Course of Study

The curriculum for students concentrating in City and County Leadership and Management is created to meet the topical requirements of both pre-service and in-service students.

The curriculum is designed to put students on a career path for jobs such as: 

• City or county manager
• Department manager in planning, fire, emergency management, police, economic development parks and recreation, public works, management/administrative analyst
• Human resources manager
• Budget analyst
• Financial management director
• Employee relations specialist
• Grant writer

Pre-service students are required to take one to two credits of internship. A full list of required courses, electives and descriptions can be found in the program requirements. 

Concentration Competencies

The coursework is designed to meet the NASPAA Local Government Competencies, which has all students in the concentration demonstrate the application of their knowledge and understanding of the:

1. Ethics of local government management, emphasizing the role of the professional chief executive.
2. Roles and relationships among key local and other government elected and appointed officials.
3. Purposes of and processes for communicating with and engaging citizens in local governance.
4. The management of local government core services and functions.
5. The management of local government financial resources.  
6. The management of local government human resources.

The curriculum for students concentrating in Non-profit Leadership and Management is created to meet the topical requirements of both pre-service and mid-service students.

The curriculum is designed to put students on a career path for jobs such as: 

• Executive director
• Assistant director
• Department or service manager
• Evaluator
• Management/administrative analyst
• Human resources manager 
• Financial manager
• Budget analyst
• Grant writer

Pre-service students are required to take one to two credits of internship. A full list of required courses, electives and descriptions can be found in the program requirements.

Concentration Competencies

The coursework is designed to meet the NASPAA Nonprofit Competencies, which has all students in the concentration demonstrate the application of their knowledge and understanding of the:

1. History, values, ethics, governance, and theories and philosophies of the nonprofit sector.
2. Legal structure of the third sector.
3. Revenues, budgeting, and resource management of the nonprofit organization.
4. Human resources and volunteer management.
5. Accountability, performance measures, and program evaluation.
6. External relations and inter-organizational and inter-sectorial relations.
7. Alignment of the nonprofit sector with the environment.  
8. Applications of quantitative analysis and information technology to nonprofit management and policy.
9. Policy making processes.

The curriculum for students concentrating in International Development Leadership and Management is created to meet the topical requirements of both pre-service and mid-service students.

The curriculum is designed to put students on a career path for jobs such as: 

• Agency or program director
• Financial manager
• Economic development manager
• Researcher
• Grant writer
• Business and facility manager
• Visitor center manager
• Information officer and director
• Diplomatic relations officer

Pre-service students are required to take a one or two credit internship. A full list of required courses, electives and descriptions can be found in the program requirements.

Concentration Competencies

The coursework is designed to meet the International DevelopmentCompetencies, which has all students in the concentration demonstrate the application of their knowledge and understanding of the:

1. Differences between economic, social, and political development and different development paradigms associated with development.
2. Relationship between economic development, social development, and political development and differences that exist between developed and developing counties and how developing counties become developed countries.
3. The dynamic aspects (political, financial, societal, environmental, international) of development administration and development management.
4. Problems and issues associated with management and leadership of development policies and programs, and difficulties surrounding assessment of management and leadership performance.
5. Role international (nonprofit, corporations, country specific) organizations play in development design and management of change to existing managerial (financial, human, program assessment) and leadership mechanisms.
6. Role played by international governmental organizations in promoting economic development, promotion of good governance, and nation building.
7. Context and institutions of corruption, types of corruption, sources of corruption, impacts of corruption on social, cultural, economic, and political settings, and the desirability and ability of institutional strategies to minimize corruption.

The curriculum for students concentrating in Leadership and Management is created to meet the topical requirements of both pre-service and in-service students not met by the programs existing concentrations.

The curriculum is designed to put students on a highly specialized career path for jobs such as: 

• Government program or department manager in planning, fire, emergency management, police, economic development, parks and recreation, public works, transportation planning and safety
• Military command
• Human resources manager
• Budget analyst
• Financial management director
• Employee relations specialist
• Grant writer
• Evaluator
• Management/administrative analyst
• Visitor center manager
• Information officer and director
• Diplomatic relations officer

 

Pre-service students may take one to two credits of internship. A full list of required courses, electives and descriptions can be found in the program requirements. 

Five-Year B.A. Planning and Community Development and M.P.A. Master of Public Administration

The Five-Year B.A./M.P.A. program is an accelerated, rigorous program option available to undergraduate planning and community development students who maintain a 3.00 GPA and who show the ability and discipline necessary to successfully complete an accelerated combination undergraduate and graduate program in planning and community development and public administration.

This program allows a student to receive the Bachelor of Arts in Planning and Community Development and the Master of Public Administration in five years. This is accomplished by allowing the undergraduate student to take four planning and community development courses (see list below) for 12 semester credits at the 500-level and one 600-level MPA course. The credits from these courses will count toward to MPA degree and allow the student to finish their bachelor degree with 12 fewer credits. The student’s advisor for the BA and MPA degree must agree to the 500-level courses and the student must submit the Undergraduate Permission to Enroll form to the School of Graduate Studies to request permission and overrides to enroll in graduate courses.  

Students who seek this plan normally applies for the MPA program in their third year or junior year of undergraduate studies or no later than Fall Semester of their fourth or senior year.  The MPA program will allow the student to enroll in MPA 610 Foundations in Public Administration and Public Service their senior undergraduate year. The credits earned from MPA 610 do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

Students must maintain a 3.00 GPA while enrolled in the undergraduate degree element of the program. Students must obtain a B or better in the courses used to count for the MPA program.

Planning and Community Development courses applicable for this program include:

CMTY 522. Land Use Planning and Zoning
CMTY 550. Community Heritage
CMTY 551. Community Design
CMTY 552. Environmental Planning
CMTY 554. Regional Planning
CMTY 555. Grant Development
CMTY 564. Local Economic Development

Students may opt out early with a BA provided that all requirements for the BA are met. If the student does so, the 500-level courses taken will be converted to 400-level courses and applied to the BA degree. Students should know that once the 500-level graduate courses are converted to 400-level courses used to complete the undergraduate degree they may not be eligible to be applied to a graduate degree in the future.

Five-year students are eligible for graduate assistantship funding after completion of the BA degree.

Five-Year B.A. Political Science and M.P.A. Master of Public Administration

The Five-Year B.A./M.P.A. program is an accelerated, rigorous program option available to undergraduate political science students who maintain a 3.00 GPA and who show the ability and discipline necessary to successfully complete an accelerated combination undergraduate and graduate program in political science and public administration.

This program allows a student to receive the Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and the Master of Public Administration in five years. This is accomplished by allowing the undergraduate student to take four political science courses (see list below) for 12 semester credits at the 500-level and one 600-level MPA course. The credits from these courses will count toward to MPA degree and allow the student to finish their bachelor degree with 12 fewer credits. The student’s advisor for the BA and MPA degree must agree to the 500-level courses and the student must submit the Undergraduate Permission to Enroll form to the School of Graduate Studies to request permission and overrides to enroll in graduate courses.

Students who seek this plan normally applies for the MPA program in their third year or junior year of undergraduate studies or no later than Fall Semester of their fourth or senior year. The MPA program will allow the student to enroll in MPA 610 Foundations in Public Administration and Public Service their senior undergraduate year. The credits earned from MPA 610 do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

Students must maintain a 3.00 GPA while enrolled in the undergraduate degree element of the program. Students must obtain a B or better in the courses used to count for the MPA program.

Political Science courses applicable for this program include:

POL 511 The Presidency
POL 512 Legislative Process
POL 513 Judicial Process
POL 563 American Political and Legal Thought
POL 565 Modern Ideologies
POL 566 Health Care Policies and Regulations
POL Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior
POL 570 Administering Public Policy
POL 581 Public Personnel Administration
POL 583 Managing Local Governments
POL 584 Public Budgeting
POL 588 Health Administration
POL 589 Public Management
POL 591 Constitutional Law
POL 592 The Courts and Civil Rights

Students may opt out early with a BA provided that all requirements for the BA are met. If the student does so, the 500-level courses taken will be converted to 400-level courses and applied to the BA degree. Students should know that once the 500-level graduate courses are converted to 400-level courses used to complete the undergraduate degree they may not be eligible to be applied to a graduate degree in the future.

Five-year students are eligible for graduate assistantship funding after completion of the BA degree.

Five-Year B.A. International Relations and M.P.A. Master of Public Administration

The Five-Year B.A./M.P.A. program is an accelerated, rigorous program option available to undergraduate international relations students who maintain a 3.00 GPA and who show the ability and discipline necessary to successfully complete an accelerated combination undergraduate and graduate program in international relations and public administration.

This program allows a student to receive the Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and the Master of Public Administration in five years. This is accomplished by allowing the undergraduate student to take four international relations courses (see list below) for 12 semester credits at the 500-level and one 600-level MPA course. The credits from these courses will count toward to MPA degree and allow the student to finish their bachelor degree with 12 fewer credits. The student’s advisor for the BA and MPA degree must agree to the 500-level courses and the student must submit the Undergraduate Permission to Enroll form to the School of Graduate Studies to request permission and overrides to enroll in graduate courses.

Students who seek this plan normally applies for the MPA program in their third year or junior year of undergraduate studies or no later than Fall Semester of their fourth or senior year. The MPA program will allow the student to enroll in MPA 610 Foundations in Public Administration and Public Service their senior undergraduate year. The credits earned from MPA 610 do not apply to the undergraduate degree.

Students must maintain a 3.00 GPA while enrolled in the undergraduate degree element of the program. Students must obtain a B or better in the courses used to count for the MPA program.

International Relations courses applicable for this program include:

POL 551 International Law
POL 552 United Nations and Regional Organizations
POL 553 Global Environmental Politics and Policies
POL 554 Politics of the Global Economy
POL 556 Terrorism, Insurgency and World Politics
POL 557 Spies and Espionage
POL 558 Global Disaster Relief Policy
POL 534 Politics of the Arab Peninsula
POL 556 Southeast Asian Governments and Politics

Students may opt out early with a BA provided that all requirements for the BA are met. If the student does so, the 500-level courses taken will be converted to 400-level courses and applied to the BA degree. Students should know that once the 500-level graduate courses are converted to 400-level courses used to complete the undergraduate degree they may not be eligible to be applied to a graduate degree in the future.

Five-year students are eligible for graduate assistantship funding after completion of the BA degree.