This graduate level course provides a historical, case-study, and theoretical approach to the study of public administration. Students of social and public policy, organized labor, human services, higher education and business examine the history of the field and its most prominent theorists and practitioners. The course traces the modern development of the field beginning in the 19th Century with the work of Max Weber and examines its evolution during the 20th Century through the works of Frederick W. Taylor, Mary Parker Follett, Chester Barnard, Herbert Simon, Charles Lindblom and others. Concepts and theory are understood through reading, researching, and writing about significant case studies in various realms of public administration. Students conduct independent research on topics relevant to their own professional development and career objectives. Students interested in the public, private, or not-for-profit sectors interact during the course through structured, focused discussion. Students from any graduate program benefit equally from the study of public administration as applied to their field of study. The course is especially useful for those who aspire to management or supervisory positions.

The objective of this course is for students to gain a comprehensive understanding of the nature and scope of governments' role in the economy. This course will provide students with knowledge and an analytical toolset to comprehend concepts and trade offs entailed in public finance policy alternatives. Topics covered: Public Goods and Externalities; Cost-Benefit Analysis of Government Expenditures; Social Security, Health Insurance and Welfare; and Taxation's Impact and Efficiency.

This course is designed for MPA students in the Non-Profit Management, Disaster Crisis and Emergency Management, and General MPA Administration tracks. It provides an in-depth analysis of effective and well-adaptive leadership, decision-making during crisis and non-crisis periods, and strong and effective governance for public sector and non-profit professionals. This study explores various leadership, decision-making, and governance models that are applicable to the public and non-profit sectors. Decision making models students will learn include rational choice, organizational process, and bureaucratic politics models. The course is intended to highlight political and governmental influences on leadership styles, decision making, and governance and to distinguish where applicable the differences between public policy decisions and private sector decision-making. Students will explore challenges such as sustainability issues (from funding, to staffing, to complex political challenges), learn how to carry out specific functions in an organization, and how do deal with complex structural issues such as donor and government relations, divisions and conflicts, and staff and organizational wellbeing. Culture, ethics, and rights will be considered throughout the course. Finally, students will recognize biases in judgement that can have impacts on leadership, decision making and governance.

State and Local Government is an introductory level graduate course designed for students interested in professional development in public administration, public affairs and public policy. The course focuses on politics and administration at the state level and on the relationships between states and the federal government and states and local governments. The concept of federalism is central to the study and specifically the dynamics of intergovernmental relations relevant to specific areas of public policy in which state funding is derived from and directed by the federal government.

Grant Writing and Operational Management is a graduate level course for MPA students in the Non-Profit Management track. Students will learn key elements of effective grant application processes and operational management. This includes how to identify funding sources, write grant proposals, budgeting considerations, accountability mechanisms, and statement of sustainability. Students will learn strategies to maximize grant success and grant management. Tactics for effective grant writing techniques and types of operational and accountability structures will be addressed. Time will also be spent exploring various nonprofits and their operations, challenges, as well as sustainability issues (funding, staffing, and programmatic sustainability). Topics such as donor relations vs government relations; divisions and conflicts within and between non-profits, culture, ethics, and human rights will be considered throughout the course as important elements shaping the mission, roles, and outcomes of nonprofits. Several case studies will be utilized throughout the study. Prerequisites: None. Corequisites: None.

Organizational Behavior: Theory and Practice examines the fundamental concepts, ideas, techniques, and applications required to understand governmental intervention, political factors, and ethical implications in organizations. The course also focuses on the behavioral skills and competencies to be an effective manager and leader in a public service environment. Emphasis on the interpersonal skills that will provide individual, group and organizational effectiveness, as will issues of motivation, leadership, organizational design in public administration are also examined.

This course is a requirement for students in the new MPA Disaster Crisis and Emergency Management track and for students in the new MPA Healthcare Administration track. It covers all aspects of disaster human services, health, and mental health before, during and after disasters including national and international disaster frameworks, implications of climate change, coordination of services, and specific issues related to the health and human services sector. Specific focus will be on mitigation, planning and preparedness. Recovery will be largely covered in PADM 6205 Disaster Recovery, Capacity Building, and Resiliency. This course provides a comprehensive look at the roles and responsibilities of voluntary and national and international non-governmental organizations and public sector organizations. Issues such as public health emergencies, natural and human made disasters, social inclusion, global response and support systems, case management, and technical guidance reports will be explored. Throughout the course, students will compare evidence-based and empirically known health and humans service disaster management interventions, where systems fail and succeed, and how policies can address the failures and better integrate successes.

This course is a requirement for students in the new MPA Disaster Crisis and Emergency Management track. This course provides a comprehensive overview of theory and research related to disaster response, recovery, capacity building and resiliency models within the disaster and crisis field. Throughout the course you will compare how what is empirically known about the efficacy of disaster response and recovery activities is reflected in current policy and recent practice, and how this knowledge can advance practice. The course begins with an exploration of the differences between response and recovery outcomes, and hazard- and response-generated demands. National and international response and recovery frameworks will be explored as well as the effects of climate change and conflict on disaster recovery efforts. An all-hazards, global, and social inclusion approach will be taken. Students will compare how response and recovery activities are influenced by hazard type, as well by culture and context. Different dimensions of integrating capacity building and resiliency models into the disaster recovery practice will also be considered. Ethical practices in complex, multi-stakeholder environments will be discussed throughout the course with an eye towards understanding ethical dilemmas face in the field as professionals.

This course is a requirement for students in the new MPA Disaster Crisis and Emergency Management track. In this course, students will examine the socially constructed relationship between disasters, emergencies and crisis and the complexities of how we prepare, respond, recover, and mitigate against these events. This course is an integrative approach that will consider the history of disaster and crisis management; contemporary principles, policies, and legal frameworks guiding the field of practice; and the local, national, and international implications of disasters and crises. An all hazards approach will be taken including understanding the effects of climate change, conflict, natural, and human made disasters. Social inclusion and vulnerability within populations will also be explored. Students will analyze different paradigms for conceptualizing the practice of disaster and crisis management, understand who the key stakeholders are, consider humanitarian factors in all phases of emergency management, and explore key policies and practices in the field.

Students have the opportunity to develop individualized studies with their mentor/advisor in Public Administration (PADM). Please contact your mentor/advisor for more details.

The final project for the Masters in Public Administration program is a policy memorandum written from the perspective of an executive level program administrator to a governmental oversight committee. The memorandum addresses program planning, evaluation measures, and performance indicators. The memorandum requests funding for the program for the next fiscal year. The simulated exercise can be undertaken at any level of government appropriate for the personal and professional goals and objectives of the student with the approval of the course instructor. The assignment may also be adapted for the not-for-profit sector to meet the needs of students interested in professional career opportunities in that sector. The student shall demonstrate integrative learning acquired during the program of study based on coursework undertaken during the degree program. In some cases, students may choose to do a Practicum, a learning opportunity to develop skills and practical insights related to workplace development, analysis, and implementation. Prerequisites: PPOL 6020.