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Public Administration Courses
pubadm 601 The New England Political Environment +
Description:
An introduction to the key contemporary systems that now constitute the environment in which legislative and executive policy-making and implementing processes work. This course is designed to provide a thorough understanding (in theory and practice) of: where, how, and by whom policy is made and implemented; how the process is/can be influenced; who pays and who benefits; and how to evaluate results (intended and actual). More Info
Offered in:pubadm 602 The New England Economic Environment +
Description:
This course introduces the student to the theory and tools of regional economies as a framework for analyzing policy issues. The economic and fiscal structure of Massachusetts is studied to identify the inner and outer workings of the Massachusetts economy vis-a-vis New England and the nation. The latter part of the course focuses on the economics of major issues facing policy makers. Such issues include public and private housing, health care costs, public pensions, fiscal and economic competitiveness, and the economics of the capital city, Boston. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 606 Nonprofit Organizations and Public Policy +
Description:
The goals of this course are to (1) familiarize students to the nonprofit sector in the United States, (2) discuss the various roles that nonprofit organizations play as policy actors, and (3) to introduce students to a range of empirical and theoretical work on nonprofit organizations. Using theoretical and empirical readings, this course considers a variety of issues related to the role of nonprofit organizations in public policy including: tax exemption, the increasing commercialization of the nonprofit sector, charitable choice provisions guiding the distribution of federal funds, and the role of nonprofit organizations in political advocacy. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
pubadm 610 Public Management: Theories and Principles +
Description:
This course explores the complex environment in which today's public managers must effectively function. It introduces students to the various theories of complex organizations, with a particular emphasis on those developments most relevant to public organizations. As part of the effort to relate theory to practice, students' own work experiences become a legitimate and important aspect of the subject matter. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 611 E-Government: The Internet and Public Policy +
Description:
This is a graduate-level seminar course that examines how new information and Communication Technologies (ICT's) influence the way government functions and shapes public policy. The course consists of three sections. In the first section, important characteristics of the Information Society are examined in a broader context of social transformation from the Agricultural and Industrial Ages to the Information Age. The role of establishing trust in the Information Age and the functions of the public sector are examined. The second section introduces the notion of e-government. Critical factors of successful e-government operation are explored and innovative cases of e-government practices in the USA and around the world are introduced. The concept of e-democracy and online citizen participation and their implications in our democratic system of governance are discussed. The third section focuses on public policy areas where the domain of the public sector in the Information Age is re-examine and some emerging public policy issues are discussed. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 612 Urban Politics and Policy +
Description:
The course introduces students to the role of public governance, and the group conflicts that swirl around it, in shaping cities and urban regions - with particular attention to local economic development policies, racial and ethnic politics, and challenges in governing fragmented metropolis. Students will understand ways decisions are made in urban contexts. Key topics examined in the course include the evolution of city politics, racial and ethnic segregation, gentrification, urban revitalization, large-scale infrastructure investments, education, health, policing and community relationships, informality, and contemporary efforts to achieve ''smart'' growth at large scale. Crosscutting themes include the special role of business in local governance; citizen participation; equity issues in urban place making; the costs and benefits of local government fragmentation; and contending theories about the balance of forces in the U.S. urban politics. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 614 Human Resources Management +
Description:
This course is designed to familiarize students with the major elements of human resources management in the public sector: personnel management practices and the practice of labor-management relations. The first half of the course examines the basic concepts of human resources management and the principles of planning and forecasting human resources needs. This part of the course examines career planning and management, job design, pay systems, selection, training, and equal opportunity. The second half of the course explores the nature and history of labor-management relations, focusing on the tactics and strategies of management and union representatives and the legal constraints on their behavior in: (1) the organization of public employee unions; (2) contract negotiation; and (3) contract administration and interpretation. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 619 WPPP: Contemporary American Public Policy Issues +
Description:
Fall seminar in Program for Women in Politics and Public Policy. This course provides an overview of the policy-making process and electoral politics, then examines several central public policy issues of contemporary concern, including homelessness and poverty, health, and environmental issues. Readings from the disciplines of sociology and political science analyze how public policy is shaped both by internal processes of government and by interest-group dynamics. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 620 Analytic Skills I: Skills for Policy Analysis +
Description:
This course will introduce a variety of policy analysis tools for policymakers and public managers/administrators; provide an overview of how public policy is shaped by research and numerical data; encourage students to generate research questions and match research methods to the questions; teach how to interpret numerical data in tables, charts, research reports, and articles; introduce basic statistical analysis tools and the interpretation of statistical results as they inform public policy decision making. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 621 Analytic Skills II: Research Methods +
Description:
This course will provide a more in-depth focus on the Case Study Method and its related skills, including interviewing, analysis of documents/archives, analysis of prior research findings, qualitative research skills and analysis, and determination of policy implication. Students will cover both theoretical aspects of these topics and apply them as they prepare their capstone proposal. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 622 WPPP Fall Internship +
Description:
In close consultation with the instructor, students in the WPPP Certificate Program develop and begin to work at an internship placement in a city, state, or federal government agency, in a lobbying or research organization, or in a non-profit organization whose work is directly related to public policy. Interns spend 16-20 hours per week in the placement, keeping a record of work activities, skills development, and relationship between course curriculum and learning at the internship. Students also meet regularly with the instructor to discuss the progress of their internship placement. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 623 WPPP: Women in American Politics and Policy Making +
Description:
Spring seminar in Program for Women in Politics and Public Policy. This course explores how politics and government affect American women's lives today and examines the ways that women participate in the political process in order to influence the course of public policy. Readings bridge the disciplinary perspectives of sociology and political science; newer feminist theoretical perspectives on public policy issues are included. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 624 WPPP: Spring Internship +
Description:
The internship placement begun in the fall is completed and evaluated. Students in the WPPP Certificate Program prepare and present a paper integrating the theoretical knowledge and practical skills based on their internship. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 625 Public Budgeting and Financial Management +
Description:
The public budgeting process in theory and practice. Students are introduced to contemporary approaches to public budgeting as well as to the difficulty of planning in the public sector, the dilemmas of choice and of priority setting, the results of incrementalism, and the nature of budgetary ''rationality.'' In addition, the course examines the nature and scope of public financial management at the state and local level. It familiarizes students with state and local government financial reporting and accounting, current operating expenditures, techniques for evaluating capital expenditures and products. It explores borrowing and debt management, evaluation of municipal credit quality, managing cash assets and liquid securities, simulations and financial forecasting, and evaluating and controlling financial management practices. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 628 Research Methods for Policy Analysis +
Description:
The purpose of this class is to provide a survey of research methods and the use of evidence to build persuasive arguments. The course is divided into three sections; (1) quantitative methods; (2) qualitative methods; and (3) community-based participatory action research, providing an overview of each group of research methods. Throughout all three sections, the course will include feminist research methods and scholarly work. Each section of the course culminates int he submission of a policy brief on a topic of the student's choosing. Each policy brief will highlight the research methods from that portion of the course. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 629 Leadership and Organizations: Gender, Power and Authority +
Description:
This course offers students the opportunity to develop an in depth understanding of authority, leadership, and organizational dynamics, and to learn about their own behavior in groups. We will also be looking at organizations from both feminist and systems psychodynamics perspectives. We will unpack terms such as authority, power, leadership, boundaries, role and task to deepen students' understanding of their own experiences in groups, organizations and communities. The impact of social identity (gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, age, etc.) on how roles are taken up or allowed to be taken up, in groups and organizations will also be explored. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 651 Policy Workshop +
pubadm 652 Policy Workshop +
Description:
A workshop in a series of weekend workshops that address public policy issues of concern to the Commonwealth. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 653 Policy Workshop +
pubadm 654 Policy Workshop +
Description:
A workshop in a series of weekend workshops that address public policy issues of concern to the Commonwealth. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 691 Capstone /Case Study Seminar +
Description:
Students in the MS in Public Affairs Program have the opportunity to complete a final project under the supervision of a faculty advisor. The project may be a case study of a public policy or significant piece of legislation which involved tracing its history, analyzing the political, economic, and social context in which it developed, identifying and examining roles played by those who were instrumental in its development, and assessing its intended and actual impact. It may also be a critical examination of a policy issue confronting a student at his or her place of employment. While completing their case study project, students participate in a weekly seminar that focuses both on the substantive issues under examination and on case study methodology. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 696 Independent Study +
Description:
These are advanced courses of independent readings under the guidance and subject to the examination of the instructor. Areas and topics are chosen according to student need. More Info
Offered in:pubadm 697 Special Topics in Public Affairs +