics including urban planning and community development, housing, intergovernmental relations, organizational roles and decision making, budgeting and selected urban services (for example: police, transportation).

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Spring only

The planning function at all levels of government in the U. S., with particular attention to problems posed for planning by rapid growth of metropolitan areas. Overview of community development, urban spatial structure, housing economics and land use planning.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Spring only

This course is offered alternate odd years

Examination of distinctive features of intergovernmental relations in the U. S. Topics stressed including historical adaptations of federalism, emerging role of the administrator, contemporary trends in intergovernmental relations and assessment of contemporary trends from federal, state and local perspectives.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Fall only

A focus on the legal nature of cities as municipal corporations and the legal context in which local governments operate. Specific topics covered including incorporation, ethics, public access to meetings and records, annexation, land use, development, planning, liability, financing, contracting, and personnel actions.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing

Typically offered in Fall only

This course is offered alternate even years

This course provides an introduction to the applied skills and knowledge necessary for helping public and nonprofit organizations and agencies effectively manage change. Students will gain knowledge and skills in organizational assessment, action research, systems change, and the stages of change management. Graduate standing only.

Typically offered in Spring only

Survey of financial practices and concepts in the public sector. Topics including public sector accounting, financial information systems, revenue projections, cash management and debt management. Emphasis upon case-based applications.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Spring only

This course is offered alternate odd years

Analysis of major Human Resource practices used by public and nonprofit organizations. Techniques examined include organization (strategy, job analysis, job evaluation, and compensation), staffing (recruitment, retention, testing, and hiring), performance management (appraisal and training & development), and employee relations (grievance & discipline mediation & negotiation, and labor relations).

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Fall only

Three inter-related leadership skills - negotiation, contracting, and mediation-essential for acheiving organizational success. Skills for negotiating with partners, for facilitation among colleagues, for crafting and monitoring contracts for equipment, services, or performance, and for using alternate dispute resolution techniques, primarily mediation.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or Management Development Certificate Program and 6 hours of 500-level course work

Typically offered in Spring only

The course introduces a problem solving model specific to public and nonprofit organizations. The model is based on meeting three criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. Students learn to apply the model in interpersonal and group interactions. The course relies heavily on self-assessment to enable the students to recognize their problem solving propensities and the strengths and limitations of those tendencies.

Prerequisite: PA 513

Typically offered in Fall only

Strategies for developing board leadership, staffing, and managing volunteers, working in multi-cultural environments, developing partnerships with other organizations, conducting government relations. Legal requirements and contraint on nonprofits: incorporation, lobbying, and tax policies.

Restriction: PBS status for Graduate Standing

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

Nonprofit budgeting and financial management practices, including budgeting, financial analysis, cash flow forecasting, internally controlling financial transcations, borrowing, external auditing, investing, managing risk, purchasing and inventory control.

Typically offered in Spring only

This course is offered alternate odd years

Identifies and assesses techniques and best practices of fund development, annual giving, capital campaigns, endowments. Topics include setting achievable goals, organizing and staffing a fund development campaing, and identifying donors. Discusses links between fund development and organization mission and governance, ethical issues, and government regulations. PBS status or Graduate standing.

Typically offered in Fall only

Survey of funding environment; how to identify foundations, corporation and government funding sources, write proposals, and evaluate proposals.

Typically offered in Fall only

Introduction to management of spatial data in relation to public administration databases, including preparation of maps, tables, and data graphics related to geographic information systems in the public sector. Use of ArcView and a variety of other GIS computer applications.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing, PBS status, Advanced Undergraduate standing with 12 hours in PS program

Typically offered in Spring only

Case law of exercise of administrative power, judicial and legislative control of administrative action, legal rights of public employers and legal procedures of administrative tribunals.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

This course is offered based upon demand

Combination of seminar and field research techniques to study evaluation of public programs. Focus on political and administrative problems associated with program evaluation. Examination of availiability and appropriateness of various quantitative methodologies. Seminar concepts applied through evaluative projects conducted for public agencies.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing and 6 hours of 500-level courses

Typically offered in Spring only

Focus on formation and impact of environmental policy in the U. S. Examination on decision-making processes at all levels of government. Comparisons between political, economic, social and technological policy alternatives. Emphasis upon applicationof policy analysis in environmental assessment and consideration on theoretical perspectives on nature of the environmental crisis.

Prerequisite: Advanced Undergraduate standing including 12 hours of PS program, Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Fall only

This course provides an introduction to U.S. energy policy, using a contemporary electric utility Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) as both a conceptual and weekly roadmap. By way of the IRP, the course reviews the critical technical, economic, and public policy considerations that go into development and operation of an electric utility's generation portfolio. The first part of the course emphasizes the policy context of energy supply and consumption, including utility choice of generation technology, projected load growth, the economics of electricity generation and distribution, power purchase and contracting, and compliance with environmental regulations and requirements. The second half of the course takes the form of an extended group exercise, in which students will develop alternatives to the utility IRP, defending their scenarios and findings at a hypothetical Utilities Commission hearing. In between, guest lectures will add real-world context to the material discussed in class.

Typically offered in Spring only

This course explores multiple methodologies and disciplinary perspectives to examine the public policies involving or affected by science and technology (S&T). Course themes include the history and evolution of S&T policy, current national and international S&T policy systems and the interactions and conflicts within and surrounding them, and responsible governance of S&T.

Prerequisite: Graduate Standing or PBS Status

Typically offered in Spring only

Study of the policies designed to prepare for, respond to, mitigate, and recover from natural and technological hazards, disasters, accidents, or terrorist attacks. Surveys government, nonprofit, and private sector activities in hazards, disasters,emergency and crisis management and policy.

Politics and administration in American criminal justice system. Emphasis upon interrelationships between ideology, organization and policy outputs in analysis of major problems confronting the system today. Topics including intergovernmental relations, discretionary justice, impact of judicial decisions on criminal justice administration and management trends in criminal justice bureaucracies.Credit for both PS 555 and PA 555 is not allowed.3

Prerequisite: PS 311 or Graduate standing

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

Independent research or readings by graduate students under direct supervision of individual faculty members. Students' work evaluated, based on reports, papers and exams.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

Detailed investigation of contemporary topics in fields of public administration. Topic and mode of study determined by program faculty.

Prerequisite: Advanced Undergraduate standing including 12 hours in PS program, Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

To enable graduate students to pursue a subject of particular interest to them by doing extensive readings or research in that subject under direct, individual faculty supervision.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

Exposure of the student to environment and value systems of the public organization through a supervised work experience. Involving application of substantive knowledge and analytical skills to organizational problems. Credit will vary with nature of the work experience.

Prerequisite: Minimum 9 hours graduate work

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

Substantive knowledge and analytical skills applied to projects under agency supervision. Participation in monthly on-campus meetings. Credit will not be given for placements in current or previous work unit. Credit will not be given for both PA 650 and PA 651. Credit will vary with number of work hours. Must have MPA, current or previous professional work experience.

Prerequisite: 12 graduate credit hours

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

Teaching experience under the mentorship of faculty who assist the student in planning for the teaching assignment, observe and provide feedback to the student during the teaching assignment, and evaluate the student upon completion of the assignment.

Prerequisite: Master's student

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

For students in non-thesis master's programs who have completed all credit hour requirements for their degree but need to maintain half-time continuous registration to complete incomplete grades, projects, final master's exam, etc.

Prerequisite: Master's student

Typically offered in Spring and Summer

For students in non-thesis master's programs who have completed all credit hour requirements for their degree but need to maintain full-time continuous registration to complete incomplete grades, projects, final master's exam, etc. Students may register for this course a maximum of one semester.

Prerequisite: Master's student

Typically offered in Spring and Summer

For graduate students whose programs of work specify no formal course work during a summer session and who will be devoting full time to thesis research.

Prerequisite: Master's student

Typically offered in Summer only

This course explores a variety of topics, ranging from the philosophy of social science to tailoring a literature review. The goal of this course is to approach the public administration research craft from a variety of perspectives, though their underlying epistemic assumptions are often not made explicit. The course also incorporates material on the responsible conduct of research.

Typically offered in Fall only

Application of quantitative tools to conduct public policy and administrative research. Course identifies and uses secondary data, including U.S. Census Data, to empirically assess social and economic policies. Emphasis is on the correct selection, use and interpretation of data to answer public policy questions and to understand the strengths and limitations of quantitative analysis.

Prerequisite: ST 407, ST 511, ST 513

Typically offered in Fall only

Intellectual foundation of public administration and its development as a discipline. Boundaries between public administration and large political process, external political control, factors producing administrative influence and the bases of administrative ethics.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing

Typically offered in Fall only

Examination of fundamental questions guiding organization research in public administration with emphasis on reconciling democracy and organization. Analysis of classical bureaucratic systems, rational choice, cognitive and organizational economic,and nonlinear and chaos theories.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing

Typically offered in Spring only

This course is offered alternate years

Examination of public policy process at federal level in the United States. Analysis of constitutional foundations of this process and the role of governmental institutions, political culture, parties, interest groups, and public opinion in policy making. Case studies of policy making and implementation in selected policy areas.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing

Typically offered in Fall only

This course is offered alternate years

Examination of budgetary and financial management processes in governmental and nonprofit agencies. Budgetary and financial management theory, practice, and unanswered research questions.

Prerequisite: PA 512

Typically offered in Spring only

This course is offered alternate years

Review of quantitative procedures commonly applied in public administration with emphasis on applications found in leading journals in the discipline. Exploration of data acquisition, appropriate research design, selection of procedures, data assumptions of procedures, and common errors in the research process and in statistical analysis.

Prerequisite: PA 515 ; ST 507

Typically offered in Spring only

Review of advanced quantitative procedures commonly applied in public administration research with emphasis on multivariate models found in leading journals in the discipline. Illustrative topics include the application of specialized regression models, generalized linear models, event history models, mixed and multilevel models, and structural equation models to topics in public administration.

Prerequisite: PA 765

Typically offered in Fall only

Current public management practices, including evaluation of their underlying theoretical assumptions and of empirical evidence about their effectiveness. Causes of recent shifts in public management theory; political implications of management choices; privatization in theory and practice; managerial use of performance measurement systems; customer feedback systems; worker incentive structures.

Prerequisite: PA 514

Typically offered in Spring only

This course is offered alternate years

Course provides the necessary theoretical foundation to design scholarly research on nonprofit organizations, voluntary action, and the nonprofit sector. Topics focus on the historical and philosophical roots of the nonprofit sector, the theories used to frame scholarly research and answer contemporary research questions. Students assume a leadership role in shaping the course content. Doctoral students only.

Independent research or readings by graduate students under direct supervision of individual faculty members. Students' work evaluated, based on reports, papers and exams.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

In depth exploration of specialized or emerging topics in public administration or public policy. Student presentations on readings and research projects. Also used to test and develop new courses.

Typically offered in Fall and Spring

Philsosphy and objectives of social scientific research with focus on basic and applied research, need for hypothesis development and testing as a basis of scientific research, inductive and deductive reasoning. Emphasis on preparation of research design of dissertation, published articles, and technical presentations. Students will present a research prospectus that will serve as the basis for their dissertation.

Prerequisite: Doctoral student in Public Administration; PA 765, Corequisite: At least two graduate methodology or statistics courses

Typically offered in Fall only

Detailed investigation of contemporary topics in fields of public administration. Topic and mode of study determined by program faculty.

Prerequisite: Advanced Undergraduate standing including 12 hours in PS program, Graduate standing or PBS status

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

To enable graduate students to pursue a subject of particular interest to them by doing extensive readings or research in that subject under direct, individual faculty supervision.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

Teaching experience under the mentorship of faculty who assist the student in planning for the teaching assignment, observe and provide feedback to the student during the teaching assignment, and evaluate the student upon completion of the assignment.

Prerequisite: Doctoral student

Typically offered in Fall only

For students who are preparing for and taking written and/or oral preliminary exams.

Prerequisite: Doctoral student

Typically offered in Summer only

Instruction in research and research under the mentorship of a member of the Graduate faculty.

Prerequisite: Doctoral student

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

Dissertation research.

Prerequisite: Doctoral student

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer

For graduate students whose programs of work specify no formal course work during a summer session and who will be devoting full time to thesis research.

Prerequisite: Doctoral student

Typically offered in Summer only

For students who have completed all credit hour, full-time enrollment, preliminary examination, and residency requirements for the doctoral degree, and are writing and defending their dissertations.

Prerequisite: Doctoral student

Typically offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer