Master of Public Administration Core Courses
Providing tools for success
Through the comprehensive curriculum of Northern Arizona University’s MPA program, you will receive a deep understanding of public service values and what it takes to be a successful public leader. Our core courses cover topics from the ethics of public policy to organizational behavior to policy analysis and equip you with the necessary tools to succeed as you move forward in your career. Our dedicated NAU faculty have research and applied experience.
The culmination of our program is the portfolio project and exit interview, POS 596, where you demonstrate your mastery of course materials.
POS 501 Research Methods Accordion Closed
POS 501 Research Methods
This course is designed to introduce you to scientific thinking and the main components of research design and analysis. The course is intended to prepare you for public and private sector work related to both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and provide a foundation before you begin work on capstone projects.
POS 527 Ethics of Public Administration and Management Accordion Closed
POS 527 Ethics of Public Administration and Management
During this course, you will examine alternative approaches to ethics in the context of public administration and management, and at the level of individuals, organizations, society, culture, and politics. In addition to examining the theory and history of public service ethics and values, you will also use case studies and other class assignments to apply theory to practical situations.
POS 541 Public Administration Accordion Closed
Public Management (POS 541) is a graduate-level introduction to, and overview of, the theory and practice of public administration. As such, the class has two primary aims. The first is to provide you with an understanding of the historical and theoretical development of the field of public administration in the United States. In the pursuit of this aim, we will examine the major ideas, controversies, and historical events that have shaped the field. Secondly, you will be introduced to the important areas of specialization within public administration, including human resources, budgeting, public policy, and administrative ethics.
POS 543 Organizational Management Accordion Closed
POS 543 provides you with an in-depth study of organizations and organizational management processes. You will become familiar with alternative frameworks for understanding organizations and notice that organizations have been studied from the perspective of several social science disciplines, including economics, psychology, and sociology.
POS 571 Policy Analysis Accordion Closed
POS 571: How do elected officials and public administrators choose between policy options? Once a policy option has been selected and implemented, how do we know whether it has “worked” or not? These two big questions are crucial for the considerable democratic task of holding leaders accountable to the polity and promoting effective policy change.
No one wants to make uninformed decisions or to find out later that a choice they made had dramatic unintended consequences. Your skill as a policy analyst will make you a valuable employee to decision-makers, and, now or in the future, a better policy decision-maker yourself.
POS 542 Human Resource Administration Accordion Closed
POS 542 provides you an in-depth analysis of the administration of human resources in public and not-for-profit organizations. You will also study personnel processes from recruitment to retirement and administration of human resources for increased efficiency and effectiveness in public sector output. The primary purpose is to understand the current context and practice of human resource administration (HRA) in the public sector.
POS 544 Government Budgeting Accordion Closed
POS 544 is a course on governmental budgeting. During this course you will explore topics relevant to the budgeting process in the United States including theories of management and organization demonstrated through budgeting principles as they apply to public and the non-profit sector, legal requirements that confront public managers in the context of budgeting, ethical dilemmas that can confront those making and reviewing budgets, and constitutional and other legal issues involved in budgeting. You will examine how governments collect and spend revenues, and the important policy considerations involved in financing state, local and federal governments.
POS 596 Portfolio and Exit Interview Accordion Closed
POS 596: The semester you graduate, you enroll in POS 596. This course is designed for students to write a portfolio and complete an exit conversation. Students meet a few times throughout the semester (remotely), as a group to complete work on time. Work with the MPA Director on registration and details.
MPA Elective Offerings Accordion Closed
- POS 528, Democracy & Public Administration
- POS 530, Managing State & Local Government
- POS 531, Intro to Nonprofit Orgs
- POS 532, Data Visualization
- POS 534, Performance Measurement
- POS 535, Regulatory Process
- POS 536, Women, Policy, and PA
- POS 537, Public Policy Ethics
- POS 538, Comparative Public Administration
- POS 539, Homeland Security
- POS 585, Public Service Leadership