Public Administration

Graduate Programs

Description

The Graduate certificate will help students learn skills in human resource management, budgetary analysis, management theory, and public policy analysis.

Certificates

 Program Locations Total Credits
Public Management GC
  • Mankato
 12

Policies & Faculty

Policies

Contact Information

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Department of Government
109 Morris Hall
507-389-2721
mpa@mnsu.edu

500 Level

Credits: 1-4

This course explores topics in political philosophy beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Political thought in United States from colonial period to the Civil War. Puritans, American revolution, republicanism, debate over United States Constitution, Jacksonian Democracy, Thoreau, reformers and religious and secular utopias, women's' rights, states' rights, abolitionism, proslavery.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Political thought in United States from reconstruction to present. Controversies over industrial capitalism: Social Darwinism, Utopian Socialism, Populism, Socialism, Progressivism, Women's Rights, suffrage movement, and contemporary feminism; African American political thought: liberalism; conservatism.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course introduces students to the political philosophies of major thinkers from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The course is designed to enhance students' analytical and writing skills.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

This course explores topics in political participation and behavior beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Elections in the United States at the federal, state, and local levels. Election law, history, factors affecting elections, voting behavior, campaign finance, role of parties and groups, campaign strategy and tactics. Analysis of contemporary elections.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Political parties in United States at the federal, state, and local levels. Cross-national comparisons. Decline and revival of parties. What parties do. Is the two party system the best? Are third parties the answer? Party organization. Voting behavior. Legislative, executive parties. Minnesota focus.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Politics impact on women: women's impact on politics and governance; primary focus on United States but some comparative considerations.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

History, philosophy, techniques, and countermeasures to terroristic and low intensity threats to public order. Both domestic and international terror. The blurring of the lines between low intensity conflict/terrorism and multinational high intensity crime.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course examines the interrelationships between race/ethnicity and politics in the United States with a focus on African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans: their experiences, political attitudes and behaviors, and representation in government. We will examine how some issues, including crime, welfare, and immigration have taken a racial cast, as well as white attitudes toward racial and race-related policies.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course examines how psychological ideas and processes (such as intergroup and intragroup relations, stereotyping and authoritarianism) illuminate concepts, theories, and principles used in understanding political life. We will explore the contributions of psychology in political arenas such as presidential greatness and character, foreign policy decision-making, political tolerance, and mass violence and genocide.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

This course explores topics in international relations beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

An advanced theoretical survey of the dynamics of politics and political change at the global level.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Study of the function and process of the United Nations and other international organizations.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course is a general overview of US foreign policy institutions, processes, and politics. US Foreign Policy is examined in historical, global, and domestic contexts.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

THis course explores the interaction of the three complex contemporary political and socioeconomic phenomena: the continuing expansion of global capitalism, the rise of national(s), and the new wave of democritization around the world. The following topics are covered and discussed in class, with references to specific country and regional examples, (1) the impact of international economic institutions and democritization, (2) new forms of political participation in emerging democracies, (3) cultural and ethnic determinants of democritization, (4) problems of economic inequality in new democracies, (5) social and gender issues of democratic transitions, and (6) the relationship between democratic expansion and world peace.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Focusing on patterns, processes, and problems of international trade, monetary, technological, and investment relations, this course examines the roles played by key government organization in managing conflict and cooperation amoung states.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This interdisciplinary proseminar focuses on conflict resolution in the international arena. In this course, we will discuss causes of conflict, examine approaches to the study of conflict resolution, and analyze the varieties of nonviolent strategies of conflict resolution. Special emphasis will be on the role of third part mediation. Cases (settled or ongoing) will be used to reflect on and evaluate all aspects-from conflict conditions to negotiating activities and process to outcome.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

An overview of the international relations of East Asia, the course examines cooperation and conflict among major powers in the area: China, Japan, and the United States. Topics include Japan's pre-WWII expansionism, China's political transformation and North Korea's nuclear controversy.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course offers a cross-national perspective on the politics of social policy and the welfare state in industrialized parts of the world, including North and South America and different regions of Europe. It also explores distinct national patterns of public policy solutions to the common contemporary problems of social security, poverty, and health care by paying close attention to both domestic factors and the forces of globalization that work to constrain government decisions. This multidimensional approach is designed to enable students to better understand how politics works in different ways to produce collective or social choices.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

This course explores topics in comparative politics beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course focuses on the Russian political system in relation to domestic social and economic environments and also on the role of Russia as a global actor. It examines the post-communist transformation in Russia and other former Soviet republics.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course introduces students to the governments and politics of the South Asian countries. The historical and cultural context of politics are explored, as well as contemporary issues.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This class explores the dynamics that determine politics and effect change in the region. Using a comparative perspective for the major countries in the region, we examine such issues as Islam, nationalism, resources, regional conflicts, impact of the international system, and political development.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course includes a detailed analysis of select countries and theoretical concerns in Latin American studies. Its general goal is to provide students with the knowledge of Latin American politics and societies in both regional and comparative contexts.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

The course examines political processes, governmental institutions and policies of the countries of the Asian Pacific Rim, with special emphasis on China, Japan and the newly industrializing states of Southeast Asia.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course is designed to acquaint undergraduate and graduate students with key concepts and issues in the study of African politics. The historical and cultural context of politics is explored, as well as topics of current importance in the field.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

The course discusses government institutions, political developments, and policy making structures of contemporary Europe, including the former communist countries of East/Central Europe and the Balkans. It will also cover the on-going process of European integration (European Union) and democratization of the former Soviet bloc countries. Some of the topics covered will include elections, party systems, federalism and devolution, ethnic and minority policy, social policy, economic reforms, gender, and politics and cross-Atlantic relations with the U.S.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course introduces students to key issues and concepts in the study of political and economic development. Both theoretical approaches and empirical data are presented. The course is also designed to enhance students' analytical and research skills.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

A comparison of criminal justice philosophies, structures, and procedures found in various countries around the world. Same as Law Enforcement 434: Comparative Criminal Justice Systems.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

This course explores topics in public law beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Legal procedures by which state and federal administrative agencies exercise legislative, judicial, and executive powers. Emphasis is placed on the constitutional position of administrative agencies, the rule making process, the power of agencies to decide rights and obligations concerning individual cases, and judicial control of administrative action.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Review of selected United States Supreme Court decisions, past and present, relating to the powers of the President, Congress, and the federal courts, as well as the division of power between the states and the federal government. Focus is on case briefing and the rationale which underlies the decisions.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Review of selected United States Supreme Court decisions interpreting important freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment. Focus is on the rationale which underlies decisions and their impact on American political social processes. Provides an opportunity to exercise and develop individual analytical abilities through analysis of Court's reasoning.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course examines major schools in American legal thought from the dawn of the 20th century to the present day. Our focus will lie with turn-of-the-century formalism; legal realism; the legal process school; law and economics; and critical legal studies. We will apply legal reasoning from these schools to selected controversal 20th-century Supreme Court cases on church-state issues, gay and lesbian rights, privacy rights, criminal defendants' rights and other issues as appropriate.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

This course explores topics in public policy and public administration beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Politics of the natural environment (U.S. focus). Environmental and opposition values; roles of public opinion, Congress, presidency and courts in environmental policymaking. Policy areas include: air/water pollution, climate change, hazardous/nuclear waste, sustainable development, and common problems like overfishing.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

A broadly based introduction to the issues, processes, and techniques of public sector labor relations.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

The development of public personnel management in federal, state, and local governments; strategic planning and policy making, position management, staffing, performance management, workplace relations.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-4

This course explores topics in political institutions and process beyond what is covered in the existing curriculum. Students study specialized topics of current importance in the field. Specific topics will change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course examines public opinion in American politics. Topics include the definition, nature, and consequences of public opinion; political socialization; public opinion on selected issues; intergroup differences in public opinion, and public polling methods.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

United States Congress and state legislatures, with some cross-national comparisons. Legislative structure, powers; districting, elections, representation, constituency relations; committee system, parties, law-making process, rules and procedure, decision-making, relations with executives and courts. Reforms.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Examination of executive politics in United States at a federal and state level, with some cross-national comparisons. United States Presidency and executive branch, governors and state executive branches, mayors, and other local executives.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

An examination of the structure, jurisdiction, and processes of federal and state courts. Emphasis is placed on selection of judges and justices and on the dynamics of judicial decision-making.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course examines politics in the American South. It examines the historical and cultural roots of Southern distinctiveness: traditionalistic political culture, racial conflicts, hostility toward organized labor, religious fundamentalism, tolerance of state violence, and social and moral conservatism. Major attention is paid to the realignment of white Southerners toward the Republican Party.

Prerequisites: none

600 Level

Credits: 3

Concepts and methods of conducting applied social science research.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Theories and practices of complex public organizations.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course explores topics important to the study of American politics. Specific topics may change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1

Orientation to graduate programs in political science and public administration to facilitate a successful experience in the programs.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-3

This course provides advanced data analysis skills to students working on their final research projects (thesis/APP/capstone). This course includes instruction in methods beyond those offered in core courses, as well as analysis related to students' individual research needs.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course explores topics important to the field of comparative politics. Specific topics may change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course is designed as a theoretical and empiral overview and analysis of the politics, policy processes, and institutions of the developed and emerging welfare states around the world (incl. soc. security, health care, unemployment, family assistance and anti-poverty programs).

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

A capstone course designed to test the student's ability to synthesize and apply information and concepts from the various areas in public administration such as budgeting, personnel administration, finance, organization theory, and policy evaluation.-Ideally, this course should be taken at the end of a student's program in public administration.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

An examination of modern principles and techniques of leadership and management. Emphasis is placed on the interactive style of leadership and behavioral concepts of management.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course explores topics important to the field of political theory. Specific topics may change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course explores topics important to the study of public administration. Specific topics may change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Change is the constant in today's human resource management in public organizations. The technical framework for productivity improvement and employee development is placed in the context of the legal environment. Emphasis is on managing diversity.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

An in depth study of public budgeting and fiscal management, with emphasis on the approaches to budgeting and background on public revenues and revenue management.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

An examination of law and politics in the formal and informal decision-making processes of large state and federal administrative agencies. Emphasis is placed on formal rule making and adjudicatory processes.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Focuses on evaluation of public policy and programs through a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques, e.g., models, forecasting, cost-benefit analysis.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Topics in Public Law. Subject areas will vary from semester to semester. The course may be taken up to three times as topics change.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course would examine leadership at an individual level, organizational level, and at a community level. Topics would include self-awareness, communication, influence, decision-making, managerial and technical competence, and managing conflict. This course would also focus on gaining an understanding of the uniqueness of leadership in public organizations, strategic planning, civic engagement, change management, and integrated leadership with multiple agencies.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course will focus on communication and leadership during crisis situations in a public safety agency. The crisis situations will include internal, as well as external, crises, and will address internal and external communications and leadership. This course will also focus on interagency cooperation, planning, communication, and leadership.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course will focus on establishing an ethical work environment for employees as well as creating an ethical decision making environment in public safety. Along with ethics, this course will focus on addressing constitutional and legal issues that impact the leadership and management of an organization, as well as diversity issues.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course explores topics important to the study of state and urban government and governance. Specific topics may change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-8

Field placement with a governmental agency or related organization. Provides a learning experience in which the student can integrate and apply knowledge and theory derived from curriculum.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-5

Advanced study and research on topics not currently available in existing courses. May be repeated with a change of topic. Requires advisor and instructor approval of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

For those choosing to do the capstone research project in a classroom setting.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-2

For those choosing to write an alternate plan paper.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-3

This course explores topics important to the study of public administration. Specific topics may change depending on the term and instructor. May be retaken with a change of topic.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1-6

This course allows students to meet the thesis/APP/capstone requirement by proposing, writing and presenting a paper at an academic conference. This option is designed for students planning to continue graduate coursework in a doctoral program after completing their MPA degree.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3-6

For those choosing to write a thesis.

Prerequisites: none