Nov 24, 2024

2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog

2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog This is not the most recent catalog version; be sure you are viewing the appropriate catalog year.

Public and Nonprofit Administration [BA]

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Public and nonprofit administration are broad areas of study that combine theory and practice, focusing on the organization of governments and nonprofit entities, their policies and programs, the performance of their governing bodies, and the management of human and financial resources. Public Administration encourages public policies that are responsive to human, social, and economic needs and that are efficient and effective; nonprofit administration shares a similar focus.

The public and nonprofit administration major involves a core of course work in public administration combined with a concentration in either public or nonprofit administration. It may be combined with any number of minors appropriate to student career interests.

Students completing the major and other graduation requirements will be awarded a bachelor’s degree in public administration. They enter a broad range of careers in government service (federal, state, or local), non-profit organizations, or business. Some go on to graduate or professional schools in nonprofit management, political science, public administration, public policy, business administration, or law.

Students are encouraged to take PLSC 112 - American Government [GEKS] /PLSC 113 - American Government Honors [GEKS] , or PLSC 202 - State and Local Government [GEKS] , as a General Education course prior to the required core courses, completing one or the other within the first nine hours of political science coursework. Students normally complete six credit hours at the 100 and 200 level before matriculating in 300 or 400 level courses coursework.

Pre-service students (those without significant work experience in either a public or nonprofit entity) are required to complete a three-credit-hour internship (PLSC 480L4 or PLSC 486L4 ) or three-credit-hour cooperative education placement (PLSC 387L4 or PLSC 487L4 ) as part of the Required Core of coursework. In-service students are allowed to waive this requirement and substitute one of the restricted elective courses listed under each concentration. Students should consult an advisor about including an internship and special topics courses as a part of their program of study.

For more information regarding internships, visit the department site here.

Department Information

Political Science, College of Arts & Sciences

David Klein, Ph.D. | Department Head | 601 Pray-Harrold | 734.487.3113 | dklein2@emich.edu

Advisor Information

Gregory Plagens, Ph.D. | 601 Pray-Harrold | 734.487.3113 | gplagen1@emich.edu

General Education Requirements:

For specific requirements, see General Education or print a worksheet .

Major Requirements: 36 hours

Required Core: 18 hours

PLSC 210 - Introduction to Political Analysis [GEQR] 3 hrs
PLSC 334 - Public and Nonprofit Personnel Administration 3 hrs
PLSC 352 - Politics of Public and Nonprofit Budgeting 3 hrs
PLSC 381 - Public Policy Analysis 3 hrs
PLSC 431W - Theories of Public and Nonprofit Organization [GEWI] 3 hrs
PLSC 480L4 - Field Seminar in Political Science/Public Administration [GELB] 3 hrs (In-service students are allowed to waive this requirement and substitute one of the restricted elective courses listed under each concentration)

Concentration: 18 hours

Choose one of the following concentrations:

Public Administration

Required Course: 3 hours
PLSC 270 - Public Administration 3 hrs
Restricted Elective: 15 hours

Choose five courses from the following
ACC 246 - Accounting for Public Administrators 3 hrs
PLSC 202 - State and Local Government [GEKS] 3 hrs
PLSC 279C - Topics in Public Administration 3 hrs
PLSC 305 - Law and Policy in a Constitutional Democracy 3 hrs
PLSC 330 - Urban Politics 3 hrs
PLSC 331 - State Politics 3 hrs
PLSC 332 - Collaborations in the Public and Non-Profit Sectors 3 hrs
PLSC 364 - Legislative Process 3 hrs
PLSC 379C - Topics in Public Administration 3 hrs
PLSC 380 - American Presidency 3 hrs
PLSC 385 - Judicial Process and Behavior 3 hrs
PLSC 434 - Governance and Ethics in Public and Nonprofit Organizations 3 hrs
PLSC 479C - Topics in Public Administration 3 hrs

Nonprofit Administration

Required Courses: 9 hours
PLSC 275 - Foundations of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector 3 hrs
PLSC 434 - Governance and Ethics in Public and Nonprofit Organizations 3 hrs
PLSC 435 - Nonprofit Management and Leadership 3 hrs
Restricted Electives: 9 hours

Choose three courses from the following
ACC 246 - Accounting for Public Administrators 3 hrs
CTAC 370 - Nonprofit Organizational Communication 3 hrs
LAW 393 - Law of Business Enterprises 3 hrs
MGMT 388 - Introduction to Entrepreneurship 3 hrs
MKTG 360 - Principles of Marketing 3 hrs
PLSC 279D - Topics in Nonprofit Administration 3 hrs
PLSC 332 - Collaborations in the Public and Non-Profit Sectors 3 hrs
PLSC 379D - Topics in Nonprofit Administration 3 hrs
PLSC 436 - Fundraising for Nonprofits 3 hrs
PLSC 479D - Topics in Nonprofit Administration 3 hrs

Minor Requirement:

This program requires a minor. A minor is to be selected in consultation with a public administration advisor.

Note | Students in this major cannot pursue the Nonprofit Administration Minor or Public Administration Minor .

Program Total:

Students must earn a minimum total of 124 credits at the 100-level or above.

Beginning in Fall 2022, all baccalaureate degree programs for all undergraduates (regardless of catalog year) will require a minimum of 120 credit hours for completion.

Critical Graduation Information

Each undergraduate student will be responsible for the fulfillment of the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult the online catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.

Earn a minimum total of 124 credits at the 100-level and above. Courses with numbers below 100 will not be counted toward this degree requirement. At most 8 credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses will be counted toward this requirement.
Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below).
Complete a Writing Intensive (GEWI) Course in your major.
Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement. (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details.)
Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor; students should check requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.
Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits in excess of the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 124 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
- Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
- Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
- Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; the internal review of such courses is conducted by individual departments/schools within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used in the calculation of an EMU GPA.
Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU in order to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses taken at EMU and those applied to a student’s major or minor will be used in the calculation of their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)

General Education Requirements EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or with similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education section of the catalog.

Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.