Course Sequencing and Planning
» Core Courses
» Prerequisites
» Management Competencies
» Internships
» Electives
» MPA Area Clusters
Core Courses (16 units)
PPD 540 — Public Administration and Society (4 units)
Administrative concepts, institutions, legal systems, and practices; values; facilitation of responsibilities and rights; professional applications for
personal, private sector, and public achievement. This course is required in first 12 units.
PPD 501ab – Economics for Policy, Planning, and Development (2-2 units)
a: Microeconomic theory as applied to policy, planning, and development; concepts of efficiency; macroeconomic issues. b: Micoreconomic analysis and modeling to incorporate Market failure and issues of uncertainty and information failure; organization models; policy instruments; policy and planning applications.
PPD 500 – Intersectoral Leadership (2 units)
Roles of public, private, nonprofit, and civil society sectors in policy, planning, and development. Leadership skills in negotiation, conflict resolution, institutional design, problem solving.
PPD 546 — Professional Practice of Public Administration (4 units)
Constitutionally accountable and ethical practice, individually and organizationally; applications of core competencies; practical inquiry, analysis, systems; comparative frameworks; citizenship and public service. Prerequisites: PPD 501b, 540, 545.
Prerequisites
Twelve units of undergraduate social sciences and a working knowledge of statistics are prerequisites to the MPA. These prerequisites must be satisfied within the first twelve units. Most students satisfy the social science requirement as undergraduates. Those who do not, may take 12 units of social sciences at any accredited college or university. The statistic prerequisite must be satisfied in one of two ways:
- Completing PPD 404x — Statistics for Policy, Planning, and Development with a grade of C or better. This course carries undergraduate credit and may not be applied to your degree; or
- Passing the Statistics Equivalency Test administered by the School of Policy, Planning, and Development. This test is given prior to registration each semester, but may only be taken once. Students who do not pass this exam must enroll in PPD 404x.
Management Competencies (12 units)
One course from each of three clusters.
- Analytic Methods:
select one of the following 3 courses:PPD 542 — Program and Policy Evaluation (4 units)
Methods and models for policy and program evaluation; methods for collecting and analyzing evaluation data; processes for linking evaluation to policy formulation and program management. Prerequisite: PPD 404.PPD 557 – Modeling and Operations Research (4 units)
Management science methods that support decision making in policy, management, and planning settings. Includes linear programming, queuing theory, decision analysis, and forecasting. Open only to master’s or doctoral students. Prerequisite: PPD 404x or PPD 525.PPD 666 — Administrative Research and Analysis (4 units)
Theory and methods for study of administrative effectiveness; problem solving, performance measurement, administrative and organizational research, quality improvement, and change implementation. Prerequisite: PPD 404x. - Organizational Behavior
PPD 545 — Human Behavior in Public Organizations (4 units)
Enhances an understanding of behavior in organizations by focusing on personal, interpersonal, and group level factors that influence such behavior - Finance
PPD 541 — Financial Management and Budgeting (4 units)
Financial management applied to public and non-profit organizations; financial valuation, financial markets, budgeting, tax administration, debt financing, cost-benefit analysis, and financial analysis. Prerequisite: PPD 404x.
Internships
Pre-service students, those with less than two years full-time work experience in a professional level position, are required to complete 300 hours of internship and PPD 543 Internship Seminar (1 unit). MPA students enroll in the internship seminar during their first semester.
Electives
Students may use their electives to gain depth in a particular area of study or they may take them from a number of different fields. For those interested in a particular area of study, you may take electives from one of the identified “area clusters” within the MPA or you may take electives from other related schools of public administration or USC graduate degree programs. Students take 14 units of electives.
MPA Area Clusters
The extensive experience of the USC faculty allows the School to offer electives in many key areas of public administration. Students may use electives to gain depth in an area of study or take individual classes from several areas. For those interested in a particular area of study, electives may be taken from one of the identified area clusters within the MPA or from other related School of Policy, Planning, and Development or USC graduate degree programs. Courses in these area clusters are offered regularly and may be taken by any MPA student. As most courses carry four units, students usually take three courses from an area cluster.
Civil Infrastructure
Civil infrastructure systems such as transportation, water, waste disposal, power, and communications are the enables of modern society. The
management and administration of these complex, interdependent systems require a broad, diverse knowledge base that draws from many disciplines.
Students may emphasize infrastructure finance, project permitting and approval, infrastructure management, and transportation policy and planning.
Courses in this cluster include:
Infrastructure Finance
- CE 552 Managing and Financing Public Engineering Works (3)
- ISE 561 Economic Analysis of Engineering Projects (3)
- PPD 626 Public/Private and Mixed Enterprises Planning (2-4)
- PPD 647 Finance of the Public Sector (4)
- PPD 652 Financial Administration in Local Government (4)
Project Permitting and Approval
- ENST 520 Environmental Law and Policy (4)
- RED 551 The Approval Process (4)
- PPD 671 Decision-Making in Regulatory Agencies (4)
- PPD 690 Alternative Dispute Resolution (4)
- PPD 691 Methods for Assessment and Protection of Environmental Quality (3)
- PPD 692 Transportation and the Environment (4)
- PPD 693 Communicating Public Policy (4)
Infrastructure Management
- CE 589 Port Engineering: Planning and Operations (3)
- SAE 541 Systems Engineering Theory and Practice (3)
- PPD 587 Risk Analysis (4)
- PPD 636 Infrastructure and Modern Society (2)
- PPD 633 Urban Transportation Planning and Management (4)
- PPD 673 Strategic Planning in the Public Sector (4)
Transportation Policy and Planning
- PPD 634 Institutional and Policy Issues in Transportation (4)
- PPD 692 Transportation and the Environment (4)
- PPD 635 Principles of Transportation Systems Analysis (4)
- PPD 633 Urban Transportation Planning and Management (4)
- PPD 694 Coastal Policy & Planning (4)
Community and Economic Development
Economic development is the basis for community development. At its core are job creation and the development of specific sites for employment, housing, and service provision. Courses in this cluster include:
- PPD 625 Planning and Economic Development Finance
- PPD 617 Urban Demography and Growth
- PPD 622 Urban Development
- PPD 624 Local Economic Development
- PPD 626 Public/Private and Mixed Enterprises Planning
- RED 542 Finance of Real Estate Development
- RED 598 Affordable Housing
Environmental Management and Land-Use Policy
Environmental management is an essential function of governments at all levels. A large number of courses are available both within and outside the
School of Policy, Planning, and Development that examine various dimensions of environmental management. Students interested in this cluster may
take any of the following courses:
- PPD 621 Environmental Impacts
- PPD 690 Alternative Dispute Resolution
- PPD 692 Transportation and the Environment
- PPD 619 Smart Growth and Urban Sprawl: Policy Debates and Planning Solutions
- PLUS 611 Sustainable Cities: Problems and Policies
- ENST 500 Introduction to Environmental Studies (Environmental Studies)
- POSC 546 Seminar in Environmental Policy (Political Science)
- ENST 520 Environmental Law and Policy (Environmental Studies)
Financial Management
Financial managers in the public sector deal with critically important challenges such as: how to deliver services at lower costs; financing of capital projects; increasing sources of revenue; forecasting and preparing for the unexpected; and investing for the future. Courses in this cluster include:
- PPD 516x Financial Accounting in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
- PPD 647 Finance of the Public Sector
- PPD 648 Concepts and Practices of Public Budgeting
- PPD 661 Intergovernmental Management: Local Perspective
- RED 542 Finance of Real Estate Development
- PPD 625 Planning and Economic Development Finance
Health Administration
Health administration includes the management of hospitals, managed care systems, physicians groups, ambulatory care systems, government health
care facilities as well as with health care planning, delivery, quality assurance, evaluation, and financing of health care. Courses in this cluster include:
- PPD 509 Problems and Issues in the Health Field
- PPD 511 Health Information Systems
- PPD 600 Management of Managed Care Organizations
- PPD 602 Strategic and Operational Planning for Health Services
- PPD 513 Legal Issues in Health Care Delivery
- PPD 514 Economic Concepts Applied to Health
Human Resources Management
Employees are an organization's most valuable resource. Effective and productive human resource management is essential to any viable organization. Human resources management students are introduced to major theories of organization dynamics and job satisfaction as well as
personnel practices including job analysis, compensation, and performance evaluation. Courses offered in the human resources management area
cluster include:
- PPD 685 Managing Public Sector Human Resources and Workforce Diversity
- PPD 649 Concepts and Practices in Public Personnel Administration
- PPD 650 Organization Development in Public Administration
- PPD 690 Alternative Dispute Resolution
- PPD 680 Development of Effective Groups and Organizations
- PPD 653 Training in the Public Sector
Information Technology Management
Recent revolutions in information technology have transformed the ways public organizations conduct business. Public managers are increasingly
required to deal with organizational and managerial issues arising from the use of new information technology. In addition, there are several information
technology courses available from the USC Annenberg School for Communication, Marshall School of Business, and the School of Engineering.
- PPD 599 Geographic Information System in Policy, Planning, and Development
- PPD 654 Information Technology Management
- PPD 617 Urban Demography and Growth
- PPD 631 Geographic Information Systems for Policy, Planning, and Development
- PPD 511 Health Information Systems
Intergovernmental Management
Successful managers must have an understanding of the formal and informal relationships among all levels of government. Students choosing this
specialization serve in internships in at least two levels of government (local, state, or federal) and may take courses in either Los Angeles or at the
USC State Capital Center. Courses in this cluster include:
- PPD 661 Intergovernmental Management: Local Perspective
- PPD 662 Intergovernmental Management: State Perspective
- PPD 690 Alternative Dispute Resolution
- PPD 688 Business and Public Policy
- PPD 689 The Voluntary Nonprofit Sector and Public Policy
International Policy and Management
USC has the largest number of foreign graduates of any U.S. university and a large number of faculty with foreign connections. Our location on the West
Coast places us as the major center for U.S. interactions with Latin American and Pacific Rim countries. The USC MPA has over 40 years of experience
in offering courses in international policy and management. Besides taking the relevant courses in other USC units such as the Department of Political
Science and the School of International Relations, MPA students may take any of the following courses:
- PPD 676 Comparative Public Administration
- PPD 677 International Development Administration
- PPD 526 Comparative International Development
- PPD 532L International Planning and Development Laboratory Workshop
- PLUS 632 National Urban Policy in Developing Countries
- PLUS 640 International Urban Development
- RED 583 International Development Opportunities
Local Government
Faced with resource constraints and increased demands from citizens, managers in local governments must function as entrepreneurs, working to
develop innovative ways for delivering public services. Over the past 65 years, USC has trained thousands of city managers, county managers,
department heads, and other local government officials who take leadership roles in these entrepreneurial activities. Courses in the local government
area cluster include:
- PPD 661 Intergovernmental Management: Local Perspective
- PPD 651 Local Government Administration
- PPD 647 Finance of the Public Sector
- PPD 516x Financial Accounting in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
- PPD 685 Managing Public Sector Human Resources and Workforce Diversity
- PPD 684 Leadership Development in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
Nonprofit Management
Nonprofit organizations are providing services that were once the exclusive domain of government and are playing an ever-larger role in the public
decision-making process. Students may participate in research activities and policy forums organized by SPPD’s Center on Philanthropy and Public
Policy. Courses in this cluster include:
- PPD 675 Nonprofit Management and Leadership
- PPD 689 The Voluntary Nonprofit Sector and Public Policy
- PPD 516x Financial Accounting in the Public and Non-profit Sectors
- PPD 684 Leadership Development in the Public and Nonprofit Sector
- PPD 687 Strategic Management in the Nonprofit Sector
- PPD 658 Advocacy in Public Administration
Planning
Planning defines, analyzes, and solves urban problems at many different scales. The planning process engages business, communities, citizen
groups, and elected officials to define, organize, and better understand our physical, natural, and social environments. Planning aids public
administrators in making better decisions about problems related to land use, transportation, housing, economic development, environment, and
appearance and design of communities. Those interested in in-depth study in planning may consider USC's Master of Public Administration/Master of
Planning dual degrees. For those interested in the MPA program alone, they may consider the following planning courses as electives:
- PPD 524 Planning Theory
- PPD 526 Comparative International Development
- PPD 527 The Social Context of Planning
- PPD 634 Institutional and Policy Issues in Transportation
Political Management
The higher individuals rise in public sector management, the closer to the political process they become. As responsibilities include working at the
intersection of elected, appointed, and career officials, cutting edge skills in the areas of political research, leadership, and advocacy become
extremely useful. Three courses designed to develop your political management skills are offered at the USC State Capital Center in the intensive
course format. Courses in this cluster include:
- PPD 656 Political Management: Theory and Applied Techniques
- PPD 657 Political Leadership in Public Organizations
- PPD 658 Advocacy in Public Administration
Public Policy
Public policy incorporates policy formulation, analysis, evaluation, and management and an understanding of the policy process in order to analyze and
implement public policy. Courses in this cluster include:
- PPD 554 Introduction to Policy Analysis
- PPD 559 Policy Implementation and Evaluation
- PPD 560 Methods for Policy Analysis
Other Area Clusters
In addition, MPA students may also choose electives from other cluster offered by the School of Policy, Planning, and Development. These clusters
include:
- Real Estate Development,
- Urban Form and Design,
- Transportation.