MPA Courses

Development and role of administration in the governmental process; principles and problems of administrative organization and coordination; financial and personnel management; problems of administrative control and responsibility.

Selected aspects of American public policy, theory, organization, administration and administrative procedures in government. With consent of department head, may be repeated once when topics vary for a maximum of six credit hours.

Major moral theories, application of ethical principles and moral dilemmas in policing, the courts and corrections.

Nonparametrics; measurement; surveys, research, design; scale construction; methodology.

Methods of applying administrative principles to the operating process of governmental agencies. Relevance of administrative theory to management procedures in government. Development and role of public service; basic principles, practices and problems in public personnel management. With permission of instructor, may be repeated once when topics vary for a maximum of six credit hours.

Budgeting problems and internal practices in American government. Problems in administrative organizations in fiscal activities.

Intensive overview of the criminal justice system as a system, including theory, current issues and trends.

Advanced study of organizational theories with application to complex criminal justice organizations in the areas of human resource management, financial management, intergovernmental relations, planning and evaluation of programs. With permission of instructor, may be repeated once for a maximum of six hours when topics vary.

CRIJ 6355 Seminar in Rural Criminal Justice

This course will provide a better understanding of rural policing and crime in the United States. Specific topics discussed are police discretion, misconduct, the purpose of the police, police reform, and unique policing conditions in rural communities. 

Understanding dynamics of rural communities. Course will focus on issues of increasing poverty and diversity in rural populations and navigating the political and social climate to establish short and long-term planning goals.

Selected functions, institutions and processes of state and local governments in the United States. With consent of department head, may be repeated once when topics vary for a maximum of six credit hours.

This course aims to provide a better understanding of non-profit and voluntary organization management in rural communities. Along with the basic knowledge and concepts such as governance, planning, evaluation, volunteer, and financial management, this course encourages students to establish a vision of rural community development and non-profit capacity building.

Principles of database design and structure. Analysis and implementation of database systems with emphasis on the relational model. Detailed study of data modeling concepts and techniques. Topics include physical and logical design, normalization, SQL, transaction and concurrency control, security and data integrity.

Advanced study of organizational theories with application to complex criminal justice organizations in the areas of human resource management, financial management, intergovernmental relations, planning and evaluation of programs. With permission of instructor, may be repeated once for a maximum of six hours when topics vary.

Developing response strategies for natural disasters and socially and environmentally generated hazards. Principles of emergence management include vulnerability analysis, hazard mitigation, emergency response, and disaster recovery.

Interaction of individuals and groups in government organizations. Topics include individual behavior in organizations, group dynamics, communication in the working environment and concepts of motivation.

Terrorism in our world. Understanding what terrorism is, why it occurs and why it will continue into the future.

Critical investigation of social conditions affecting the structure and functioning of contemporary social and political institutions and analysis of public policy solutions to these problems.

The second option for students to complete the program is to enroll and write a master's thesis under the direction of an advising faculty member. The thesis option is designed for students who have aspirations of continuing their graduate education at the doctoral level or those who work in analysis or data heavy fields. All course work must be completed before a student can begin work on their thesis.

Students must gain approval from the program director and potential thesis mentor by the eighth week of the semester prior to enrolling in thesis credit. The mentor and student will work to create a three-member committee (including the mentor) to assess thesis for graduation. 

The following requirements must be met to take the thesis option:

1. Student must have a 3.3 GPA or better in their MPA course work. 
2. Student must identify a specific research area.
3. Student will submit a research proposal with a project focus, question, rationale, literature review, preliminary methodology, and preliminary findings. These proposals should be between eight and 12 pages. 

Thesis projects can be completed in one semester or over the course of multiple semesters. After the first six hours, students will have to enroll to continue progress if the project is not complete.