Bulletin--Public Administration Program

Public Administration


College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Dean: Joseph Julian

Public Administration Program
HSS 379
415-338-2985
Director: Yong Hyo Cho

Faculty
Professors—Browning, Cho, DeLeon, Gemello, LeGates, LeVeen, Miller, Osman, Pomerleau, Reisch, Schneider, Seashore, Shen, Tabb

Assistant Professor—Stowers

Program
Master of Public Administration

Program Scope
The goal of the program is to prepare people for responsible positions in the public sector. This includes positions in government but also in such entities as community development corporations, nonprofit social service agencies, planning and consulting organizations, and activities of private firms in public affairs and public policy areas. Applications are welcome both from persons proceeding directly from an undergraduate degree without prior experience and from those with experience who wish to strengthen their capabilities or prepare themselves for new opportunities.

The program is based on the premise that policy and administration must be understood in relation to each other, and the core of the program seeks to develop knowledge, skills, and understanding in both public policy and public administration. Beyond the core, the program offers a variety of opportunities to specialize. With approval of the program adviser, students may choose electives from courses throughout the university so as to specialize in such policy areas as housing, environmental planning and regulation, or criminal justice; or develop competencies that cut across policy areas; for example, in policy analysis, program evaluation, public finance, or personnel management. Opportunities for specialization include electives in public management, nonprofit administration, and public policy in addition to emphases in social welfare administration and services, and urban policy and planning; requirements for these emphases are listed on the following pages. Students may, with approval of the program adviser, choose electives that include courses listed under the emphases as well as courses relevant to public policy and administration offered by many other departments and programs.

Career Outlook
Graduates from the MPA program pursue their professional careers in various government agencies at federal, state, and local levels, such as the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Government Accounting Office, city management, and state offices. In addition, many others find careers in nonprofit organizations, and consulting and research firms. Some go on to the Ph.D. in Public Administration at other universities in order to enter into a career in higher education.

MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Graduate Advisers: Blecha, Browning, Cho, DeLeon, Gemello, LeGates, LeVeen, Miller, Osman, Pomerleau, Purcell, Reisch, Seashore, Schneider, Shen, Tabb

Admission to the Program
Ordinarily, applicants should have a grade point average of 3.0 or better in the last 60 units of academic work. In addition to the application for post-baccalaureate study submitted to the university Admissions Office, applicants must:

For fully classified status in the program, applicants must meet the following prerequisites:

Applicants who do not meet the prerequisites may be admitted on condition that they complete them within one academic year.

Students who lack basic knowledge about American society, government, and politics may be required to take additional preparatory work prior to advancement to fully classified status. Potential applicants who are still completing their undergraduate work may wish to strengthen their preparation for the program with courses in public administration, economics, politics, public policy, and research techniques.

Written English Proficiency Requirement
Level One: satisfactory performance on the Graduate Essay Test (GET) before or during the first semester of attendance. Level Two: master's project or thesis must be written at a level commensurate with professional standards in the field.

Advancement to Candidacy
Approval of a student's proposed course of study (the Graduate Approved Program) advances a student to candidacy. Completion of the Graduate Approved Program requirements qualifies the student to apply for the award of the master's degree. Besides meeting university requirements for advancement to candidacy, students are required to:

Courses for this program are listed in alphabetical sequence (see Public Administration discipline in the Announcement of Courses section). Upon advisement, upper division and graduate courses in other disciplines may be accepted if they contribute to a coherent program related to the student's educational objectives.

Core Requirement				Units
PA 700		Introduction to Public Policy 
		and Administration		    3
PA 710		Research Methods for Public 
		Administration			    4
PA 720		Microeconomic Applications for 
		Public Administration & Policy	    3
PA 730		Politics of Policy-Making and 
		Implementation			    3
PA 740		Managing Organizational 
		Behavior			    3
PA 745		Managing Human Resources	    3
PA 750		Managing Budgets in the Public 
		Sector				    4
Internship Requirement
PLSI 603	Public Service 
		Internships (3) and
	PLSI 604	Internship Seminar (1) or
URBS 650	Urban Internship 
		Fieldwork (3) and
	URBS 651	Urban Internship 
			Seminar (1)*		  0-4
Culminating Experience Requirement
PA 895	Master's Project or
	PA 898	Master's Thesis			    3
Emphasis (see below) or Electives on advisement	   10
		Minimum total			37-41
*Internship requirement may be waived upon evidence and approval of previous or concurrent educationally appropriate work experience in public policy or administration or may be met with equivalent courses in related programs.

Emphases
Urban Administration
PA 760	Urban Administration			 3
Units selected from the following		 7
	ECON 506	Economics of State and 
			Local Government
	ECON/URBS 535	Urban Economics
	GEOG 858	Seminar in Environmental 
			and Land-Use Planning
	GEOG/URBS 433	Urban Transportation (4)
	PLSI 712	Seminar in Urban Politics 
			and Policy Foundation (4)
	URBS 514	Urban Growth Managment (4)
	URBS 565	Social Policy and Family 
			Systems (4)
	URBS 570	Urban Health Policy
	URBS 580	Urban Housing
	URBS 582	Homelessness and Public 
			Policy
		Total for emphasis		10
Public Management
PA 725	Public Management			 4
Units selected from the following		 6
	PA 765		Management Information 
			Systems in the Public 
			Sector (4)
	PA 727		Advanced Seminar in 
			Public Management
	PA 747		Financial Management 
			in the Public Sector
	PA 767		Administrative Law
	ECON 601	Applied Macroeconomics
	ECON 806	Cost Benefit Analysis 
			and Strategic Planning
	PLSI 501	American Bureaucracy (4)
	PLSI 731	Government and Ethics
		Total for emphasis		10
Policy Analysis
PA 780	Policy and Organizational Analysis	4
Units selected from the following		6
	PA 765		Managing Information in 
			the Public Sector (4)
	PA 782		Program Evaluation
	ECON 320	Introduction to 
			Econometrics
	ECON 805	Seminar: Applied Analysis 
			in the Public Sector
	ECON 806	Cost-Benefit Analysis in 
			Strategic Planning
		Total for emphasis		10
Non-Profit Administration
PA 770	Administration of Non-Profit 
	Organizations				 4
Units selected from the following		 6
	PA 780		Policy and Organiza-
			tional Analysis (4)
	PA 727		Advanced Seminar in 
			Public Management
	PA 747		Financial Management 
			in the Public Sector
	PA 782		Program Evaluation
	MKTG 868	Marketing of Non-Profit 
			Organizations
	PLSI 731	Government and Ethics
	SW 800		Planning and Program 
			Development
	TPW 460		Grant Writing
		Total for emphasis		10
Project or Thesis
A master's project is accomplished in the project seminar, PA 895. It may involve research or carrying out a plan of action and submitting a report. The project may be conducted by a student working individually or by a group of students. Projects are subject to approval by the project instructor and by the program adviser. A thesis involves research, usually on an individual basis, in consultation with a faculty committee. (For specific guidelines for thesis, see "Supervision, Review, and Submission of Theses and Written Creative Works.")

After initiating a research program (PA 895, Master's Project, or PA 898, Master's Thesis), graduate students must enroll each semester in PA 897, Research in Public Administration, until the project or thesis is completed.


Bulletin 1994-96 Table of Contents, SFSU Home Page

last modified July 21, 1995