Course Number: 501
Credit Hours: 0
Title: Orientation and Assessment

Course Description:
Students may study individually with an instructor in an area of mutual interest to the student and the instructor.

Course Number: 5301
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Qualitative Research Methods

Course Description:
POLS 5301 is a research- and writing-intensive course designed to introduce graduate students to the various steps and approaches involved in designing and conducting qualitative research projects in public administration.

Course Number: 5330
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Public Admin: Theory and Methods

Course Description:
This course focuses on defining and tracing the evolution of Public Administration; examines the individual fields of study in public administration, analyzes the concepts, theories, and practices integral to understanding the American bureaucracy and the political environment in which it operates. The course introduces the literature review process and establishes the base of knowledge and skills for successful completion of the MPA.

Course Number: 5331
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Public Organizations

Course Description:
This course introduces students to the major theoretical and practical approaches central to managing public sector organizations by reviewing the major topics, issues and contributions in the literature on organizations and management with an emphasis on government organizations. It will consider problems in government but also emphasizes the many examples of successful management in these organizations, including some of the past and most recent reforms and improvements.

Course Number: 5332
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Ethics and Morality in Public Administration

Course Description:
This course is a survey of the ethical nature and dilemmas of public administration in American society. It focuses on ethical dilemmas and concerns arising from the daily exercise of legitimate discretionary power as well as the conflicts that can emerge with personal moral beliefs. The overall goal is that students will be able to assess and analyze the extent to which ethical and moral values are deeply and widely embedded in our democratic system.

Course Number: 5333
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Leadership in Public Administration and Nonprofits

Course Description:
This course is a survey of the theories and skills for leading and managing in public and nonprofit organizations. Focus is placed upon leadership and management approaches, strategy, decision making, power and organizational politics to bring about change in high performance public organizations.

Course Number: 5334
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Constitutional Law for Public Administration

Course Description:
This course provides in-depth analysis of the U.S. Constitution and focuses on specific constitutional amendments, doctrines and landmark Supreme Court cases as they relate to public administration and administrative professionals. Particular emphasis is given to separation of powers; federalism; individual rights in administrative actions and adjudication; the delegation and non-delegation of administrative power by Congress to administrative agencies; judicial deference to administrative interpretations of statutes; and the constitutional rights and liabilities in public administrative workplace environments.

Course Number: 5335
Credit Hours: 3
Title: State Institutions

Course Description:
This course provides a general overview of the political system of the American states, including state constitutions and the branches of state government. It will also focus on the relationship between states and the national government. Local governments and their role in governance, and their relationship to states will be important components of the course as well.

Course Number: 5336
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Public-Private Partnerships

Course Description:
This course focuses on management theories in the public and nonprofit sector. It includes theoretical questions surrounding decision-making processes and the competing values of managerial practices. The course also examines the concepts of bureaucracy in democratic governance and the complexity of tasks confronting public managers, i.e. the need to include private business and nongovernmental agencies in public management.

Course Number: 5337
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Disaster and Hazard Management for Public Administration

Course Description:
This course specifically is a survey of the theories and skills for public administrators to better understand the factors that can impact the effectiveness of hazard and disaster management in the public interest. Focus is placed on the theoretical paradigms and research conducted in the areas of risk perception, communication and decision-making as it relates to hazards and disasters. This course will examine how risk perception, communication and decision-making vary throughout the disaster management process to give the public administrator a solid foundation of how the decisions they make in everyday government operations can impact the effectiveness in keeping a hazard from turning into a disaster.

Course Number: 5340
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Public policy

Course Description:
This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the study of public policy. The course will provide a general introduction to that subfield of political science. It will also acquaint students with contemporary debated regarding collective action, paternalism, policy competition, policy learning and other issues of interest to policy scholars.

Course Number: 5341
Credit Hours: 3
Title: State Law and Policy

Course Description:
A general overview of the origin and organization of law and lawmaking in the states provides a foundation to examining the stages of the policy process and the implications of public policy for both politics and society. Next, to delve more closely into the way state governments and political organizations affect public policy, we'll spend time investigating how Texas' political culture shapes its policy choices. finally, the intergovernmental response to social problems such as immigration, Medicaid and recreational marijuana also warrants attention to the principle of American federalism and the interconnectivity federal, state and local governments to responding to them.

Course Number: 5342
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Disaster Policy

Course Description:
This course is a survey of disaster policy in the United States for policy and planning decision-makers who must focus on the impact that human settlement patterns, land use decisions and risky technology can have on vulnerable populations. This course focuses on social and political aspects associated with disaster policy and planning.

Course Number: 5350
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Directed Readings

Course Description:
Graduate students may study individually with an instructor in an area of mutual interest to the student and the instructor. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or approval of department chair

Course Number: 5354
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Spec Studies in Pub Admin

Course Description:
Analysis of selected problems in public administration: urban and regional planning and management, administrative reorganization, the environment and related problems. Course may be repeated as topics vary.

Course Number: 5355
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Applied Research Methods

Course Description:
Application of knowledge of public policy and social science methodology to the planning, execution, and reporting of public policy research.

Course Number: 5390
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Thesis I

Course Description:
Students will present a research design, undertake a plan to complete research of their Masters thesis and begin writing the thesis. Prerequisites: Graduate standing, approval of graduate advisor and supervising professor of thesis.

Course Number: 5391
Credit Hours: 3
Title: Thesis II

Course Description:
Students will complete research and writing the Master’s thesis. Prerequisites: Graduate standing, approval of graduate advisor and supervising professor of thesis.