Criminal Justice Courses

J501 Evolution of Criminological Thought and Policy (3 cr.) This course provides an intensive introduction to the theoretical literature on crime and delinquency. Its purpose is to develop students’ ability to critically evaluate and compare theories of crime as they apply to public policy and the criminal justice system.

J502 Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Public Affairs (3 cr.) This course examines research techniques necessary for systematic analysis of the criminal justice system, offenders’ behavior, crime trends, and program effectiveness. The course requires that students actively pursue such techniques as conducting interviews, coding data, and designing studies. Criminological research will be critically examined.

J550 Topics in Criminal Justice (3 cr.) Selected research and special topics in criminal justice such as, violence; history of criminal prosecution; and alcohol, drugs, and crime.

J582 Criminal Justice Systems (3 cr.) Detailed examination of operations of police, courts, and correctional agencies. Study of management problems in system response to criminal activity. Development of understanding of relationships among system components. Examination of major policy issues in criminal justice, with emphasis on decision-making techniques.

J587 Criminal Violation: Problems and Characteristics (3 cr.) Commonalities in criminal behavior. Circumstances leading to the commission of the criminal act, subsequent perceptions of them. Family, community, and other environments affecting criminal behavior. Behavioral consequences of processes of crime control.

J588 Law and Control in Society (3 cr.) The role of law versus other forms of social control. How social change and social institutions shape the law. Social factors influencing the administration of law.

J666 Criminal Justice Policy and Evaluation (3 cr.) An empirical assessment of the foundations of contemporary and historical attempts to control or prevent crime. Major policies, programs, and strategies are reviewed and critically analyzed. Specific topics and policies will vary in this capstone seminar.

J682 Criminal Justice Planning and Management (3 cr.) Issues in criminal justice planning and management in policing, courts, and corrections are addressed. The problems faced by administrators in the implementation and development of public policies are considered.

Environmental Science Courses

The SPEA 400-level environmental science courses listed below, which are described in the undergraduate section of this bulletin, may be taken for graduate credit if specifically listed within degree requirements or approved by a graduate advisor.

E510 Hazardous Materials Regulation (3 cr.) The course provides an in-depth study of federal, state, and local regulations and requirements pertaining to the management of hazardous materials.

E512 Risk Communication (3 cr.) Risk communication is the means by which technical information is communicated to others (the public included), especially in the context of making decisions about environment-related policy, such as siting of a landfill. The course emphasizes both theory (in lectures) and practical experience through developing and acting in role-play scenarios.

E515 Fundamentals of Air Pollution (3 cr.) The purpose of the course is to provide the student with an understanding of the field of air pollution, including the behavior of the atmosphere and pollutants in the atmosphere, effects of air pollution, regulatory programs, engineering controls, and air quality management programs.

E520 Environmental Toxicology (3 cr.) An examination of the principles of toxicology and the toxicity resulting from environmental exposure to chemical substances.

E526 Applied Mathematics for Environmental Science (3 cr.) P: differential and integral calculus. Applications of mathematics to modeling environmental processes. Applied calculus, numerical analysis, differential equations.

E527 Applied Ecology (3 cr.) P: one introductory-level ecology course. Ecosystem concepts in natural resource management. Techniques of ecosystem analysis. Principles and practices of ecological natural resource management.

E529 Application of Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.) Conceptual and technical overview of geographic information systems (GIS). Applications in various fields of public affairs and environmental science.

E535 International Environmental Policy (3 cr.) This course examines the forces in society alternately promoting and impeding cooperation in the environmental realm. Our inquiry is guided by four interrelated course units: (1) international environmental law, (2) international political order, (3) the environment and global markets, and (4) sustainable development.

E536 Environmental Chemistry (3 cr.) P: one course in chemistry with lab. Water, air, and soil quality and their measurements; special pollutant substances, their chemistry, sources, toxicological effects, and analyses.

E537 Environmental Chemistry Laboratory (3 cr.) P or C: SPEA E536 or consent of instructor. Experimental work in environmental chemical analysis to demonstrate analytical methods and instrumentation used in environmental laboratories, having reference to air, water, and soil quality.

E541 Controversies in Environmental Health (3 cr.) Research, presentation, writing, and argumentation skills will be developed using a debate format. The course focuses on topics related to environmental health and the health of the environment.

E542 Hazardous Materials (3 cr.) Topics of discussion include properties and chemistry of hazardous materials; recognition of potential hazards associated with the use, storage, and transport of these materials; emergency and spill response; health effects of hazardous materials; hazard communication and personal protection; and case studies related to the management of hazardous materials.

E549 Environmental Planning (3 cr.) Concepts and methodologies in environmental planning. The planning process. Topics may include environmental impact assessment, economic approaches to environmental decision making, use of computer models in environmental planning, geographic information systems in environmental planning, environmental perception, and construction of environmental indices. Team projects with planning agencies.

E552 Environmental Engineering (3 cr.) Concerned with biological, chemical, physical, and engineering knowledge essential to the achievement of environmental quality objectives. Theory and design of unit operations and processes for air, water, and land pollution abatement. Emphasis on water quality control, industrial wastewater treatment, and solid waste management.

E554 Groundwater Flow Modeling (3 cr.) Fundamentals of groundwater flow modeling demonstrated through exercises in one-dimensional and radial flow. Two-dimensional flow is treated by use of a semianalytic approach. Alternative modeling techniques, such as finite elements and finite differences, are discussed. Streamline tracing is discussed to study spreading of contaminants.

E555 Topics in Environmental Science (2-3 cr.) Selected research and discussion topics in environmental science. Usually organized in a seminar format.

E560 Environmental Risk Analysis (3 cr.) P: SPEA E538 or V506, or consent of instructor. Methods of probabilistic risk analysis applied to environmental situations. Event trees, fault trees, toxicological estimation, ecological risk analysis. Social and psychological aspects of risk. Individual and group projects assessing some real environmental risk are an important part of the course.

E562 Solid and Hazardous Waste Management (3 cr.) The purpose is to provide students with a technical foundation in areas of solid and hazardous waste management which can be applied to the examination of policy options. Topics include characterization of the waste stream, regulations, health and environmental risks, liability issues, management technologies, and treatment and disposal options.

E620 Environmental Analysis Workshop (3 cr.) Projects in environmental analysis.

Health Administration Courses

The SPEA 400-level course listed below, which is described in the undergraduate section of this bulletin, may be taken for graduate credit if specifically listed within degree requirements or approved by a graduate advisor.

H433 Industrial Hygiene and Radiological Health (3 cr.)

H501 U.S. Health Care: Systems, Policies, and Ethical Challenges (3 cr.) Study of health, illness, and disease trajectories and the systemic components that mold the health care system. Ideological paradigms predicting utilization and health behaviors are addressed, as are guidelines or ethical decision making/problem analysis. Formulation and implementation of organizational and governmental policies and their associated theoretical assumptions are addressed.

H502 Developing Strategic Capability in Healthcare (3 cr.) This course explores management roles in health care. Application of management theories, concepts, and principles; and an understanding of managerial roles in organizations are emphasized. Managerial process, management theories, leadership, organizational design, and strategic management are examined.

H507 Management of Individual and Group Behavior (3 cr.) This course provides a conceptual framework for understanding behavior in the work environment by introducing concepts concerning effective management of people in organizations. Key theories and concepts in the field of organizational behavior will be introduced. The focus of this course is at the micro level of analysis, addressing topics such as individual theories of motivation, job design, and diversity issues; management of work teams; group decision making; managing conflict; and leadership, influence, and power issues.

H508 Managing Healthcare Accounting Information for Decision-Making (3 cr.) An examination of the analytical techniques used in the financial management of health care organizations, with emphasis on accounting and financial analysis, short-term asset management, and capital project analysis. Conceptual and quantitative practice is provided using cases and computer spreadsheet programs.

H509 Health Services Financial Management I (3 cr.) P: 3 credit hours of undergraduate accounting. An examination of the analytical techniques used in the financial management of health care organizations, with emphasis on accounting and financial analysis, short-term asset management, and capital project analysis. Conceptual and quantitative practice is provided using cases and computer spreadsheet programs.

H510 Health Services Financial Management II (3 cr.) P: SPEA H509. An examination of cost accounting techniques used in health care organizations, with emphasis on measuring and using cost accounting information for planning, control, and nonroutine decision making. Conceptual and quantitative practice is provided using cases and computer spreadsheet programs.

H514 Health Economics (3 cr.) P: 3 credit hours of undergraduate economics. Examines the principles and application of economic analysis in the health field and the economist’s approach to health care issues. Provides insights offered by economic analysis of specific health issues and problems.

H515 Seminar in Health Policy: Special Topics (3 cr.) P: SPEA H501, H503, or consent of instructor. Exploration of health policy topics from economic, financial, sociological, political, and psychological perspectives. Analytical paradigms are applied to organizational or macro policy-making issues that vary in response to changing environments. May be repeated once with advisor’s approval.

H516 Health Services Delivery and the Law (3 cr.) Medical-legal concepts related to hospitals and other health services organizations. Course provides an in-depth understanding of the law and the legal processes affecting the health services system. Presentation of the elements of administrative and agency processes, torts, contracts, facilities, physicians, patients, and personnel.

H517 Managerial Epidemiology (3 cr.) Examines general epidemiologic methods such as population descriptive techniques, use of health indicators and secondary health-related data sources. Includes design, administration, and analysis of observational and experimental studies. Emphasis will be on the use of epidemiologic techniques to assess community health, determine community risk factors, and evaluate community-based programs.

H518 Statistical Methods for Health Services (3 cr.) P: 3 credit hours of undergraduate statistics. Study of the quantitative techniques commonly used to examine health-related data. Includes univariate, bivariate, and multivariate techniques. Emphasis is on using statistical techniques to make policy and administrative decisions in a health services setting. Students use standard computer software to analyze data.

H521 Management Science for Health Services Administration (3 cr.) Focus is on management science methods, as applied to health sciences administration. Includes treatment of decision theory, constrained optimization, and probability simulation.

H615 Strategic Management, Decision Making, and Evaluation II (3 cr.) P: SPEA H614. Application of decision-making and evaluation skills in various health service settings. Includes designing, implementing, and evaluating health and social programs. Emphasis on core management; evaluation of values of efficiency, effectiveness, and equity; measure of structure, process, and outcomes in health care environments. The second course of a two-course sequence.

H623 Management Applications Skills III (3 cr.) P: SPEA H622. This last course of the series in the capstone sequence is designed to assist students in synthesizing and summarizing all of the previous course work. Emphasis is on real world case situations and requires active participation by the students. Case studies chosen reflect current management issues in health services administration.

H626 Health Services Human Resources Management (3 cr.) This course provides the knowledge and skills needed to understand the application of personnel and labor relations techniques to the health services sector, with particular emphasis on human resources management, employees’ benefit programs, and labor relations as applied to the health services delivery organization.

H627 Seminar in Advanced Health Finance (3 cr.) P: SPEA H509 and H510. An advanced seminar in health services management dealing with cases, problems, and contemporary health finance issues. Student presentations emphasized.

H628 Health Care Information Systems (3 cr.) A study of the terminology, technology, and application of information systems in various health care settings. Topics include the gathering, organization, storage, and retrieval of complex data banks, as well as assessment of health service data needs and considerations in developing information systems. Includes many computer-based exercises.

H630 Readings in Health Services Administration (1-3 cr.) Supervised readings in selected areas of health services management, policy, and planning. For second-year students, open to others by arrangement.

H650 Strategies for Career Preparation (1.5 cr.) This course will provide guidance in finding a summer internship and developing the skills necessary to obtain and work in a summer internship. Skills covered include interviewing, resume development, internship design, and other work-related skills.

H700 Residency (1-6 cr.) Requires the equivalent of 6 credit hours of on-site experience under the supervision of a qualified preceptor and program faculty; students who opt for longer residencies may continue to register for this course each semester. Grading is on an S/F basis.

H702 Field Experience in Public Health (3 cr.) Requires the equivalent of a minimum of 3 credit hours of on-site experience under the supervision of a qualified preceptor and program faculty. Grading is on an S/F basis.

H735 Research in Health Administration (3-6 cr.) P: all core courses or consent of instructor. Field research. Suggested follow-up course for H505 Health Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation. Designed for advanced students and those who have elected not to take a residency.

Planning Courses

P500 Foundations of Planning (3 cr.) Overview of planning theory and practice. Course considers planning history, normative and applied theories of planning, approaches to planning and ethics in planning. Course presents a critical perspective on state, regional, and local planning processes, how organizational structure and group processes affect the planning process, and general approaches to conflict negotiation and resolution.

P510 Social and Economic Aspects of Human Settlement (2 cr.) Examination of the development and growth of human settlement and social and economic aspects of regional policy. Topics include location theory, land use and zoning, economic development, population and employment, social service delivery and use, and planning for diversity.

P515 Physical Systems Development and Infrastructure (3 cr.) Examination of the physical environment and its role in development, environmental problems and policies, and the man-made physical infrastructure. Topics include soils, hydrology, solid waste management, transportation, air pollution, urban ecology, and recreation.

P520 Methods for Planning and Policy Analysis (2 cr.) P: SPEA V506. Application of analytical methods in the planning process. Topics include collection of information for planning, evaluation methods, forecasting techniques, and spatial analysis methods.

P525 Geographic Information Systems for Planning (2 cr.) Introduction to the principles of geographic information systems for use in planning. Covers representation of data, sources of data, analysis with geographic information systems, and the development of systems for planning. Emphasizes the learning of the use of geographic information systems software.

P526 Planning Applications of Geographic Information Systems (2 cr.) P: P525 or consent of instructor. The development of geographic information systems applications to address problems in planning. Consideration of a range of planning applications of geographic information systems. Advanced use of geographic information systems, including network and spatial analysis and the development of custom applications using geographic information systems software.

P530 Land Use Law (3 cr.) Public and private control of land use. Legal basis for public planning and regulation, zoning, subdivision regulations, and other forms of public regulation.

P532 Site Planning and Urban Design (3 cr.) Examination of prerequisites for site planning, including environmental, legal, and infrastructure consideration. Development of basic graphic design skills. Application to development of site plans at various scales. Introduction to urban design principles.

P540 Community and Neighborhood Development Planning (3 cr.) Examination of the role of neighborhoods in planning; methods of neighborhood analysis; government intervention; issues in community development; planning for neighborhood and community development, including citizen participation and institutional mechanisms; and implementation.

P550 Topics in Planning (3 cr.) Selected research and discussion topics vary by semester. May be repeated for credit.

P580 Readings in Planning (1-3 cr.) P: written consent of instructor. Readings on selected topics in planning.

P585 Practicum in Planning (1-6 cr.) P: prior approval of the director of the Graduate Program in Planning. Students hold work assignments with planning agencies. Requires written evaluations by supervisor and submission of written reports by student. Grading is on an S/F basis.

P590 Research in Planning (1-3 cr.) P: written consent of instructor. Research on selected topics in planning.

P600 Portfolio Assessment (1 cr.) Capstone seminar addresses professional ethics in planning and requires assembly, evaluation, and presentation of portfolio of work completed while in Master of Planning program. Written consent of program director required. Grading is on an S/F basis.

P610 Planning Workshop (3 cr.) P: written consent of instructor. Students work as a group on a complex planning problem for a public sector client. Presentation of findings made to client.

P630 Strategic Planning (3 cr.) Strategic planning and strategic management are processes used by organizations to align their actions with their mission, goals, and objectives. This course describes the theory and practice of strategic planning and management in public and nonprofit organizations, focusing on methods planners and managers use to ensure such alignments.

P650 Planning Seminar (3 cr.) P: written consent of instructor. Student research and presentation on selected topics intended to integrate the educational experience. Preparation of final professional report.

Public Affairs Courses

V500 Quantitative Tools for Public Affairs (1-3 cr.) A modular presentation of mathematical and statistical concepts designed to prepare students for V506 Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision Making. Representative module topics include basic algebraic concepts, probability, computer use, and matrix algebra.

V501 Professional Development Practicum: Information Technology (1 cr.) Provides an introduction to information technology and computing software skills in a problem-solving context.

V502 Public Management (1-3 cr.) Analysis of concepts, methods, and procedures involved in managing public organizations. Problems of organization, planning, decision making, performance evaluation, and management of human resources are considered. Cases are drawn from a variety of public services found at federal, state, and local levels of government.

V503 Professional Development Practicum: Writing and Presentation (1 cr.) Students use practical methods to develop professional-level writing and oral communication skills to engender an appreciation for the value of effective communication skills: learn to analyze a case study effectively, write policy memos, executive summaries, news releases, professional letters; critique presentations of outside professionals; and assess personal and peer presentations.

V504 Public Organizations (1-3 cr.) This course focuses on the behavior and theory of public organizations in four areas: (1) individuals and groups in public organizations, (2) the design of public organizations, (3) organization-environment relations, and (4) interorganizational relations.

V505 Professional Development Practicum: Teamwork and Integrated Policy Project (1-3 cr.) Students integrate courses and knowledge through team-based case analysis of complex policy problems. Teamwork is practiced using structured team-building exercises and discussions.

V506 Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision Making (3 cr.) Noncalculus survey of concepts in probability, estimation, and hypothesis testing. Applications of contingency table analysis; analysis of variance, regression, and other statistical techniques. Computer processing of data emphasized.

V507 Data Analysis and Modeling for Public Affairs (3 cr.) P: SPEA E538 or V506. Focus on analytical models and their use in solving problems and making decisions in the public sector. Discussion of standard approaches to modeling and estimation of parameters.

V508 Topics in Quantitative Analysis (1-3 cr.) P: consent of instructor. Study and application of selected quantitative methods of analysis. Additional topics that are not included in V506 and V507 may be presented, or more advanced examination of topics that are introduced in V506 or V507 may be presented.

V509 Administrative Ethics in the Public Sector (3 cr.) Ethical conduct in the public sector is examined. Topics covered could include personal ethical responsibility, deception, corruption, and codes of ethics. Case studies and medial material will be used to illustrate these and other such issues affecting the workplace.

V510 Government Regulation in Market Economies (3 cr.) P: SPEA V517 or consent of instructor. An overview of government regulation and involvement in the private sector and of public policy consequences of government action in market economics. Analysis of case studies in business-government relations.

V512 Public Policy Process (1-3 cr.) An examination of the role of public affairs professionals in policy processes. Focuses on relationships with political actors in various policy areas.

V516 Public Management Information Systems (3 cr.) This course focuses on the application of information systems concepts and tools to challenges and opportunities in the public sector. Topics covered will include current trends in information systems; managerial use of information systems; hardware, software, and telecommunications; systems development processes and practices; and strategic and policy issues in information systems.

V517 Public Management Economics (3 cr.) This course focuses on applications of the principles and concepts of intermediate microeconomic theory and managerial economics to public sector management decisions and policy analysis. The course utilizes case studies to give students opportunities to recognize the economic dimensions inherent in the public policy problems and to develop an analytical problem-solving orientation.

V518 Intergovernmental Systems Management (1-3 cr.) Discussion of theories and approaches to systems management, including responsibilities and tasks of public systems. Examination of intergovernmental relationships and intralocal governmental relationships; treatment of organizational and systems design; as well as planning, decision making, and control of public systems. Discussion of applications to services such as environment, health, and human services.

V520 Environmental Policy Analysis (3 cr.) The relationships among social, technical, and natural systems. Theories of growth. Causes and implications of environmental problems. Alternative policies and mechanisms for environmental control and bases for choice.

V521 The Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector (3 cr.) Same as PHST P521. The theory, size, scope, and functions of the nonprofit and voluntary sector are covered from multiple disciplinary perspectives including historical, political, economic, and social.

V522 Human Resource Management in Nonprofit Organizations (3 cr.) This course provides an overview of the human resource management areas necessary for the productive functioning of nonprofit organizations. Theories of motivation applicable to the management of staff and volunteers and personnel topics of recruitment, selection, board-staff relations, compensation, training, and development are covered.

V523 Civil Society and Public Policy (3 cr.) Exploration of interaction of public policy and nonprofit organizations, drawing on history, political theory, and social science. Includes examination of regulations and taxation. Depending on instructor’s interests, course covers nonprofit role in selected policy arenas (such as environment and poverty) and industries (such as international development and health care).

V524 Civil Society in Comparative Perspective (3 cr.) An exploration of state-society relationships in a variety of regimes and time periods. Focuses on ways regimes’ policies affect the existence and contribution of those nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations that stand between the individual and the state and how nonprofit organizations shape the policy agenda of a regime.

V525 Management in the Nonprofit Sector (3 cr.) P: SPEA V521 or PHST P521. An examination of nonprofit organizations and their role in society. Management issues and public policy affecting these organizations are discussed. Primary emphasis is upon U.S. organizations, but attention is given to the global nature of the sector.

V526 Financial Management for Nonprofit Organizations (3 cr.) This course emphasizes a thorough understanding of the language and key concepts of nonprofit financial management. A working knowledge of the basic analytical tools used in financial decision making for nonprofit organizations will be examined through the use of computer software.

V529 Seminar in Career and Professional Development (1 cr.) Introduction to career development in public and environmental affairs. Orientation to career development approaches and resources. Discussion and practice of professional skills and techniques. Orientation to career development opportunities. Grading is on an S/F basis.

V539 Management Science for Public Affairs (3 cr.) P: SPEA V506. Focuses on management science methods as applied to public affairs. Includes treatment of decision theory, constrained optimization, and probability simulation.

V540 Law and Public Affairs (1-3 cr.) Explanation of law in society and its influence on public sector operations. Examination of some of the central substantive areas of the study of law, including regulatory processes, administrative adjudication, the Administrative Procedures Act, ombudsmen, and citizen rights.

V541 Benefit-Cost Analysis of Public and Environmental Policies (3 cr.) P: SPEA V517 or consent of instructor. A course applying benefit-cost analysis to public and environmental policies. The first part of the course develops the foundation of benefit-cost analysis. The second part of the course consists of case studies applying benefit-cost analysis to actual policy decisions.

V542 Governmental Financial Accounting and Reporting (3 cr.) P or C: SPEA V560. An introduction to the fundamentals of accounting in business, nonprofit, and public sectors. Intended only for students without previous accounting courses. Primary emphasis is on municipal entity fund accounting, including the development and use of financial statements.

V547 Negotiation and Dispute Resolution for Public Affairs (3 cr.) Students will learn the skill of interest-based negotiation through role play and simulation. Students will learn about dispute resolution techniques such as mediation, arbitration, fact finding, early neutral evaluation, ombudsmanship, and facilitation. The course covers dispute resolution in federal government and in the context of public, environmental, labor, and business disputes.

V550 Topics in Public Affairs (1-3 cr.) Selected research and discussion topics organized on a semester-by-semester basis, usually with significant student input in the course design.

V557 Proposal Development and Grant Administration (3 cr.) This course provides the opportunity for each student to develop a complete proposal through participation in the entire grant application process. The integration of case studies, visual media, printed materials, and class discussions provides students with practical knowledge for writing successful proposals.

V558 Fund Development for Nonprofits (3 cr.) Important aspects of the fundraising process in nonprofit organizations are covered, including techniques and strategies for assessing potential sources of support, effective use of human resources, process management, theory to underlay practice, analysis of current practice, practice standards, and discussion of ethical problems.

V560 Public Finance and Budgeting (1-3 cr.) The fiscal role of government in a mixed economy; sources of public revenue and credit; administrative, political, and institutional aspects of the budget and the budgetary process; problems and trends in intergovernmental fiscal relations.

V561 Public Human Resources Management (3 cr.) Analysis of the structure, operations, and design of public personnel systems, including government agencies and public enterprise. Relationships between public policy and personnel concepts, values, and operations are considered.

V562 Public Program Evaluation (1-3 cr.) Examination of how the programs of public agencies are proposed, established, operated, and evaluated. Discussion of the role and conduct of research in the program evaluation process. In addition, techniques of effective evaluation and analysis are discussed.

V564 Urban Management (3 cr.) This course deals with the management of public policy in American urban government, with special attention to the relationship between structure, process, and policy. Readings and case studies will focus on urban management problems relating to leadership, planning, and operations.

V565 Environmental Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (3 cr.) Theories of environmental conflict resolution are examined. Students will practice by doing through participation in a series of environmental conflict resolution simulations.

V566 Executive Leadership (3 cr.) The course offers an in-depth examination of factors that contribute to successful executive leadership practice in a wide variety of organizational settings. Topics include what leadership is, what impact leadership has, and how leaders use various approaches and powers to achieve their goals.

V567 Public Financial Administration (3 cr.) Problems of financial management in governmental units; alternative revenue sources, financial planning, and control; cash debt management; survey of modern expenditure management, control, and planning.

V568 Management of Urban Government Services (1-3 cr.) The course deals with selected topics in urban services. The course may focus on a specific urban service or provide an overview for several urban services.

V570 Public Sector Labor Relations (1-3 cr.) An introductory overview of labor relations concepts within the framework of the public sector. The development, practice, and extent of the collective bargaining process, as well as the administration of the labor agreement, will be examined for state agencies, local municipalities, and school districts.

V571 State and Local Environmental Management (3 cr.) This course examines a mix of management and policy issues. Included are civic environmentalism, alternatives to environmental regulation, unfunded mandates, environmental justice, public relations, outsourcing, ethical challenges, and managing scientific and technical personnel.

V580 Readings in Public Affairs (1-3 cr.) P: written consent of instructor. Readings on selected topics in public affairs.

V581 Public Safety Law (1-3 cr.) Survey of historical development of Anglo-American law of public safety, including criminal law, civil remedies, administrative regulation of risk, and recent developments in employee and consumer safety. Emphasis on understanding legal theory and practice as basis for management decisions. Comparison of jurisprudential viewpoints and other disciplinary approaches to causation, prevention, and correction of public safety problems.

V585 Practicum in Public Affairs (1-6 cr.) Students hold work assignments with public agencies. Grading is on an S/F basis.

V586 Public Safety in the U.S. (2-3 cr.) Overview of criminal justice and public safety. Definitions of public safety and identification of major components. Functional description of major public safety agencies. Discussion of basic issues in public safety. Management in public safety system.

V590 Research in Public Affairs (1-3 cr.) P: written consent of instructor. Research on selected topics in public affairs.

V595 Managerial Decision Making (1-3 cr.) P: SPEA V504 and V539. Applications of decision-making tools to substantive public management problems. A variety of managerial cases and issues are selected for intensive discussion and analysis.

V597 Land Use Planning (3 cr.) The course examines the theoretical basis and practical need for land use planning. Emphasis is placed on the institutional context in which land use planning occurs. The course provides an in-depth analysis and exercise in plan preparations.

V600 Capstone in Public and Environmental Affairs (3 cr.) Interdisciplinary course designed to give students exposure to the realities of the policy process through detailed analyses of case studies and projects. Course integrates science, technology, policy, and management.

V601 Workshop in Public Affairs (1-6 cr.) Projects in public affairs. The students work on a research and resource team to complete a project for a public-sector client. Faculty act as project managers and resource personnel.

V602 Strategic Management of Public and Nonprofit Organizations (3 cr.) P: SPEA V502. Concepts, cases, and problem solving associated with the structure and process of strategic management in the public sector, broadly defined to include governmental and nongovernmental organizations.

V610 Seminar in Government Budget and Program Analysis (3 cr.) P or C: SPEA V560. Advanced study of management aspects of budgetary process. Special cases are analyzed, and budget problem-solving exercises are utilized.

V622 Seminar in Urban Economic Development (3 cr.) P: SPEA V517 or course in urban economics or instructor’s consent. Reading, discussion, and research into problems of urban economic development in the United States. Case study approach used to investigate job creation, financial incentives, development corporations, and other factors that have led to successful economic development plans and projects.

V623 Seminar in Urban Management (3 cr.) P: SPEA V561, V564, V567. This course is the required capstone course for all graduate students with a concentration in urban management. Course is combined with student’s required internship. Students are assigned selected reading in current urban management issues as well as research projects and case studies on/in the communities they are serving.

V639 Managing Government Operations (3 cr.) P: SPEA V502. This is an introductory survey of operations management. Emphasis is placed on the analysis, design, and management of operation systems using models from operations management. Readings, lectures, and structured exercises are used to present the models and demonstrate their application.

V643 Natural Resource Management and Policy (3 cr.) P: SPEA V517. This course evaluates a broad range of contemporary resource policies, cases, and controversies, using bio-economic resource management models as an intuitive aid, wherever possible. Topics include fishery management, forestry policy, tropical deforestation, water management policy, nature preservation/endangered species, sustainable development, and national income accounting.