Concentration Requirements

If a student chooses to pursue one of the following concentrations, their course selections are dictated by the requirements below (4 courses, 16 quarter hours) Students choose four electives from one concentration below.

Health Care Administration Concentration 

The Health Care Administration concentration provides students with the managerial and analytical skills necessary to understand and influence the processes through which hospitals, associated health care organizations, and public and private agencies provide health care opportunities to explore the roles of specific nonprofit and governmental health care providers and regulatory agencies.

Core Courses

 Electives

Higher Education Administration Concentration

The Higher Education Administration concentration provides students with the analytical and administrative skills necessary for managers in post-secondary institutions of learning. Coursework helps students develop an understanding of management principles, policy analysis and research within higher education. Electives provide opportunities to explore government relations and advancement topics as well as administration.

Core Courses

Electives

Metropolitan Planning and Urban Affairs Concentration

The Metropolitan Planning and Urban Affairs concentration provides students with a broad perspective on the issues relating to land use, transportation, housing, economic development, and related social problems. It instills an understanding of the institutional and analytical issues affecting units of government, planning agencies, and other urban public service institutions.

Core Courses

Electives

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MPS 515

NONPROFIT FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

This course explores key issues in operations budgeting and capital budgeting. Specific skill sets include cash flow analysis, variance analysis, present value techniques, interpreting financial statements, and evaluating financial performance.
Prerequisites:
MPS 500 is a prerequisite for this class.

MPS 527

ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT (FORMERLY MPS 549)

Examines membership associations as a special type of public service organization, with emphasis on managing both the external policy roles of associations and internal roles related to directly serving constituent members and organizations.

MPS 516

MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

This course focuses on the management and use of information technology (IT). As the use of IT in society grows, particularly in business, graduates are likely to manage technology resources and participate in IT planning and development projects as founders, sponsors, team members, managers of development, or end-user developers. Students should become effective users of information, IT, and information services. The course explores a number of IT-related topics, such as the strategic role of IT, IT planning and architecture, building the telecommunications highway system, management issues on system development, the expanding universe of computing, group support systems, intelligent systems, electronic document management and managing the human side of systems.

MPS 519

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

This course teaches students the theories and techniques of resource development. We discuss the fundraising tradition in the U.S., principal donor types, theories of donor behavior, and the organizational, legal and ethical contexts of fundraising. Students learn basic fundraising tools, including planning, grant writing, special events, major gifts, planned giving, and capital campaigns. Students work as volunteer consultants with nonprofit partners to analyze their current fundraising strategies and materials and help them develop new ones.

MPS 521

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

This course focuses on key factors which affect employee behavior and the nature and purposes of leader and managerial roles. In addition, it addresses recent research in leadership and management and the legal environment of personnel management, In depth analysis of psychological systems, interpersonal relations and the relationship of rewards to performance are addressed through case studies, role playing and readings.

MPS 524

MARKETING FOR SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

Explores the objectives, strategies, techniques and constraints of government and non-profit services. 4 quarter hours.

MPS 525

WORKING WITH NONPROFIT BOARDS

This course examines the legal and philosophical reasons that nonprofit organizations are governed by an external board of directors. Membership, structure and process for this body are examined, as well as the relationship of employees to the individual board members and the policies established by this group.

MPS 528

FOUNDATION MANAGEMENT

This course examines the concepts, functions and practices of organized philanthropy, with a primary emphasis on corporate, private and community foundations.

MPS 529

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING

Students learn how to apply strategic management and planning concepts and tools to public and nonprofit including international organizations to achieve goals and objectives in meeting service delivery missions. The course focuses on analyzing the interaction of trends, market forces, stakeholders, and core competencies in developing visions and strategies for alternative scenarios.

MPS 541

ECONOMIC FOUNDATIONS OF PUBLIC SERVICE

This course introduces students to the branches of economics known as microeconomics, public finance, and welfare economics. Students learn to apply standard economic tools to identify policy issues and to analyze them. Specific skill set includes present value techniques. PREREQUISITE(S): MPS 500.
Prerequisites:
MPS 500 is a prerequisite for this class.

MPS 561

LAW AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS (FORMERLY MPS 532)

Introduces laws and regulations governing nonprofit organizations, including procedures for incorporation, maintenance of tax-exempt status, and compliance with relevant labor laws. No legal background is assumed.

MPS 597

PUBLIC SERVICE FELLOWS SEMINAR

Elective, 4-credit hour course available to students with MPS CGPA of 3.75 or greater. For MPS Fellows taking MPS 593, Integrated Seminar, or MPS 598, Thesis Research I, during the academic year, meets roughly every other week during winter and spring terms. Seminar includes distinguished academic and professional guest lectures and presentations of research by Fellows.

MPS 600

INDEPENDENT STUDY

Individually supervised learning experience, usually involving extensive library research and writing. Variable credit.

MPS 601

INTERNSHIP

Supervised work experience during one or more quarters, usually involving application of administrative skills in an organizational setting new to the student. Variable credit.

MPS 514

GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

The concepts of efficiency and equity in taxation are applied to identify the advantages and disadvantages of specific taxes such as income, sales and property. Specific skill sets include present value techniques, interpreting the basic financial reports generated by governments, and evaluating financial performance of a government based upon its financial reports.

MPS 537

HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEMS (CROSS-LISTED AS SOC 437)

Overview of the structure of the U.S. health systems followed by a selective international comparison of other health delivery systems including their relationships to social policies and economic factors. 4 quarter hours. Cross-listed with SOC 437.

MPS 535

HEALTH CARE ISSUES

This seminar focuses on contemporary issues in health care policy and management. Topics covered include public health initiatives, dimensions of health service delivery systems (cost, quality and access), and health policy reforms with a special emphasis on the opportunities to reduce disparities in health care. Students conduct an independent secondary research project on a health care topic of their choosing. Classes include discussions of the challenges of developing expertise in a subfield within the health care sector.

MPS 513

VOLUNTEERISM

This course examines the concept of volunteerism within global civil society, especially nonprofit organizations and government associations. This includes an analysis of the role of volunteers in American society, the motivation to volunteer and how to effectively recruit, train, supervise and evaluate volunteers. Students develop an understanding of the role of volunteers in the management of any social program. Assignments include group projects and service learning opportunities.

MPS 523

GROUP DYNAMICS FOR LEADERS

This interactive course will explore the relevant theories and methods for understanding the structures and processes of groups. The course will also consider how leaders and managers function effectively within groups. An emphasis is placed on role and function, status, power, leadership, communication, decision-making, problem solving, conflict management, negotiation, and coalition.

MPS 531

FINANCING AND COSTING IN HEALTH CARE

This course focuses on practical examples of financial management of health care institutions. It examines the financial system supporting health care institutions and the financial tools providers and insurers use to keep medical costs in check. Students learn financial management, third party payment methodologies, Medicare and Medicaid, cost accounting, rate setting, budgeting and financial analysis.

MPS 546

ADVOCACY AND LOBBYING

Explores the roles of individuals and organizations in the public policy process, particularly as power arrangements facilitate or impede consensus building. Examines how legislation is written and how administrative rules are formed in government agencies. Special attention is paid to advocacy techniques such as lobbying, public education, and litigation.

MPS 562

INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH LAW (FORMERLY MPS 570)

Introduces students from nonlegal backgrounds to the legal system. Examines legal materials, including statutes, judicial opinion, and administrative regulations. Basic legal research and writing skills are taught.
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MPS 606

SEMINAR IN HIGHER EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION

In-depth examination of selected issues in higher education administration. Topics vary each term. May be taken more than once.

MPS 571

METROPOLITAN PLANNING

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the professional practice of urban planning and the basic theoretical concepts on which the discipline is based. Students will analyze urban issues, decision-making processes, and resources that affect planning across a metropolitan area, including urban-suburban relations, and the complexities of zoning, economic and community development.

MPS 526

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION

This course analyzes decision-making processes used in local government from the perspective of the chief executive officer such as city manager, township supervisor, special district administrator and park superintendent. It includes operational aspects of municipal administration including the effect of intergovernmental relations on local government, the role of the local government administrator in policy implementation and regional governance of the delivery of services that cross political boundaries. The interaction of the chief executive officer and elected board members with the community are discussed.

MPS 560

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

This course focuses on an understanding of government powers by federal, state and local agencies in the US such as oversights, rule making, adjudication and judicial review of local and federal actions, and enforcement of regulatory decision making. It examines how public administration decisions are affected by existing constitutional and legal constraints on the administrative process; it includes the Administrative Procedure Act, Open Meetings Act of Illinois, and the Freedom of Information Act.

MPS 572

URBAN POVERTY SEMINAR

This course explores causes of urban poverty both in the US and abroad. It compares and contrasts policies addressing basic human needs. It includes discussion of global cities and international poverty reduction programs.

MPS 573

URBAN AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

This course discusses urban issues including social area analysis, neighborhood change, land use and other topics. It examines community organizations as problem-solving bodies that interact with government agencies to affect urban development.

MPS 575

SEMINAR IN ADMINISTRATION/BRUSSELS

This course increases understanding and knowledge of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as organizations of change. It focuses on the international public sector including relationships with NGO's and the nonprofit sector. Students expand experiential and intellectual understanding of these global actors and how they compare to the US. The course takes place in Brussels.

MPS 604

SPECIAL TOPICS

Topics vary each term. (May be taken more than once). Variable credit.