This is a list of the courses required MPA Students depending on their track.

 

Required for all MPA Students

• POLS 500 Research Methods- 3 credits

• POLS 501 Political and Policy Analysis- 3 credits

• POLS 531 Seminar: Public Administration- 3 credits

• POLS 580 Administrative Internship*- 3 credits

• POLS 997 Independent Study- 2 credits

• General or Health Administration Track (see lists below for specific courses) - 12 credits

• POLS Electives or Cognate/elective courses - 9 credits

*Students with at least one year of administrative experience can apply for an internship waiver.

 

General Track requires 12 credits from the following clusters:

Select six credits from:

• POLS 502 Seminar: Problems in State and Local Government- 3 credits

• POLS 536 Public Personnel- 3 credits

• POLS 538 Budgeting and Financial Management- 3 credits

• POLS 539 Administrative Law- 3 credits

Select six credits from:

• POLS 503 Government & Business- 3 credits

• POLS 508 Seminar: Legislative and Executive Process- 3 credits

• POLS 532 Public Policy- 3 credits

• POLS 533 Administrative Ethics- 3 credits

 

Health Concentration requires the following courses:

• POLS 551 Health Administration and Organization- 3 credits

• POLS 552 Health Policy- 3 credits

• ECON 575 Health Economics- 3 credits

• POLS 593 Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Care- 3 credits

 

Social Entrepreneurship electives:

• POLS 561 Creation and Management of Social Enterprises- 3 credits

• POLS 562 Political Advocacy and Social Entrepreneurship- 3 credits

• ENTR 580 Seminar in Social Entrepreneurship- 3 credits

• SOC 568 Sociology of Social Entrepreneurship- 3 credits

 

This list contains all of the courses offered by the MPA program and when each is offered.

Odd numbered Summer
POLS 533 Administrative Ethics in the Public Sector- 3 credits

Odd numbered Fall
POLS 500 Research Methods- 3 credits
POLS 539 Administrative Law- 3 credits
POLS 551 Health Organization & Administration- 3 credits
POLS 561 Creation and Management of Social Enterprises- 3 credits

Even numbered Spring 
ECON 575 ST: Health Economics- 3 credits
POLS 501 Political & Public Policy Analysis- 3 credits
POLS 532 Public Policy- 3 credits
POLS 503 Government and Business- 3 credits Note: PolS 503 is not offered online.
POLS 562 Political Advocacy and Social Entrepreneurship- 3 credits

Even numbered Summer
POLS 502 Seminar: Problems in State & Local Government- 3 credits

Even numbered Fall
POLS 531 Seminar: Public Administration- 3 credits
POLS 508 Legislative and Executive Processes- 3 credits
POLS 552 Health Policy- 3 credits
ENTR 580 Seminar in Social Entrepreneurship- 3 credits or SOC 568 Sociology of Social Entrepreneurship- 3 credits

Odd numbered Spring
POLS 538 Public Budgeting and Financial Analysis- 3 credits
POLS 536 Public Personnel Administration- 3 credits
POLS 593 Problems: Legal & Ethical Issues in Health Care- 3 credits
POLS 503 Government and Business- 3 credits Note: POLS 503 is not offered online.
ENTR 580: Seminar in Social Entrepreneurship- 3 credits or SOC 568 Sociology of Social Entrepreneurship- 3 credits

Offered Every Semester
POLS 580 Administrative Internship- 3 credits
POLS 591 Readings- 1-3 credits
POLS 996 Continuing Enrollment- 1-12 credits
POLS 997 Independent Study- 2 credits
POLS 998 Thesis- 1-4 credits

Other courses may be offered on an ad hoc basis, such as:
POLS 593 Special Topics in Public Admin; Public Finance 3 credits

This list contains descriptions for all of the courses offered by the program.

500. Research Methods. 3 credits. Prerequisite: A statistics course or consent of instructor. This course will first focus on various approaches to analyzing political phenomena with the goal of developing students’ ability to think analytically and to distinguish between empirical and normative analysis. The course will then introduce techniques of empirical research including research design, measurement, data gathering, and data analysis.

501. Political and Public Policy Analysis. 3 credits. Prerequisite: Political Science 500 or consent of instructor. This course focuses on the use of empirical data both to develop empirical theory and to make policy choices. Topics to be discussed include hypothesis testing, public choice, and policy evaluation. Students will be required to complete an original research project. 

502. Seminar: Problems in State and Local Governments. 3 credits. Directed in-depth inquiry into contemporary structural and policy problems of state and local governments. During the course, each student will prepare a research paper relevant to a current problem suitable for publication and distribution to an identifiable body of public officials and citizens for problem-solving purposes.

503. Government and Business. 3 Credits. This course is designed to make students aware of the interrelationship of business and government in our society and the importance of this interrelationship in an era of globalization. It introduces public and business administration students to the role of government in advancing, as well as regulating, business. Further it discusses ways that business can and does influence government decisions. It also looks at the ethical responsibilities of business and government in our society. A component of the course involves travel to Washington,D.C. to meet with political officials, e.g., the Congressional delegation; Legislative staff; government regulatory agencies, e.g., the Federal Communications Commission; government advocacy agencies, e.g., Department of Commerce; and national and international business representatives, e.g., Cargill. 

508. Seminar: Legislative and Executive Processes. 3 credits. Description, analysis, and evaluation of the structures, processes, procedures, and positions of the legislative and executive offices in government. 

531. Seminar: Public Administration. 3 credits. An extensive overview of Public Administration stressing the basic concepts and trends in the discipline as well as the classic scholars. 

532. Public Policy. 3 credits. A discussion of the initiation, formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation of American public policy. Various policy areas such as agriculture, education, environment, and welfare will be analyzed. 

533. Administrative Ethics in the Public Sector. 3 credits. This course examines the challenges faced by public administrators in establishing personal standards of conduct in the administrative environment. Issues such as moral versus political accountability, social justice and whistle blowing are among the topics that will be explored in this course. 

536. Public Personnel Administration. 3 credits. This course is designed to help managers in all positions of an organization to understand the fundamental nature of public personnel administration, also known as human resource management. Topics to be covered include basic functions such as position classification, wage and salary administration, and performance appraisal. Attention will be given to contemporary issues such as sexual harassment, affirmative action, privacy, and unionization. 

538. Public Budgeting and Financial Administration. 3 credits. This course will encompass the normative and descriptive budgetary questions in public administration. Orthodox, prevailing, and alternative budget theories are presented in generalized and applied settings. 

539. Administrative Law. 3 credits. Study of the legal dimension of public administration. Study of requirements for rule making and adjudication and of judicial review of administrative decisions. 

551. Health Administration and Organization. 3 credits. The evolution of health systems and their organizational challenges of administration from human resources to management in times of scarce resources are explored. Specific attention is devoted to Financial Management, Managerial and Fund Accounting, Medicare, Medicaid, Fiscal Intermediaries and Managed Care, and Organizations in Decline.

552. Health Policy. 3 credits. This course examines historic and contemporary trends in health care delivery in the United States. Emphasis is placed on addressing health care cost-containment issues; access to health care and, recent efforts to invoke broadly based systemic reforms of the U.S. health care system. 

580. Administrative Internship. 1 to 3 credits. Prior approval of instructor required before enrollment. Students are employed on full-time or part-time basis in on-the-job learning situations in federal, state, or local government. Students are required to make an analytical report on some facet of their work. 

591. Readings in Political Science and Public Administration. 1 to 3 credits. Prior approval of instructor required before enrollment. Selected readings with oral and written reports. 

593. Problems in Political Science & Public Administration: Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Administration) 3 credits. Deals with aspects of the law related to health care delivery such as compliance and liability issues. Also discusses issues of bioethics. 

593. Problems in Political Science & Public Administration: Public Finance. 3 Credits. This course builds on basic microeconomic theory by applying microeconomic tools to the study of the role and operation of the government’s fiscal policies in a mixed economy. Topics considered include the general role of government in the economy; public choice; the provision of public goods; fiscal federalism; evaluation and general properties of taxes (e.g. structure, incidence, efficiency, administration); common types of taxes (e.g. income, sales, property, corporate) and their appropriate applications; fee use; and economic evaluation of government policy in areas such as poverty and unemployment, Social Security, health care, public education, environmental regulation, and economic development incentive use. 

ECON 575. Health Economics. 3 credits. The macro-economy of health care as a driving force of health care policy in America is discussed. The micro-economy of the health care unit is presented in applied areas to develop the focus of organizational decision-making 

561.Creation and Management of Social Enterprises. 3 credits. This course provides an overview of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises, including nonprofits. The course covers methods and techniques of social entrepreneurship, including organizational strategy, design, management, strategic planning, and leadership for social enterprises; legal foundations of social enterprises in the U.S.; and methods of social enterprise program evaluation. 

562.Political Advocacy and Social Entrepreneurship. 3 credits. This course examines the use of social enterprises, including nonprofits, to achieve political, economic, and social change. Course coverage includes the use of social enterprises as vehicles for social transformation, development and execution of advocacy campaigns for social enterprises, the role of social enterprises within democracies, and the potential for social enterprises to address and overcome problems of collective action. 

ENTR 580 Seminar in Social Entrepreneurship. 3 credits  Department of Entrepreneurship

SOC 568: Sociology of Social Entrepreneurship. 3 credits  Department of Sociology

Course Descriptions (click here for full description of all courses)