Core Courses
Please note new additions to core course curriculum:
(Core courses are at standard tuition rate plus $80 of differential tuition per credit)
Students are required to complete the following nine core courses. The order listed is the recommended schedule students follow. It is OK to go out of order, BUT please try to complete Administrative Theory and Nonprofit Sector and Orgs during one of your first two semesters and Ethics and Capstone during your final or final two semesters.
In order to register for the Capstone course, students will need to have completed the following items:
1. Turned in a graduation candidacy form by the deadline for the semester they will take the Capstone course in.
2. Completed seven core courses.
3. Turned in an outline or rough draft of MRP to adviser.
PADMN 6300, Administrative Theory (3 credit hours)
Should be taken during the first or second trimester of study. Foundations and issues in the study of administration, theorists of 19th and 20th centuries, bureaucracy, scientific management, human relations movement, organization and innovation, and the politics of administration.
PADMN 6550, Nonprofit Sector & Orgs. (3 credit hours) - new core course
Provides an overview of the nonprofit sector in the U.S. and globally, its scope, structure, history, values, distinct contributions to society, place in the government service delivery systems in several countries, and selected public policy issues that affect it. Economic, political, social, organizational, and giving theories of the sector will be reviewed in order to help understand its existence, roles and activities. .
PADMN 6289, Research Design (3 credit hours)
Should be taken during the first or second trimester of study. Introduces scholarly approaches to research and problem solving: assessing relevant literature, formulating research questions, generating relevant evidence, and constructing reasoned arguments. Focuses on design issues of experimental, quasi-experimental, non-experimental and interpretive methodologies as well as standards for evaluating research.
PADMN 6360, Public Human Resource Management (3 credit hours)
Merit systems, job classification, recruitment, examination, training, promotion, discipline, pay administration, collective bargaining, diversity in the work force, personnel law, and political activity of government employees.
PADMN TBD, Public Administration & Law (3 credit hours) - new core course
This course first explores how public agencies shape and respond to law. This entails review of the U.S. Constitution, the forms of law, the structure and function of state and federal courts, the legislative process, and statutory interpretation. Second, the course addresses administrative law – the political dynamics of, and the processes for, rulemaking and adjudication by administrative agencies. Finally, students will be introduced to legal reasoning and its role in public administration.
PADMN TBD, Politics and the American Economy- course title may change (3 credit hours) - new core course
Addresses the theories and practices that underpin the field of public administration and its roles in the economy. It provides a set of theoretical frameworks that help students interpret and understand more about the interrelations between public administration, public policy, and the economy.
PADMN 6380, Public Budgeting and Finance (3 credit hours)
Methods and politics in public or nonprofit organizations of planning programs, financing operations, allocating resources, and controlling expenditures and results. Topics include program budgeting, cost-benefit analysis, management information systems, pricing and tax policy, and appropriations processes.
PADMN 6870, Seminar: Public Administration Ethics (3 credit hours)
Should be one of the last core courses taken in the MPA program. Integration of courses and administrative experience, exploration and application of ethical theories, substantial research and writing project, and student oral presentation.
PADMN 6890, Seminar: Capstone in Public Administration (3 credit hours)
Should be one of the last core courses taken in the MPA program. Integration of all core material into discussion around a number of cases. Individual, partner and small group papers and presentations.