PO SC 609 Directed Study in American Politics 1-3(1-3,0) Supervised reading and/or research in selected areas of American government. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits. Preq: Consent of instructor.
PO SC 616 Interest Groups and Social Movements 3(3,0) Empirical and normative examination of the origins, roles, and influence of interest groups and social movements in the United States and of the relationships among interest groups, social movements, and democratic theory. Preq: PO SC 101, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 621 Public Policy 3(3,0) Introduction to the major approaches to public policy making in American government. Topics include theories and models of policy making, the identification of policy problems, agenda setting, the formulation and adoption of policy, implementation, and program evaluation. Preq: PO SC 101, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 623 Urban Politics 3(3,0) Examines the nature and scope of politics in urban communities and offers an analysis of urban governance, especially in the interaction of public authority and private institutions in metropolitan areas. Emphasis is on the structure, processes, and problems challenging governments in urban America. Preq: PO SC 101, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 624 Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations 3(3,0) Introduction to historical, theoretical, legal, and fiscal aspects of constitutionally divided government. Federal, state, and local division of responsibility for public services is emphasized along with the emerging devolution of those responsibilities from the federal government to states and localities. Preq: PO SC 101, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 627 Public Management 3(3,0) Examination of emerging management problems and issues facing federal, state, and local government and the application of management principles, practices, and techniques of public administration. Preq: PO SC 101, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 628 National Security Policy 3(3,0) National security threats and policy decision making. Issues covered include weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, organized crime, narcotics, arms control, intelligence, and homeland security. Students deliberate and assess threat priorities and crisis management. Preq: PO SC 102 or 104, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 629 Global Security Threats 3(3,0) Analysis, assessment, and management of the principal threats facing global security today. Topics include rogue nations, regional superpowers, alliances, organized crime, illegal weapons proliferation, and corruption. Emphasis is on the strategies available to the international community for dealing with these threats. Preq: PO SC 102 or 104, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 632 American Constitutional Law: Structures of Government 3(3,0) Examination and analysis of Supreme Court decisions and other legal materials in the areas of national power, federalism, the separation of powers, and the role of the judiciary. Preq: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
PO SC 633 American Constitutional Law: Rights and Liberties 3(3,0) Examination and analysis of Supreme Court decisions and other legal materials in the areas of civil rights and civil liberties, with an emphasis on freedom of speech, freedom of religion, equal protection of the laws, and privacy rights. Preq: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
PO SC 642 Political Parties and Elections 3(3,0) Study of the distinctive features of the American two-party system with emphasis on presidential elections. Parties are examined as formal organizations, coalitions of voters and interest groups, coordinators of nomination and election processes, and managers of policy-making institutions. Preq: PO SC 101, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 654 Southern Politics 3(3,0) Examination of the unique political environment of the American South, with emphasis on the events and social forces which have shaped politics in the region since World War II. Course material is approached from a variety of perspectives, including history, literature, social themes, and political culture. Preq: PO SC 101, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 657 Political Terrorism 3(3,0) Examination and analysis of the international phenomenon of terrorism in terms of origins, operations, philosophy, and objectives. Preq: PO SC 102 or 104, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 658 Political Leadership 3(3,0) Comparative examination of political leaders focusing particularly on types, methods, and consequences of leadership and on the relationship between leaders and followers. Preq: PO SC 101, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 680 Gender and Politics 3(3,0) Examination of the role of gender in politics in the United States and in other countries. Particular emphasis on the role of women in electoral politics, the impact of nationalist violence, and development policies on women's lives, and on women's rights as human rights. Preq: PO SC 101, 102, or 104, Junior standing, or consent of instructor.
PO SC 685 Global Affairs and Governments 3(3,0) Designed for teachers and education students who wish to learn how to incorporate global affairs more fully into high school curricula. Overview of major topics involving foreign policies and world politics is provided.
PO SC 689 Selected Topics 1-3(1-3,0) Intensive examination of a selected area of political science. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits, but only if different topics are covered. Preq: Consent of instructor.
PO SC 702 Research Methods for Public Administration 3(3,0) Use of social science research methods for addressing issues in public management and policy; research design; measurement; sampling and polling; various aspects of locating, collecting, and processing data, including survey design and archive searches.
PO SC 821 Perspectives on Public Administration 3(3,0) Study and practice of public administration in the United States in the 20th century; historical development of the field of public administration; current approaches to the study and practice of public administration.
PO SC 822 Public Policy Process 3(3,0) Major models of policy making including incrementalism, rationalism, pluralism, and elitism; selected areas of public policy including transportation, poverty, energy, and the environment.
PO SC 827 Public Personnel Administration 3(3,0) Organization, techniques and theories of personnel management; interpersonal relations in organizations; personnel change and development; changing conditions in the public service; educational specializations, unions, collective bargaining, etc.; ethics for the public service.
PO SC 829 Public Financial Management 3(3,0) Organization and techniques of governmental financial management; budgetary theories; intergovernmental financial relations.
PO SC 830 Constitutional Law for Public Administration 3(3,0) Principles of American constitutional law; legal issues related to public administration including delegation of power, separation of powers, due process, and civil rights and liberties. May not be taken for credit by students who have taken PO SC 632 or 633 or their equivalents.
PO SC 834 Administrative Law 3(3,0) Legislative, adjudicatory, and general policy-making powers of administrative agencies and regulatory commissions; the scope of judicial review of administrative action. Directed primarily toward the analysis of the political nature of bureaucracy.
PO SC 841 Public Data Analysis 3(3,0) Various aspects of database management, storage, and retrieval; data description; univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis in policy studies and decision-making theory. Preq: EX ST 301, MTHSC 301, or equivalent.
PO SC 860 American Government 3(3,0) Literature of the American political system, its institutions and processes.
PO SC 862 Administrative Leadership 3(3,0) Foundations of leadership in public organizations; personal and organizational values underlying decision processes in the public service.
PO SC 863 Contemporary Administrative Organizations 3(3,0) Problems, processes, and theories of communication, decision-making, agency planning, and control in administrative agencies.
PO SC 867 State Government Administration 3(3,0) State government problems and policy issues emphasizing the modernization of government institutions and comparative state politics.
PO SC 868 Local Government Administration 3(3,0) Administration of local government from the perspective of the professional administrator; the growth of the manager form of local government; the role of local government administrators with regard to policy making, management, and the delivery of services.
PO SC 877 Public Policy Evaluation Seminar 3(3,0) Conceptual and analytic issues in policy and program evaluation including problem definition, goal setting, and criteria formulation; design of evaluation research; indicator design; treatment of uncertainty; and special problems raised by constraints of the political context.
PO SC 878 Selected Topics in Public Administration 3(3,0) In-depth study of an applied problem in public administration as seen through the practitioner's eyes; the methods used to address these problems.
PO SC 879 Internship in Public Administration 1-3(1-3,0) Internship with a government agency requiring a written report detailing the experience.
PO SC 880 Capstone Seminar in Public Administration 3(3,0) Term project integrating the material from other courses in the analysis of a contemporary public administration problem. Field work and applied project required. Preq: Thirty credit hours toward MPA degree and consent of instructor.
PO SC 891 Master's Thesis Research 1-6