Rural and Local Governments Course Requirements
The rural/local government concentration includes courses on the demographics of rural communities, rural non-profit organizations, and state and local government. This emphasis fits the region surrounding WTAMU – the majority of the 26 counties within the Texas Panhandle are rural. Additionally, the WT125 plan stresses the mission of WTAMU is to meet the needs of these communities as the university strives to become a regional research university. These factors provide an opportunity to connect the program courses, research, and graduate students with rural needs that are common to areas of the Panhandle of Texas and similar rural regions. For students in the Panhandle and in similar areas around the nation, studying these unique communities and governance issues – such as bridging the digital divide and financial management and state oversight for rural communities – provides added value to their degree and makes graduates attractive to potential employees.
Rural/Local Government Concentration (Select nine Hours):
SOCI 6315 Demographics of Rural Communities
POSC 6306 Advanced Topics in State & Local Government
EMA 6310 Emergency Management & Response
POSC 6356 Seminar in Rural Non-Profit Organizations and Management
Core Courses in Public Administration
The required core courses in the MPA program are designed to provide a grounding in administrative approaches, policy, methods, and theory. These courses provide the foundation for students in the program to move into their areas of concentration – criminal justice administration, rural/local government administration, or general administration. The seven core courses are listed below and are designed to achieve these goals and allow students to master these five competencies: ethics, policy, finance, administration, and research methods. These courses involve examining core readings in public administration, administrative management, policy, ethics, statistics, research methodology, and financial administration. These courses will establish a framework for bureaucratic activity, policy formulation, decision-making, and budgeting.
Core Courses (21 hours; Required):
POSC 6350 Seminar in Public Administration
POSC 6351 Seminar in Public Policy (cross-listed as CRIJ 6351)
POSC 6388 Statistics for Social & Criminological Research (cross-listed as CRIJ 6388 and SOCI 6388)
CRIJ 6348 Seminar in Criminal Justice Ethics
POSC 6387 Seminar in Research Methods (cross-listed as CRIJ 6387)
POSC 6353 Seminar in Administrative Management
POSC 6355 Seminar in Public Financial Administration