Courses

Philanthropy: Volunteerism, Fundraising, and Community Engagement examines the role of volunteers and philanthropy as vital to the success of nonprofit organizations. Different from the profit and public sector, the nonprofit sector is built upon the good deeds of volunteers and the private financial support of individuals. Students will have the opportunity to develop basic knowledge and skills in how nonprofits recruit, secure, and retain volunteers and financial contributions through a study of the art and science of this important work.

This course introduces the theory, history, and structure of nonprofit organizations and how these relate to leadership and management in the nonprofit sector. Emphasis is given to critical functions such as volunteer management, strategic marketing and communications, executive leadership, board governance, policy advocacy, and program evaluation.

(previously Introduction to Public Administration)

This course introduces students to what public administration is as a field of study and why it is critical to the practice of democratic governance. This learning process occurs through the identification of intellectual, theoretical, institutional, and constitutional foundations distinctly found in the study and practice of public administration in the United States, as well as in other democratic contexts. It also explores the intersection between public administration theory and practice, examines many of the practical challenges currently affecting civil servants at all levels of government, and emphasizes ways in which the boundaries of the administrative state evolve. At the course's conclusion students are able to: (1) identify seminal public administration scholars and theories as well as many of the political, economic, and social issues affecting public administration in the 21st century, (2) apply theories of democratic governance to the practice of public management, and (3) have developed an understanding for how the rule of law legitimatizes public administration in theory and practice.

This course provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate public and nonprofit programs. It surveys the background and accountability demands for evaluation in the public and nonprofit sectors. Important topics and techniques of evaluation are explored, including needs assessment, program theory, assessing implementation (process evaluation), assessing impact (summative evaluation), analyzing cost effectiveness, and communicating evaluation findings. The role of evaluation in management and the policy process is also discussed. Students apply concepts from the course by reviewing current examples of evaluation studies and by designing their own evaluation of a program or initiative of interest.

Supervised arrangement for readings, research, assignments, fieldwork, and/or internship as agreed upon by faculty instructor and academic dean. Credits awarded by arrangement.

Note: Credits vary from 1-4

This is a seminar focused on theoretical issues in public budgeting. The aim of the seminar is for the student to understand the central issues and questions in the areas of public budgeting and public finance, and the place of this field of study within the larger context of public administration, thus enabling the student to incorporate public budgeting and finance concepts into their research agenda.

This course examines critical questions of public expenditures in the United States. The goal of the course is to understand the reasons for government intervention in the economy, the extent of that intervention, and the responses of individuals and firms to the government’s actions. Specific topics include public goods, environmental and health externalities, political economy, fiscal federalism, education finance and policies, healthcare finance and policies, and welfare programs.

This course introduces students to basic financial and managerial accounting principles, techniques and concepts that relate to the allocation, investment, and control of public funds. Students will learn how to use financial information to make decisions in public, health, and not-for-profit organizations. Some of the topics covered in this class include financial condition analysis, cash and pension fund investing, time value of money, accounting and financial reporting.

Public Service as Responsible Citizenship is about people living together in democratic communities and the particular role community service plays in support of those communities. Community service in a wide variety of settings has become a significant way in which we accomplish public goals. This course critically examines the community service approach to “public work” and seeks to understand how service might be more effective in improving community life. Students will learn basic strategies and tactics utilized by individuals, groups and organizations to maintain and improve the quality of life in their communities.

The purpose of this course is to introduce doctoral students to the philosophy and methods of qualitative research. Through an examination of the evolution of qualitative methods, the various forms of qualitative research, and the ways to conduct qualitative research studies, students will develop the basic skills necessary to develop qualitative research designs and to conduct qualitative research. It will examine the similarities and differences between qualitative and quantitative research design, different approaches to qualitative research, including grounded theory, analytic induction, and ethnomethodology, and how these relate to mixed methods design. Students will be introduced to qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, including interviews, observation and participant observation, ethnography, case studies, content analysis, historical and archival methods, action research, and video methods. The course will enable students to interpret, evaluate, and present qualitative data and to design their own qualitative research proposal.