Undergraduate Public Administration Courses

PUAD 3301. Principles of Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

An introductory course in public administration and PA theory.

PUAD 3302. Intergovernmental Relations. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

An introductory course exploring and describing the duties, responsibilities and relationships of the American Federalism system.

PUAD 3303. Introduction to Public Policy. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours). [WI]

An introductory course in the public policy making process to include formulation, negotiation and implementation of public policy as well as policy evaluation.

PUAD 3304. Texas and Local Governmental Intergovernmental Relations. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

A course on the intergovernmental relationships and responsibilities between state and local governments (counties, municipalities, schools districts and special districts). This course should be offered in a semester in which the state legislature is in session so that students can experience reality based field observation (field trip to the state legislature).

PUAD 3305. Introduction to Public Budgeting. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course will introduce the processes, formats, and theories of public budgeting to include taxation, service delivery levels and expenditures at the federal, state and local levels.

PUAD 3306. Leadership in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course will explore the various leadership theories as well as other related topics to leadership associated with the public sector and public governance.

PUAD 3307. Futures Studies in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course will offer an introduction into futures studies methods and processes and how futures studies can be utilized to improve public administration and prepare future public administration models and issues, particularly as they relate to future conditions, challenges and opportunities facing public administration, responsible government and public governance.

PUAD 3308. Seminar in Professional Practices in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course will offer an introduction into professions and professionalism in public administration. The course will address professional conduct, responsibilities and roles at the various levels of government as it relates to public administrators.

PUAD 3309. Comparative Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

An introductory course in comparative public administration; exposure to other systems of governance and public administration (foreign).

PUAD 4301. Legitimacy in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course will explore legitimacy, legal authority and trust related to public administration. It will also delve into the US Constitution, Constitutional Law and the Federalists Papers and other sources of authority and legitimacy of public administration.

PUAD 4302. Evidence Based Decision Making in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course will explore utilizing information, research, statistics, other types of information and sources as it relates to the disciplined process of evidence based decision making in the public sector.

PUAD 4303. Emergency Management in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This class will focus on all areas of emergency management, National Incident Management System (NIMS), Incident Management System (ICS), and the duties and responsibilities of the various players, at all levels of government in responding to natural, man-made, bio-hazard, chemical, medical and terrorist type incidents and how it relates to American Federalism. Included in this course will be the study of emergency management from the perspective of continuity of government and planning related to emergency management.

PUAD 4304. Organizational Behavior in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

Public sector organization behavior related processes, motivation, leadership, systems and other topics related to how public organizations perform, establish and pursue public sector objectives in the public interest paradigm.

PUAD 4305. Human Resource Management in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

Human resource management from the point of view of the unique demands and circumstances found in the public sector including motivation theories, talent management (recruitment, hiring, development, training, promotion and discipline) and strategic human resource needs of public sector organizations, now and into the future.

PUAD 4306. Project Management in the Public Sector. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course will focus on planning, executing and finishing public sector project utilizing a number of systems approaches and project management models.

PUAD 4307. Public Policy Domains in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course will focus on a variety of policy areas (domains), issues and challenges across the spectrum of public administration. This course can be repeated once, but requires the approval of the department head or academic advisor.

PUAD 4308. Public Policy Analysis. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course will focus on the policy analysis process to include problem identification, formulation of alternatives, measurement criteria, evaluation and decisions loops and the tools associated with decision-making in the public sector.

PUAD 4309. Basic GeoSpatial Techniques and Technologies. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 3 Hours).

Basic introductory course in geospacial technologies and techniques associated with geographical information systems.

PUAD 4310. GeoSpatial Methods for Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 3 Hours).

The use of GeoSpacial equipment and techniques, utilizing GIS information for intelligence led governance (aka smart governance), planning and project development and management. Prerequisite: PUAD 4309 or equivalent.

PUAD 4311. Emerging Issues in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

Seminar class on emerging issues across the political, cultural, economic, and social spheres that are related to World/USA issues that might impact public administration at any one or all levels of government -- federal, state and local.

PUAD 4312. Non-Profit Sector Management. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course will focus on management of nonprofit organizations delivering public goods and services.

PUAD 4313. Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation for Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course will focus on alternative dispute resolution methods and mediation for problem-solving associated with individual and community disputes.

PUAD 4315. Research Methods in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course will focus on research methods and processes associated with scholarly inquiry and the practical application of research and evaluation research in public administration.

PUAD 4316. Statistics in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

Dedicated course in statistical methodologies and applications associated with public administration. Prerequisite: PUAD 4315.

PUAD 4317. Capstone in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours). [WI]

This course will provide for a capstone experience in public administration leading to the completion of a senior paper in some area of public administration. This course is a required course for the BSPA. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior Status.

PUAD 4318. Public Administration Ethics. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course presents an analysis of contemporary ethical issues in public administration. Classical and contemporary ethical theories will be applied to the discussion of such issues as discretion, corruption, public interest, equity, deception, professionalism, and the nature and meaning of justice. Prerequisite: Junior classification or approval of instructor.

PUAD 4319. Professional Writings in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours). [WI]

The process of developing and documenting information related to undergraduate studies in public administration, including researching, editing, revising, and creating technical reports, case narratives, grant applications and reports, academic and field related research proposals, training modules, and formatting professional correspondence to include memoranda. Students will use word processing and related graphic software. Prerequisites: ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302.

PUAD 4384. Internship in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course will provide an opportunity for a student to work in a public sector organization to gain experience, establish work ethic and create a network for career development. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior Status.

PUAD 4386. Independent Study in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course provides flexibility of inquiry and study in an area of interest in public administration. Requires approval of department head or instructor.

PUAD 4390. Special Topics in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course is will examine and explore various topics of interests in public administration that will be determined on an rotational basis. Requires approval of the department head or academic advisor.