Political Science
Jason Pierce, Department Chairperson
Grant W. Neeley, MPA Program Director
The Department of Political Science offers one graduate degree, the Master of Public Administration. The Master of Public Administration is a professional degree designed to prepare students for administrative careers in contemporary society.
Assistantships
The department offers three graduate assistantships each year. The graduate assistants perform research and administrative tasks for the faculty. Each assistant receives full tuition remission plus stipend. An assistantship, once granted, is renewable for a second year.
Back To TopMaster of Public Administration (pad)
To receive the Master of Public Administration degree, the student must satisfactorily complete 39 semester hours of coursework with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better.
The 39 hours of coursework must include:
| MPA 500 | Public Administratn | 3 |
| MPA 510 | Quant Mth-Public Adm | 3 |
| MPA 511 | Applied Res Techs | 3 |
| MPA 520 | Organiztn Theory | 3 |
| MPA 530 | Fiscal Administn | 3 |
| MPA 540 | Pub Sctr Hum Res Mgt | 3 |
The required courses may be waived for students with appropriate academic backgrounds.
The remainder of the 39 hours must consist of courses selected from the MPA curriculum. Exceptions may be made, on the determination of the program director, if the students career objectives make public management-related courses in other graduate programs particularly useful. No more than 6 semester hours outside the MPA curriculum may be taken.
Within the general requirements listed above, the student may select one of three options:
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- The student may take 33 to 36 semester hours of academic coursework and three to six semester hours of MPA 595 Governmnt Internshp. A student choosing this option is encouraged to begin the internship only after completing 18 semester hours of other courses. The internship is required of pre-career students.
- The student, under certain conditions, may take 33 to 36 semester hours of academic coursework and three to six semester hours of MPA 597 Public Serv Project. This option is available only to students employed in administrative positions other than internships in public or nonprofit agencies. Students should enroll in MPA 597 only after completing 18 hours of other courses.
- The student may take the full 39 semester hours in regular academic courses.
Accelerated BA+MPA Program
UD undergraduate students within the College of Arts and Sciences with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better at the time of application are eligible to participate in the accelerated BA+MPA program leading to a Master of Public Administration degree.
Eligible undergraduate students are required to apply for admission to the accelerated BA+MPA program and to the Graduate School and may do so as early as the second semester of their junior year. At least 75% of the credit hours required for graduation within the student's undergraduate degree program must be completed before graduate admission can be approved.
Applicants who meet the admission requirements (see 1. above) will be conditionally admitted into the MPA degree program and permitted to enroll in graduate courses approved by both the student's undergraduate department and the MPA program.
Although the students in the accelerated BA+MPA program can take several approved graduate courses while enrolled as undergraduates, only two courses (a maximum of six semester hours) may be counted towards both the BA and MPA degrees. These two courses must be explicitly approved in writing by both the student's undergraduate department and the MPA program before they are taken.
Students admitted to the accelerated program will continue to be classified as undergraduate students until they complete all undergraduate degree requirements. These students need to take 12 or more semester hours per term to maintain full-time status, and will be charged the standard tuition and fee rates applicable to undergraduate students. Graduate courses taken for undergraduate credits will be assessed at the standard undergraduate tuition and fee rate. Under no circumstances will a student be charged tuition and fees in excess of the listed full-time tuition and fees amount (unless increased for overload hours as applicable). Upon successful completion of their undergraduate requirements, students will receive their BA degree.
At the completion of the undergraduate requirements, the accelerated program students may apply for admission into the Graduate School with regular status, after submission of all required admission materials and review by the MPA admission committee. Graduate students within the MPA program need to take a minimum of six semester hours per term to maintain status as full-time students.
Master's degree students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of a B (3.0) in all graduate-level coursework, with no more than six semester hours of C. Students who fail to meet these standards are placed on academic probation or dismissed from the program.
The Master of Public Administration will be conferred upon successful completion of all appropriate graduate degree requirements.
Public Administration*
| MPA 500 | Public Administratn | 3 |
| MPA 510 | Quant Mth-Public Adm | 3 |
| MPA 511 | Applied Res Techs | 3 |
| MPA 520 | Organiztn Theory | 3 |
| MPA 530 | Fiscal Administn | 3 |
| MPA 540 | Pub Sctr Hum Res Mgt | 3 |
| Seven MPA electives selected from the curriculum areas below ** | 21 | |
| Total Hours | 39 | |
MPA Curriculum
| General Administration and Management | ||
| MPA 500 | Public Administratn | 3 |
| MPA 502 | Intergovrnmt Reltn | 3 |
| MPA 504 | State&Local Govrmt | 3 |
| MPA 506 | Urban Administration | 3 |
| MPA 508 | Contmp Iss-Pub Mgt | 3 |
| Analytic Tools | ||
| MPA 510 | Quant Mth-Public Adm | 3 |
| MPA 511 | Applied Res Techs | 3 |
| MPA 512 | Comtr Appl For MPA | 3 |
| MPA 514 | Government Planning | 3 |
| Group and Organization Dynamics | ||
| COM 517 | Organizational Comm | 3 |
| COM 537 | Conflict Management | 3 |
| MPA 520 | Organiztn Theory | 3 |
| MPA 524 | Ethics-Public Adm | 3 |
| MPA 526 | Ldrshp Bldg Comm | 3 |
| Fiscal Management | ||
| MPA 530 | Fiscal Administn | 3 |
| MPA 532 | Govt Fund Mgt&Reprt | 3 |
| Human Resources | ||
| MPA 540 | Pub Sctr Hum Res Mgt | 3 |
| MPA 542 | Pub Sec Lbr Mgt Rel | 3 |
| Policy Studies | ||
| MPA 551 | Intro-Public Policy | 3 |
| MPA 555 | Sel Top-Pub Policy | 3 |
| The Non-Profit Sector | ||
| MPA 561 | Intro-Nonprofit Org | 3 |
| Public Law/Bureaucracy | ||
| MPA 571 | Administrative Law | 3 |
| Topical Seminars/Independent Study | ||
| MPA 591 | Sem in Public adm | 3 |
| MPA 593 | Indp Sty-Public Adm | 1-6 |
| MPA 595 | Governmnt Internshp | 1-6 |
| MPA 597 | Public Serv Project | 3-6 |
Footnotes
| * | The required courses may be waived for students with appropriate academic backgrounds. |
| ** | Exceptions may be made, on the determination of the program director, if the student's career objectives make public management-related courses in other graduate programs particularly useful. No more than six semester hours outside the MPA curriculum may be taken. |
Courses
MPA 500. Public Administratn. 3 Hours
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
- Study of administrative organization, systems, processes and methods as applied to government programs and operations, with a comparison of structural and behavioral approaches.
MPA 504. State&Local Govrmt. 3 Hours
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- An in-depth examination of particular state-local institutional relationships with emphasis upon current issues.
MPA 508. Contmp Iss-Pub Mgt. 3 Hours
URBAN ADMINISTRATION
- An in-depth examination of a current management issue supported by recent literature in public administration and relevant to surrounding local governments. Analysis of root causes of the problem issue. Exploration of management approaches available to local governments. May be repeated once when course focus changes.
MPA 510. Quant Mth-Public Adm. 3 Hours
QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
- Introduction to research techniques involving quantitative methods and analysis applicable to the formation and implementation of public programs. Emphasis on basic statistics and research methodology. Aimed at understanding appropriate application and interpretation of quantitative methods rather than competence in practical or scholarly use.
MPA 511. Applied Res Techs. 3 Hours
APPLIED RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
- Introduction to statistical computing techniques, review of research design and inferential statistics, Ordinary Least Square techniques, violations of assumptions, multi-level modeling, and other topics.
Prerequisite(s): MPA 510.
MPA 513. Geo Info Sys. 3 Hours
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
- Concepts and implementation of project design and analysis in geographic information systems (GIS). Students will learn the practice of GIS as a tool for spatial analysis, and as it applies in public administration. The course will stress database design and present skills for data input, query analysis, and data output using GIS.
MPA 514. Government Planning. 3 Hours
GOVERNMENT PLANNING
- Consideration of the planning function in the administrative process and the role of planning agencies in decision-making and problem solving. Evaluation of trends and changing planning characteristics in the United States.
MPA 515. Disaster Pol in Adm. 3 Hours
DISASTER POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION
- Explores policy approaches and administrative response strategies related to various phases of disasters and security crises in the U.S. and international settings with attention to human rights issues.
MPA 520. Organiztn Theory. 3 Hours
ORGANIZATION THEORY
- Survey of current literature and research on the theory of complex organizations. Rationality in decision making; problems of authority; behavioral, political, and technical influences on organization.
MPA 524. Ethics-Public Adm. 3 Hours
ETHICS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
- This course stimulates an awareness of the moral dimension of public sector problems and decision making contexts. It provides students the tools and techniques they can use to meet demands for ethical judgments and decisive action in their public management careers.
MPA 526. Ldrshp Bldg Comm. 3 Hours
LEADERSHIP IN BUILDING COMMUNITIES
- Seminar class where teams are formed to learn about the processes of building a neighborhood and recommending supportive public policy and other strategic interventions. Participants will be encouraged to refine their notions of community and leadership and to recommend strategies which capitalize on neighborhood assets, improve outcomes, and build community.
MPA 530. Fiscal Administn. 3 Hours
FISCAL ADMINISTRATION
- Study of governmental expenditures and revenues, budgetary and financial reporting, fiscal policy, and other areas of fiscal management, with emphasis on current practices and problems.
MPA 540. Pub Sctr Hum Res Mgt. 3 Hours
PUBLIC SECTOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
- Broad-based study of people management ranging from the development and integration of organizational policy, through the many personnel administrative processes, and the human and regulatory aspects affecting the contemporary public sector workforce.
MPA 542. Pub Sec Lbr Mgt Rel. 3 Hours
PUBLIC SECTOR LABOR MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
- This course is designed to focus on the labor relations' function as it is found in the public sector. Topics to be covered include the rise of government employee labor unions, collective bargaining, and policy impacts of public employee unions.
MPA 551. Intro-Public Policy. 3 Hours
INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC POLICY
- This course is designed to introduce students to the study of public policy and public policymaking. The central concerns of the course involve competing models of the policy process, the policymaking process in the United States, the interplay between the political and economic systems in policymaking, and the processes of policy analysis and evaluation.
MPA 555. Sel Top-Pub Policy. 3 Hours
SELECTED TOPICS IN PUBLIC POLICY
- Policy process, policy outcomes, and policy impact in an area or areas of public policy varying among such topics as transportation, education, welfare, national defense, science, civil rights, and urban and community development. May be repeated when topic changes.
MPA 571. Administrative Law. 3 Hours
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
- Study of the judicial function and activities of federal agencies; formal and informal processes in administrative hearings; basic principles of administrative law; judicial interpretation; the question of increased judicialization of the administrative process.
MPA 593. Indp Sty-Public Adm. 1-6 Hours
INDEPENDENT STUDY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
- Intensive independent research under the direction of a faculty member. Research paper. May be repeated when topic changes. Prior approval of formal project proposal required.
MPA 595. Governmnt Internshp. 1-6 Hours
GOVERNMENT INTERNSHIP
- Assignment to appropriate government agencies or units for the purpose of gaining wide experience with the administrative system through a program of work experiences. Internship includes a related academic requirement.
MPA 597. Public Serv Project. 3-6 Hours
PUBLIC SERVICE PROJECT
- For students currently employed in administrative positions in public or nonprofit agencies. Completion of a written project relating theories and information from the field of public administration to the student's work experience and career objectives. Prior approval of formal project proposal required.
