Public Administration (P A)

P A 400 Introduction to Public Policy in the U.S. (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to public policy and the process of policy formation. Focus on interaction between issues, policy, and politics. Analysis of the policy process, including the roles of institutions and actors, agenda setting, problem identification and definition, policy alternatives and selection, and implementation and evaluation. Specific topics may include education, environment, welfare, gun control, gendered violence, and employment policy.
(This course is offered as PLSI 400/P A 400. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

P A 402 Introduction to Public Administration (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.

Examine the field of public administration, focusing on the management of public agencies as they provide public goods and interact with nonprofit agencies. Explore various subfields such as budgeting and finance, human resource management, organizational behavior and change, ethics, and others. Discuss the importance of public service values like social justice and equity, accountability, effectiveness, and sustainability.
(This course is offered as P A 402 and PLSI 402. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

P A 700 Foundations of Governance and Management (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration.

Introduction to the discipline of public administration and concepts in public administration, nonprofit administration, and public policy. History and theory of the field. Emphasis on basics of professional writing and oral presentations. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

P A 705 Design and Consumption of Research (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration.

Course 1: Applications of research design and data analysis to problems in policy and administration in the public and non-profit sectors. First of a two-part sequence of courses. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

P A 706 Applied Data Analysis (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration; P A 705.

Applications of data analysis to problems in policy and administration in the public and non-profit sectors. The second of a two-part sequence of courses. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

P A 715 Policy Process and Civic Engagement (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration.

Process and politics of policy making and implementation. Impact of economic, social, historical, legal, political, and administrative conditions. Interaction of citizens in civic engagement process. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

P A 720 Organization Design and Change Management (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration.

Structures, goals, and behavior in organizations; focus upon organizational change and development. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

P A 722 Performance Management and Planning (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration.

Strategic planning and performance measurement for public service organizations. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

P A 724 Economic Perspectives (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration.

Macro- and microeconomic perspectives in society. Focus on application of tools in public policy decision making processes and economic impacts on public and nonprofit sectors. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

P A 725 Managing Human Capital (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration.

Concepts, functions, issues, and skills associated with personnel management and human capital in public and non-profit organizations. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

P A 727 Program and Service Delivery (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration.

Contracting process from contracting agency and contractor perspectives, project management, and alternative and traditional forms of service delivery. (Plus-minus letter grade only) [CSL may be available]

P A 730 Resource Allocation and Management (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration.

Budgeting process across governmental and non-profit sectors, political processes of budgeting. Budgeting, resource allocation, and budget analysis methods and computer applications. (Plus-minus letter grade only)

P A 731 U.S. Courts and the Making of Public Policy (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Examine the ways U.S. court decisions affect politics and policy-making in various areas, and the ways citizens and interest groups shape legal outcomes. Topics may include legal activism and the impact of court decisions in areas such as civil rights, abortion, freedom of religion, voting rights, and gun control.
(This course is offered as PLSI 748 [formerly PLSI 744], P A 748, and I R 731. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

P A 733 Intelligence and Foreign Policy (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Intelligence is a key component in the formulation of foreign policy. Review of what constitutes national intelligence. Examine the tension between policymakers and intelligence analysts through the use of case studies and readings. (AB/NC grading only)
(This course is offered as I R 733 [Formerly I R 726], P A 733, and PLSI 733. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

P A 736 International Development and Global Governance (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Examine the theory and practice of international development in developing and transitional countries. Examine how the role, structure, and management of institutions, the public sector, and non-governmental organizations have changed in response to shifting economic and political trends. Analyze how global regimes promote good governance as less developed economies liberalize and their societies democratize. Introduces socialist, feminist, Marxist, radical perspectives, right-wing populist, nationalist, and authoritarian critiques of development paradigms. (Plus-minus letter grade only)
(This course is offered as I R 736, P A 736, and PLSI 736. Students may not repeat the course under an alternative prefix)

P A 740 Public Service Management (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Application of administrative and management systems to public and non-profit sector organizations. Assessment of new trends in the public service field.

P A 744 Nonprofits, Public Policy and Society (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Explore the vital role of nonprofit organizations in shaping and implementing public policy in the U.S. Examine how nonprofits influence legislation, partner with government agencies, and foster civic engagement. Emphasis on the sector's capacity to mediate between citizens and government, refine public preferences, and support democratic processes. Develop conceptual tools for engaging in policy advocacy, research, and program implementation.
(This course is offered as P A 744, I R 740, and PLSI 749. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

P A 745 Perspectives on Nonprofit Management (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Social policy roles, economic and political dimensions, and administrative issues for nonprofit organizations. Regulation, governance, and organizational management issues. [CSL may be available]

P A 750 Financial Management in the Public Service (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Theoretical and practical aspects of financial management in both public and non-profit organizations.

P A 753 Decision Making in the Public Sector (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Examination of decision making in different disciplines and their use in public policy making and agency decision making. Includes new research on ways individuals and organizations make policy decisions. Skill building on different techniques and tools for making public decisions.

P A 755 Information and Knowledge in the Public Service (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Management and effective use of data, information, and knowledge in public and nonprofit sectors. Focus upon the organization, maintenance, use and successful transfer of knowledge to enable organizations to succeed in strategic goals.

P A 762 Leading Change Across Sectors (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Contemporary leadership theory and practice with attention to the unique concerns of public service; applications of leadership to initiating and managing change across sectors.

P A 764 Democracy and Authoritarianism (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Study of democratic and authoritarian regimes, democratization, democratic backsliding, resurgent authoritarianism, and populism. Theoretical and empirical analyses of different types of democratic and authoritarian regimes, how and why regime types change or remain stable, and how illiberal or liberal forces and players may influence political processes and outcomes. Draws on case studies from around the world.
(This course is offered as PLSI 764, I R 764, and P A 764. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

P A 770 Policy Analysis (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Policy analysis and program evaluation used by legislatures and public sector agencies. Policy models, cost benefit evaluation techniques, evaluation research methods.

P A 775 Program Evaluation (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: P A 705, P A 706 or consent of instructor.

Evaluation design, measurement, impact analysis, project implementation and management, and the design and evaluation of requests for proposals and proposals themselves.

P A 776 Environmental Policy (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Covers scope and theories of US and CA environmental policy.
(This course is offered as P A 776 and GEOG 776. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

P A 780 Urban Administration (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Administrative environment, governmental system and structure, administrative innovations, and decision making in urban government in the U.S.

P A 784 Intergovernmental Dynamics (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Focus on the relationships (competition, conflict, cooperation and stalemate) between various levels of government and other governmental /quasi-governmental institutions. Focus on political, administrative and managerial.

P A 791 Prevailing Issues in Public Administration (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent of the instructor.

Exploration of prevailing issues in public administration with an emphasis on emerging theories and concepts in the field and applied analytic techniques. Topics to be specified in the Class Schedule. May be repeated for a total of 12 units as topics vary.

P A 795 Applied Field Experience (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Restricted to graduate students in Public Administration.

Applied, project-based agency experience. Student works with a public, nonprofit, or voluntary agency to gain specific, substantive research or other professional skills to complement the MPA curriculum. May be repeated and included in ATC for up to 3 units.

P A 803 Public Affairs Internship (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Restricted to Public Administration graduate students; P A 700; and permission of the instructor.

Professional work experience: students will work 300 hours in a public or nonprofit agency under the supervision of a faculty member and an on-site work supervisor. [CSL may be available]

Course Attributes:

• Internship Component Req./Opt.

P A 890 Capstone Course in Public Administration (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Advancement to candidacy for M.P.A. degree; approval of Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) and Culminating Experience (CE) forms by Graduate Studies.

Case study analysis as the culminating experience option in fulfillment of the requirements for the master's degree. (Plus/minus letter grade only)

P A 898 Master's Thesis (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Advancement to candidacy (ATC) and permission of candidate's thesis committee, and approval of Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) and Culminating Experience (CE) forms by Graduate Studies.

ATC and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration. (CR/NC grading only)

P A 899 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Consent of the graduate major adviser and supervising faculty member.

Study is planned, developed, and completed under the direction of a faculty member. Open to graduate students who have demonstrated ability to do independent work. Enrollment by petition. May be repeated for a total of 6 units.