Courses | MPA | Adult Graduate | Indiana Wesleyan University

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REQUIRED COURSES
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POL-526   Foundations of Public Policy3 Hours
This course is designed to introduce the foundations of public policy. The course will enable students to understand why some public problems reach the public agenda, why some policy options (solutions and strategies) are adopted and others rejected, and why some policies appear to succeed while others appear to fail. This course will develop the student's ability to understand how public policy is imagined, created, implemented, and evaluated.
POL-527   Scholarship3 Hours
This course introduces students to the practice of analytical thinking as it is applied to the social sciences and policy analysis. As a foundational course for skill development, attention is given to detailing the practice of scholarly inquiry and introducing the logic of social science research. Emphasis is placed on developing and refining fundamental research skills involved in the evaluation, conduct, and communication of empirical work.
POL-528   Economics and Policy3 Hours
This course examines economic theory and methods of analysis used for making, implementing, and evaluating government policies. The course covers how key theories of macro and microeconomics can be used in formulating public policy decisions. Methods of evaluating public policies will be covered with particular focus on marginal analysis and cost/benefit analysis. The course will also cover the concepts of public goods, externalities, and public choice theory.
POL-522   Research Design and Methods3 Hours
This course will provide students with an introduction to research methods and statistical techniques used in social science research, particularly in the fields of economics and political science. This course will include basic knowledge of the concepts and models employed for conducting experimental research, policy analysis and program evaluation, and unobtrusive research from data sets. Emphasis will be placed on using and applying the qualitative and quantitative techniques most widely utilized in social science research.
POL-542   Policy Analysis3 Hours
This course is designed for acquisition of practical skills in policy analysis. Policy analysis is the art, craft, and science of collecting and interpreting information that clarifies the causes and effects of public problems and the likely consequences of policy options. Policy analysis requires technical understanding of analytical tools and diverse policy contexts, as well as the ability to produce and communicate practical advice. To this end, policy analysis draws from the ideas and methods of many disciplines including political science, economics, and environmental science.
POL-565   Public Administration and Finance3 Hours
A penetrating analysis of public administration and expenditures. Explores revenue including taxation, budget examination, and the effect of fiscal policy on the economy.
POL-515   Urban Economics and Policy3 Hours
An introduction to urban economic theory, urban spatial form, and urban policy problems. Topics include theories of urban evolution and form, regional comparative advantage and trade, urban economic growth and development, the limits to metropolitan size, land-rent gradients, public goods and externalities in urban areas, and urban policy problems including: poverty, housing, segregation, transportation networks, congestion, land use planning, and issues in local and regional governance and public finance.
Specialization Courses Criminal Justice
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CRJ-526   Criminal Justice Policy3 Hours
This course examines the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies and programs intended to bring about improvements in the structure and functioning of the criminal justice system. In this course, students will explore how viable policies and programs are generated and put into practice, specifically in law enforcement, courts, and corrections.
CRJ-534   Criminal Justice Administration3 Hours
This course is a study of the management and control of the criminal justice system, including law enforcement, corrections, and the court system. The emphasis will be on the reasons for and effectiveness of management techniques applied to the criminal justice system.
CRJ-542   Economic Analysis of Crime3 Hours
This course explores the contributions of economics to the understanding of crime and criminal justice. The perspectives and quantitative analytical techniques of economics are used to examine important issues concerning crime and criminal justice.
CRJ-586   Criminal Justice Leadership3 Hours
This course examines how criminal justice leaders find solutions to major issues confronting their operating systems, both organizations and communities, through research, analysis, planning, and decision making.
Capstone Experience
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POL-586 Capstone in Public Policy and Affairs3 Hours
This course is an advanced application seminar serving as a cumulative and integrative experience that draws together the various research and content components of the MPA curriculum. The course facilitates an analytical exercise through which students address relevant public affairs issues and problems. In consultation with the course facilitator students may complete a policy analysis, program assessment, or research thesis identifying and exploring real world problems facing policymakers in the public and private sectors. Additionally, the course provides a summative assessment of the knowledge accumulated by students throughout the program.
PROGRAM DESIGN

36 credit hours (12 courses) required for program completion.
24 credit hours (8 courses) of core content in Public Affairs required of all students.
12 credit hours (4 courses) of specialization courses. Courses will be 8 weeks long.

Program design allows for the creation of multiple specializations.

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REQUIRED COURSES

Specialization Courses Criminal Justice

Capstone Experience

PROGRAM DESIGN