This course introduces students to the fundamentals of public and nonprofit administration, exploring how organizations serve the public good. Topics include policy development, budgeting, human resource management, leadership, and ethical decision-making. Students will analyze case studies, examine real-world challenges, and learn strategies for effective governance and community impact. Fulfills one of the Foundations - Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Spring/Summer 2026 - Online
The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to community organizing, outreach and advocacy, specifically the knowledge, skill, and value base underpinning community organizing, planning, development, and change. It will emphasize the myriad roles, goals, and strategies in effecting social change in the public and nonprofit sectors.
Winter 2026 - Online
A survey of what is involved in the administration of public and nonprofit entities. How to hire, evaluate, and reward the right people, developing and carrying out public policies, preparing and interpreting budgets, dealing with various pressure groups and governmental agencies, and organizing human resources to carry out the public’s business honestly and effectively. Several case studies will be used. Fulfills one of the Foundations - Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Examines the process of urbanization, its impact on various cultures, and its long-term sustainability. Considers the rapid urbanization in the developing countries and the dynamic growth of global urban systems, emphasizing the evolution of cities over time, space, and vastly different social, political, and cultural environments. Fulfills General Education Cultures - Global Perspectives. Part of the Sustainability Issue. Cross-listed with GPY 324. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: Junior standing.
Provides instruction in writing grants, evaluating grant proposals, and in researching and cultivating funding sources. Students will gain an understanding of the link between organizational mission and program development by preparing a full proposal to meet a real-life community need. Offered fall semester.
Examines and applies leadership issues, concepts, and situations that are evident in various community and public or nonprofit organizational contexts. Offered once a year.
Students develop crisis/emergency management and preparedness skills for themselves, disaster volunteers, workplaces, and government agencies. Students study a comprehensive approach to emergency planning, response, and recovery, with roles for federal, state, and local governments, nonprofit agencies, and private sector organizations. Offered winter semester.
Basic analytical concepts, including group dynamic skills, housing and land use surveys, historic district analysis, and neighborhood identification. Offered every semester. Prerequisite: Senior standing.
Winter 2026 - Hybrid
An advanced survey of the most important and frequently used methods and techniques of research and analysis used by administrators and planners. The course also will familiarize students with the use of computers for such research and analysis. Emphasizes the application of research and analysis in public administration. Offered every semester. Prerequisite: PNH 520 or PNH 630 or PNH 660 (may be taken concurrently).
A survey of policies and issues in human resource management in public, nonprofit, and health care contexts, including volunteer management. The focus is on values, behavior, ethics, and human interactions in organizations. Offered spring/summer and winter semesters. Prerequisite: Admission to a master’s program in the School of Public, Nonprofit, and Health Administration.
Explores the various theories of organizations. The focus is on the process of structural development and the impact each structure has on individuals and groups. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: PNH 520 or PNH 630 or PNH 660 (may be taken concurrently).
Overview of the current management, organization, and delivery of U.S. health care. Current management and organization theories are compared in relation to the health care system. Major system components are defined and studied. Included are discussions of staffing, dealing with internal and external constituencies, and identification of hospital types. Offered every other year.
Examines public policymaking in the health care sector since 1900. Emphasizes policy, the process of government regulation, and the character of health settings at the federal, state, and local levels with attention to the constitutional foundations, legislative policies, and bureaucratic implementation features of the system in a political context. Offered fall semester. Prerequisite: PNH 520 or PNH 630 (may be taken concurrently).
Examines current and historical legal and ethical issues impacting health administration, including malpractice and other liability issues, licensing and regulation, professional ethics, contracts and property, insurance, corporate, taxation, anti-trust, fraud and abuse, medical staff, confidentiality, health care access, peer review, ethics committees, legal and ethical aspects of patient care decision-making and consent. Offered winter semester. Prerequisite: PNH 520 or PNH 630 (may be taken concurrently).
This course focuses on methods and tools used to manage quality in a variety of health care settings, including hospitals, clinics, physician practices, managed care, and long-term care. It addresses developments in health care quality assurance and improvement, data sources and analysis tools, staffing and management, accreditation, and public relations. Offered winter semester. Prerequisites: PNH 611, PNH 612, PNH 630, and PNH 631.
Covers community assessment, program planning, and program management techniques with an emphasis on health. Community relations and coordination will be addressed. Prepares students for IRS, grant planning, and reporting. Course offered fall semester.
Describes and evaluates ways to coordinate the efforts of public agencies, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations to address planning, economic development, and employment issues more comprehensively. Included in this analysis are public and private programs basic to economic development, state and federal enabling legislation and regulations, and local ordinance and public/private partnership alternatives. Offered winter semester. Prerequisites: PNH 520 or PNH 630 (may be taken concurrently).
Provides an overview of theories of social conflict. Develops an understanding of conceptual issues involving conflict and conflict management on many levels in diverse settings. Introduces specific dispute resolution skills such as negotiation and mediation. Offered on sufficient demand. Prerequisites: PNH 520 or PNH 660 (may be taken concurrently).
Planning as a decision-making process, methods for defining goals in public and private planning programs, role of planning in policy formulation, and planning for human environment relationships. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: PNH 520 or PNH 630 or PNH 660 (may be taken concurrently).
Introduces project management and team leadership concepts, models, methods, skills, best practices, and tools for healthcare, nonprofit, and public organizations. Prepares students to (1) undertake project management and pursue project management professional certification, and (2) lead with effective team leadership competencies for traditional or virtual work environments. Offered fall and winter semesters.
Explores the assumptions and practice of nonprofit organization management. Examines how these issues differ in different types of nonprofits. Topics include issues of public accountability, ethics, evaluating organizational effectiveness, personnel motivation, board and staff relationships, volunteers, and the meaning of service. Offered winter semester.
This course will examine nonprofit finance and accounting from the management perspective. Topics include financial policies and internal controls, financial statement presentation and analysis, audit and tax reporting, and budgeting. Offered winter semester.
Instruction in finding grant sources, writing grants, developing grant budgets, and evaluating grant proposals. As part of this course, students will be expected to write and submit at least one actual grant proposal. Offered once a year.
Winter 2026 - Online Spring/Summer 2026 - Online
This course explores the relationship between advocacy and the built environment and its influence on community health in the fields of public health and urban planning. This course will examine such issues as theories and concepts of behavior and design, health disparities, social capital, physical activity, transportation, and food systems. Offered winter semester.
A seminar for the study of important topics not ordinarily covered in other courses. This course may be taken more than once when the topic is different. Offered on sufficient demand. Prerequisite: Admission to the MPA or MHA program.
Examines the structure and dynamics of organizations; problems of financing, staffing, and program implementation; administrative reform and reorganization; qualitative and quantitative methods for managerial decision-making; goal-directed processes and effective planning. Uses a case study approach emphasizing management problems. Offered fall and winter semesters. Prerequisite: Completion of 30 credit hours in M.P.A., M.P.N.L, or M.H.A. programs.
Winter 2026 - Hybrid Spring/Summer 2026 - Online
The course requires preparation of an extensive research and writing assignment under faculty supervision. Offered on sufficient demand. Graded credit/no-credit. Prerequisites: Faculty approval of research proposal and completion of the Responsible Conduct of Research Training within the last three years.
A research or reading project, program proposal, or other approved activity that builds in the student’s area of specialization. Offered fall and winter semesters. Graded credit/no-credit. Prerequisite: Permission of advisor.
