Jeffrey L. Bernstein
Winter 2014
Eastern Michigan University
Political Science 695 – Research Seminar in Public Administration
Class meets Wednesday evenings, 7:15 P.M. to 9:05 P.M., 420 Pray-Harrold
Welcome to Political Science 695. I’m pleased you’ll be joining me this semester.
Let’s make it a great one!
How to Contact Me:
Office:
Office Hours:
E-mail:
601E Pray-Harrold, 487-6970 (direct) or 487-3113 (Political Science Department)
Mondays 11 A.M. – 1 P.M.;
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 A.M. – 12 P.M.;
Tuesdays 2:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M.; and by appointment
jeffrey.bernstein@emich.edu
I’m usually not hard to find. I’m on e-mail all the time, and will try to check my voice mail at least once
a day. I’ll also be available before and after class each night as well. I welcome visitors during office
hours – this is your time, and I enjoy the company and the chance to get to know you. If you’d like to
talk in person but my office hours don’t work for you, let me know and we can find a different time that
works for both of us. Please do not hesitate to be in touch if you have any concerns about the class, or if
you want to talk about other stuff.
Overview of the Class
Let’s keep this simple. The goal here is to get you to write exceptionally good capstones, and to get you
to finish them this semester. All the rest is commentary.
So, here’s some commentary. This class will basically be run in two ways:
1. First, you can consider this course to be made up of eleven students (give or take) doing
independent study projects with me. Since each of your projects are different, and each of you
have particular concerns for what you are doing, much of the course will consist of me working
with the eleven of you. We’ll exchange a lot of e-mail, and have multiple individual
conversations in person, and by phone. Each of you are doing different things, and each of you
have different things for which you are seeking assistance. I will do my best to give you this
individualized, differentiated instruction.
2. Second, you can consider this course a form of group therapy. On the first night of class, I will
divide you into three project groups. These groups will alternate meeting on different weeks.
This group will be your primary support within the class. You will be sharing pieces of the
capstone with the group, and presenting your work-in-progress to the group. I hope you will be
able to count on the group for both substantive support, and moral support, as the project unfolds.
Many of you have heard me lament the number of MPA students who stall at the capstone stage. It is my
intention to stop that, right now. I will work hard to keep pushing you to finish. And I will work hard to
keep pushing you to do great work.
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Schedule
What follows is a schedule for the class. I reserve the right to make adjustments to the schedule as we are
moving along, in order to best meet your needs. In addition, I reserve the right to adjust the nature of
your interim assignments to reflect the nature of where each of you are with your projects at any given
time. Whenever your group meets, I will ask that you submit material to me and to your group by
noon the day before, so that we have time to read it and react to it in advance of class.
Week 1 – January 8, 2014
The entire group will meet. We will discuss capstones in general, give each of you an opportunity to
present your work, and lay out our plans for the semester process.
Weeks 2, 3 and 4 – January 15, 22 and 29, 2014
The plan for these weeks is to have you submit, and present, your problem statement and capstone plan.
Group A will meet on Week 2, Group B will meet on Week 3, and Group C will meet on Week 4.
Weeks 5, 6 and 7 – February 5, 12 and 19, 2014
The plan for these weeks is to have you submit, and present, your literature review and research design.
Group A will meet on Week 5, Group B will meet on Week 6, and Group C will meet on Week 7.
Weeks 8, 9 and 10 – March 5. 12 and 19, 2014
The plan for these weeks is to have you submit, and present, your preliminary results and discuss your
next steps. Group A will meet on Week 8, Group B will meet on Week 9, and Group C will meet on
Week 10.
Weeks 11, 12 and 13 – March 26, April 2 and 9, 2014
The plan for these weeks is to have you submit, and present, your results and conclusions. Group A will
meet on Week 11, Group B will meet on Week 12, and Group C will meet on Week 13.
We will not meet formally after April 9. I hope to be using that time for capstone defenses.
Grading
In order to arrive at your grade for the course, I will consider the final quality of your capstone (60%),
your oral presentation at the defense (10%), and your participation in your project group in the seminar
(30%). In order to give you a grade for the winter semester, and to have you be eligible for an April 2014
diploma, you must defend the capstone by about May 15, 2014; I will follow up with you on this exact
date when they tell me about it. Students who do not successfully defend by this date will receive a grade
of IP (In-Progress) for the semester.
One Final Request
OK, we know what we’re doing here, and what the goal is. I request your flexibility as we move toward
the goal. Stick with me, let’s stay together, and let’s make things happen. I very much look forward to
sharing this experience with all of you.
Most importantly, I look forward to celebrating with you
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at your capstone defense in April or May!!!!!!!