Public Administration

Students who choose the public administration emphasis will complete four political science courses, one communication course, one business administration course, and two economics courses, in addition to completing the general requirements for a business administration degree.

• American National Politics: A general introduction to the American political process–its foundations, external influences, institutions, political actors, and policymaking.
• State and Local Politics: Provides a basic introduction to the political process at the state and municipal level, examining the role of the individual citizen, various groups, and governmental institutions. Attention is given to the special policy needs at the state and community level, their links with the federal government, and the particular character of local politics.
• Introduction to Public Administration: Provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Public Administration. Subjects to be considered include the role of the public service in society, public service values and ethics, accountability and political control of the public service, the budgetary process, organizational forms in government, human resources, principles of public management, and new forms of delivering government services.
• Public Policy: Provides a general introduction to the public policy process in the United States, including an exploration of the socioeconomic and cultural context, the defining characteristics of the political system, and various phases in the policy process. Special attention is given to selected policy issues such as energy and the environment, criminal justice, poverty, health care, and immigration.
• Organizational Communication: The analysis of formal and informal communication in such organizations as corporations and institutions. Included will be considerations of communication problems related to grapevine, rumor, channels, perception, power, status, roles, structures, etc.
• Not-For-Profit Accounting: Accounting methods and managerial analyses employed for governmental bodies and private and public not-for-profit institutions.
• Money and Banking: An analysis of the nature and function of money; the operation of the financial system; the organization, management and regulation of financial institutions; and the Federal Reserve Systems with special emphasis on the impact of monetary policy and financial institutions on the global economy.
• Global Economic Development: A study of economic aspects of poverty and underdevelopment in the modern world. Specific topics include the dimensions and nature of poverty in the world, characteristics and types of developing nations, theories of development, and emerging issues in development. We will also consider the implications of biblical principles for policy to promote economic development and alleviate poverty. Prerequisite: Economics 203; or permission of instructor.
• Government Finance: A study of government taxing and spending, primarily at the federal level. Christian and secular views on government economic activity, forms of taxation and their effects, debt financing, budget processes and problems are studied. The broad purpose of the course is to help students learn how to apply economic principles in an analysis of the effects of governmental policies, particularly tax and expenditure policies. Emphasis is on analytical skills.

See the course catalog for more information.