Department of Public Administration

MAPA 5088. Thesis. 1-6 Credit Hours (Lecture: 1-6 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

Scheduled when the student is ready to begin the thorough and scholarly investigation of a topic acceptable to the thesis committee. The thesis must provide evidence that the candidate has pursued a coherent program of research related to the student’s area(s) of specialization, the results of which reveal academic excellence and which make an original contribution to the discipline. Prerequisite: Student must successfully complete the MPA comprehensive examinations and all preliminary coursework. Project must have approval of major professor.

MAPA 5300. Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 3 Hours).

This is an introductory, survey course designed to give students an understanding of public administration as a scientific discipline applied to professional practice within the context of American government at the local, state and federal level. Topics include a master’s level survey of the major theories of public administration and governance, interagency and intergovernmental relations, agency reform, ethics of public service, organizational dynamics and behavior, human resource issues, and public budgeting and finance.

MAPA 5301. Organizational Behavior in the Public Sector. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

Behavioral theory in organizational context for the public sector. A study of individual and group dynamics in the business environments. Specific emphasis is given to leadership, motivation, communication, employee supervision, and morale in all organizational settings.

MAPA 5302. Human Resource Management in the Public Sector. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

Presents the fundamental principles and techniques of personnel management and examines the management of human resources from the point of view of the personnel officer, the operational manager and the employee for the public sector. Examines the responsibilities of organizational leadership for incorporating human resource issues in strategic planning and initiatives. Emphasis is placed on current legal considerations, issues and research.

MAPA 5303. Public Sector and Non-Profit Marketing and Communication. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course will examine the role and application of marketing in public and nonprofit settings. The course focuses on a conceptual understanding of the marketing discipline and marketing processes and shows how basic concepts and principles of marketing are applicable to public and nonprofit organizations.

MAPA 5304. Legal Aspects for Public Managers. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

A critical evaluation of the role courts play in American public administration. Topics include the structure, function, and operations of the courts at the state and federal level.

MAPA 5307. Statistical Methods. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The study of basic and advanced descriptive and inferential statistics, with an emphasis on applications in public administration. Credit will not be awarded for both MAPA 5307 and CRIJ 5300. Prerequisite: MAPA 5398 or CRIJ 5398.

MAPA 5310. Introduction to Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

An overview of the history and intellectual foundation of public administration including the major ideas, developments, theories, concepts, and contributors to the growth of public administration and its practice in the United States. Credit will not be given for both MAPA 5300 and MAPA 5310.

MAPA 5311. Intergovernmental Relations. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 3 Hours).

This course is a study of the interrelationship of local, state, and federal government entities with emphasis on intergovernmental relations on administration, planning, budgeting, and policy making.

MAPA 5315. Budgeting and Financial Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course is a master’s level introduction to the principles of planning, budgeting and budget administration as applied to the unique requirements of local, state, and federal government agencies. Although strongly based in budgeting theory, the major course goal is to provide students with the basic skills needed to effectively work as an effective team member with agency professionals and external consultants to create and administer public agency budgets.

MAPA 5320. Management and Strategic Planning for State and Municipal Government. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

State and local governments within the context of the American governmental system. Special emphasis on federalism, the constitutional/legal relationships between state and local governments, and the institutions, organizational forms, and political processes in American state and local government especially related evolving governance models, such as new public management, new public service and other models.

MAPA 5322. Ethics in Public Service. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course focuses on the moral and ethical issues surrounding public administration and governance in an environment of socially responsible public service. This course will expose students to the underlying themes that will prepare them for situations they are likely to confront in the field of public administration, which includes the non-profit and none-governmental organization (NGO) environments.

MAPA 5323. Program Evaluation and Assessment. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course aims to teach students the skills to conduct program evaluations and assessments, research efforts that determine if a public program is working as intended (processes) and achieving the objectives for which it was designed, goals known in program evaluation as outcomes. Students will learn the components of an evaluation, how to craft a logic model that illustrates the processes of a program and intended outcomes as well.

MAPA 5324. Effective Writing for Public Administrators. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

The course is designed for students in public administration who want to communicate more effectively with a variety of audiences. The course aims to teach students the fundamentals of academic and professional writing and generally, to introduce students to the kinds of writing assignments they will encounter as graduate students in the program. The course will include short writing assignments in which students will learn to apply fundamental concepts of academic and professional writing that all professionals and scholars use, such as thesis statement, rationale, reasoning with evidence, and structure. Students will also learn strategies for critical reading and analyzing texts.

MAPA 5330. Advanced Public Budgeting and Financial Management. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course is an in-depth study of the budgeting and financial management of government agencies. Topics include taxation, bonds, special issues in administering matching funds, grants and grant administration, revenue flow, contracts, and fiscal problems of local and state governments including maintenance of services during revenue shortfalls. Prerequisite: MAPA 5320 Public Budgeting and ACCT 5307 Governmental and Not-For-Profit Accounting or permission of instructor.

MAPA 5331. Public Policy Formulation and Analysis. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

Course provides broad exposure to the fundamental tools of policy formulation, negotiation, implementation and analysis. While competitive markets are often efficient, there are many barriers to perfectly functioning markets, such as market failure(s), that lead to the need for public policy. Ultimately, the goal of the course is to lead students to appreciate the method of thought and processes associated with allocation of resources at their disposal as seems “best” to them — and how this method can be a widely useful tool for assessing the need for and impact of public policy.

MAPA 5335. Diversity Management in the Public Sector. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course introduces students to the study of diversity management in the public sector. Understanding diversity and learning how to manage it is among the most important challenges public managers are facing today. The purpose of this class is to provide students with the knowledge and understanding required to meet the challenges presented by our increasingly diverse society. Students will examine the need for diversity and cultural competency in the workplace and the roles that public institutions play in defining inclusions, differences and identities. The course covers key dimensions of diversity such as strategic race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, skill level, physical ability, communication styles, and multi-generations in the workplace.

MAPA 5340. Critical Incident Management. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course is a graduate level introduction to crisis planning and management for mass casualty and high profile events. Topics include agency roles natural and man-made disasters, terrorism and other major criminal events, and other high profile incidents. Emphasis will be placed in inter-agency cooperation and interfacing in planning, event management, and long-term, post-event management.

MAPA 5343. Public Health Economics and Budgetary Policy. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This three-credit graduate level course provides a comprehensive introduction to the multiple systems that define, describe, and shape the health care budgeting and public funding in the United States. The course provides opportunities to examine the historic, social, political, philosophical, and economic factors that shape the U.S. health care system. Topics include the components of the health care system such as public health budgeting, organizational structures, multi-organizational systems and networks, financing, access and quality improvement, cost containment, ethics, technology, communication, and leadership. The course focuses on the administration of public provision of care and public funding of health care, such as the Affordable Care Act and the health care exchanges, Medicare, Medicaid, S-CHIP, Tri-Care. The government has a large role in both the funding of health care and the provision of care with the goals of increasing access, increasing equity, and increasing quality of care. The role of public health care administration and how public sector health care systems are budgeted will be stressed, along with public sector economic and fiscal impacts, which effect public service and the communities they serve.

MAPA 5345. Managing Critical Social Problems. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course will provide students with an overview of the contemporary social issues and the role of government in management or mitigation of those issues. Topics include crime, employment, health care, neighborhood stability, gentrification and community regeneration, and their effects on community residents.

MAPA 5350. Public Administration Capstone. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course requires demonstration of competency in public management through completion of a substantial research project incorporating independent study and critical analysis of a specialized area of the field. This is the capstone course for the Master of Public Administration Program. Prerequisite: completion of all other course work required for the Master of Public Administration degree, including core courses and emphasis area courses, unless an exception is approved by the major professor.

MAPA 5363. Leadership in Public and Non-profit Organizations. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course is designed to help students understand how nonprofits and public organizations exercise leadership. Students will examine the theory, issues, and skills associated with leadership and management of nonprofit and public organizations. Students will also understand the concept of public ownership of non-profit organizations and how it imbues specific ethical and legal responsibilities beyond what is standard for private sector organizations.

MAPA 5370. Public Health Services Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course will provide graduate students an overview of the United States public health and healthcare system. This will be an introduction to a complex healthcare system that is currently undergoing systematic change. This is a discussion course in which text books, lectures, discussion, and outside reading will be used. Comparisons to health care systems in other countries will be made. At the conclusion of the course, students will have a comprehensive awareness of factual information, data, and statistics unique to the United States public health and healthcare delivery system. This is an advanced level graduate course.

MAPA 5380. Internship. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course gives students the opportunity to integrate the more theoretical aspects of their coursework with participant observation of the operations of a government agency closely related to the student’s area of specialization. The experience will utilize a series of work assignments within the agency to give students a range of experiences to enhance their understanding of professional, public administration. Students will document their experience for presentation as determined through consultation with their major professor who will arrange placements with agency mentors. Prerequisite: Approval of major professor.

MAPA 5385. Seminar in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course will allow for flexible topic choice related to current and future trends in public administration. Topics such as comparable and futures studies in public administration along with other evolving and emerging issues in public administration can be further explored via this course.

MAPA 5390. Independent Study. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This is an independent research course requiring development of a literature review. methodology, and/or data collection in collaboration with the supervising professor. Prerequisite: Approval of MPA graduate advisor.

MAPA 5398. Research Methods in Public Administration. 3 Credit Hours (Lecture: 3 Hours, Lab: 0 Hours).

This course will introduce students to multiple research methods, specifically applied in the fields of public administration, in particular to public, non-profit and non-governmental organizations, and policy evaluation. This course will assist the student in understanding the role of research and evaluation in public programs. Credit will not be awarded for CRIJ 5398 and MAPA 5398.