Public Administration BA

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A UMassD bachelor’s degree in Public Administration will train students to work in the public sector at the local, state or federal level. We aim to prepare graduates who possess the analytical, critical-thinking, and writing skills necessary for employment in the public sector. A BA in Public Administration focuses on communication and language skills as it relates to interacting in human and social services.

As a student in the Public Administration program, you will learn to:

understand concepts, theories and empirical findings in public administration
design research and perform data analysis and interpretation
understand and synthesize professional and popular writing on public affairs
formulate and analyze arguments including their structure and force
assess the relevance and weight of evidence
write clearly and persuasively
organize their ideas in a focused paper or presentation

Requirements

7 major courses required:

PSC 101 - Introduction to American Politics Credits: 3
PSC 305 - Political Science Internship Credits: variable; 3.00 to 15.00
PSC 342 - Public Administration Credits: 3
ENL 265 - Business Communication Credits: 3
ECO 490 Public Budgeting

ECO 332 (Economic Statistics) OR PSC 349 (Research Methods in Political Science
PAD 498 - Capstone Seminar in Public Administration Credits: 3

Elective Courses

5 elective courses required:

Two Economics (ECO) electives (6 credits)
Two Political Science (PSC) electives (6 credits
One English (ENL) elective (3 credits)

For each area students may choose from the lists below:

Economics Elective

Students may choose from the following classes:

ECO 337 - Environmental Economics Credits: 3
ECO 338 - Health Economics Credits: 3
ECO 342 - Labor Economics Credits: 3
ECO 441 - Public Economics I Credits: 3
ECO 360 - Cost Benefit Analysis Credits: 3
ECO 443 - State & Local Public Econ Credits: 3
ECO 445 - Economics of Education Credits: 3
ECO 461 - Urban Economics Credits: 3

Political Science Elective

Students may choose from the following classes:

PSC 301 - The Presidency Credits: 3
PSC 306 - Civil Rights Movements in the United States Credits: 3
PSC 311 - State Politics Credits: 3
PSC 312 - Massachusetts Politics Credits: 3
PSC 313 - Urban Politics Credits: 3
PSC 315 - Public Policy in America Credits: 3

English Elective

Students may choose from the following classes:

ENL 270 - Speech Communication Credits: 3
ENL 350 - Report and Proposal Writing Credits: 3
ENL 352 - Public Relations Writing Credits: 3

General Education Requirements

46 credits of General Education Requirements:

Common requirements include ENL 101, 102 and First Year Seminar (7 credits)
Arts and Humanities, including Literature and Foreign Languages (students must demonstrate advanced proficiency (202 level) in a Foreign Language) (15 credits)
Mathematics and the Natural and Physical Sciences (12 credits)
Social Sciences (including ECO 231 and 232 which are required) (12 credits)

General Electives

23-35 credits of general electives are required (varies depending on courses needed to satisfy intermediate language proficiency)

Curriculum Summary

Total number of courses required for the degree:

12 for major, 40 for degree

Total credit hours required for the degree:

36 for major, 120 for degree