Nov 04, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Public Policy and Administration, Public Management Concentration, B.S.


Coordinator: Dr. Liliokanaio Peaslee
Location: Miller Hall, Room 2167
Email: peaslelx@jmu.edu
Phone: (540) 568-5829

The major in public policy and administration provides students with a general foundation in the nature of public policy, the public workplace and its political, legal and managerial environments. This major prepares students for  professional employment and leadership in government and nonprofit organizations. The program consists of a core of courses offering general knowledge essential for understanding and working in the public arena. This core provides students with an appreciation of the political culture and economic environment of public work, measurement techniques and a basic understanding of the policy process.

Students are offered a choice between two concentration options: public policy or public management.

In the public policy concentration students acquire knowledge of the nature, dynamics, implementation and substance of public policy and its analysis. Courses address:

  • Policy processes.
  • Techniques for analyzing policy options.
  • The dynamics and substance of particular policy issues.

The public management concentration emphasizes management and management-related skills. Courses address:

  • The legal environment of public work.
  • Organization theories.
  • Management theories and applications.
  • Management best practices.

In addition, courses in both concentrations heighten students’ critical, analytical and communication skills through case studies, exercises and the intensive writing requirement. The public policy concentration requires a senior seminar  experience that seeks to bring policy theory and analytical skills to bear on a practical issue of public policy. Public management students must complete the dual capstone requirements of a public management seminar and an  internship, requiring an integration of knowledge from both general studies and major studies by focusing students on specific cases and workplace applications.

Because the public policy and administration major develops techniques and skills applicable to varied career paths in public service, students are encouraged to choose a complementary minor with a narrower, substantive focus. The  minors recommended for students’ consideration include criminal justice, environmental information systems, environmental management, environmental studies, family studies, gerontology, health information systems, nonprofit  studies, political communication, substance abuse intervention, telecommunications, urban and regional studies, communication studies, conflict analysis and intervention, sociology, technical and scientific communication, economics,  human resource development, computer science, public health and integrated science and technology.

Interested students may apply to participate in the Fifth Year Master of Public Administration degree program, which allows qualified students to earn an M.P.A. degree with one additional year of study. Students should apply for this  program in their sophomore year. See the Graduate Catalog for more information.

Degree and Major Requirements


Degree Requirements


Required Courses


  • General Education  41 Credit Hours 1
  • Quantitative requirement 3 Credit Hours 2,3
  • Scientific Literacy requirement 3 Credit Hours 2
  • University electives 34 Credit Hours
  • Major requirements (listed below) 39 Credit Hours
Footnotes

1 The General Education  program contains a set of requirements each student must fulfill. The number of credit hours necessary to fulfill these requirements may vary.
2 In addition to course work taken to fulfill General Education  requirements.
3 For this requirement, public policy and administration majors should take MATH 220 , the prerequisite for POSC 295 , a required core course in the major.

Total: 120 Credit Hours

Major Requirements


Footnote

1 The General Education  program contains a set of requirements each student must fulfill. The number of credit hours necessary to fulfill these requirements may vary.

Total: 17 Credit Hours

Public Management Concentration Requirements


Core Requirements: 17 Credit Hours


Choose two courses, one from each list: 6-7 Credit Hours


Institutional Courses


  • PPA 325 - Regional Planning and Organization 3 credits
  • PPA 412 - Seminar in Intergovernmental Relations 3 credits
  • PPA 483 - Emerging Issues in Public Administration 3 credits
  • POSC 302 - State and Local Government 3 credits
  • POSC 380 - U.S. Presidency 3 credits
  • POSC 385 - U.S. Congress 3 credits
  • POSC 396 - International Organizations 3 credits

Process, Issue and Application Courses


  • COB 241 - Financial Accounting 3 credits
  • GEOG 215 - Geospatial Tools I Cartography and GIS 3 credits
  • GEOG 311 - Endangered Environments 3 credits
  • GEOG 344 - Economic Geography and Development Issues 3 credits
  • GEOG 345 - Geography of Poverty 3 credits
  • NPS 300 - Introduction to Nonprofit Studies 3 credits
  • NPS 320 - Nonprofit Management 3 credits
  • PPA 460 - Regionalism and Urban Policy 3 credits
  • PPA 461 - Education and Social Policy 3 credits
  • PPA 462 - Social Welfare and Local Government Policy 3 credits
  • PPA 484 - Environmental Regulatory Policy 3 credits
  • PPA 469 - Philanthropy and Volunteerism
  • PPA 471 - Financial Management for Nonprofit Organizations
  • PPA 473 - Economic and Community Development
  • PPA 475 - Grant Writing and Project 
  • SCOM 350 - Organizational Communication 3 credits
  • Approved WRTC course 3
Footnote

3 Consult the public policy and administration coordinator.

Required Capstone Courses


  • PPA 420 - Seminar in Public Management 3 credits 4,5
  • PPA 496 - Internship in Public Management 4 credits 5

Footnotes


4 This course fulfills the College of Arts and Letters writing-intensive requirement for the major.
5 Students should fulfill the senior capstone requirement for each major and minor separately. This means that senior experiences completed for one major or minor cannot normally be counted for another. Students who have questions  about a particular situation should see the department head or appropriate department coordinator for clarification.

Total Credit Hours: 39