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Projected Course Rotation

Core Courses (21 required hours):

Course Number & Title Projected Faculty Fall 2023 Spring 2024 Summer 2024 Fall 2024 Spring 2025 Summer 2025 Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Summer 2026
POSC 6350 Seminar in Public Administration 1 1 1
POSC 6351 Seminar in Public Policy (cross-listed as CRIJ 6351) Dr. Lovell 1 1 1 1
POSC 6388 Statistics for Social & Criminological Research (cross-listed as CRIJ 6388 and SOCI 6388) Dr. Rausch 1 1 1
CRIJ 6348 Seminar in Criminal Justice Ethics Dr. Lovell 1 1 1
POSC 6387 Seminar in Research Methods (cross-listed as CRIJ 6387) Dr. Lovell 1 1 1
POSC 6353 Seminar in Administrative Management Dr. Lovell 1 1 1
POSC 6355 Seminar in Public Financial Administration Dr. Lovell 1 1 1

 

Criminal Justice Courses (9 required hours):

Course Number & Title Projected Faculty Fall 2023 Spring 2024 Summer 2024 Fall 2024 Spring 2025 Summer 2025 Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Summer 2026
CRIJ 6340 The Criminal Justice System: An Overview Dr. Bang 1 1 1
CRIJ 6346 Seminar in Criminal Justice Administration & Public Policy Dr. Kim 1 1
CRIJ 6355 Seminar in Rural Criminal Justice 1 1

 

Rural & Local Government Courses (select 9 hours):

Course Number & Title Projected Faculty Fall 2023 Spring 2024 Summer 2024 Fall 2024 Spring 2025 Summer 2025 Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Summer 2026
SOCI 6315 Demographics of Rural Communities Dr. Krauss 1 1 1
POSC 6306 Advanced Topics in State & Local Government Dr. Lovell 1 1
POSC 6310 Emergency Management & Response​ 1 1 1
POSC 6356 Seminar in Rural Non-Profit Organizations and Management 1 1

 

General Administration Courses (select 9 hours): 

Course Number & Title Projected Faculty Fall 2023 Spring 2024 Summer 2024 Fall 2024 Spring 2025 Summer 2025 Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Summer 2026
CIDM 6350 Data and Information Management 1 1 1 1 1 1
CRIJ 6346 Seminar in Criminal Justice Administration & Public Policy Dr. Kim x x
ECON 6332 Problems in Government Finance & Fiscal Policy Dr. Pjesky 1 1 1
POSC 6310 Emergency Management & Response x x x
POSC 6354 Administrative Theory & Behavior Dr. Lovell 1 1 1

 

Comprehensive Exam or Thesis Defense (select 6 hours PLUS either comprehensive exam or thesis defense): 

Course Number & Title Projected Faculty Fall 2023 Spring 2024 Summer 2024 Fall 2024 Spring 2025 Summer 2025 Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Summer 2026
CRIJ 5328 Terrorism TBD
CRIJ 6312 Problems in Social and Political Institutions (cross-listed as POSC 6312) TBD
SOCW 6310 Advanced Social Policy TBD
POSC 6301 Thesis (cross-listed as CRIJ 6301) Mentor
POSC 6302 Thesis (cross-listed as CRIJ 6302) Mentor

Course Descriptions

Core Courses:

POSC 6350 Seminar in Public Administration

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.

POSC 6351 Seminar in Public Policy (cross-listed as CRIJ 6351)

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.

POSC 6388 Statistics for Social & Criminological Research (cross-listed as CRIJ 6388 and SOCI 6388)
Prerequisite(s): undergraduate social statistics or equivalent. Statistical techniques most commonly used in social science research with emphasis on probability, estimation, hypothesis methods, sample techniques and use of SPSS.
CRIJ 6348 Seminar in Criminal Justice Ethics

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

POSC 6387 Seminar in Research Methods (cross-listed as CRIJ 6387)

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

POSC 6353 Seminar in Administrative Management

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.

POSC 6355 Seminar in Public Financial Administration

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

 

Criminal Justice Courses:

CRIJ 6340 The Criminal Justice System: An Overview

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

CRIJ 6346 Seminar in Criminal Justice Administration & Public Policy

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. 

 

Rural & Local Government Courses:

SOCI 6315 Demographics of 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.

POSC 6306 Advanced Topics in State & Local Government

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.

POSC 6310 Emergency Management & Response

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.

POSC 6356 Seminar in Rural Non-Profit Organizations and Management

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.

 

General Administration Courses:

CIDM 6350 Data and Information Management

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.

CRIJ 6346 Seminar in Criminal Justice Administration & Public Policy

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.

ECON 6332 Problems in Government Finance & Fiscal Policy
Analysis of various problems and theories concerning government revenue, expenditures and fiscal policies. May be repeated when topics vary for a maximum of six credit hours.
POSC 6310 Emergency Management & Response

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.

POSC 6354 Administrative Theory & Behavior

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.

 

Electives and Thesis Courses:

CRIJ 5328 Terrorism

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

CRIJ 6312 Problems in Social and Political Institutions (cross-listed as POSC 6312)

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.

SOCW 6310 Advanced Social Policy

Conceptual frameworks are investigated for analyzing and evaluating social welfare policies and programs; policy advocacy is explored.

During their final semester (within the final nine course hours) a student can petition to take their comprehensive exam that test the knowledge of the major concepts and theories in public administration and the concentration areas. Students will answer three questions - one general question, two questions based on their concentration - during an eight hour window using any scholarly source needed. 

Students who pass the comprehensive exam will be progressed to graduation. Those who do not pass intially can be allowed to orally defend their answer. If answers are still not at the passing level a student has the one-time option to return the following semester and re-take the exam. 

POSC 6301 Thesis (cross-listed as CRIJ 6301) and POSC 6302 Thesis (cross-listed as CRIJ 6302)

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.