The In-Career MA program offers a flexible master’s option for individuals with at least three years of significant post-baccalaureate administrative or analytical work experience. Evening hybrid and online course offerings allow students flexibility with regard to work or personal obligations. Students have the option either to maintain a full-time job while taking two classes per term during evening hours to complete the program in two years, or to complete the program as a full-time student in one year.
The In-Career MA program requires a minimum of 38 credit hours of coursework made up of 32 hours of core courses, three hours of elective credit, and one three-credit-hour capstone.
The Program_Plan_MA will guide you through the classes and recommended order for the courses. Please work with your academic advisor as course offerings vary by semester.
Core Courses
The MA core curriculum is designed to provide a solid grounding in the study of public policy, economics, data analysis, and management and leadership. The core curriculum consists of eight required classes, divided into four streams:
Public Policy Stream
PUBAFRS 6000 – Public Policy Formulation and Implementation
Analysis of the operating environment of the public administrator: public policy processes, public organization behavior, and policy formulation in the U.S. federal system.
PUBAFRS 6010– Legal Environment of Public Organizations
Examination of public administration within the managerial, political and legal traditions of the U.S. Constitution with the goal of teaching public managers how to work with the law through an understanding of legal concepts, jargon, skills, and issues. The course covers federal & Ohio law.
Economics Stream
PUBAFRS 6030 – Public Affairs Economics
Economic analysis applied to problems of public policy selection and government management operations; efficiency criteria, market failure, and public choice applied to administrative decision-making.
PUBAFRS 6040 – Public Finance and Budgeting
Comprehensive survey and analysis of the principal fiscal activities of contemporary governments; logic of public-sector activity; taxation principles and practice, intergovernmental relations, and current fiscal problems. Budgeting as analysis of resource allocation, planning evaluation, and control; tools of analysis for program budgeting and measurement of program results; case studies. Pre-requisite: PUBAFRS 6030.
Management Stream
PUBAFRS 6050 – Managing Public Sector Organizations OR PUBAFRS 7553: Nonprofit Governance and Management
6050: Analysis of alternative approaches to the management of public agencies. Examination of alternative strategies that managers may use to link the agency to its operating environment.
7553: An advanced survey course that provides students with theoretical knowledge and practical tools needed to manage nonprofit organizations.
PUBAFRS 6060 – Managerial Leadership in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
Development of analytic and interpersonal skills needed for public sector management. Analytical and experiential learning through reading, lecture, discussion, case analysis, in-class presentations, management decision-making simulations and role-playing.
Quantitative Decision-Making Stream
PUBAFRS 6070 – Public Affairs Statistics
Provides students with analytical knowledge and tools necessary to acquire, manage and analyze data. Students learn probability and statistics to conduct analysis and evaluation and evaluate the quality of analyses conducted by others.
PUBAFRS 6080 – Public and Nonprofit Program Evaluation
Survey of the conceptual, methodological, bureaucratic, political and organizational issues surrounding evaluation research. Pre-requisite: PUBAFRS 6070
Electives
MA students are required to take 3 credit hours of elective coursework—usually one three-credit-hour class. Students are encouraged to talk with faculty and advisors about ways to tailor elective coursework to suit their interests. Glenn College electives provide opportunities for students to apply skills learned in the core courses to real world policy issues and problems, and serve to transition students’ perspectives from theoretical knowledge to the application of theory to solve problems and address the issues facing society today.
Students may also take relevant electives outside the Glenn College to apply towards degree requirements by using the Petition to Count Outside Coursework form. Prior approval is required, and courses must be at least three graduate credit hours in order to be considered. Glenn College advisors are prepared to assist students in identifying relevant elective coursework both within and outside the Glenn College.
Skills Courses
Skills courses are not required for MA students but may be helpful if students have a specific skill they are looking to develop. Three one-credit-hour skills classes can serve to meet the three-credit-hour elective requirement for MA students.
Capstone
The capstone course is designed as the exit requirement for the program and requires students to receive a grade of B or higher in order to fulfill the requirement. A student who receives a grade below a B or takes an “Incomplete” grade in the capstone course will be required to take another capstone. A student has only two chances to achieve a grade of B or better in the capstone course. MA students also must attain a grade of Pass on the capstone midterm assessment. Students should plan to enroll in the capstone course in their final semester, unless special circumstances merit an earlier enrollment (dual degree or special research interest, for example). All core courses except PUBAFRS 6060 are expected to be complete prior to enrollment in a capstone course in order to best prepare students for success in the class.