PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
(See Public Administration in the Academic Programs section for information on the degree)
Graduate Courses
700 Democracy and Public Administration in Diverse Environments (3)
Orientation to careers and profession of public administration. Overview of history of public administration as a discipline and field of study. Assessment of public policy formulation and analysis, and public management.
710 Research Methods for Public Administration (4)
Prerequisites: upper division courses in research methods and data analysis. Social science foundations of professional work in administration, policy analysis, planning, politics, and related fields. Use of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. Applications of research design and data analysis to problems in policy and administration.
720 Microeconomic Applications for Public Administration and Policy (3)
Prerequisite: a course in microeconomics. Application of tools of economics to public policy and administration; microeconomics and welfare economics applied to analysis of public and private sector decisions and performance; production and cost of public goods; impact of public decision making on households and firms.
725 Public Sector Management (4)
Application of administrative and management systems to public sector organizations. Overviews administrative reorganizations, public planning systems, budgetary systems, and program evaluation techniques. Special emphasis on information management in government.
727 Advanced Seminar in Public Management (3)
Prerequisite: PA 700. Designed to study management systems and techniques developed for high performance and high productivity in the public sector including total quality management systems.
730 Politics of Policy-Making and Implementation (4)
Politics of policy making and implementation. Impact of economic structure and fiscal constraints, and of social, historical, legal, political, and administrative conditions. Strategies for change, control, and effectiveness. Alternative ideological perspectives on public policy and political conflict.
740 Organizational Theory and Behavior (3)
Study of structures, goals, and behavior in organizations, combining background in theory and research findings with development of interpersonal skills needed for effective individual and group functioning in organizational settings. Emphasis on governmental and community organizations.
745 Human Resources Administration (3)
Study of concepts, functions, issues, and skills associated with personnel management in public and third-sector organizations. Policy aspects, legal issues, and personnel functions emphasized.
747 Financial Management in Public/Non-Profit Sectors (3)
Prerequisites: PA 720 and 750. The theoretical and practical aspects of financial management today in both public and non-profit organizations. Topics include taxation administration, public service costing, cash management, cutback management, public investing, debt management, and capital budgeting.
750 Public Sector Budgeting (4)
Prerequisites: P A 720. Introduction to methods, processes, and issues of budgeting and resource allocation in governmental and organizational behavior of the budgetary process. Classwork, three units; computer laboratory, one unit.
760 Urban Administration (3)
Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. Systematic examination of the administrative environment, the governmental system and structure, administrative innovations, and decision-making in urban government in the United States.
765 Public Sector Information Management (4)
Prerequisites: ECON 101, P A 700, and 710, or equivalent courses. Public sector information management. Overview of computer applications for public policy and administration. Computer usage in public sector personnel administration, budgeting, policy analysis, and management. Students may not take both P A 765 and BICS/BA 814 for credit.
767 Administrative Law (3)
Prerequisite: P A 700. Designed to explore the constitutional and legal context and content of public administration and to address issues relating to the integration of legal and administrative perspectives in public administration.
770 Administration of Non-Profit Organizations (4)
Prerequisite: P A 700 or consent of instructor. Overview of fundamentals of administration of non-profit organizations with special emphases on social policy roles, economic and political dimensions, and administrative issues involving regulation, governance, and organizational management.
780 Seminar in Public Policy Analysis and Evaluation (4)
Prerequisites: P A 710 and 720. An introductory seminar in public policy analysis and evaluation that overviews the theory and methodology of policy analysis and program evaluation as used by legislatures and public sector agencies. Policy models, cost benefit evaluation techniques, evaluation research methods are highlighted to provide hands-on experience for the student.
782 Seminar in Urban Planning and Public Decision–Making (4)
Prerequisite: P A 780. Urban planning and public decision-making models and techniques. Application of urban land use planning, local public investment, and benefit/cost analysis to metropolitan problems. Attention to: needs articulation, choice, program design and evaluation; time, equity and ethics in urban planning.
784 Program Evaluation (3)
Prerequisites: P A 710 and 730 or equivalent. Development of skills for conducting program evaluations in either the public or the non-profit sectors. Topics include evaluation design, measurement, advanced impact analysis, project implementation and management, and the design and evaluation of requests for proposals and proposals themselves.
790 Special Topics in Public Administration (3)
Prerequisite: P A 700. Topic to be specified in the Class Schedule. Offers comprehensive coverage on a special topic in public administration, including such topics as ethics in public service, managing diversity, and administrative reform. May be repeated for a total of six units of credit as topics vary.
858 Seminar in Environmental and Land Use Planning (3)
For course description, see GEOG 858.
895 Master's Project (3)
Prerequisites: advancement to candidacy for the master's degree and consent of graduate adviser. Action or field research project. Individual or team development of project design, implementation, and analysis. Presentation and critique. Graduate Approved Program and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration.
897 Research in Public Administration (3)
Prerequisite: P A 895 or 898. Continuing independent and original research in public administration under the direction of an M.P.A. faculty member. Required for all students who have not completed their master's thesis or research project. May be repeated. Cannot be used in degree program. CR/NC grading only.
898 Master's Thesis (3)
Prerequisites: advancement to candidacy and consent of candidate's thesis committee. Research of a topic or problem in public policy or administration. Graduate Approved Program and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration.
899 Special Study (1-3)
Prerequisites: consent of graduate major adviser and supervising faculty member. Study is planned, developed, and completed under the direction of a faculty member. Open only to graduate students who have demonstrated ability to do independent work. Enrollment by petition. May be repeated for credit.