Students with a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration (B.S.P.A.) degree can continue their education in law, planning, policy analysis, or business administration. For those who choose immediate employment, the degree is flexible enough to provide the necessary background to begin a career in the public or nonprofit sector. The B.S.P.A. requires 120 credit hours. The B.S. in Public Administration degree includes a Health Administration minor.

Degree Requirements

The program includes three main areas: general education, core courses in the major area, and general electives.

General Education Core: Unless otherwise indicated, all courses require a C or better. Graduates of the PAHM undergraduate program must fulfill all of the General Education requirements as passed by the Faculty Senate. These general education requirements are effective with the Fall 2012 admitted students and are found elsewhere in this bulletin.

Information Literacy/Communication Skills (3 Courses Required, 9 cr)

• ENG-W 131 Elementary Composition I (3 cr)
• ENG-W 132 Elementary Composition II (3 cr)
• SPCH-S 121 Public Speaking

Quantitative Literacy (4-8 credits)  Must earn C- or higher in one of the following options:

• Option 1: MATH-M 118 (3 cr) or MATH-M 119 (3cr) or MATH-M215 (3cr) AND a statistis course at a major level: ECON-E270, MATH-M366, MATH-K310, PSY-K300, EDUC-K490, NURS-H355
• Option 2: MATH-M 133 (2cr) AND MATH-M 134 (2cr.): These courses have MATH-M105 as a prerquestie and have the statistics content.

Critical Thinking (3cr) One course from the list:

• PSY-P211, HSS-S400, PHIL-P150, ENG-L202, SPCH-S336, SOC-S340, BUS-J401, PAHM-V379, CJHS-J201, NURS-S470, INFO-I303, EDUC-P251, EDUC-P255, NMCM-N411, CHEM-105/125, BIOL-L105, MATH-M216, BIOL-L364, PHIL-P383, AHLT-R406 

• HSS-I100, HSS-F200, SPCH-S302, SPCH-S427, EDUC-M300, BUS-D301, PAHM-V443, CJHS-J355, FOLK-F101, INFO-I356, SOC-C100, Any 100-level or above foreign language course.

• SPCH-S223, SPCH-S233, PHIL-P100, PHIL-P140, PHIL-P242, PHIL-P342, PHIL-P375, PHIL-P383, EDUC-H340, BUS-L201, PAHM-V171, CJHS-J101, NURS-S472, AHLT-R407

Social and Behavioral Sciences (18cr) Requirement – SIX 3 credit hour courses:

• POLS-Y103 Introduction to American Politics (3 cr)
• ECON-E201 Introduction to Microeconomics (3 cr)
• ECON-E202 Introduction to Microeconomics (3 cr)
• HIST-H105 American History I (3 cr)
• HIST-H106 American History II (3 cr)
• PLUS  One (1) additional course from the following subject areas: (3 cr each) History (other than H105 or H106), Political Science (other than Y103), Psychology, Sociology 

HUMANITIES AND ARTS (6 cr) Requirement – TWO 3 credit hour courses, each from a different area:

• Literature and Philosophy: SPAN-S 360, Any PHIL course except PHIL-P 150, Any ENG L course or ENG-E course, COAS-E 103*, FINA-A 101, FINA-A 102
• Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts:FINA-A 101, FINA-A 102 or any studio art course, HUMA-U 101, HUMA-U 102, HUMA-U 103, HUMA-U 305, MUS-M 174, MUS-X 001,MUS-X 040, MUS-X 070, MUS-U 320 or any music performance course, THTR-T 120, ENG-W 203, EDUC-M 333 AND EDUC-M 323, HSS-E 103.



PHYSICAL AND LIFE SCIENCES (8 cr) Requirement –TWO (2) courses: ONE 5cr course and ONE 3 cr hour course. The two courses must come from two different science areas.  One course must have an associated lab.

• Biology  BIOL-L 100 (5), BIOL-L 105 (5), BIOL-L 270 (3), BIOL-L 370 (3), ANAT-A 215 (5), PHSL-P 215 (5), MICR-J 200 (3), PLSC-B 203 (5), PLSC-B 364 (5), SCI-E 105
• Chemistry CHEM-C 390 (3), CHEM-C 100/C 120 (5), CHEM-C 101/CHEM-C 121 (5), CHEM-C 105/CHEM-C 125 (5), SCI-E 105, CHEM-C 109
• Physics  PHYS-P 100 (5), PHYS-P 201 (5), AST-A 110, HSS-E 105
• Geology  GEOG-G 315 (3), GEOG-G 107 (3), GEOL-G 100 (5), GEOL-G 133 (5), GEOL-G 400 (3), GEOL-T 312 (3), SCI-E 105

Core Concentration – Students must have an average of 2.5 or higher in the core and concentration courses.

Public Administration Core (7 Courses)

• PAHM-V 171 Introduction to Public Administration (3 cr.) prerequisite for all other public admin courses
• PAHM-V 263 Public Management (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 264 Urban Structure and Policy (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 372 Government Finance and Budgets (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 373 Human Resource Mangement in the Public Sector (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 376 Law and Public Policy (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 378 Public Policy Processes in the United States (3 cr.)

Health Administration Minor

Requirements: 10 courses from the following, chosen in consultation with PAHM faculty/advisor.

• PAHM-H 320 Health Systems Administration (3 cr.)
• PAHM-H 352 Health Finance and Budgeting (3 cr.)
• PAHM-H 354 Health Economics (3 cr.)
• PAHM-H 365 Health Administration Practicum (3 cr.) required for track
• PAHM-H 401 Strategic Planning for Health Care Organization (3 cr.)
• PAHM-H 402 Hospital Administration (3 cr.)
• PAHM-H 411 Chronic and Long-Term Care Administration (3 cr.)
• PAHM-H 432 Health Care Marketing (3 cr.)
• PAHM-H 441 Legal Aspects of Health Care (3 cr.)
• PAHM-H 455 Topics in Public Health (3 cr.)
• PAHM-H 456 Health Care Reimbursement (3 cr.)
• PAHM-H 474 Health Administration Ethics (3 cr.) or V-412 Leadership and Ethics (3 cr.)