Master
of Arts
Admission
Requirements
Degree
Requirements
Master of
Public Administration
Mission
Statement
MPA
Admission Requirements
MPA
Degree Requirements
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
Lawrence Sych, 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, M.A., 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
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
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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of page)
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:
A. to contribute significantly to the career potential of
students;
B. to offer degrees which balance practical learning with the
most current theories of management and human behavior;
C. to provide a systematic understanding of the economic,
political, and social problems dealt with by public
administrators;
D. to impart ethical and legal constitutional knowledge about
the consequences of work performance;
E. to foster quantitative, computer, and analytical skills
appropriate to current and future work in the public sector
and in public affairs;
F. 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.
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.
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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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) Governmental Finance and Budgeting
PSC 714 (3) Program Evaluation
PSC 775 (3) Organizational Theory in Public Organization OR
PSC 710 (3) Seminar in Public Bureaucracies and Policy
Formation
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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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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