This course prepares students for their MPA and MPP capstones by establishing their research question, learning about the research process for a major research project, and begin the task of developing a research design and data collection.

Provides an overview of information strategies and management approaches to government functions and public policy programs. It illustrates and analyzes the interaction between information technology and information systems with management and policy decisions in the public and non- nonprofit sectors by using large data.

An analysis of budget structure and process; revenue structure and administration; and public capital acquisition and debt management. This course emphasizes an applied focus and comparative analysis of alternative budget, revenue, and debt management structures and strategies.

A course which examines the interaction of both external and internal resources and constraints upon the administrative decision processes in a number of public organizational settings. The objective is an understanding of the practice of administration in public organizations.

Broad-based course in public policy formulation and social planning. Emphasis is on the parameters of policy formulation as well as the social planning and impact variables. Both policy processes and relevant content areas will be stressed.

The course develops the capacity to employ the theories, practices and hilosophies of economic development as applied to local areas. The primary geographic focus of the course is the rural south- east of the United States, but examples will be drawn from rural areas in other developed countries.

This course focuses on a conceptual understanding of public leadership and ethics; explores the values and practical skills necessary for successful leadership in public service; and, encourages greater self- awareness about the student's potential to lead. The course is designed to be a relatable and common-sense application of learned material for a public sector/non-profit environment.

This course provides doctoral students an in-depth knowledge of the various aspects of public organization theory. It will attempt to integrate the work on public organizations which is currently spread over the fields of organization theory and behavior, executive and bureaucratic politics and public choice economics.

Introduction to microeconomic theory and mathematical methods for policy analysis.

The major goals of this course are to examine how public issues become policy proposals, how various proposals are filtered into (or out of) the political process, shaped by political institutions and rules, and the process by which policy is implemented.