Master of Public Administration
Course Description
PADM 632: Environmental Planning Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Emphasizes student work in environmental assessment and in solving environmental planning problems through design alternatives. Includes an evaluation of administrative agency structure, policy development, and regulation and enforcement.
PADM 633: Methods of Urban Planning Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Provides a survey of the methods of local planning in the governmental and administrative setting. The course is geared toward the administrator and technician in dealing with urban planning problems.
PADM 634: Regional Planning Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Provides an overview of regional planning in the United States, with a focus on metropolitan regions and issues affecting those areas. Such issues will include growth management, financial disparities, transportation, and housing and poverty.
PADM 640: Urban and Regional Issues Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Basic definitions and concepts in urban studies, interdisciplinary perspectives on the urban process from the perspectives of history, economics, geography, sociology, political science and related disciplines. Some focus on the qualities of urban research activities.
PADM 651: Administrative Theory I: The Context of Public Administration Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. A broad introduction to the study and practice of public service. Emphasis is placed on the important effects of political, legal, ethical, and organizational factors on the actions of public administrators in the field.
PADM 652: Administrative Theory II: The process of Public Administration Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: PADM 651. An introduction to the process of public administration that provides students with a general overview of the conceptual and theoretical basis for understanding processes in complex public organizations.
PADM 655: Theories of Public Organization Lecture and discussion 3 hours; 3 credits. Analysis of public organizations from environmental (macro) and organizational (micro) viewpoints, viewed as both closed and open systems. The course also examines organizational behavior, design, structure, and evaluation.
PADM 668 Internship/Field Experience 3 or 6 credits. Supervised work experience in a public agency. A written report will be required.
PADM 671: Public Budgeting and Financial Management Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Provides a conceptual and operational understanding of theories, policies, and processes associated with public budgeting and financial management at all levels of government. The course addresses key functions and purposes of budgets and the linkage between budgets and accounting and financial reporting.
PADM 672: Public Financial Management Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: PADM 671. Examination of public sector financial management principles practices and processes. Emphasis and financial auxiliary services employed in local government financial management. Introduction to governmental accounting practices and financial statements. Micro computer applications to public sector financial decision-making techniques.
PADM 695: Advanced Topics Lecture and discussion 1-3 credits. Topics vary each semester.
PADM 696: Directed Readings 1-3 credits. Specially planned readings for the graduate student who wishes to pursue special interests outside the scope of formal studies which are supervised on an individual basis.
PADM 698: Directed Research 3-6 credits. Supervised research on a specific program. A written report will be required. PDF Form
PADM 699: Thesis 6 credits. An approved research project, written under the supervision of a faculty committee, in which the student demonstrates the capacity to design and complete independent scholarly investigation. The completed project must be approved by the thesis committee.
PADM 701: Public Policy and Evaluation Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. An overview of the major approaches to problem solving in the public sector and methods of doing policy research. Students will examine the features of the contemporary public policy-making process, including the major actors and institutions involved in the process and the policy instruments available to them. Students will also explore key theories and approaches to policy analysis and evaluation.
PADM 702: Urban Resource Allocation Students will learn how resource allocation decisions are made in an urban setting. The class will examine various categories of public resources and services, discuss how managers make resource allocation decisions, and the institutions and structural forms of service delivery.
PADM 704: Methods of Public Program Evaluation Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: PADM 753/853. Examination of various methodologies for designing and conducting program evaluation program evaluation and research. Experimental and quasi-experimental procedures will be covered.
PADM 705: Urban Law and Public Policy Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Focuses on issues that impact municipal governments. Students will be able to explain and describe how municipal governments use public policy to address specific concerns within the constraints of the law.
PADM 708: Urban and Regional Economic Development. Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Focuses on the theory and practice of economic development and how this activity impacts urban and regional growth and development. Familiarizes students with various research practices in economic development and introduces students to an array of development policy options.
PADM 711: Urban Services Administration Lecture and discussion 3 hours; 3 credits. Analysis of the range of administrative tools and strategies for the delivery of urban services. Emphasizes new administrative alternatives under conditions of urban change.
PADM 712: Emergency Management and Policy Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Examines the evolution of emergency management in the United States, focusing on the intergovernmental responsibilities and relationships of local, state, and federal agencies in preparing and responding to manmade and natural disasters. Also looks at major policy and regulatory issues of emergency management.
PADM 714: Public-Private Partnerships Seminar 3 hours; 3 credits. Discusses the linkages between the public and private sectors in the delivery of goods and services in the U.S. Provides an in-depth analysis of the forces behind privatization and examines the theoretical and empirical arguments for and against privatization.
PADM 715: Management of Nonprofit Organizations Seminar 3 hours; 3 credits. Designed to create an understanding of the history and role of nonprofit organizations in our society. Examines the nature of the partnerships between public and nonprofit organizations and discusses the challenges associated with managing a nonprofit organization.
PADM 718: Contract Management Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Examines public sector contracting including preliminary design of contracts, contract budgeting, developing specifications, scope of services, bid solicitation, RFP's, evaluation of bids, and awarding and administering contracts. Reviews state and federal laws pertaining to governmental contracting, and examines minority procurement programs, local preference issues, and the impact of fraud, waste and abuse in public sector contracting.
PADM 719: Leadership Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Examines leadership through theoretical and practice-based frameworks. Offers analytical and intellectual examination and reflection on core issues in the practice of leadership. These objectives will be achieved through open discussion, honest self-assessment, experiential exercise, and observation of real-life leadership practice.
PADM 720: Public Personnel Administration Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Examines the basic framework of the public personnel system beginning with the legal requirements imposed by federal and state laws and regulations. General considerations of policy and procedures development, the organization of the public personnel system, the adoption of the personnel ordinance, the determination of various levels of employee status and the coverage of the personnel system are included.
PADM 723: Ethics in Public Administration Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: PADM 651.This course reviews the theory and application of ethics in the public sector, identifying public values and how they apply in the administration of government. Systems of professional ethics are reviewed in the context of public professions. Case studies and best practices are examined to help the student understand the application of administrative ethics in public management.
PADM 724: Administration of Human Services Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Analysis of human services involving direct client/agency interaction. Problems of discretion and control are examined as alternative service delivery strategies which can deal with these problems.
PADM 725: Business, Government, and Society Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: 6 completed hours of graduate work in MBA or MPA program. An overview of business-government-society interactions, with special attention to the influence of public policy and corporate strategy on corporate social responsibility. An important theme is the ethical component of management decision making.
PADM 730: Theories of Conflict Resolution and Problem Solving.
Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. The first part of alternative dispute resolution methods and problem solving. The first part of the course focuses on conflict theory at all levels of human social systems and the second part examines collaborative solving strategies.
PADM 733: Legal Foundations of Public Administration Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Focus on the processes of law and law application by the executive departments of government and especially the independent regulatory agencies, and their control by legislature and court. Examination of the political origins and constitutional status of administrative agencies and of administrative discretion.
PADM 734: Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: PADM 730/830. The course provides conceptual and practical skills in negotiations. It examines the underlying cultural, legal, and organizational issues and problems that impact on managing human resources in the workplace.
PADM 737: Digital Government Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: PADM 651. This course provides public administrators knowledge of current technology issues in the public sector and familiarizes them with technological tools used in delivering public services. The course explores administrative responsibility and accountability in digital government, and problems in managing technology in the public sector. Issues concerning citizen privacy, freedom of information requirements, planning, coordination and sharing information among public sector agencies and the private sector, and building community networks are reviewed.
PADM 738: Conflict Mediation and Arbitration Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: PADM 730/780. Surveys the field of the third-party intervention in dispute resolution. Provides practical skills in mediation and arbitration. Examines the nature and effectiveness of mediation in a wide variety of disputes including labor relations, community, family, environmental, and international conflicts.
PADM 745: Managing Development and Change in Organizations Lecture/Cases/Activities; 3 credits. Examination of the theory and practice of organization development. Participants will take the role of change agent and public manager and apply a range of Organizational Design techniques to public agency situations while giving attention to the particular cultural, political, legal and organizational characteristics of public organizations.
PADM 746: Capstone Seminar in Public Administration Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Prerequisite: Completion of 30 hours in the MPA program or permission of the instructor. Provides a critical analysis of the important theories, concepts, and current issues relevant to the field of public administration the course is designed as the culminating experience of the MPA program and covers topics and issues based on the MPA core curriculum.
PADM 753: Research Methods in the Administration Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. Examination of research design and basic statistical methods through multivariate analysis and interpretation within the context of decision making in public administration. Includes usage of computer statistical packages such as SAS or SPSS.
PADM 781: Intergovernmental Management Lecture: 3 hours, 3 credits. The objectives of this course are to understand the theoretical and historical framework of the working relationships between federal, state and local governments; to understand the structure, function, policy processes and administration of federal, state and local governments; and to explore the impact of intergovernmental relations on critical social, political and economic issues.
PADM 795: Advanced Topics in Public Personnel Administration Lecture 3 hours; 3 credits. An examination of selected topics including job analysis, position classification, test construction, performance appraisal, and affirmative action. The course emphasizes the everyday application of these topics through in-class exercises and short papers. Permission of advisor is required.
PADM 695: Advanced Topics-Courses Offered
Managing Diversity in Public Administration
Labor Relations
Local Government
Environmental Justice
Common Participation in Urban Governance
Strategic Management in Public and Private Sectors
Community Participation
Managing Local Governments
Urban Economic Development
Seminar in Social Marketing in the Public Sector
Critical Issues in Society
Economic Development
Multi-Cultural Leadership
Urban and Regional Development
Information Technology and E-Governments
New Venture Leadership
Technology Issues in Public Organizations
Organizational Behavior
Women in Organizations
Innovations in Government
