Master of Public Management

Master of Public Management

IN THIS SECTION

Learn how to make a difference in the running of cities, counties, and states

The Master of Public Management (MPM) is offered to students interested in careers in public sector management. Specifically, this program was created for managers of public agencies and those who implement policy at municipal, regional and state levels. Courses are offered in a blended format, combining face-to-face and online interaction to meet the scheduling needs of students. Housed in a vibrant Urban Studies department, the MPM capitalizes on Worcester State University’s urban location and helps to develop public leaders for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and beyond.

This program has an interdisciplinary core faculty drawn from many academic disciplines including Urban Studies, Sociology, Political Science, Economics, Management, and Criminal Justice.

A three-course Action Research and Management Project Fieldwork component at the end of the program allows for real-life experience and a synthesis and evaluation of coursework.

Check out the different public management courses waiting for you at Worcester State!
PM-901 Project Management for Public Organizations
This introductory course will provide students with the skills, tools, and techniques necessary to run a project successfully from conception to evaluation. Students will learn the systematic methods of planning, implementing, and evaluating a project. Students will develop a broad range of skills including communication, team management, coordination, monitoring, and control. Specific resource management (time, space, and people) will be explored.
3 credits
PM-902 Internship
With the help of an internship coordinator, local students who do not have nonprofit experience and all international students will identify suitable nonprofit organizations in which to do an internship. The internship must provide valuable, career-related experience and learning goals. The goals of the internship will be established in conjunction with the coordinator and the host organization. These goals should take into account the student's career interest, for example, development, fundraising and grant-writing, human resources management, financial management etc. Students must complete a minimum of 100 hours in the organization and write a summary of the internship experience.
3 credits
PM-903 Economics for Policy Analysis
This course utilizes both microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts and tools with an emphasis on applications to public management and policy analysis. Decision-making in the public sector is made within a political context and involves different considerations than decision-making in the private sector. This course is designed to help public policy administrators and managers address real-world issues and problems from an economic perspective to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their organizations. Central issues will include the following: the economic justification for government involvement, the balancing of efficiency and equity, and the development of policies to improve the well-being of citizens.
3 credits
PM-908 Legal, Regulatory & Ethical Issues in Healthcare
An overview of the legal and regulatory framework governing health care from both the manager and the client's point of view. Legal rights and duties of patients and health-care providers, hospital liability, hospital-physician relationships, patient's rights, informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, negligence and malpractice.
3 credits
PM-934 Ethics & Management of Human Resources
Leaders and managers of nonprofit and public organizations face moral and ethical dilemmas in dealing with their publics (clients, staff, volunteers, donors, government agencies, board of directors, collaborating partners, the community, etc.). These dilemmas are particularly pronounced in those organizations because the organizations operate under strict ethical guidelines, are accountable to the general public, and have to deal with many different publics. This course will explore the ways in which leaders resolve these ethical dilemmas while sustaining their organizations. Additionally, this course will explore the human resources management functions including planning, recruitment & selection, motivation, compensation & employee services, development.
3 credits
PM-940 Leadership Skills & Group Dynamics
Explores the nature and principles of effective group and organizational leadership. Students participate in a group which studies its own leadership process. Examples will be taken from therapy groups, business/organizational situations, classrooms and other case studies. Emphasis upon the components of effective leadership and fellowship in small groups and organizations. Group formation, group roles, group stages, and group conflicts are studied.
3 credits
PM-942 Organizational Theory
Organizational theory and development strategies considered. Formal and informal aspects organizations, authority structures, specialization and integration of functions, and the role of professional managers.
3 credits
PM-944 Politics and Public Policy
An explication of the nature of political power and the influence of power upon the delivery of various types of nonprofit, public, health care and human services.
3 credits
PM-945 Financial Management for Public Organizations
This course explores the theoretical, technical and political elements of financial management in public organization settings. The primary objective is to enable students to gain an understanding of how to develop and use financial information to make management decisions in public organizations. The course focuses on: 1) the development, implementation and control of a financial plan, and, 2) the development of financial statements including the summarizing and reporting of the organization's financial performance, and the analysis of the organization's financial health. The course will emphasize the use of financial statements by managers of public organizations.
3 credits
PM-946 Seminar in Program Analysis & Evaluation
Explores philosophical issues, politics, and specific evaluation instruments involved in effective program analysis upon utilization of computer systems.
3 credits
PM-949 Strategic Leadership & Planning for Public Organizations
This course will critically examine the external and internal environments of public organizations through exploration of the strategic planning process. It will involve a discussion of various strategic leadership decisions and the management skills necessary to design and implement a successful plan, in the light of the political dynamics in strategic planning.
3 credits
PM-950 Unions & the Public Sector
An intensive examination of key collective bargaining topics. Topics include grievance-arbitration processes, productivity bargaining, and impasse resolutions in the public sector.
3 credits
PM-951 Negotiation & Conflict Resolution for Public Organizations
Through theory and situational role playing, students will learn effective skills in negotiation, mediation, arbitration and conflict resolution. The course will provide an opportunity for students to diagnose and plan different situations requiring negotiation and conflict management, practice the negotiation process and develop confidence in approaching and diffusing tense situations.
3 credits
PM-980 Management Project Fieldwork I for Public Management
In individual consultation with the instructor, students will identify a management project and write a plan to carry out their projects. The plan will include: an executive summary, explanation of strategic/organizational alignment, project scope, feasibility assessment, and contingency plans, constraints, human resources requirements, material/equipment requirements, project schedule, budget/cost estimate, risk management, project issues, change management, communication management, approvals and attachments.
2 credits
PM-990 Action Research
The goal of this course is to prepare students to undertake nonprofit-relevant research projects in areas of their choice, by developing an understanding of fundamental concepts of research design. By the end of the course, students develop a research proposal.
3 credits
PM-993 Public Relations for Public Organizations
This course will explore the theories of human interaction as they relate to the public sphere. Students will acquire effective public relations skills that are essential for success in the public sector. This course will review the components of a public relations campaign, and help students learn to develop public relations tools such as news releases, pitch letters, biographies, position papers, crisis communications, and other tools included in a strategic publications relations kit. This is an essential course for managers and administrators of public agencies who must constantly communicate their agencies' position to various, often divergent constituencies.
3 credits

Admissions requirements

  • Online application with essay and application fee.
  • Bachelor’s degree with a minimum GPA of 2.75.
  • Two letters of recommendation from a professional or academic source.
  • Prerequisite courses: Introductory courses in Principles of Management, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Political Science. A course in financial accounting is highly recommended.
  • Students may take up to six (6) credits before matriculation.

Program of study

The Master’s in Public Management is a 12-course, 36-credit degree with the following curriculum:

Ten (10) Required Core Courses:

  • PM 901 Project Management for Public Organizations (3 credits)-
  • PM 903 Economics for Policy Analysis (3 credits)
  • PM 934 Ethics & Management of Human Resources (3 credits)
  • PM 942 Organizational Theory (3 credits)
  • PM 945 Financial Management for Public Organizations (3 credits)
  • PM 949 Strategic Leadership & Planning for Public Organizations (3 credits)
  • PM 951 Negotiation & Conflict Resolution for Public Organizations (3 credits)
  • PM 990 Action Research (3 credits)
  • PM 980 Management Project Fieldwork I for Public Management (2 credits)
  • PM 981 Management Project Fieldwork II for Public Management (4 credits)

Two (2) Elective Courses Selected From:

  • PM 902 Internship (3 credits)
  • PM 908 Legal, Regulatory & Ethical Issues in Healthcare (3 credits)
  • PM 940 Leadership Skills & Group Dynamics (3 credits)
  • PM 944 Politics & Public Policy (3 credits)
  • PM 946 Seminar in Program Analysis & Evaluation (3 credits)
  • PM 950 Unions & the Public Sector (3 credits)
  • PM 993 Public Relations for Public Organizations (3 credits)
  • PM 994 Assigned Readings (3 credits)
  • PM 996 Public Law (3 credits)

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