Master of Public Administration (MPA)

• PPA 500 Foundations of Public Service - Introduces students to the practice and discipline of public administration. Core functions of the field are surveyed including: organization theory, public personnel administration, and budgeting and finance.
  
• PPA 501 Analysis and Decision Making I - This course introduces students to the practice of policy analysis and program evaluation. Emphasis is placed on the applied nature of both. Students are introduced to both the quantitative and qualitative methods of policy analysis and program evaluation.
• PPA 502 Analysis and Decision Making II - Application of the logic of scientific methodology and research design construction to the practice and discipline of public administration. Emphasizes hypothesis development and testing, data collection, measurement problems, and theory application.
• PPA 503 Public Budgeting & Finance - This course introduces students to the principles and procedures of public budgeting and finance. Emphasis is placed on the budgeting process.
• PPA 504 Public Human Resource Management - This course introduces students to human resource management in the public and non profit sectors. Topics include: federal and state employment laws, job analysis, recruitment and selection, performance evaluation, compensation and benefits, training and development, labor-management relations and human resource information technology.
• PPA 505 Public Sector Organization Theory - This course introduces students to the study of organization theory within the context of the public sector. Issues of organization design and effectiveness are explored. Schools of thought include: classical, neoclassical, human resources, modern structural, organizational culture and open systems theory.
• PPA 506 Foundations in Nonprofit Administration - Introduces students to the practice of non profit administration. Core functions of the field are surveyed including: financial and organizational management, role of boards, and strategic planning.

• PPA 510 Topics in Public Administration - Intensive study of selected topics in public administration current to the interest and needs of students. Students may enroll in more than one topics class to satisfy their electives, as long as the topic is not a repeat of one they have already taken. Some previous topics have included The Future of the Public Service Profession, Economic Development Policies, Community Development and Education Policies, and Urban Policy Analysis.
• PPA 512 Communications for Public Administrators - Development of communication skills for the effective writing of letters, memos, reports and proposals. The course will survey communication issues specific to public and nonprofit management.
• PPA 513 Law for Public Administrators - A survey of the legal environment of public administration. Topics include the development of and trends in administrative law and the rights, duties and liabilities of public officials.
• PPA 514 American Public Policy - A survey of literature, an examination of approaches, and the discussion of concepts and issues in the field of American politics and policy processes.
• PPA 515 Social Equity and Public Administration - This course examines the role of social equity and diversity in public policy and administration, focusing primarily on gender, race and ethnicity. Emphasis will be placed on the history of the struggle for legal equality and the current forces of institutional discrimination that still exist. Students will also learn strategies for how public managers can embrace diversity in their organizations and create a climate of cultural inclusiveness for the workforce as well as for citizens.
• PPA 530 Topics in Nonprofit Administration - An intensive study of selected topics in nonprofit administration which are current to the interests and needs of students.
• PPA 532 Grant Writing - The art of grant writing via proposal development processes, targeting proposals to public, private and nonprofit agencies.
• PPA 533 Nonprofit Fundraising Essentials - This course emphasizes the concepts and tools necessary for understanding the fundraising process. Topics include relationship building, the solicitation process, specific fundraising strategies and ethical considerations.
• PPA 535 Strategic Management for Nonprofit Organizations – A management course designed to prepare students for a career in executive management in public sector organizations which examines the overall concepts of management and strategy in the nonprofit and government settings, and the role of the board and executive leadership in providing strategic direction for the organization. Students will examine topics of special importance in the governance and strategic management of public sector organizations, including organization development, board leadership, strategic planning, human resource management, organizational performance and effectiveness, and marketing.
• PPA 550 Topics in HR Management - An intensive study of selected topics in human resource management that are current to the interests and needs of students.
• PPA 600 Capstone Seminar in Public Administration - This course integrates knowledge from the curriculum and uses it to demonstrate mastery of required competencies to complete a capstone portfolio. Students will submit their required competencies assessment portfolio.
• PPA 601 Public Policy and Administration Internship - Field placement in a public sector or nonprofit organization through faculty guidance and supervision. Students will be required to complete a project as part of their internship.
• PPA 602 Professional Seminar in Public Administration - A course designed to provide students with an equivalent experience to that of an internship in the public sector. Students will interact with practicing public administrators and non-profit professionals on a weekly basis and engage in assigned readings of case studies focused on the practice of public administration. Students are required to spend an intensive two to three days with a selected public sector or nonprofit organization or official. Lastly, as a class, students will complete a public service project over the course of a semester. While designed for students who already work full-time and need to satisfy the internship requirement, other students are welcome to enroll in this class as an elective.

Capstone Seminar

The capstone seminar is typically taken at the end of a student’s MPA studies. In lieu of a comprehensive exam, students will complete a series of case study analyses as well as a strategic case assessment that requires the application of knowledge and competencies gained in the core and concentration required courses.

The capstone course is grounded in four interrelated pedagogical approaches:

• it integrates the MPA curriculum into one pedagogical experience;
• it increases students’ professional competency by requiring them to independently analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems and make decisions within the context of the learning goals of the MPA program;
• it enhances methodological competence; and
• it hones students’ ability to both synthesize and reflect on the knowledge and theories of public administration.

Go to the Graduate Course Catalog