Mar 29, 2024  
2010-2011 Graduate Catalog 
    
2010-2011 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]


Public Administration



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The Department’s Mission

  1. To prepare students for productive, fulfilling careers in public and nonprofit administration-particularly in the dynamics of state and local government.
  2. To promote an understanding and appreciation of the functions and value of government in society.
  3. To contribute to the improvement of governance and societal institutions.

M.P.A. Program

The Department offers the Master of Public Administration degree, a professional degree designed for persons pursuing or intending to pursue careers in governmental, nonprofit, and other public service organizations. The M.P.A. program is offered on a full- and part-time basis on the Orono campus and on an evening part-time basis in Augusta and includes summer course offerings.

The program has particular strength in the area of state and local governmental administration, which is an outgrowth of its commitment of service to Maine state government and to the over 200 communities in Maine employing town and city managers. It is one of the largest M.P.A. programs in northern New England. A member of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the program is one of only approximately 150 accredited M.P.A. programs in the country.

Admission Requirements

As prerequisites for regular admission to the program, applicants for the M.P.A. must have completed an introductory course or its equivalent in American government, statistics and economics. Students who lack one or more of these prerequisites may be admitted on a provisional basis.

In making decisions for admission the Department reviews all information including the application, essay, test scores (GRE or GMAT), grade point averages, references, work experience (resume) and interest in public service.  There are no specific scores required.

Students are accepted for admission on a rolling admission basis. Students seeking research or teaching assistantships, however, must apply by February. The Department has one teaching assistantship and other scholarships and research assistantships are available throughout the University of Maine. Contact the department’s Graduate Director for details.

The Master of Public Administration program has been proposed to be suspended by the University of Maine administration. Should the program be suspended, admissions to the program will be terminated immediately, and students will be required to complete all degree requirements by an established date. If you would like to receive counseling regarding alternate graduate program options, please call the Graduate School at 207-581-3291.
 

Research and Practice

The public administration faculty maintains continuing working relationships with practitioners in the field through the Maine Municipal Association, Maine Town and City Management Association, Maine Association of Nonprofits, Maine Hospital Association, Maine Police Chiefs Association, Maine Sheriffs Association, and Maine state government agencies such as the Maine Department of Transportation, Public Safety and Administrative and Financial Services. Faculty members engage in research with these groups as well as undertaking projects with individual communities and state agencies. Students and faculty are also active in the American Society for Public Administration. Practitioners periodically join the resident faculty in offering courses in their areas of expertise. Students in appropriate graduate seminars are encouraged to take part in research projects of concern to public organizations and officials in Maine, the New England Region, and across the United States and Canada.

The public administration program also maintains a cooperative relationship with associated graduate faculty members in the departments of Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Communication and Journalism, Resource Economics and Policy, the Schools of Business, Nursing, and Social Work, and the Educational Leadership Program.

The Department is a founding member of the Maine Academy of Public Service, a joint collaboration of the University of Maine’s Public Administration Department, the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service and the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy.  In 2003, the Academy was endorsed and sanctioned by the Provosts of the two universities.  The purpose of this newly created collaboration is to 1) provide access to a network of resources to assist with policy development and analysis, 2) coordinate and increase the number of student placements and internships with the Legislature and state agencies, 3) coordinate resources and applied research related to training and education in the field of policy analysis and the practice of public management.

Additional information is available from the Director of Graduate Programs in Public Administration, 5754 North Stevens Hall, (207) 581-1872. E-mail: UmPubAdm@umit.maine.edu, and on the internet at www.umaine.edu/pubadmin/.

Degree Requirements


The program of study consists of 36 credit hours of course work, including 24 hours of required courses, and 12 hours of electives. Students who have not had significant public or nonprofit work experience must take an additional 6 credits of internship for a total of 42 credits.

Required Areas:


Students must take at least one course in each of the two areas (six credit hours) listed below.

Electives/Concentrations Areas (12 credit hours):


Students take twelve hours of electives in courses offered by the Department or other units of the University. Not more than three credit hours may be taken at the 400-level. Courses may include any of the courses listed in the required areas as well as such courses as nonprofit administration, healthcare finance, local government law, and sustainable economic and community development. As an alternative, students may choose to focus their electives in a concentration in planning, development, and environmental sustainability or healthcare policy and nonprofit management; state and local administration; or public policy.

Planning, Development, and Environmental Sustainability


Required focus area courses:
  • Credits: 3
  • Credits: 3
  •  

    Elective courses, any two of the following:

    • PAA 410 Local Government Law
    • PAA 605 Community Power, Leadership and Administration
    • PAA 670 Regional Governance
    • PAA 680 Sustainable Economic and Community Development
    • CIE 424 Urban Transportation Planning
    • ECO 525 Advanced Topics in Economic Development
    • PRT 470 Principles of Tourism Management and Planning
    • REP 474 Land Use Planing
    • REP 527 State and Local Economic Analysis
    • REP 572 Advanced Environmental & Resource Economics II

     

Healthcare Policy and Nonprofit Management:


Required focus area courses:

  • Credits: 3
  • Credits: 3
  •  

    Elective courses, any two of the following:

    • PAA 405 Administrative Law
    • PAA 409 Accounting for Government and Not-for-Profit Entities
    • PAA 425 Healthcare and System Management
    • PAA 455 Nonprofit Management
    • PAA 620 Program Analysis and Evaluation
    • PAA 645 Financial Management in Health Care
    • ANT 437 Medical Anthropology
    • DIS 600 Interdisciplinary Seminar in Disability Studies
    • NUR 420 Women’s Health
    • NUR 693 Ethical Inquiry in Healthcare
    • SWK 540 Social Welfare Policy and Issues for Generalist Practitioners
    • SWK 680 Health Policy

State and Local Administration:


Required focus area course (choose one):
  • Credits: 3
  • Credits: 3

  • Elective courses, choose three of the following:

  • PAA 409 Accounting for Government and Not-for-Profit Entities
  • PAA 410 Local Government Law
  • PAA 560 State Administration
  • PAA 580 City and Regional Planning
  • PAA 640 Seminar in Public Financial Management II
  • PAA 670 Regional Governance
  • ECO 471 Public Finance and Fiscal Policy
  • REP 527 State and Local Economic Analysis

Public Policy:


Required focus area course:
  • Credits: 3
  •  

    Elective courses, choose any three of the following:

    • PAA 620 Program Analysis and Evaluation
    • PAA 625 Healthcare and Human Services Policy and Administration
    • PAA 627 Environmental Policy and Management
    • BUA 638 Model-Based Decision Making
    • BUA 676 Marketing Research and Analysis
    • EAD 654 Educational Policy Formulation and Analysis
    • ECO 471 Public Finance and Fiscal Policy
    • HED 654 Higher Education Policy and Politics
    • REP 581 Sustainable Resource Systems and Public Policy
    • SWK 540 Social Welfare and Issues for Generalist Practitioners
    • SWK 680 Health Policy

Internship (6 credit hours):



Students without significant public or nonprofit experience must complete a six-credit internship.  The requirement may be waived for those with prior experience, for which three or six credits is awarded.

Graduate Faculty


G. Thomas Taylor, Ph.D. (Colorado, 1973), Professor, and Department Chair. Municipal government, local public management, urban public policy, sub-state regional governance, and community planning and development.

Carolyn Ball, Ph.D. (Purdue University, 1990), Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in Public Administration. Human resource management and policy, public management, labor relations, public policy, and methodology.

Edward B. Laverty, Ph.D. (State University of New York, Albany, 1980), Associate Professor. Environmental policy, implementation, policy analysis and evaluation, administrative law and the regulatory process, and bureaucratic politics.

Kenneth L. Nichols, DPA (George Mason University, 1993), Associate Professor. Information technology and public policy, methods of analysis, strategic planning, and futuristics.

Anne Sossong, Ph.D. (The Catholic University of America, 2004), Associate Professor. Health policy, health ethics, health management and administration.

Associate Graduate Faculty


Stephen R. Aylward, Ph.D. (University of Maryland, 2005), Retired Lieutenant Colonel of the United State Army.  Leadership, urban governance, public choice theory, national security policy.

Andrew C. Fisk, Ph.D. (Rutgers, 1995), Director of the Bureau of Land and Water Quality at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. City and regional planning, environmental planning, land use policy and administration.

Michel Lahti, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 1998), Visiting Instructor, Assistant Research Professor, Muskie School of Public Service, Institute for Public Sector Innovation, University of Southern Maine. Research design, program evaluation, research methods, and performance measurement in government-nonprofit sectors.

John F. Mahon, Ph.D. (Boston University, 1982), Dean of the School of Business Public Policy and Health, John M. Murphy Chair of International Business Policy and Strategy. Professor of Management. Management policy and strategy, global strategy, negotiations.

Jonathan Shenkin, D.D.S. (Columbia University, 1996), Associate in Dental Private Practice, Bangor Maine. Issues in public health, health care finance and management.

Seth Singleton, Ph.D. (Yale University, 1968), Visiting Professor of Political Science and Public Administration. Comparative administration, culture, human rights, and globalization, management and policy.

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