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-I 100, HSS-F200, SPCH-S302, SPCH-S427, EDUC-M300, BUS-D301, 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, CJHS-J101, NURS-S472, AHLT-R407

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

• Literature and Philosophy: SPAN-S360, Any PHIL course except PHIL-P150, Any ENG-L course or ENG-E course, COAS-E103, FINA-A101, FINA-A102
• Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts: FINA-A101, FINA-A102 or any studio art course, HUMA-U101, HUMA-U102, HUMA-U103, HUMA-U305, MUS-M174, MUS-X001, MUS-X040, MUS-X070, MUS-U320 or any music performance course, THTR-T120, ENG-W203, EDUC-M333, EDUC-M323, HSS-E103

Physical ad Life Sciences (8cr) two course: one 5cr course and one 3cr hour course. The two courses must come from two different science areas. One must have an associated lab.

• Biology: BIOL-L100 (5), BIOL-L105 (5), BIOL-L270 (3), BIOL-L370 (3), ANAT-A215 (5), PHSL-P215 (5), MICR-J200 (3), PLSC-B203 (5), PLSC-B364 (5), HSS-E105
• Chemistry: CHEM-C390 (3), CHEM-C100/C120 (5), CHEM-C101/C121 (5), CHEM-C105/C125 (5), HSS-E105, CHEM-C109
• Physics: PHYS-P100 (5), PHYS-P201 (5), AST-A110, AST-A100, SCI-E105
• Geology: GEOG-G315 (3), GEOG-G107 (3), GEOL-G100 (5), GEOL-G133 (5), GEOL-G400 (3), GEOL-T312 (3), SCI-E105

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 Management 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.)

Public Administration Major: Total 30 credits

Requirements: SEVEN (7) courses (21 cr) from the following, chosen in consultation with PAHM faculty/advisor.

• PAHM-V 346 Introduction to Government Accounting Financial Reporting (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 366 Managing Behavior in Public Organizations (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 368 Managing Government Operations (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 370 Research Methods and Statistics (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 379 Performance Measurement and Program Evaluation (3 cr.) Critical Thinking Requirement
• PAHM-V 380 Internship in Public Administration (3 cr.) required for track
• PAHM-V 386 Case Study for Policy Analysis (3 cr.
• PAHM-V 405 Public Law and the Legislative Process (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 444 Public Administrative Organization (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 460 Intergovernmental Relations (3 cr.)

Three (3) of the following courses (9 cr.)

• PAHM-V 221 Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 362 Nonprofit Management and Leadership (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 412 Leadership and Ethics (3 cr.) OR PAHM-H474 Health Administration Ethics (3cr)
• PAHM-V 443 Managing Workforce Diversity (3 cr.)
• PAHM-V 473 Management, Leadership, and Policy (3 cr.)
• ADDITIONAL elective courses to reach 120 credit hours required for graduation.