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UMSL | Public Policy Administration Program

Core Curriculum and Emphasis Areas

Core Curriculum

Emphasis Areas 

Course Descriptions


Degree Requirements

The MPPA degree consists of 40 credit hours, 28 of which are taken as part of the core curriculum and 12 that are electives.  Students who complete the degree must demonstrate the ability to:

  • Design, research, write, and defend analyses of substantive public policy problems and/or potential solutions
  • Use data and sophisticated analytic tools (qualitative and quantitative) to conduct research in public policy and administration
  • Understand the policy and internal/external environments of public and nonprofit organizations
  • Develop expertise in a substantive area of public policy administration


Core Curriculum

All candidates for the MPPA degree must complete 28 hours in the core curriculum sequence composed of the following public policy administration courses:

Policy Analysis and Economics
P P ADM 6000, Introduction to Policy Analysis
P P ADM 6900, Cases in Public Policy Administration
P P ADM 6080, Microeconomics for Policy Analysis
P P ADM 6210, Public Sector Microeconomics

Public Administration and Budgeting
P P ADM 6400, Proseminar in Public Administration
P P ADM 6600, Managing People in Organizations
P P ADM 6180, Governmental Budgeting and Financial Control

Statistics, Research Methods, and Information Technology
P P ADM 6010, Introduction to Policy Research
P P ADM 6750, Introduction to Evaluation Research Methods
P P ADM 6850, Information Technology and the Public and Nonprofit Sectors

A thesis is not required to complete the program. However, writing is an important component of the degree, and students will complete written analyses as part of their coursework and/or internship.

P P ADM 6000 should be taken at the beginning of the program. It is strongly recommended that P P ADM 6010 and P P ADM 6080 be taken early in a student’s course plan. P P ADM 6900 is a capstone course and must be taken toward the end of the program.


Emphasis Areas

Students may select one of four emphasis areas in which to concentrate their advanced studies:

Students may also select an individualized emphasis area in consultation with their advisor and with approval of the Director.

Prior to the completion of 15 hours in the MPPA program, students should identify an emphasis area. In each of the emphasis areas students may be able to substitute another course for a specified elective, with the MPPA Director’s approval. Specific requirements for each emphasis area are as follows:

Managing Human Resources and Organizations

a. Required (3 hours)
P P ADM 6490, Human Resources in the Public Sector

b. Electives (9 hours) chosen from:
ECON 5400, Labor Economics
MGMT 5611, Advanced Organizational Behavior and Administrative Processes
MGMT 5622, Union-Management Relations and Collective Bargaining
MGMT 5625, Selected Topics in Human Resource Management
P P ADM 6500, Selected Topics in Public Policy Administration (when topic is relevant to Human Resource and Organizational Behavior)
P P ADM 6680, Negotiating Workplace Conflict
P P ADM 6950, Internship – 3 hours (in assignment relevant to emphasis area)

Policy Research and Analysis

a. Required (3 hours)
POL SCI 6402, Intermediate Techniques in Policy Research OR ECON 4100, Introduction to Econometrics

b. Electives (9 hours) chosen from:
POL SCI 6403, Advanced Techniques in Policy Research or
ECON 4110, Applied Econometrics
ECON 4160, Geospatial Economic Analysis
ECON 4170, Fundamentals of Cost-Benefit Analysis
ECON 4550, Natural Resource Economics
ECON 5400, Labor Economics
ECON 5900, Advanced Topics in Economic Analysis
POL SCI 6404, Multi-Method Research
POL SCI 6422, Law, Courts, and Public Policy
P P ADM 6430, Health Care Policy
POL SCI 6444, Seminar in Public Policy and Aging
POL SCI 6452, Public Policy of Conservation and Sustainable Development
P P ADM 6950, Internship (in assignment relevant to the emphasis area)
SOC 4040, Survey Research Practicum for Sociology

Local Government Management

a. Required (6 hours)*
P P ADM 6340, Seminar in City Administration or P P ADM 6350, Seminar in Urban Management
AND EITHER
POL SCI 6470, Proseminar in Urban Politics or POL SCI 6471, Seminar in Urban Politics

b. Electives (6 hours) chosen from:
P P ADM 6300, Leadership and Management in Nonprofit Organizations
P P ADM 6680, Negotiating Workplace Conflict
P P ADM 6490, Human Resources in the Public Sector
P P ADM 6800, Management Information Systems
P P ADM 6950, Internship (in assignment relevant to emphasis area)
POL SCI 4460, Urban Planning and Politics

* For Local Government Management specialization, a course not taken to fulfill the “required 6 hours” may be taken as an elective.

NOTE: Students interested in careers in local government management are strongly encouraged to take P P ADM 6490, Human Resources in the Public Sector, as one of their electives.

Nonprofit Organization Management and Leadership

a. Required (9 hours)
P P ADM 6300, Leadership and Management in Nonprofit Organizations
P P ADM 6310, American Philanthropy and Nonprofit Resource Development
P P ADM 6311, Staff Management Issues
P P ADM 6312, Legal Issues
P P ADM 6313, Financial Issues in Nonprofit Organizations

b. Electives (3 hours) chosen from:
ACCTNG 3451, Accounting for Governmental and Nonprofit Entities
BUS AD 5100, Managerial Communication
BUS AD 5900, Law, Ethics and Business
MKTG 5700, Contemporary Marketing Concepts
P P ADM 6490, Human Resources in the Public Sector
P P ADM 6501, Selected Topics in Nonprofit Management & Leadership
P P ADM 6550, Strategic and Program Planning for Nonprofit Organizations
P P ADM 6680, Negotiating Workplace Conflict
P P ADM 6800, Management Information Systems
P P ADM 6950, Internship (in assignment relevant to the emphasis area)
PSYCH 7412, Social Psychology

Individualized Emphasis Area

Prior to the completion of 15 hours in the MPPA program, the student must present a proposal for 12 hours of specific coursework for approval by the MPPA faculty. The 12 hours must include P P ADM 6950, Internship (in an assignment relevant to the emphasis area) unless the student has significant public or nonprofit sector experience, in which case the internship may be waived and another 3-hour course is selected. See internship guidelines for more information.


Course Descriptions