A focus area allows students to develop additional expertise in a specific area. The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program requires nine credits (three courses) and the Master of Public Policy (MPP) requires twelve credits (four courses) to complete a focus area. Students can choose a focus area within the Department, develop their own with the help of their advisor, or choose to remain a generalist.

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The Department of Public Policy (DPP) often gets asked if students can major in both Public Policy and Public Administration. Unfortunately they are unable to do so, but students can major in one and complete a focus area in the other. MPP students also have the opportunity to complete a Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Public Management with one additional course. 

Public Policy

• PP 5347: Applied Policy Issues: This course provides an overview of substantive policy issues in the United States and integrates a variety of analytical techniques including regression analysis used in the evaluation of public policies. The principal objectives of the course are to 1) examine a broad range of substantive public policies such as education policy, housing policy, immigration and anti-poverty programs; 2) to develop analytical tools for understanding the intended and unintended consequences of policy interventions; and 3) to provide tools that will help students evaluate policies and make better informed policy decisions. The course is designed for students who plan to be practitioners and/or policy analysts, that is, who plan to analyze and make decisions about federal, state and local policies.

 

• PP 5314: Casual Program Evaluation:  This course surveys the statistical methods and tools commonly used to evaluate causal claims about the impact of public policies and programs. The course will be structured around a series of in-class technical demonstrations and empirical exercises that require students to apply the tools they learn in class to evaluate public policies and programs. Lectures will complement the technical demonstrations and empirical exercises by providing the link between behavioral theory, statistical theory, and actual program evaluation. The course will survey various techniques used in making causal inferences about the impact of public policies and interventions. Specific topics include, randomized field trials, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity designs, difference-in-differences / fixed effects and propensity score matching.

 

• PP 5342: Policy Analysis: This course is an introduction to the methods and tools used in applied public policy research. The course begins with a short review of fundamental statistical concepts including probability distribution functions, estimators, sampling distributions, and hypothesis testing. It then turns to estimation and inference in the simple and multivariate regression models. Additional topics include functional form in regression models, dummy variables, discrete dependent variables in regression and an introduction to panel data analysis. Students will become familiar with the Stata statistical software through several applications exercises.

 

• PP 5331: Quantitative Methods for Public Policy: This course is an introduction to the methods and tools used in applied public policy research. The course begins with a short review of fundamental statistical concepts including probability distribution functions, estimators, sampling distributions, and hypothesis testing. It then turns to estimation and inference in the simple and multivariate regression models. Additional topics include functional form in regression models, dummy variables, discrete dependent variables in regression and an introduction to panel data analysis. Students will become familiar with the Stata statistical software through several applications exercises.

Leadership and Public Management

• PP 5363: Administrative Functions of Local Government: In this course students will examine the characteristic functions of local government management, such as finance & administration, human services, parks & recreation, planning & zoning, public safety, and public works. The focus will be on understanding of the structure and role of local governments, learning about issues critical to the operation and effectiveness of local governments in Connecticut and elsewhere, and gaining an appreciation for current trends in public management thought and practice.

 

• PP 5349: Public Procurement and Contracting: The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the principles of contract formulation and administration in public procurement.  The growing significance of contracting out and outsourcing in the public sector requires the availability of procurement specialists that are educated and comfortable with best practices in procurement activities from the identification of the need through the close out of contact activities.  Students will learn about best practices for effective contracting relationships between the public and private and nonprofit sectors. 

 

• PP 5318: Financial Management for Public Organizations: This course is designed as a survey of the principles, issues, and skills of financial management in the public sector. The focus will be on preparing students to be skilled consumers of financial information who possess the ability to analyze it and make sound decisions based on their analysis. This is not a government accounting class, but the development of the ability to understand accounting practices is an important part of the course.

 

• PP 5365: Human Resource Management: In this course students learn about public and nonprofit managers’ human resource management responsibilities. The course covers personnel functions such as job analysis and design, recruitment and selection, and performance appraisal. A portion of this course is devoted to understanding how to influence employees’ learning, growth and performance through motivation, effective communication and feedback, and professional development. This course also covers current issues within human resource management such as diversity at work, labor-management relations, and volunteer management.

 

• PP 5325: Labor Management Relations: This course is designed as an overview of the fundamentals associated with collective bargaining in the public sector. The class is a graduate level discussion on these topics to familiarize the student with the fundamental tools necessary for labor-management relations, negotiation and contract management. Topics for discussion will include the statutory basis for collective bargaining, the collective bargaining process, impasse procedures, a review of the costs associated compensation mechanisms, health benefits and pensions, and contract management. The course will cover negotiation and bargaining procedures, techniques, and strategies, as well as alternate dispute resolution methods.

 

• PP 5368: Performance Management and Accountability: In this course students will examine the characteristic functions of local government management, such as finance & administration, human services, parks & recreation, planning & zoning, public safety, and public works. The focus will be on understanding of the structure and role of local governments, learning about issues critical to the operation and effectiveness of local governments in Connecticut and elsewhere, and gaining an appreciation for current trends in public management thought and practice.

 

• PP 5364: Public Finance and Budgeting: In this course students will examine the characteristic functions of local government management, such as finance & administration, human services, parks & recreation, planning & zoning, public safety, and public works. The focus will be on understanding of the structure and role of local governments, learning about issues critical to the operation and effectiveness of local governments in Connecticut and elsewhere, and gaining an appreciation for current trends in public management thought and practice.