Courses

This course examines the reasons why state and local governments use capital budgets and explains why both capital planning and budgeting are central to economic development and essential service delivery. Students will learn how to create a capital improvement plan, and how to convert a capital improvement plan into a capital budget. In addition, students will be introduced to debt management networks and practices, debt structure, and the debt issuance process in the primary and secondary municipal bond market.

This course encourages students to integrate knowledge and skills from across the MPA curriculum to develop a professional portfolio, or a research paper, that demonstrates core competencies. The course is organized as a project-based seminar in which students work individually under the guidance of the professor while sharing feedback and advice with each other. By completing and presenting their capstone projects, students will demonstrate their abilities in the five core competencies of the MPA program: 1) To lead and manage in the public interest; 2) To participate in, and contribute to, the policy process; 3) To analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems, and make evidence-informed decisions in a complex and dynamic environment; 4) To articulate, apply, and advance a public service perspective; and 5) To communicate and interact productively and in culturally responsive ways with a diverse and changing workforce and society at large.

• MPA Capstone Project Spotlights

Career Explorations in Public Service helps students develop a strong foundation for career decision planning through career inventories, research on careers, and personal reflection. The course provides opportunities and resources for students to seek career information related to academic and occupational interests which form the foundation for sound career decision-making. Students will receive career management skills to effectively identify, compete, and secure professional career opportunities. Students are guided through individual and group exercises that assist in identifying needs, values, wants, interest, and abilities. Students also learn job search, networking, and interview skills in preparation for an internship or career search.

This course analyzes various approaches to the relationship between citizen participation and productive public management. It explores factors influencing citizen involvement and examines potential benefits and dysfunctions of an active citizenry. An important focus is on the role of public administrators in creating structures and networks to encourage citizens to work with officials in policy development and implementation.

(previously Intergovernmental and Intersectoral Management)

In recent decades, public problem-solving and public service provision have increasingly taken place through collaborations and partnerships among entities across the public, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors and between different governments. This course overviews how these three different sectors and governments can work together to tackle a wide array of public problems including human services, health care, education, environmental protection, and public safety. The course examines the opportunities, challenges, and strategies involved in the development and management of cross-sector and intergovernmental collaborations to create synergy between sectors for public purposes. These synergies happen between sectors, and at times concurrently, among levels of government.

This course covers the essentials of research design, methods of data collection, and data analysis tools for policy evaluation and management decision-making. The course trains students in data visualization, descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and correlation and regression analysis. The course encourages hands-on work with real data, use of statistical software, and the effective presentation of graphical and numerical results.

The dissertation proposal committee normally consists of three to five members, one of whom should be a member of a graduate faculty outside the School of Public Affairs and Administration. Prior to the defense of the proposal, the composition of the dissertation committee must be approved by the PhD program director.

This course introduces students to the basic principles of economic reasoning. Students will utilize the fundamentals of economic analysis to untangle the complex management and policy problems they will confront as policy makers, policy analysts, and public administrators.

Within this course, students will learn about public sector values and how the role leaders play in working toward an ethical environment. Case studies of scandal, corruption, and run-of-the-mill unethical behavior will be discussed along with frameworks ethical decision making and leadership. The primary goals of this course are to: (a) introduce students to the role that ethics should play in the lives of public sector leaders, and (b) provide tools and strategies for identifying and addressing ethical issues in professional life.

(Course updated as of Spring 2025; Formerly known as Ethical Public Service)

This course covers ethical considerations in public sector and nonprofit organizations, including conflicts of interest, confidentiality, deception, whistleblowing, human rights, and the moral responsibilities of leaders and citizens. The course combines theoretical studies and practical skills to help students gain the necessary understanding of ethical principles, and the tools required to navigate and manage complex ethical situations.

Note: Course is Writing Intensive