Cross-Sectoral Governance in the U.S. Federal System (1)

Staff

Introduction to the roles and responsibilities of the public, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors in the delivery of public goods and services. (Fall)

Introduction to Public Service and Administration (3)

Brinkerhoff

Introduction to the discipline of public administration. The intellectual traditions and theoretical frames of reference that inform public administration as a field of professional practice and study. Current and continuing challenges and controversies. (Fall)

Adams, Conger, Rigby, Barnow

Development of skills and knowledge for conducting original research and critically evaluating empirical studies. Various research designs and data collection techniques are examined. Focus on computerizing data sets for quantitative analysis, analyzing strength of relationships, selecting appropriate statistical techniques, and testing statistical hypotheses. Laboratory fee.

Economics for Public Decision Making (3)

Cellini

The basic tools and concepts in microeconomic analysis; how these tools can be useful in public decision making. (Fall and spring)

Leadership in Public Administration and Public Policy (3)

Staff

Organizational dynamics, management approaches, and workplace relationships that affect behavior in public organizations. Prerequisite: PPPA 6001. (Fall)

Public Budgeting, Revenue, and Expenditure Analysis (3)

Cordes, Kasdin

Survey course that focuses on the institutions and analytical tools associated with raising revenue and allocating/managing resources at all levels of government. Hands-on budgeting skills and communication of analysis to decision makers. Prerequisite: PPPA 6003. (Spring)

Policy Analysis (3)

Infeld

Development of skills in conducting and critiquing policy analyses. Application of methodologies used in analyzing possible consequences of specified alternatives as applied in the public policy decision-making process. Appropriate applications and limitations of policy analysis and its relationship to politics and the policy process.

M.P.A./M.P.P. Capstone (3)

Staff

For M.P.A. and M.P.P. students who will complete their degree program at the end of the fall semester, this course substitutes for PPPA 6009 and 6119, respectively. (Fall)

M.P.A. Capstone (3)

Brainard

Review of concepts and issues; analysis and integration of ethical, political, economic, managerial, and personal values and issues in the field. (Spring)

Politics and Public Policy (3)

Staff

The role of policy analysts in public policymaking. The impact that the political, economic, cultural, and bureaucratic context has on the policymaking process and outcomes. Political and ethical issues raised by the intricate interface of the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors in public policy formulation and implementation.

Introduction to Public Policy (3)

Rigby, Stoker

Foundations of the field of public policy, emphasizing the role of policy analysts in the policymaking process. Topics include agenda setting, decisionmaking, policy implementation, program evaluation, and policy feedback.

Research Methods in Policy Analysis (3)

Conger, Cordes

Multivariate research methods in policy analysis Prerequisite: PPPA 6002 or equivalent. Laboratory fee.

Economics in Policy Analysis (3)

Brock, Cordes, Goldfarb

The application of intermediate microeconomic theory to the study of public policy. Topics include: models of individual choice in policy analysis, policy aspects of models of the firm, theory of market failure and welfare economics, and resource allocation decisions in the public sector. Prerequisite: Econ 6217 or equivalent. Credit cannot be earned for both PPPA 6014 and SMPP 6206.

Benefit-Cost Analysis (3)

Cordes, Cellini

The application of microeconomic theory and welfare economics to the empirical evaluation of public policies and programs. Applied welfare economics as a framework for policy analysis; empirical measures of welfare change; techniques of benefit-cost analysis. Prerequisite: PPPA 6014.

Public and Nonprofit Program Evaluation (3)

Newcomer, Barnow

Theory and practice of program evaluation and evaluative research. Exploration of scope and limitations of current practice in evaluation, considering economic, political, social, and administrative factors. Examination of methodological considerations for design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination. Prerequisite: PPPA 6002 or equivalent. (Spring)

Public Policy, Governance, and the Global Market (3)

Staff

The socioeconomic foundations of government regulation and public policy cooperation for the governance of firms, markets, and globalization. The evolution of national, transatlantic, and multilateral frameworks for market and civil society governance, international competition policy cooperation, regulatory harmonization, and industry standards.

M.P.P. Capstone (3)

Adams and Staff

Policy theory and typologies; policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation; ethics and practice in policy analysis, processes, content, and contexts; policy linkages to multiple disciplines. Students submit an analysis of a substantive policy primarily utilizing resources in the D.C. region. (Spring)

Maximum Likelihood and Causal Modeling (3)

Conger, Cordes

Experimental and quasi-experimental designs; measurement issues. Prerequisite: PPPA 6013 or equivalent.

Leadership in Complex Organizations (3)

Staff

What the manager must know and do to provide leadership and guidance in large, complex organizations. An exploration of leadership theories and the factors and processes that condition effective leadership. (Spring)

Ethics and Public Values (3)

Harmon

Ethical dimensions of personal and professional judgments of public officials. Cases are used to consider the ethos of public organizations and the moral foundations of public policy. (Fall)

Governing and Managing Nonprofit Organizations (3)

Worth

Historical, legal, and social foundations of the nonprofit sector. Developing organizational strategy and capacity; managing staff, boards, and volunteers; financial management; fund raising, marketing, public advocacy, and other external relations; partnerships and entrepreneurial activities; measuring performance; and policy issues.

Managing Fund Raising and Philanthropy (3)

Worth

Fund-raising for nonprofit organizations and the management of relationships between donors and recipient organizations. Positioning the organization for fund raising; roles of staff and volunteers; principal techniques for identifying, cultivating, and soliciting donors; ethical principles; emerging trends; and relevant policy issues.

Nonprofit Enterprise (3)

Worth

The use of business methods by nonprofit organizations, commercialization in the nonprofit sector, and the relationship between nonprofit and for-profit entities in pursuing social purposes. Case studies.

Managing Nonprofit Boards (3)

Worth

Overview of the responsibilities, roles, and management of nonprofit boards. The emphasis is on governing boards, but advisory councils and boards of other types are also considered.

Managing State and Local Governments (3)

Staff

Examination of state and local governmental structures and functions, their place within the federal system, their revenue sources, their limitations, and the alternatives available to encourage more effective administration to meet public and private demands. (Fall)

Land Use Planning and Community Development (3)

Staff

Theory and practice of land use planning. Issues of competing land uses in an era of increased sprawl, population pressure, and environmental threat. Growth management techniques and practices in states and localities; the use of various regulatory controls and economic incentives to achieve desired outcomes. The idea of "sustainable community." (Spring)

Financing State and Local Government (3)

Staff

Analysis of the theory and practice of public finance in state and local governments. Includes the financing of services through municipal taxation, intergovernmental funds, debt instruments, and other revenue sources. Review of expenditures as well as financial management practices. (Spring)

Urban and Regional Policy Analysis (3)

Cropp

Examination of selected national policies and their effects on urban areas and governments. Emphasis on policy dimensions of urban systems and their relationship to the social, political, and economic context. Against the background of urban politics and administration, areas of health, education, welfare, manpower, transportation, and housing are addressed. (Spring)

Governmental Budgeting (3)

Kasdin

Survey of the actors, institutions, and processes in the federal budgeting system. Executive budget preparation/execution, legislative review and approval of budget requirements, and independent audit of government spending. (Fall)

Financial Management in the Public Sector (3)

Staff

Intensive analysis, using the case study approach, of concepts and principles used in the not-for-profit sector for financial management purposes. Disciplines of accounting, budgeting, operations control, management, and auditing are integrated into comprehensive management control systems and include issues of system design and implementation. (Spring)

Public Budget and Tax Policy (3)

Staff

Policy tools available to pursue social objectives, including grants, loans, contracting out, regulation, tax credits, and tax expenditures. Focus on criteria such as effectiveness, efficiency, equity, legitimacy, and administrative ease. (Summer)

Contracting Out and Public-Private Partnerships (3)

Staff

Contracting out and public-private partnerships as methods of delivering government goods and services. Policy and implementation issues, including when and how contracting out may provide a more efficient and effective method of delivering government goods and services.

International Development Administration (3)

Brinkerhoff and Staff

An institutional and policy context for work in the international development industry. Mainstream policies, reform efforts, and alternative approaches. Major actors, selected policy areas, and regional and comparative perspectives.

International Development NGO Management (3)

Brinkerhoff

Provides an understanding of the primary implementers of international development assistance. Overview of NGO management, highlighting those features that are particular to NGOs active in international development, including NGO relations with government and donors. Recommended: PPPA 6057 or approval of instructor.

International Development Management Processes and Tools (3)

Brinkerhoff

Training in development management tools and processes; application of international development approaches specific to the development management profession. Key theories and perspectives of community development and development management. Recommended: PPPA 6057 or approval of instructor.

Policy Formulation and Administration (3)

Staff

Impact of economic and political factors on public policy formulation and implementation; intensive analysis of the analytical, normative, and decision-making models of the policy process with special emphasis on their relationship to current policy problems. (Summer)

Fiscal Federalism (3)

Brunori

How federalism and intergovernmental relations affect public finance, policy, and administration. Salient issues of intergovernmental relations in the areas of environmental protection, welfare distribution, education, homeland security, immigration, and health care.

Environmental Policy (3)

Staff

Current issues in environmental policy: biodiversity, land use including wilderness protection, climate change, environmental justice, economic growth, and ecological sustainability.

Environment, Energy, Technology, and Society (3)

Staff

The identification, examination, and evaluation of how environment, energy, and technology are interrelated and how these interactions influence policy formulation and implementation at the international, national, regional, industrial, and organizational levels. Same as SMPP 6207.

Legislative Management and Congress (3)

Brainard

Analysis of Congress as a management system; examination of its internal administration and its role in formulating policy through legislation. Staffing practices, leadership, rules and procedures, oversight functions, and coalition building. (Fall)

Law and the Public Administrator (3)

Staff

Exploration and analysis of the functions of law in a democratic society. Emphasis is placed upon the procedural, historical, and jurisprudential dimensions of American law. This broad perspective seeks to convey understanding of the law as a legal and moral force guiding and constraining public decision making. (Spring and summer)

Federal Government Regulation of Society (3)

Brainard and Staff

Analysis of the federal regulatory process as it affects the public and private sectors. The regulatory process from legal, economic, administrative, and political perspectives. (Spring)

Case Studies in Public Policy (1 to 3)

Staff

Critical analysis of topical issues in public policy, using a case-study approach. May be repeated for credit, provided the topic differs. (Fall, spring, and summer)

Special Topics in Public Policy (3)

Staff

Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes. May be repeated for credit, provided the topic differs.

Practicum in Public Policy and Public Administration (0)

Independent Research (arr.)

Staff

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor and program director.

Seminar: Public Administration and American Political and Social Institutions (3)

Staff

Contemporary and historical literature in the institutional and intellectual development of public administration. (Spring)

Research Methods (3)

Adams, Newcomer

Doctoral seminar on theory and practice in research methodology. Data sources and gathering, research models and designs. Critical evaluation of research studies. Emphasis on application of research methods to policy questions. (Spring)

Seminar: Public Finance and Budgeting (3)

Staff

The many facets of budgeting and finance and the research approaches used to study issues in this field.

Seminar: Public-Private Sector Institutions and Relationships (3)

Staff

Same as SMPP 8311.

Seminar: The Policy Organization (3)

Staff

Unique problems of complex organizations: public, private, and mixed. Emerging concepts and theories. Selected issues.

Seminar: Program Evaluation (3)

Newcomer

Doctoral seminar on theory and practice in public and nonprofit program evaluation. The broad range of approaches undertaken, current controversies in the field, and the political and ethical context for evaluators.

Seminar: Public Organization Theory (3)

Harmon

Survey of contemporary normative and epistemological issues in public organization theory and practice. Analysis of the past and present influence of logical positivism, behaviorism, pragmatism, humanism, existentialism, phenomenology, and postmodernism. (Fall)

Current Topics and Research (1)

Staff

Current scholarship discussed in a seminar setting. The conduct of research and presentation of research findings. May be repeated for credit.

Advanced Special Topics in Public Policy (3)

Staff

Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes. Limited to doctoral students or master's students with instructor approval. May be repeated for credit provided the topic differs.

Philosophical Foundations of Policy and Administrative Research (3)

Harmon

Philosophy of science as applied to research in public policy and public administration. Topics include the nature and current problems of epistemology, development and role of theories, and relationships among theory, methodology, and empirical data.

Dissertation Workshop (3)

Infeld

Limited to doctoral candidates who have taken and passed the qualifying examination and completed all required course work in a policy or public administration field. Critical analysis of current research. Formulation of a dissertation proposal and development of dissertation research strategies.

Doctoral Seminar (1 to 3)

Staff

Advanced Reading and Research (arr.)

Staff

Limited to students preparing for the Doctor of Philosophy general examination.

Dissertation Research (arr.)

Staff

Limited to Doctor of Philosophy candidates. May be repeated for credit.