Graduate Courses in Public Administration
PAA 505 Intergovernmental Relations
Study of federalism in the United States, including federal-state,
federal-local, state-local and interstate relationships. Emphasis on
politics of present-day intergovernmental administrative arrangements.
Prerequisite: Graduate student or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 516 Information Technology and Public Policy
Impact and design of information systems in public and nonprofit
organizations. Prerequisite: Graduate student or permission Cr. 3
PAA 520 Policy Studies
Examines approaches to the study of public policy such as public
choice theory, implementation analysis, systems analysis, and impact
analysis as they are applied to policy areas such as health, welfare,
education, and criminal justice. Students participate in seminar
discussions and complete a research project. (Not offered every year.)
Prerequisite: Graduate Student or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 540 Seminar in Public Financial Management I
Covers literature on budgeting, both operating and capital, in
federal, state and local governments. Attention to the individual and
the organizational factors which influence budget making in a political
environment. Explores financial, analytical, and management techniques
such as cash and debt management, accounting, and auditing.
Prerequisite: Graduate student or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 550 Seminar in Public Personnel Management
Consideration of selected problems in the public personnel
management process. Emphasis on empirical theories of motivation,
satisfaction, productivity, supervisory patterns, and organizational
conditions. Prerequisite: Graduate students or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 560 State Administration
Analysis of the place of the state executive in the politics of the
American states. Emphasis on the role of the governor and administration
in policy formulation. (Not offered every year) Prerequisite: Graduate
student or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 580 City and Regional Planning
Principles and practices of city and regional planning; including
origins, community design, comprehensive plans, zoning and land use
controls; court decisions, administrative organization, and political
concerns; sprawl, sustainable growth, and economic development.
Prerequisite: Graduate student or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 585 Comparative Administrative Systems
Comparative study of administration systems across different
cultures, with emphasis on administrative practices, structures, and
processes. (Not offered every year) Prerequisite: Graduate student or
permission. Cr. 3
PAA 600 Accountability in Public Policy and
Administration
Presents an integrating perspective for understanding accountability
in public service organizations and issues confronting professionals.
Analytical examination of political/democratic, legal, socio-economic
and ethical theories of accountability. Prerequisite:
Graduate student or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 605 Community Power, Leadership and Administration
Examination of the location of public and private sources of power
and influence in large and small U.S. communities; professional and
amateur leadership patterns, uses and abuses of bureaucratic authority,
administrative opportunities and concerns; cases of development and
service delivery decisions. (Not offered every year). Graduate student
or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 620 Program Analysis and Evaluation
Examines design and implementation of evaluation methods to assess
and improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of programs.
Quantitative and qualitative approaches. Political constraints to
effective evaluations. Provides basic knowledge required for writing
evaluation. (Not offered every year) Prerequisite: Graduate student or
permission. Cr 3
PAA 625
Health Care and Human Services Policy and Administration
History and analysis of health and human services policy in the U.S.
Structures and dynamics, roles of government and citizen groups in
policy formation and implementation, ethical issues, and topics of
current health and human services policy interests. (Not offered every
year.) Prerequisite: Graduate student or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 627 Environmental Policy and Management
This course covers the policy, management, and administrative
questions associated with public sector involvement in environmental
control. Key questions include the relative responsibilities of the
public and private sectors; the appropriate degree of federal, state,
and local responsibility; regulatory efficiency and equity; and
appropriate policy mechanisms to improve environmental quality in the
next decade. (Not offered every year.) Prerequisite: Graduate student or
permission. Cr. 3
PAA 630
Organization and Leadership Theory for Public and Nonprofits
Theories of organizational management and behavior including
leadership, culture, structure, and communication. Organizational
theories of learning, growth, and change. Prerequisite:
Graduate standing or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 640 Seminar in Public Financial Management II
Students prepare and analyze expenditure and revenue trends; examine
the costs and benefits of instituting new programs or expanding existing
ones; present revenue projections; explain expenditure proposals; and
propose a budget document. Practical budgeting experience by creating a
local government budget from scratch to gain insight into the process
and tools of budgeting. (Not offered every year.) Prerequisite: Graduate
student or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 645 Financial Management in Health Care
Financial management skills for health care administration,
including budget preparation and execution, budgetary techniques,
accounting principles, working capital management and reimbursement.
(Not offered every year.) Prerequisite: Graduate student or permission.
Cr. 3
PAA 655 Nonprofit Organization Management
Surveys the nonprofit sector in the U.S., its structure, history and
values, role in the economic system, and selected public policy issues.
(Not offered every year) Prerequisite: Graduate student or permission.
Cr. 3
PAA 670 Regional Governance
Examines the development and administration of sub-state regional
governance, including metropolitan governments and area wide
intergovernmental responses such as interlocal agreements, privatization
and special districts and authorities. (Not offered every year.)
Prerequisite: Graduate student or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 680 Sustainable Economic and Community Development
Analysis of institutions, procedures and problems associated with
achieving sustainable economic and community development both
domestically and international. Focuses on administrative and political
implications. (Not offered every year.) Prerequisite: Graduate student
or permission. Cr. 3
PAA 683
Methods of Analysis in Public Administration and Public Policy
Review of research process, literature, qualitative and quantitative
methods of data analysis, writing reports for different audiences,
displaying data related to a project. Prerequisites: PAA 600
or permission. Undergraduate courses in American Government,
Economics, Statistics; familiarity with Excel. (Formerly PAA 610) Cr. 3
PAA 685 Advanced Methods of Analysis in Public Administration and
Public Policy
Project development from theory development, research hypotheses,
methodology development, data analysis methods, human subject review.
Project results presented to an audience. PAA 683 or permission.
(Formerly PAA 615) Cr. 3
PAA 691 Topics in Public Administration
Major topics have included collective bargaining in the public
sector, current issues in health policy, human services policy, or
growth management. Cr. 3
PAA 696 Public Administration Internship
Professional experience in state government, nonprofit agency,
health care agency, etc. Reports and readings required. Prerequisite:
Graduate students with a minimum of 15 credit hours of MPA coursework.
Cr. 1-6
PAA 697 Directed Research
Individualized research course for graduate students in public
administration, which involves an advanced, specialized research topic
that explores in greater depth a sub-topic raised in a previous course.
Prerequisite: Graduate students with a minimum of 15 credit hours of MPA
coursework. Cr. 1-6
PAA 698 Independent Readings
Individualized readings course for graduate students in public
administration. Approved proposals are either (1) a readings list and
review of the literature for a topic not covered in the program, or (2)
an advanced, specialized research topic that explores in greater depth a
sub-topic raised in a previous course. Credit arranged.
PAA 699 Graduate Thesis
Credit arranged for Ph.D. Candidates.
One 400 level course may be appropriate in choosing electives. See list
of undergraduate courses
in Public Administration.
