The Ph.D. requires 48 credits of course work beyond the attainment of a relevant master’s degree. Core classes typically meet on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday afternoons. All students must enroll for at least 6 credits of coursework for each semester prior to taking comprehensive exams. Full time students, including those on financial aid, must enroll for 12 credits per semester, of which 9 credits are normally for coursework and 3 credits are for the teaching assistantship. NOTE: The program was recently changed.

Core Courses (15 credits; required of all Ph.D. students) 

• Intellectual History of Public Administration (NEW)
• Budget and Resources Acquisition
• Study of Public Organizations
• Governance and Politics (formerly Public Admin. in a Democratic Society)
• Leadership, Equity and Diversity (NEW)

Research Methods (15 credits; required of all Ph.D. students)

• Quantitative I
• Quantitative II
• Qualitative I 
• Qualitative II (NEW)
• Research Design (formerly Logic of Inquiry)

Fields

Students are required to select a major field with at least 12 credit hours of study.  The remaining credit hours (6) can be taken in another area of the student’s choice, for a minor field .

• Budgeting and Nonmarket Organization Finance
• Comparative Public Administration
• Human Resource Management
• Performance Measurement and Improvement
• Public Management
• Urban Systems

Dissertation Research (24 credits) The dissertation committee must consist of at least four faculty members; one committee member should be from outside the core faculty of the SPAA.  The committee must be approved by the graduate program director.

Moving on to Comprehensive Exams...