Kathryn Wassel, PhD she/her

Overview of the responsibilities of a public administrator in the context of specific areas of public management, to create a context of professional understanding for the public policy professional. Areas include organizational structure; strategic planning; management decision-making; staffing, training, and motivating employees; leadership development; budgeting, program design, implementation, and evaluation; ethical considerations for public managers, and providing support to policy makers.

A policy-related internship tailored to each students' career preferences or academic interests. The selection of an internship venue will occur in consultation with the student's MPP advisor and with the approval of the MPP Internship Coordinator. The Internship venue is usually selected from a pre-approved list of local, state and federal agencies, non-profit organizations and private sector businesses. Note: The field work component of the internship (2 credits) is waived if an individual has at least two years substantial and relevant work experience in a policy making or public management position, although students must still enroll in the academic course component (one credit) of the internship to graduate.

Chronological examination of the main frameworks, theories, and models of the policy process. Focus areas include the assessment and evaluation of public policy and policy outcomes. Seminal empirical works provide the context for understanding the major academic literature in policy analysis, aiding students in developing their own policy analysis skills.

An examination of why cities and regions grow or fail to grow, and what, if anything, state and local policymakers can do to facilitate economic growth. Course focuses on major theoretical approaches to understanding regional competitiveness and the nature and efficacy of common policy approaches adopted by state and local governments to promote economic development in cities and regions.
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Practical application of appropriate social science research methodology to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of public and non-profit sector programs and policies. Covers a broad range of topics including how to develop an evaluation plan, how to design various types of evaluations such as process, impact, cost-benefit, and cost-effectiveness evaluations, and how to manage evaluation projects.
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