2013-2014 Graduate Catalog Downloadable PDF (10.71MB)

546 Course Descriptions/Public Service and Administration616. Public Organization in a Pluralistic Society. (3-0). Credit 3. Examination of how public policyissues are contested and shaped by the major cleavages in American society, such as race and ethnicity,economic and social class, and gender; strategies for building consensus across these divisions. Prerequisites:Graduate classification.617. State and Local Government: Institutions and Policy. (3-0). Credit 3. A practical, working knowledgeof the institutions and processes through which state and local policy is made and implemented;learn about and apply the theoretical and empirical tools used to evaluate policy at the state and locallevels. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.618. Education Policy. (3-0). Credit 3. Examines the role of government in education and education policyissues, including equity, adequacy and accountability; final section of class will focus on current policytopics, emphasizing two strategies favored by the Obama administration--charter schools and pay forperformance. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.621. Economic Analysis. (3-0). Credit 3. Microeconomic analysis of consumers, firms and markets; macroeconomicanalysis of growth and stabilization policies; the government’s role in the economy. Prerequisites:Graduate classification and approval of MPSA or MPIA director.622. Public Finance. (3-0). Credit 3. Framework for positive and normative economic analysis of publicsector spending and taxation; application of fundamental analytical principles of public finance to currentissues in public policy. Prerequisites: Graduate classification and approval of MPSA or MPIA director.623. Budgeting in Public Service. (3-0). Credit 3. Designed to introduce selected topics in public administrationand political science literature on the politics of public finance and budgeting; introduce thepractice of budgeting by learning language and issues common to budgeting in government. Prerequisite:Graduate classification.630. Program Evaluation in Public and Nonprofit Organizations. (3-0). Credit 3. Organizations todayare responding to increasing demands for accountability; demands come from an increasingly sophisticatedpublic, clientele, and from funding sources including government, foundations, and corporations;designed to introduce theories, research, and practice for program evaluation and systems that supportthe organization’s information needs. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.631. Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations. (3-0). Credit 3. Provides overviews and examines the underlyingfundamental principles, concepts, and methods of strategic marketing as it is associated withthe nonprofit sector. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.632. Strategic Planning and Financial Management for Nonprofits. (3-0). Credit 3. Introduction tounderlying fundamental principles, concepts, and methods of strategic planning and financial managementapplicable to the nonprofit sector and how they are related. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.633. Philanthropy: Fundraising in Nonprofit Organizations. (3-0). Credit 3. Examines the theory andpractice of fundraising in nonprofit organizations; overview of fundraising strategies and techniquesand how they relate to the achievement of organizational goals; focuses on ways of integrating variousfundraising activities into an effective fundraising program. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.634. Public Management. (3-0). Credit 3. Addresses three critical aspects of public management; the roleof management in the public sector, validity of the argument that government should be run like a businessand the tools public managers need to be effective. Application of organizational theory conceptsapplied to case studies. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.635. Social Welfare and Health Policy. (3-0). Credit 3. Explores the historical development and impactof US public welfare, child welfare, employment, and health social service programs; analyzes valuesand assumptions that formed the foundations of social welfare policy and explores the social, economic,political, and cultural context in which these policies developed and their potential future. Prerequisite:Graduate Classification.636. Contract and Grant Management in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors. (3-0). Credit 3. Examinesthe use of contracts and grants in providing social services; explores the theoretical background ofgovernment contracts and grants; the management of third-party services from the perspectives ofgovernment agencies, private sector contractors, and nonprofit organizations; and the skills needed towrite effective grant and contract proposals. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.637. Decision Making in Government and Public Service. (3-0). Credit 3. Introduction to the studyand practice of judgment and decision making processes in government and administrative settings;content is firmly grounded in empirically-based theory and research with a practical slant designed tohelp develop and improve decision making skills. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.