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  School of Public Affairs and Administration 2009-2011 Degree Programs M.P.A. Program Core Curriculum  

Core Curriculum


The core curriculum consists of five clusters, each of which addresses important elements of public administration knowledge and skills. The clusters are: foundations of public administration, analytics, management, finance, and applied concepts.

Core Curriculum Cluster One - Foundations


The foundations cluster consists of four courses providing the contexts of public administration decision making. This set of courses provides all students with the scope and impacts of public administration both intellectually and practically. Four courses are required.

    20:834:501  Introduction to Public Administration (3)
    20:834:515  Administrative Morality (3)
    20:834:521  Technology and Public Administration (3)
    20:834:541  Political Economy and Public Administration (3)

Core Curriculum Cluster Two - Analytical Thinking

The analytical thinking cluster provides students with the tools to be effective consumers of research, including the knowledge to understand and evaluate research presented to them in classes and in their careers. Students take two courses.

    20:834:561  Analytical Methods (3)  (all students)

    and (select one):

    20:834:562  Research Design (3)
    20:834:590  Internship I (3) (Urban Education Leadership Certificate)

Core Curriculum Cluster Three - Management


The management cluster addresses two fundamental aspects of management: the organizations in which goal-directed actions occur and the human capital by which goals are achieved. All students take public organizations and students select the human resources course relevant to their focus (public, nonprofit, or health).  Students take two courses.

    20:834:522  Public Organizations (3) (all students)

   and (select one):

    20:834:523  Human Resources Administration (3) (all M.P.A. students except as noted in option below)

    20:834:577  Human Resource Management for Nonprofits (3) (Nonprofit Certificate or M.P.A. nonprofit students)

Core Curriculum Cluster Four - Finance


The finance cluster gives all M.P.A. students a foundation in financial management and budgeting as it relates to public and nonprofit endeavors. The assumption is that effective management requires understanding of financial management. One course is required. Students select the course related to their particular focus within the program.

Select one:   

    20:834:543 Public Financial Management (3) (all students except as specified below)
    20:834:559 Public School Finance (3) (for Urban Education Certificate students)
    20:834:584 Health Care Finance (3) (formerly Health Care Financial Management) (for M.P.H. or M.P.A. Health Administration students)

Core Curriculum Cluster Five - Applied Concepts


The applied concepts cluster provides students with the opportunity to apply concepts they have learned in the program. In the capstone option, students complete a project under the guidance of a faculty member. The project examines a real-world issue or problem using knowledge gained in core courses. The 3-credit capstone course involves a project design, data collection and analysis, report preparation, and a presentation. In the comprehensive option, students study independently and analyze an assigned case or cases in a daylong examination. Students apply specific aspects of core course material directly to the case in an analytical way. Students must complete one.

 Select one:

    20:834:563  Capstone (3)
    20:834:591  Internship II (3) (Urban Education Leadership Certificate)    
    Comprehensive Exam (0)  (if comprehensive exam option is selected, students take one additional specialization course)

 
For additional information, contact RU-info at 732-445-info (4636) or colonel.henry@rutgers.edu.
Comments and corrections to: Campus Information Services.

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