MEMORANDUM
TO:
John Cope, Psychology
Lloyd Goodwin, Rehabilitation Counseling
Jerry Weitz, Planning
FROM: Robert J. Thompson
Graduate Director, Political Science
DATE: November 22, 2011
RE:
Changes to Political Science Catalog Description
The MPA Program is submitting the following catalog change to the GCC with the intention of being on
their December 7th agenda. This change is being prompted by preparations for our upcoming NASPAA
accreditation self-study and site visit. This has prompted us to clean up various aspects of the catalog
description and to ensure that what we list there is consistent with our practice. As you will notice we
are removing all recommended electives from the list as the list is no longer current in terms of the
range of courses we will accept and some of them are listed in this section are covered in other sections
of the political science catalog description. I am writing to notify you of this change as several of your
courses are being removed from the list and are not covered elsewhere in our description. Should your
courses be appropriate to a particular student’s course of study, we will continue to send them your
way.
Your affected courses are:
1. PLAN 6000, 6010
2. PSYC 6343, 6421, 6422
3. REHB 5795, 6793 (no longer in the catalog)
Please let me know if you have any concerns with regard to this change.
All students must complete an area of emphasis based on elective courses in public management or
public policy. Students completing a graduate certificate may substitute the coursework in that program
for their areas of emphasis. The graduate certificates taken by MPA students generally require 15 s.h. or
one additional course beyond the 12 s.h. of elective credit needed for the MPA degree. Students should
consult the director of the MPA program prior to making their selections. Other related courses may be
substituted if approved by the MPA director.
4. Students may elect to complete PADM 6898 or 6899 for a maximum of 6 s.h. of independent
study. The independent courses must be completed under the supervision of a public
administration instructor in the Department of Political Science; these courses are open only to
students who have completed a minimum of 12 s.h.
5. For a planning emphasis, students must complete electives approved jointly by the graduate
coordinator of the urban and regional planning program and the director of the MPA program.
6. For an emphasis in community health administration, students with a subfield in health
administration should seek counseling from the graduate director of the community health
program regarding requirements for certification beyond the formal MPA and Graduate School
requirements. See Section 7, College of Allied Health Sciences, Department of Community
Health, for requirements.
Recommended elective courses: BIOS 5010; COHE 6000, 6502; EHST 6010; JUST 6502; POLS 6155, 6345,
6382; PADM 6111, 6123, 6150, 6163, 6170, 6187, 6188, 6198, 6199; PLAN 6000, 6010, 6015, 6020; PSYC
6343, 6421, 6422; REHB 5795, 6793.
Other courses may be substituted if approved by the director of the MPA program.