Public Administration > The Program > Courses
PUBA Courses
PUBA 600 and 601 are each 7-credits and together make up the Core Year. Please see Core Year for details.
PUBA 600 (Fall)
Political & Economic System Processes (7) Organized in a series of integrated, cross-disciplinary modules, the course addresses issues people in public service are likely to face. Modules include
effective written and oral communication, group processes, political and economic perspectives on political institutions, the use of information resources relevant to public work, critical thinking, legislative process, and the
issues of Hawaiian people. Fall only.
PUBA 601 (Spring)
Policy & Organizational Processes (7) Organized in a series of integrated, cross-disciplinary modules, the course addresses issues people in public service are likely to face. Modules include
frameworks for understanding and improving organizations, administrative law and issues of discretion, budget processes, research and analysis relevant to public work, public services ethics, and concern for future generations.
Pre: 600. Spring only.
PUBA 612
Applied Certificate Seminar (1) This course is used for the seminar created by participants in the Certificate program.
Pre: 600 and 601.
PUBA 620
Reforming Public Organizations (3) Joins the national
and international conversation about ways to substantially improve the effectiveness, accountability
and quality of work experience in public organizations. Presentations, readings,
discussion, journals and projects focus on the changing paradigm of organization,
strategies for creating effective change, and individual strengths and weaknesses
in initiating and sustaining an improvement process. Pre: graduate standing
or consent. Click here for the most recent syllabus.
PUBA 621
Public Organizations in a Political World
(3) This course focuses on the role of public managers in shaping public opinion and public policy. Using evidence from theory and practice, presents students with tools for understanding management roles within a political context. Click here for the most recent syllabus.
PUBA 622
Strategies of Change: Leaders and Leadership (3) Explores the key elements of leadership in public settings by examining what leaders actually do, looking at popular media portrayals of leadership, and talking together and with guests about the challenges of leadership, effective followership, and positive change. Pre: graduate standing or consent. Click here for the most recent syllabus.
PUBA 623
Organizational Communication (3)
Contemporary topics and problems regarding communication in the workplace;
maximizing individual and organizational potential. Pre: graduate standing
or consent. Click here for the most recent syllabus.
PUBA 630
Nonprofit Management: The Fundamentals (3)
Fundamental aspects of managing a nonprofit organization; overview of the nonprofit
sector; mission and scope of nonprofit organizations; organizational structures
and functions; resource and volunteer development; major management issues.
Pre: graduate standing or consent. Click here for the most current syllabus.
PUBA 640
International Perspectives on Public Administration (3) Key dimensions of public administration systems on a global scale; historic and contemporary forces shaping national systems; the dimensions that distinguish them, the opportunities and constraints for comparison and the transfer of knowledge and experience. Pre: graduate standing or departmental approval. Click here for the most current syllabus.
PUBA 660
Topics in Public Issues (3) In-depth analysis of significant contemporary issues related to public service work in Hawai'i and the Pacific. Repeatable. Pre: graduate standing or consent.
PUBA 660C
Public Budgeting (3) Examines concepts and practices of public budgeting by focusing on the political, economic and allocation decisions of the budgetary process and on the different types of budgets and budget reform proposals. Pre: graduate standing or consent. Click here for the most recent syllabus.
PUBA 662
Applied Policy Analysis (3) Provides participants with systematic explanations of public policy making: theories, practices, embodied values and trends and techniques of policy analysis. Pre: graduate standing or consent. Click here for the most recent syllabus.
PUBA 663
Law, Economics, and Public Administration (3) This
course uses economic thinking to explore U.S. law and the legal system with
special application to public institutions. Topics include: the underlying
rationale of law; elements of property, contract, and tort law; the evolution
of administrative law; and the economic efficiency of the common law system.
The course explores the economic forces that help shape the law, the effects
of legal rules on economic behavior, and the implied role of public institutions.
PUBA 667
Special Topics (3) Topics of current interest in the field of public service and public administration, taught by regular and visiting faculty. Repeatable for different topics up
to six credit hours. Pre: consent. Click here for the most recent syllabus.
PUBA 690
Practicum (3) Placement of participants in public, private and nonprofit organizations where they can observe and analyze organizational functions and processes while undertaking projects of use to the host agency. (See the description of the practicum found under Master's Degree.) Pre: 600 and 601.
PUBA 699
Directed Reading or Research (Variable credit)
PUBA 700
Thesis Research (Variable credit)
PUBA 709
Capstone Planning Seminar (1) Develops topics, methods, objectives, and resources to guide project work of capstone seminar. Pre: 600 and 601.
PUBA 710
Capstone Seminar (3) Integrates knowledge gained in Core Year, Individuated Concentration, Practicum and prior experience by applying it to a public issue of importance in Hawai'i or the Asia-Pacific Region. (See information on the Capstone found under Master's Degree.) Pre: 709.
