Doctor of Public Administration (DPA)

School of Public Service Leadership

General Public Administration specialization

Enhance your public leadership skills as you develop and apply research to address multidisciplinary public service issues within your community. This doctoral specialization uses course work, current case studies, advanced learning technologies, and field experiences to strengthen your collaboration and leadership skills and identify community issues that could benefit from an action-based research project. Working with a rich, global network of experienced faculty and professional peers, you will gain an in-depth understanding of your own field, plus insights from professionals in other fields, such as public safety and health care, who often collaborate with you to solve today’s complex challenges. The specialization is designed to be completed in three years, using a cohort model. You will enroll in two courses each quarter in a prescribed sequence, enhancing opportunities to build on your newly acquired knowledge and develop professional relationships with the same cohort of students. Convenient electronic textbooks lowers program costs and provides immediate access to course materials. People likely to choose this specialization include public administrators who want to pursue leadership positions in government agencies, public service organizations, or the political arena; or faculty positions in the fields of public administration, public affairs, and political science.

Residency requirement: none.

Core courses (each course 4 quarter credits unless noted)

• DPA8002 - Public Services Theory, Issues, and Research*
• DPA8400 - Theories of Leadership and Public Administration*
• DPA8404 - Principles of Organization Theory and Practice*
• DPA8408 - Ethics and Social Responsibility*
• DPA8412 - Global and Diverse Societies*
• DPA8416 - Public Administration and Community Collaboration*
• DPA8420 - Public Policy Analysis and Advocacy*
• DPA8424 - Theories and Practices of Public Human Resource Management*
• DPA8428 - Public Needs Assessment and Planning*
• DPA8100 - Fundamentals of Public Administration Research*
• DPA8103 - Theory Development in Public Administration Research*
• DPA8106 - Program Evaluation and Participatory Research*
• DPA8480 - Field Experience I: Conference*^‡
• DPA8484 - Field Experience II: Legislative Interaction*^‡
• DPA8488 - Field Experience III: Comprehensive Analysis*^‡
• DPA9920 - Action Research Dissertation Courseroom* - non-credit
• DPA9921 - Action Dissertation Research 1* - 5 quarter credits
• DPA9922 - Action Dissertation Research 2* - 5 quarter credits
• DPA9923 - Action Dissertation Research 3* - 5 quarter credits
• DPA9924 - Action Dissertation Research 4* - 5 quarter credits

Choose three from the following courses

• HS7502 - Grant Proposal Development and Administration
• HS8109 - Nonprofit Public Policy and Advocacy
• HS8108 - Financial Analysis and Reporting for Nonprofit Executives
• HS8114 - Operations in Health Care Systems
• HS8116 - Financial Analysis in Health Care Systems
• HS8118 - Health Policies Analysis and Strategy
• HS8503 - Health Systems Analysis and Evaluation
• HS8513 - Role and Function of Boards and CEOs
• PSF8358 - Law and Legal Foundations
• PSF8362 - Criminal Justice Policy Analysis
• PSF8601 - Contemporary Public Safety Leadership
• PSF8632 - Philosophy and Practice of Disaster Preparedness
• PSF8634 - Public Safety Incident Command Paradigms
• PSF8638 - Business Continuity for Emergency Management

Admission to the General Public Administration specialization requires learners to complete and submit the Cohort Registration Authorization.

^‡ Learners are responsible for the cost of their travel, accommodations, food, and other expenses associated with field experience course work.

Learn more about our related specializations:

PsyD

Master's degree

• Counseling Studies
• Master of Science in Human Services (MS) - General Human Services
• Health Care Administration

Certificate

• Post-Master's Certificate - College Teaching

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