The Dissertation is the capstone module for the course, which integrates the taught materials and tests students’ depth of understanding of the field and their ability to work independently within it. For the Dissertation, students work individually with a supervisor on a project related to their specialization. The Dissertation topic is chosen in consultation with the supervisor and work cannot commence until an individual and formally written Dissertation Proposal has been accepted by the University.

Students will examine moral issues that arise within public organization, such as privacy, government responsibility, rule of law, etc.

Globalization has rapidly become the major topic for social science research, replacing several themes such as nationalism, development studies, dependency theory, and regional/area studies. If the globe is ONE, then social, economic and political theories must abandon the approach of “one country–one case.” The topic of discourse is not the First World against the Third World or how states interact to secure their vital national interests. The globalization theme deals with humankind, i.e. the roughly six billion human beings inhabiting the only planet known to harbor life, and its prospects of survival at its present stage of living standards. This course will also explore the origins and development of globalization, its implications for nation-states, citizenship, cooperation and conflict, culture, and the emergence of new forms of government.

This course will focus on organization, leadership, decision-making, and management of people. Contemporary developments in management and in the behavioral sciences will be emphasized.

Students learn negotiation and leadership skills for managing differences. The course uses a group relation perspective on the behavior of groups and of individuals in groups to understand negotiation dynamics. The course also studies the nature of conflict, how to handle two or multi-party conflicts, and the impact of mediators on negotiations. It blends skill-building exercises, theory discussions, and dialogue.

Students will become proficient in current methods of conducting research in Public Administration: problem definition, construction of hypotheses, research design, sampling, data collection and evaluation, and interpretation of findings.

Students will explore the development of global forms of governance through the emergence of international organizations such as the UN, WTO, IMF, the World Bank and others. Emphasis will be placed on the interplay of these organizations with nations, regions, and emerging forms of governance and political activism.

This course introduces the conceptual framework and analytical tools of the “new” institutional economies, which gives a central role to context-sensitive institutions—cultural and social, formal and informal—in the economic development process. It also explores innovative solutions to leading policy issues facing transition and developing countries today such as privatization, decentralization, HIV, the Internet, aid effectiveness, and globalization.

This course examines competing perspectives on “smart growth”, urban sprawl, and community sustainability in an urban, suburban, and rural context. Topics include land-use planning, antidotes to urban sprawl, the intersection of transportation and land-use policies, citizen participation, and how water quantity and air and water quality affect growth.

This course will examine how diversity affects groups, organizations, coalitions, and societies. Students will explore the different notions of leadership when applied to different situations, and the ethical implications of leadership. Focus will also be on the concept of diversity and the challenges involved in leading people, individually and in formal or informal settings, who are inherently diverse.

Students will explore the extent to which mass media in all its forms influence the development of public policy. The ethical, moral and political implications will also be studied using real life case studies.

This course explores the moral issues involved in public policy: the limits and usefulness of decision-making tools; problems of choosing, justifying and using criteria to judge a program’s success and suitability; ethical issues involving the welfare state.

Students develop abilities in using analytical frameworks in the formulation and assessment of public policy. Several analytical techniques will be studied, especially those directed toward uncertainty and interactive decision problems.

This course will integrate the analysis of macroeconomic, structural, social, institutional and political dimensions of development in the design of an overall development strategy. It will also review the determinants of growth, macroeconomic stability, and income distribution, as well as the effects of fiscal, monetary, financial, trade, investment, and labor policy. The course will also explore the relationship between political institutions and policy problems.

This course examines the role of civil society (churches, civic associations, unions, community-based organizations, NGOs), and business as agents for change and development. Students will also explore the ways in which governments respond to such pressures and opportunities.

This course explores the strategy of the commons, property rights, the prisoner’s dilemma, and other kinds of negotiation. It also offers practice in writing or formulating statements.

This course focuses on the management of social services with an emphasis on how strong management can improve results. Exposes students to management thought and philosophy as applied to different social service and social policy challenges within various operating environments and programmatic settings.

Students will develop core competencies and skills needed for effective managerial leadership in organizations. Study includes the different theoretical approaches to leadership, organizational behavior, followership, etc.

This course covers the entire budget process: budget formulation and execution, program development, estimate of cost and revenue, strategies and tactics, financial controls, and budget evaluation. The course includes performance-based budgets, measure of performance, variance analysis, activity-based costing, cost accounting, capital budgeting, and finance.

This course introduces students to information and methods used to analyze the financial condition of governments. It offers a framework for analysis of government revenues, expenditures, debt, pensions, internal resources, and management of risk.

This course covers three major accounting areas sequentially: Financial, Managerial, and Government. The Financial section introduces students to accounting principles and concepts needed to describe and interpret financial data. The Managerial portion emphasizes concepts used by financial decision-makers to plan and control activities for profit, non-profit, and governmental organizations, and helps internal users solve problems and establish effective procedures, plans, budgets, and controls for their organizations. The Government segment examines governmental accounting and auditing practices, emphasizing financial reporting requirements, funding and budgetary accounting for government organizations, and auditing practices.

Students will develop expertise with economic models used for the analysis of international financial issues. Readings and discussions will focus on theoretical and policy work relating to: savings, investment and debt in the open economy, monetary and fiscal policy, capital mobility, and financial crises.