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Department of Political Science (PSC)

Master of Arts
      Admission Requirements
      Degree Requirements
Master of Public Administration
      Mission Statement
      MPA Admission Requirements
      MPA Degree Requirements
Master of Science in Administration (Public Administration Concentration)
Certificate of Professional Development in Public Relations
Financial Assistance
      Edward H. Pothoff, Jr. Scholarship
Unspecified Content or Variable Content Courses
PSC Course Descriptions

Department of Political Science website
 
Won Paik, Chairperson
247 Anspach Hall, (989) 774-3442

Joyce A. Baugh, Ph.D., Constitutional Law
William P. Browne, Ph.D., Public Administration
Edward Clayton, Ph.D., Normative Political Theory
John Dinse, Ph.D., Political Theory, Modern Ideologies
Moataz A. Fattah, Ph.D., Comparative Politics, Middle East
James P. Hill, Ph.D., Public Policy
David K. Jesuit, Ph.D., Comparative Politics, Western Europe
Sterling Johnson, Ph.D., American Foreign Policy
Rick Kurtz, Ph.D., Public Administration
Martha Logsdon, Ph.D., East and Southeast Asian Political Systems
Won Paik, Ph.D., International Relations
Orlando Perez, Ph.D., Comparative Politics, Latin America
Delbert Ringquist, Ph.D., Public Policy, Leadership and The Presidency
Douglas Roscoe, Ph.D., American Political Parties, Political Behavior
Vidu Soni, Ph.D., Human Resource Management
Lawrence Sych, Ph.D., State and Local Government and Public Administration

The Department of Political Science offers a Master of Arts degree in Political Science, a Master of Public Administration degree, and courses contributing to several other graduate programs at the university, including a concentration in Public Administration in the Master of Science in Administration. The department also offers courses which fulfill the requirements for the Political Science Concentration in Option 1, Teaching in the Senior High School in the Master of Arts in Secondary Education Unit in this Bulletin.

The department's graduate level internship program provides working knowledge of and experience in public and non-profit agencies.
The specific requirements for the Master of Arts in Political Science and the Master of Public Administration are stated in separate sections below.
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Master of Arts

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Admission Requirements
To gain admission to the degree program a student shall have completed at least 20 semester hours of appropriate undergraduate courses or have received the consent of the department chairperson. In addition the verbal and quantitative scores of the Graduate Record Examination should be submitted to the department prior to application for admission. These Graduate Record Examination scores will be used as an additional device to evaluate students who have a less than satisfactory undergraduate GPA.

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Degree Requirements
A student must complete a minimum of 30 hours according to the plan of study below. At least 15 of the hours presented for the degree must be in courses at or above the 600 level.

The student must complete the required core courses (12 hours); either the Comparative/International Concentration or the American Concentration (12 hours); and the master’s thesis (6 hours).

Required Core (12 hours)
PSC 514 (3) American Public Policy Making
PSC 740 (3) Seminar in Comparative Politics
PSC 770 (3) Political Theory
PSC 780 (3) Research in Public Administration in Political Science

Comparative/International Concentration (12 hours)
PSC 515 (3) Comparative Public Policy
PSC 642 (3) Problems and Processes of International Development
PSC 551 (3) Seminar in International Relations
  OR PSC 555 (3) International Law I
Electives appropriate to the field (3)

American Concentration (12 hours)
PSC 520 (3) Seminar in American National Politics
PSC 566 (3) Intergovernmental Relations in the U.S.
Electives appropriate to the field (6)

Thesis (6 hours): required of all students

Total: 30 credit hours

Electives: any 500 to 700 level course in political science, history, economics, or geography selected with advisor. Students are reminded that they must take 15 hours of 600 and above level classes in their total program. Advisors may make substitutions to the course requirements noted above to fit the student’s focus and the availability of course work.
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Master of Public Administration

Mission Statement
The Master of Public Administration program at Central Michigan University aims to provide professional degree training, enhance understanding of government work, and develop a commitment to knowledgeable public service. The intent of those efforts is to improve both students’ clarity of thought about public sector performance and their capabilities as the managers who ensure that performance. Two types of students constitute the primary clientele of MPA-CMU. One is the mid-career adult learner who wants to advance further in a career in the public sector, with a nonprofit organization, or with the public affairs work of a private association or firm. The second is the less experienced learner who has recently completed undergraduate work and aims at employment in the same type of positions.

The MPA program also focuses on three other service objectives for students and the university: offering specialized certificate training, enhancing the quality of undergraduate education in public administration, and contributing course work and assistance to other graduate programs that deal with public sector performance.

Accordingly, MPA-CMU has the following goals:

1. to contribute significantly to the career potential of students;
    
2. to offer degrees which balance practical learning with the most current theories of management and human behavior;
    
3. to provide a systematic understanding of the economic, political, and social problems dealt with by public administrators;
    
4. to impart ethical and legal constitutional knowledge about the consequences of work performance;
    
5. to foster quantitative, computer, and analytical skills appropriate to current and future work in the public sector and in public affairs;
    
6. to give students pre-career and extra-career opportunities to experience jobs, through both internships and research, in the public sector and in public affairs.

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MPA Admission Requirements
MPA Admission Requirements include the following:

1. An undergraduate grade point average of at least 2.8 (on a 4.0 point scale).
    
2. A minimum of 18 undergraduate hours in social science.
    
3. Evidence of successful completion of an undergraduate statistics or research methods course is required.
    
4. An essay (two or three pages, double-spaced) including a discussion of the applicant’s professional goals and how completion of the program will facilitate his or her achievement of those goals. This essay replaces the written statement requested as part of the application to the College of Graduate Studies.
    
5. Three letters of recommendation from former professors or professionals in the field of public service that attest to the applicant’s potential to succeed in the program.
    
6. If the applicant is an international student for whom English is not the first language, a score of 550 on the written-based (or 213 on the computer-based) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
    
7. Per university policy, conditional admission may be considered for applicants with backgrounds or grade point averages that do not meet these requirements. Courses taken to meet these requirements may not be counted toward graduate degree requirements. Regular admission status should be requested upon completion of all conditional requirements.
    
8. Up to 9 semester hours of graduate credit may be transferred from another institution with approval of the advisor and the dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

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Financial Assistance
Each year the Political Science Department awards a limited number of graduate assistantships to students who have been admitted to the MPA or MA in Political Science programs. Graduate assistants work 20 hours per week for the Department by assisting in faculty research and teaching activities. Graduate assistants receive tuition credit and a stipend as compensation. An application for a Political Science Graduate Assistantship is available from the Department. Applications are due by March 10th and selection for assistants for the following academic year (August - May) occurs in early April.

Graduate research fellowships and King/Chavez/Parks fellowships are offered by the College of Graduate Studies. Several former MPA students have also successfully competed for John L. Warriner scholarships from the College of Humanities & Social and Behavioral Sciences. (See Financial Aid section in the Bulletin).

The College of Graduate Studies also offers three competitive small grants and awards for graduate students. These include Research Grants, Publication and Presentation Grants, and Outstanding Thesis and Dissertation Awards. (See Financial Information section in the Bulletin).
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Edward H. Pothoff, Jr. Scholarship
Established in 1983 by family and friends for a public administration graduate student demonstrating a career interest in local government.
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MPA Degree Requirements
The requirements for the MPA degree consist of 36 hours of course work. First, completion of a set of core courses presents an understanding of essential components of the discipline. Then, with the approval of an advisor, the student creates a degree emphasis in one of three ways: a) by selecting a specific concentration in either Public Management or State and Local Government; b) by selecting a set of general elective courses; or c) by selecting a set of cognate courses focused on a particular subject area. Using this last method, MPA students have developed emphases in such areas as Planning and Land Use, Health Administration, and Recreation Management by incorporating courses from other departments, again with the approval of an advisor. The pre-service student will also complete an internship of 3 hours in place of an elective course. Before a student’s final semester, he or she forms a Plan B paper committee of three members and with their advice develops an approved research topic. The student will present his or her finished paper to the committee when completed. Advisors may make substitutions to the course requirements noted above to fit the student’s focus and the availability of course work.

Core Courses (21 hours)
PSC 514 (3) American Public Policy Making
PSC 610 (3) Foundations of Public Administration
PSC 711 (3) Public Personnel Administration Practice
PSC 713 (3) Public Budgeting and Finance
PSC 714 (3) Program Analysis and Evaluation
PSC 775 (3) Organization Theory in Public Administration
PSC 780 (3) Research in Public Administration in Political Science 

Internship (0-3 hours)
PSC 795 (3) Internship in Government and Politics
In-service students with experience are not required to take an internship. Students without experience will take 3 hours of internship.

Plan B Paper (3 hours)
PSC 796 (3) Applied Research in Public Administration

Select One of the Following (9-12 hours):

1. Public Management Concentration (9-12 hours)
   PSC 522 (3) Regulatory Processes and Administrative Law
   PSC 565 (3) Managing Modern Local Government
   PSC 585 (3) Computer Applications for Public Administrators
   PSC 712 (3) Implementation and Reform of Public Programs
   PSC 774 (3) Strategic Planning for Public/Non-Profit Organization
   PSC 785 (3) Strategic Leadership
    
2. State and Local Government Concentration (9-12 hours)
   PSC 561 (3) American State Government and Administration
     OR PSC 761 (3) Seminar in American State Government
   PSC 563 (3) Politics and Policy in Urban Communities
   PSC 565 (3) Managing Modern Local Government
   PSC 566 (3) Intergovernmental Relations in the United States
    
3. General Electives (9-12 hours)
   If no concentration or emphasis is selected, the student may choose from 9 to 12 hours from the following courses for a General Administration track.
   PSC 522 (3) Regulatory Processes and Administrative Law
   PSC 561 (3) American State Government and Administration
     OR PSC 761 (3) Seminar in American State Government
   PSC 565 (3) Managing Modern Local Government
   PSC 566 (3) Intergovernmental Relations in the United States
   PSC 583 (3) Survey Research
   PSC 585 (3) Computer Applications for Public Administrators
   PSC 712 (3) Implementation and Reform of Public Programs
   PSC 773 (3) Public Administration and Public Interest
   PSC 774 (3) Strategic Planning for Public/Non-Profit Organization
   PSC 785 (3) Strategic Leadership
    
4. Cognate Courses (9-12 hours)
   With the approval of an advisor, a student may create an emphasis in a subject area by selecting from 9 to 12 hours of cognate course work. A cognate course is one outside of but related to the principal discipline of Public Administration.

Total: 36 hours
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Master of Science in Administration (MSA)
The Master of Science in Administration Program requires 36 Credit Hours of graduate study. The MSA Program provides students with the fundamental principles required for successful administrative careers.
The required core courses of the MSA program (15-21 Credit Hours) provide a comprehensive overview of organizational and human relationships and the administrative mechanisms through which to make sound analytical judgments and decisions.

The Public Administration concentration (15-18 Credit Hours) provides students with background and competency in five areas: 1) the political, social, and economic environment of public administration; 2) the public management process; 3) public policy analysis; 4) research and analytic methods; and 5) organizational theory and behavior.

Please go to the MSA page in the online Graduate Bulletin, or to www.grad.cmich.edu/MSA/.
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Certificate of Professional Development in Public Administration
The 15 credit hour certificate is designed for regularly admitted graduate students who desire advanced training in the field of public administration, but who are not seeking a master's degree at this time. Credits successfully earned with the certificate program can be transferred toward the MPA degree. Students may substitute courses only upon approval of the Public Administration Council. Admission is through the College of Graduate Studies. Students pursuing this certification program should have a background in political science, public administration, economics, social work, criminal justice or any other administration related field.

Required courses
PSC 585 (3) Computer Applications for Public Administrators
PSC 711 (3) Public Personnel Administration Practice
PSC 713 (3) Public Budgeting and Finance
PSC 714 (3) Program Analysis and Evaluation
PSC 775 (3) Organizational Theory in Public Organization
   OR PSC 710 (3) Seminar in Public Bureaucracies and Policy Formation
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Unspecified content or variable credit courses. Click here for additional information regarding these types of courses. The following courses offered through the department are of unspecified content or variable credit: PSC 590, 598, 770, 790, 795.
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