The following is a summary of twelve of the fourteen courses offered to satisfy the requirements of the program. Two additional elective courses must also be completed, and options for accomplishing this are explained in the adjacent panel.
The summary includes an illustrative list of topics covered in each course. The sequence and selection of courses may be adjusted as the program is delivered.
Year One Fall Semester
PAD 700 Public Administration
Professor Patrick O'Hara
- Examine the field of public administration.
- Review political, economic, cultural, and historical perspectives on the field.
- Assess current issues facing the profession. Access the scholarly literature of the field.
- Introduce the inventory of skills that students must master in order to complete the MPA Program.
PAD 701 Fraud, Waste and Abuse
Professor Jay Hamilton
- Assess the nature and prevalence of fraud, abuse, waste and corruption.
- Apply political, economic, legal and philosophical perspectives.
- Examine approaches to investigating, monitoring, deterring and controlling these phenomena.
PAD 723 Assessments, Audits and Investigations in Human Resources
Professor Roddick Colvin
- Examine purposes and techniques of assessment, audit, and investigation in the human resources context.
- Students will learn to how determine the current and future needs of employees and organizations using needs assessments.
- Examine specialized audits relating to affirmative action, ADA, and general EEO-related issues.
- Examine standards and practices relating to case documentation, claimant and subject interviews, and report writing.
Year One Spring Semester
PAD 706 Bureaupathology
- Reviews theories of organizational structure and behavior.
- Explores corruption, waste, favoritism, excessive secrecy, arbitrary and
illegal exercises of power and other "pathologies" of bureaucracies. - Examines the organizational situations and social contexts conducive to
departures from the laws, rules and regulations that define the formal
mission of an agency. - Considers the remedial and preventative actions available to elected officials, organizational managers, line employees
and clients, customers and citizens.
PAD 740 Public Sector Inspection and Oversight
Professors Daniel Feldman, Phil Zisman, Robin Kempf
- Survey the role and function of inspection and oversight in the public, independent and private sectors.
- Review the standards of practice in the field.
- Introduce techniques of internal investigation, policy oversight, operational auditing and the auditor-agency relationship.
- Assess methods of fraud monitoring and prevention.
PAD 715 Research Methods
Professor Richard Schwester
- Examines the logic and techniques of research, evaluation and quantitative analysis in public administration.
- Introduce the concepts of measurement and data collection, approaches to the presentation of quantitative information, and designs for policy research and operational analysis.
- Examine the application of research methods in inspection and oversight such as sampling of cases and construction of performance indices.
- A prerequisite to this course is an undergraduate course in statistics. Students who have not completed such a course should make arrangements to complete one at a local college or university.
Year One Summer
- Elective course to be determined
Year Two Fall Semester
PAD 713 Management of Information and Technology
Professor Adam Wandt
- Examine technologies for case management.
- Assess standards and assessment methods to determine the information security
- Assess legal requirements for information security and privacy.
- Review data-mining and related technologies for risk assessment and evidence discovery.
PAD 742 Public Sector Accounting and Auditing
Professor David Shapiro
- Introduce the principles of accounting and the techniques of auditing for governmental and not-for-profit agencies.
- Review GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), summary financial statements, and financial audit guidelines.
- Address accounting reform and electronic auditing.
PAD 758 Ethics for Public Administration
Professor Daniel Feldman
- Explore the role of ethics in the public service.
- Analyze ethical issues through the use of case studies and critical incidents.
- Examine codes of ethics and other policies designed to guarantee that public officials and employees faithfully discharge their duties and fulfill their fiduciary obligations to the public.
Year Two Spring Semester
PAD 749 Public Sector Accounting and Auditing II
Professor David Shapiro
- A second course in forensic accounting and auditing, with emphasis on the audit of financial statements.
- Topics include methods and
skills associated with auditing, including report writing, sampling and analytical tests and risk assessment. - Special attention is given to
methods of examination relating to prevention and detection of fraud.
PAD 754 Investigative Techniques
- Review techniques for the discovery and documentation of corrupt practices in
politics and administration. - Examine the public employee's obligations and rights and of the laws and regulations governing criminal investigations.
- Assess case studies of white-collar crimes
and scandals involving public officials.
PAD 771 Capstone Seminar
Professor Warren Benton
- Apply knowledge and skills from MPA-IG studies to a project
- Complete a structured assignment which is assessed by a panel of faculty members.
- See the Capstone Project Guidelines for more information about this project.