Public Administration, MPA
Dr. Bryan Robinson, Director
Mission and Goals
The mission of the MPA program is to prepare students to be ethical and effective leaders in public, governmental, and non-profit agencies. Students will develop skills in human resource management, ethical decision making, local government administration and finance, and organizational management. Students can choose electives that focus on general administration and policy to develop additional skills like policy analysis, program evaluation and leadership. Alternatively, students can choose the criminal justice electives to develop skills applicable to the administration of justice in law enforcement, correctional, or judicial agencies.
Learning Outcomes
All graduates of the program will be able to:
- Explain relevant issues that face public administrators using knowledge and fundamental concepts of the practice of public administration.
- Evaluate the ethical implications of decisions made by public administrators’ decisions.
- Analyze public policy, public programs, and/or public services using critical thinking skills.
- Apply financial knowledge to make economically sound and ethical decisions in the public interest.
- Demonstrate the decision-making skills necessary for leadership in the public sector.
Additional Admission Requirements:
- A minimum GPA of 2.5 from a regionally accredited post-secondary institution verified by official transcripts.
- A statement of purpose.
- Two academic/professional letters of reference.
- Curriculum Vita/Resume.
- For applicants with an undergraduate GPA between 2.5 and 2.99, a GRE score of 300 or higher may be required.
Public Administration, MPA
In order to earn a MPA degree, students must complete a minimum of 36 semester hours of coursework with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. At least 26 of these credits must be taken at Clayton State University.
Program Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Master of Public Administration Required Courses | 18 | |
| Public Administration | ||
| Research Methods & App Stats | ||
| Ethics in Public Admin. | ||
| Public Admin HR Management | ||
| Local Govt Admin & Finance | ||
| Org. Theory and Management | ||
| Capstone Experience | 3 | |
| Choose one from the following. (Students should complete an internship unless they currently have full-time employment in the field.) 1 | ||
| Internship in Public Admin | ||
| Project in Public Admin | ||
| Electives | ||
| Choose electives from the following: | 15 | |
POLS graduate level (5000 or 6000 level) courses | ||
CRJU graduate level (5000 or 6000 level) courses | ||
Approved graduate level (5000 or 6000 level) courses | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 36 | |
| 1 | Students working full-time in the public or non-profit sector may choose to complete POLS 6980 Project in Public Admin in place of the internship. Students should consult with the MPA program director to obtain approval prior to the semester the course is taken. |
Criminal Justice (CRJU)
The study of the scope, nature, social characteristics, and distribution of crime in the United States, and the impact of crime trends. Attention will be paid to both street and white collar crimes, policy responses to various crime events, and the ways in which crime in America compares to that of other western nations.
An analysis of the criminal justice systems police, courts and corrections in selected western nations and a study of the functional relations among these key components of the criminal justice system.
A seminar exploring contemporary trends in policing, law enforcement administration, and criminal justice. Specific attention will be given to emerging issues in: ethics, city policing, community policing, and homeland security. These trends will be critically compared with past trends in criminal justice and law enforcement.
This course concerns itself with procedural and substantive aspects of the juvenile justice system, including such areas as history, philosophy, legal shifts, and the systematic processing of juveniles through diversion programs to incarceration.
This course examines the history of domestic drug policy; the U.S. “war on drugs”; the relationship between drug use and crime; trends in domestic drug use and abuse; criminal justice and comprehensive approaches to controlling the use of illegal drugs; and international drug trafficking.
Political Science (POLS)
This course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts and practices relevant to the role of the non-elected, career administrator in a democratic system.
This course will explore the process of public-sector policy-making by examining selected policy issues and outcomes. Special attention will be given to the role of policy analysis and politics in the process.
An overview of research design and research methodology as it applies to social sciences, and a review of descriptive and inferential statistics as they apply to the field of social sciences.
A graduate seminar exploring selected political science topics. A variety of perspectives will be examined.
A graduate seminar exploring selected political science topics. A variety of perspectives will be examined.
A graduate seminar exploring selected political science topics. A variety of perspectives will be examined.
A graduate seminar exploring selected political science topics. A variety of perspectives will be examined.
A graduate seminar exploring selected political science topics. A variety of perspectives will be examined.
This course examines basic issues of morality and ethics associated with public service roles in a democratic society. Topics covered in this course include the foundations of public service ethics, individual-centered approaches to ethics, institutional approaches to ethics, and issues in public service ethics.
This course examines the various roles a public service leader assumes when working within and outside an organization. The course provides an evaluation of leadership theory and application, with special attention paid to governance within public and private organizations.
This course will teach students to analyze complex public-policy issues and develop concise reports with recommendations on how to address these issues.
Designed to familiarize students with techniques that are utilized in evaluating the effectiveness and impact of public policies and programs. It offers an analysis of c program development with emphasis on procedure and design.
This course is a study in human resource management in public and non-profit agencies. It will address current complex human resource issues, by introducing the student to best practices for impacting long-term workforce needs, recruiting and maintaining high-performance teams, and creating a culture of excellence within governmental agencies.
Using case law and real-world examples, students in this class will examine constitutional, administrative, and civil laws that regulate the actions of public servants.
An introduction to local governmental organization and its various agencies. Particular attention will explore the management of revenue-raising and expenditure activities, including financial management, budgeting, grants and contracts, expenditure monitoring, procurement and purchasing policies, and financial auditing procedures.
This course is an introduction to major theories concerning organizational behavior and management in the public sector, including analysis of individual behavior in an organizational context. Contemporary trends in organization theory and public management are emphasized.
Supervised field experience in a governmental or not-for-profit agency. Students will be required to complete a project that uses scholarly research to illuminate experience gained during their internship.
Using knowledge obtained from coursework, and input from a faulty advisor, students will produce a research paper analyzing an element of public administration and/or policy.