Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs + Master of Public Administration Courses

This class explains different forms of inequality, identifies their origins, and analyzes how and why race and racism shape laws and public policies. The class will assess policies, current and proposed, to reduce inequality, and strategies to promote a more just and ethical society. Open to Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs students; others with Marxe School permission.

Whether defined by geography, religious or political ideals, or socioeconomic, circumstance, communities are a central building block of American public life and public affairs. This class will equip students with the tools to study various communities with qualitative methods such as participant- observation, intensive interviewing, and content analysis.

This course is an introduction to the concepts and analytic tools necessary to analyze and understand the economic behavior of individuals and firms and the causes and consequences of public sector intervention in the economy. Open to Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs students; others with Marxe School permission. Not open to students who have completed ECO 9705, PAF 9415, and PAF 9760.

In this class, students learn to design communication campaigns that will change or modify key behaviors; promote a cause, service, or program; or enhance the brand and fundraising capacity of an organization. Course topics will cover areas such as fear appeals, message fatigue, working with diverse audiences, and online and social media advocacy. Students will develop message strategies using techniques drawn from social marketing, persuasion, and political communication.Open to Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs students; others with Marxe School permission.

Data Analysis for Public Service (PAF 9271) is the second course in the research methods sequence. Upon completion of Data Collection and Description (PAF 9270), students can choose between this course and Causal Analysis andInference (PAF 9272). PAF 9271 is meant for students pursuing domestic or international careers in management, fundraising, budget analysis, and other practice areas and will use data and applications relevant to such work. It emphasizes managerial, organizational, and practice examples and context. This course teaches students how to extract from existing analyses relevant and accurate information to enhance practice. It also teaches students how to conduct basic quantitative and qualitative analyses within organizations to shed light on which programs do and do not work, how well they work, and which features contribute. Specific topics include: logic models and mechanisms; developing and curating administrative data; collecting and analyzing interview, focus group, qualitative observation, and extant qualitative data; analyzing organizational data using spreadsheets and dashboards; pre-post, interrupted time series, comparative designs, and difference-in-difference analysis; methods for rolling out and managing programs to get good causal evidence; recognizing natural experiments. Course sections will use applications tailored towards students’ interests and concentrations (e.g., sections more populated with MIA students will have a greater international focus). (Students who took PAF 9170 or PAF 9172 cannot get credit for this course.) Open to Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs MPA and MIA students; others with Marxe School permission.

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Causal Analysis and Inference (PAF 9272) is the second course in the research methods sequence. Upon completion of Data Collection and Description (PAF 9270), students can choose between this course and Data Analysis for Public Service (PAF 9271). PAF 9272 is meant for those interested in becoming analysts, researchers, or making quantitative data analysis an important element in their careers. It teaches students how to critically evaluate existing causal analyses of both qualitative and quantitative data and how to conduct statistical analyses to answer causal questions for domestic and international policy and practice. Compared to PAF 9271, PAF 9272 places greater emphasis on observational and experimental data from representative surveys and requires students to write programs (coding) to carry out statistical analyses using advanced statistical software such as Stata or R. The course provides a hands-on introduction to understanding causal evidence, covering logic models and mechanisms, case-oriented vs. variable-oriented approaches, correlation vs. causation, observational vs. (quasi) experimental data, treatment effect, confounding and omitted variable bias, complex survey sampling, generalizability, standard error, confidence interval estimation, hypothesis testing, statistical and practical significance, power analysis, multiple regression, and difference-in-differences estimation. Course sections will use applications tailored towards students’ interests and concentrations (e.g., sections more populated withMIA students will have a greater international focus). (Students who took PAF 9170 or PAF 9172 cannot get credit for this course. They, and all other students looking for an advanced causal methods and statistics course, should considertaking PAF 9177.) Open to Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs MPA and MIA students; others with Marxe School permission.

This is an advanced policy course in a faculty member’s area of expertise. Topics such as public-private partnerships, the economics and politics of poverty; the education achievement gap; immigration reform will be explored. Students are expected to become active participants as they guide class discussions, research, write and present their findings.

The course is an introduction to politics, government, and public policy in the U.S. It provides a rigorous, scholarly, yet practical view of governmental institutions, policy making, administration, and contemporary public policy. Attention is given to the role of governmental and nongovernmental actors, as well as the influence of history, culture, public opinion, and political economy. Students develop skills in thinking critically and writing clearly about issues of public importance.

Introduces students to communication in public settings and provides extensive opportunities for practice with basic written and oral forms. Interrelationships among communicative activities and organizational goals. Internal and external messages are given equal weight. Argumentative structures necessary for constructing sound policy and persuasive techniques relevant to funding, regulation, client, and public constituencies. Topics will vary somewhat from semester to semester depending on the instructor’s and students’ interests. The course follows a workshop/laboratory format with intensive attention to student work as a fulcrum for the application of theory and refinement of skills.

This course introduces the fundamental concepts and techniques for managing government and nonprofit organizations. It focuses on structural models; individual behavior, including group dynamics and leadership; effective use and management of human resources; and political and cultural frameworks. It considers questions of effectiveness, responsibility, and professional relations. Open to Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs students and MA in Arts Administration students; others with Marxe School permission. Not open to students who have completed PAF 9302, PAF 9309, MGT 9300, or PSY 9788.

This course focuses on the budget cycle and budget decision-making. It includes tools for developing, implementing, and controlling a budget within a, typically, public organization. Topics include development of operating budgets, cash budgets, break-even analysis, cost behavior, the time value of money, capital budgeting, long-term financing, and variance analysis. Basic budget accounting concepts are studied. The course includes development of spreadsheet skills for budgeting. Open to Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs students and MA in Arts Administration students; others with Marxe School permission.

Data Collection and Description is the first course in the research methods sequence. Upon completion of this course, students can choose between Data Analysis for Public Service (PAF 9171) and Causal Analysis and Inference (PAF 9272). PAF 9270 teaches students how to collect qualitative and quantitative data for domestic and international policy or practice purposes and how to analyze and present data for descriptive purposes. It also teaches students how to interpret existing descriptive analyses to extract relevant and accurate information. The course will introduce the following topics: research questions and concepts, descriptive vs. causal research, case-oriented vs. variable-oriented approaches, sampling, data cleaning, and determining and maintaining data collection for organizations. Students will develop the following specific skills: using spreadsheets, univariate and bivariate descriptive statistics, data visualization, conducting interviews or qualitative observation, analyzing and coding qualitative data, designing and assessing measures, and designing survey questionnaires and procedures. Course sections will use applications tailored towards students’ interests and concentrations (e.g., sections more populated with MIA students will have a greater international focus). (Students who took PAF 9170 or PAF 9172 cannot get credit for this course.) Open to Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs MPA and MIA students; others with Marxe School permission.

This course provides students with real-world administrative experience in a public or nonprofit organization. It is required for Masters of Public Administration (MPA) students without at least one year of public administration work experience. It may be used as an elective course for students with a public administration work history. The work assignment requires 150 hours. Class sessions are determined by the instructor. The course is graded on a pass/no-credit basis. The internship pass/no-credit selection does not preclude the completion of another MPA elective course for pass/no-credit. PAF 9195 may be repeated, but only with the permission of the instructor and the Associate Dean of the School of Public Affairs. It is not open to students who have completed PAF 9191, PAF 9192, or PAF 9322.

Students interested in a public sector career are afforded the opportunity to work under supervision in a government, nonprofit, or public agency. This course is designed to bridge the gap between the classroom and workplace and to provide hands-on work experience. Students work as interns in organizations appropriate to their major field of study. May be repeated once for outside credit. Not open to students who have completed 6 credits of PUB 5452. Before registering, students must obtain the permission of the Office of Student Services in the School of Public Affairs.

This course introduces students to lawmaking and constituent services. Each intern is assigned to an elected member of the new York State Senate or Assembly. Students must reside in Albany for a full semester, attend classes taught by professors-in-residence, prepare a research paper, contribute to policy forums, and participate in a mock legislative session. By application only.