Ph.D. Student Handbook

Transcription

1 Ph.D. Student Handbook Department of Public Administration University of Illinois at Chicago 412 S. Peoria St. Chicago, IL

2 Topic Table of Contents Page Important DPA Dates. 1 Introduction.. 2 Program Objectives.. 2 Admission Requirements. 3 Application Procedures. 3 Personal Statement. 3 Letters of Recommendation. 4 International Students.. 4 Funding your degree 5 Assistantships and program-administered aid 5 Awards and fellowships- Graduate College (UIC). 5 Provost s Award for Graduate Research 5 Dean s Scholar Award.. 5 Chancellor s Supplemental Graduate Research Fellowship Program 5 University Fellowships 6 Abraham Lincoln Graduate Fellowships 6 Other Awards and Fellowships. 6 Degree Requirements... 7 Transfer credits.. 7 Time Requirements/Limitations 8 Academic Standing 8 Course Loads.. 8 Registration for Zero Hours 8 Plan of Study 9 Curriculum.. 10 Core Theory Courses. 10 Core Methods Courses 11 Applied Research Seminars. 11 Specialization/Electives 11 Independent Research 12 MPA Courses. 12 Review and Examination Requirements 13 Annual Review. 13 Comprehensive Examinations.. 13 Policy regarding the timing of comprehensive exams. 14 Extensions Comprehensive exam committees 15 Preliminary Examination (Dissertation Proposal) 15 Dissertation. 16 Dissertation Hours 17 2

3 Teaching 17 Advising/Mentoring. 17 Residency for part-time students 17 Administrative Structure 17 General 18 Financial Assistance 18 Applicable Requirements. 18 Grading System.. 18 Course Times. 18 Research Centers and Institutes 18 Leaves of Absence. 19 Academic Integrity 19 Professional Honor Societies. 20 APPENDICES: Appendix A: Plan of Study Form. 21 Appendix B1: Tentative 4-Year Course Schedule 22 Appendix B2: Suggested Student Schedules for Full and Part-Time Students 23 Appendix C: Core and Required Specialization Course Descriptions 24 Appendix D: MPA Courses that Can be Used for Ph.D. Specializations 27 Appendix E: Student Annual Report Form 28 Appendix F: Faculty Evaluation Form 31 Appendix G: Advice for Comprehensive Exams and Answers to FAQs 32 QUESTIONS FROM RECENT PAST COMPREHENSIVE EAMS 37 3

4 Important DPA Dates, AY Day, Date Time Event Location Wednesday, August :30pm New student orientation CUPPAH 146 Friday, September 7 4:30pm -? Faculty, Ph.D. students and Jak s Tap significant others 901 WJackson October 16 9am-5pm Core exam CUPPAH 110 October 19 8am-8pm Science & technology take home October 22 8am-6pm Public management take home October 25 8am-6pm Financial management take home March 6 8am-6pm Financial management take home March 8 Public management take home March 11 Science and technology take home *These specific exam dates are tentative and may be changed due to student demand and or schedule conflicts. 1

5 INTRODUCTION The College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA) was established in 1994 with the merger of the Urban Planning and Policy Program and the Graduate Program in Public Administration (GPPA). The current Department of Public Administration (DPA) hosts a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) program and the only Ph.D. program in Public Administration in the state of Illinois. In collaboration with the Department of Urban Planning and Policy (DUPP) and the DPA host an undergraduate program in Urban and Public Affairs (UPA) The purpose of this handbook is to bring together in one document the policies of the Graduate College of the University, CUPPA, and DPA related to the Ph.D. degree. The handbook is designed to be useful to the faculty and staff of DPA as well as to doctoral students. The preparation and maintenance of the handbook are the responsibility of the Ph.D. Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) of the DPA. The handbook is reviewed annually by the DGS to insure compliance with the policies of the Graduate College and the DPA. In the event of conflict between the policies of the Graduate College and those of the DPA, those of the Graduate College prevail. Interested parties are encouraged to refer to the Graduate College catalog (available online at for clarification. The policies listed herein are in effect for doctoral students who begin their studies in or after the fall semester PROGRAM OBJECTIVES The doctoral program in the Department of Public Administration is designed in accordance with the Policy on Doctoral Education in Public Affairs/Administration of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs/Administration which states: Doctoral programs in public administration should prepare students to undertake significant research in their subsequent careers, whether in government, academic life, or other settings: the capacity to do significant research, rather than access to a particular career setting, is the appropriate goal of doctoral training. Whether in governmental, academic or other career settings, holders of the doctorate add to the ranks of those who are able to generate and share knowledge of public administration and its related fields... The goal of doctoral training is [to equip] individuals to add to knowledge of public administration and related fields through disciplined research. When practicing professionals undertake the doctorate they should recognize the need to demonstrate substantial research skills and to interact with a research faculty on a continuing basis as they design and execute their dissertation projects. Research skills are underlined to emphasize that the Ph.D. in public administration is, fundamentally, a degree in research. It is not simply more specialized study of how to manage or administer government. In other words, it is not a higher level MPA degree. Also be aware that the student body in this program, like others that offer a Ph.D. in public administration or public 2

6 policy, is a mixture of full time students and part-time students. It is also a mixture of students who want to do research after finishing the degree and others who want to practice public administration. Examples of positions held by recent graduates of the Ph.D. program include: Assistant Professor, School of Public and Environmental Affairs Indiana University Sergeant Los Angeles Police Department Academic Professional UIC Health Policy and Research Center Compliance Division Manager - Illinois Department of Human Rights Assistant Professor, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University Assistant Professor, School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado- Denver ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS All applicants must show a record of previous academic success, strong potential for continued success in the Ph.D. program, and a logical rationale for seeking admission to the program. Applicants to the Ph.D. program must hold a master s degree. All admittees are required to have completed one masters-level statistics course. All applicants should have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 [out of 4] in their graduate work and a combined score of at least 1100 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). A basic knowledge of American government, statistics, and familiarity with computers is a prerequisite for admission. Scores on other graduate level entrance exams such as the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) or LSAT (Law School Admission Test) can generally be substituted for the GRE scores. All applicants are reviewed by the Ph.D. Committee. The Committee will review all evidence of the following, but not be limited to: 1. Trend of graduate grades 2. Type of graduate program 3. Mature work experience 4. Letters of recommendation 5. Statement of intent 6. Writing sample The Ph.D. committee will normally recommend one of the following options; 1. Admit to the Ph.D. program with full standing. 2. Admit to the Ph.D. program with limited standing. According to the Graduate College guidelines, Limited status is a probationary status for degree students who have not met all of the admission requirements, such as those who have less than a 3.5 [Masters] grade point average; have specified course deficiencies to be removed; must submit additional credentials required by the program Students can be admitted on limited status for no more than two semesters (including summer) or 16 semester hours, whichever occurs earlier If the conditions are not met within the time limit, the program will notify the Graduate College and the student will be dismissed from the Graduate College. 3. Deny admission 3

7 APPLICATION PROCEDURES Application forms are available from the DPA office, the Graduate College, and the Graduate College web site at Applications and supporting credentials should be submitted as early as possible. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. The Ph.D. application process is posted on DPA web site at PhD application deadlines Spring Enroll Summer Fall Enroll International Students For financial aid: January 1 July 15 - February 15 Degree, Non-Degree to Degree and Readmission November 1 - For financial aid: January 1 May 15 Applicants must submit the following; 1. University application form 2. Transcripts of previous college course work 3. Written personal statement concerning the reasons for pursuing a Ph.D. in public administration 4. A current resume 5. GRE test scores (not more than 5 years old) 6. A sample of academic or professional writing 7. Three academic or professional letters of recommendation These materials should be submitted directly to the Department of Public Administration. Personal Statement The personal statement should discuss intellectual, educational, personal, and professional goals, the reasons for seeking the degree, specific intellectual interests, and the proposed areas of specialization. Your one or two page statement should identify an area of specialization you are interested in pursuing. You may always change your area of specialization at a later time. Please review the areas of specialization in the Ph.D. program and the expertise of faculty in developing your statement. Also, please include the following in your personal statement: What is your intellectual background and academic interests? Why did you decided to study public administration at the graduate level? What are your professional goals? How does a Ph.D. in Public Administration fit into your short- and long-term plans for your professional career? Letters of Recommendation DPA is interested in specific and substantial evaluations of academic and professional competence. Recommenders should comment on academic performance and potential as a doctoral student, research abilities, and performance and potential as a public manager. It is important to select recommenders who can comment on such matters. 4

8 International Students A graduate of a college or university outside of the United States who has completed academic programs equivalent to an American bachelor s degree and master s degree may apply for admission to the Ph.D. program. International applicants are expected to comply with the admissions criteria that apply to other students. An international applicant for whom English is a second language is required to submit a minimum score of 550 [213 on a 300 scale] on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) before enrolling for courses. The test score cannot be more than two years old. FUNDING YOUR EDUCATION See the graduate college website for comprehensive information about sources of funding for your education and research: Assistantships and program-administered aid Many of our students have half-time (20 hrs a week) or quarter-time research assistantships with faculty who have grants to do research on specific projects. Others may work for one of the research institutes in the college, and senior Ph.D. students may also teach courses in the undergraduate program. Pay for a half-time assistantship is about $20,000 (2010) with tuition waivers. Tuition and the service fee are waived for assistants if the appointment is between 25 and 67 percent for at least three-quarters of the term. Tuition and service fee waivers are sometimes available to students who do not have assistantships. For fullest consideration for program-administered financial aid to new students, fall Ph.D. applicants should submit their application by January 1 st Awards and fellowships- Graduate College (UIC): Provost s Award for Graduate Research: awards of $1000 to $3000 to support the student s research. Fall and spring competition with mid-october and mid-march deadlines for Graduate College. Students must have their material to the DGS by October 1 and March 1 respectively. Dean s Scholar Award: a fellowship stipend of $20,600 for a twelve-month academic year. The recipient also receives a tuition and fee waiver from the Graduate College. It is open to doctoral students who have successfully defended their dissertation proposal. Application is due to Graduate College in mid-october (or mid-march) with materials due to the DGS by October 1 and March 1 respectively. Chancellor s Graduate Research Fellowship Program: Funding of up to $4,000 per year for up to 2 years will allow graduate or professional candidates to supplement their existing stipends. Successful applicants must show exceptional promise for future multidisciplinary research and creative activity in their fields of interest. Applications will be evaluated not only on the quality of the prospective student, but also the quality of the proposed project and the involved role of the mentor. Fall competition with mid-oct deadline for Graduate College and mid-sept deadline for letter of intent from student to 5

9 Graduate College. Students must have their materials to the DGS by Oct 1. Spring competitions are sometimes held, with letter of intent due to Graduate School by mid- February. University Fellowships: The award is aimed at recruiting outstanding students newly admitted to graduate programs at UIC. Recipients receive funding for their first year and for a second year when they begin their dissertation research, and they receive a tuition and fee waiver from the Graduate College for both years. They receive a stipend of $20,000 in the first year (as of 2010). The second year will be funded at current fellowship stipend rates for that year. Students must apply by January 1 to be considered for this award (application due to Graduate School on February 1) Abraham Lincoln Graduate Fellowships: For students who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States who have participated in a McNair Scholars Program, or have attended a Historically Black College or University, a Hispanic Serving Institution or a Tribal College or students who come from groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in graduate programs Two-year recruitment award is primarily for graduate students new to UIC. Recipients receive funding for their first year and for a second year when they have successfully completed their preliminary examination (dissertation proposal defense). They receive $20,000 in the first year and a tuition and fee waiver from the Graduate College. The second year will be funded at current fellowship stipend rates for that year. Also, the recipient s academic programs must provide a 50% nine month appointment or equivalent in the years between the initial funding and renewal years. Spring competition with departmental nominations due to Graduate College in mid-february. 2. One-year recruitment award (students new to UIC): The general terms of this award for new students are the same as those of the two-year recruitment award, except the student is eligible for only one year of support. The recipient s academic programs must provide a 50% nine month appointment for the second year. Spring competition with departmental nominations due to Graduate College by end of March. 3. One-year retention awards (students already enrolled in a UIC graduate program who are at the advanced stage of their academic studies). Spring competition with departmental nominations due to Graduate College by end of March. Departments can nominate only 2 students for award 2 and 3 combined. Other Awards and fellowships CUPPA Distinguished Graduate Scholar Award Program. The award is aimed at recruiting outstanding newly admitted doctoral students to Public Administration or Urban Planning. The award guarantees of up to four years of tuition-free education and salaries of up to $20,000 per academic year for work as research assistants in one of the college's seven research centers and institutes. For fullest consideration, applicants should submit these materials no later than January 1. 6

10 The PA Distinguished Graduate Assistantship. The award is aimed at recruiting outstanding newly admitted doctoral students to Public Administration, and guarantees the funding indicated below (a one-half time assistantship is 20 hours a week and pays salaries up to $20,000 a year) and four years of tuition-free education. The student will work as a research or teaching assistant for one or more of the faculty in the Department of Public Administration. 1st year: A scholarship of one-quarter time funding 2nd year: A one-quarter time assistantship 3rd year: A one-half time assistantship 4th year: A one-half time assistantship Students must pass their comprehensive exams by the end of year 3, and may supplement their one-quarter time funding in years 1 and 2 with an additional one-quarter time assistantship. For fullest consideration, applicants should submit these materials no later than January 1 UIC Graduate Student Council (GSC) Travel Award: The award is available to students actively participating in academic or professional meetings and provides up to $300 reimbursement of transportation, lodging, registration, and meal costs. The Graduate Student Presenter Awards are intended to help graduate students defray costs associated with presenting research at scholarly meetings or conferences, (e.g., registration and/or travel expenses). The award will award up to $300 with match of $100 from department. PA Student Presenter Award: intended to help PA graduate students defray costs associated with presenting research at scholarly meetings or conferences, (e.g., registration and/or travel expenses). ICPSR Summer Scholars Program: The department offers $1500 stipends for students to attend the Summer Program in Quantitative Methods ( DEGREE REQUIREMENTS The faculty in the program may recommend the Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration when the student has met the following requirements- For students who began the program in spring 2011 or prior to that semester. 1. The student must complete 64 credits beyond the master s degree. These courses will include at least 48 credits in approved coursework (13 courses total) and at least 16 credits of dissertation work. The 48 credits of approved course work for completion of the Ph.D. include the following: 1) three core theory courses (12 credits); 2) three core methods courses (12 credits); 3) at least four courses in two areas of specialization (16 credits); 4) two applied research courses (4 credits total); 5) at least one other course in methods or area of specialization. 7

11 For students who began the program in fall 2011 or after that semester 2. The student must complete 68 credits beyond the master s degree. These courses will include at least 52 credits in approved coursework (14 courses total) and at least 16 credits of dissertation work. The 52 credits of approved course work for completion of the Ph.D. must include the following: 1) three core theory courses (12 credits); 2) four core methods courses (16 credits); 3) at least four courses in two areas of specialization (16 credits); 4) two applied research courses (4 credits total); 5) at least one other course in methods or area of specialization. For all students 1. The student must pass the comprehensive examination and the preliminary examination (dissertation proposal defense). Upon successful completion of the preliminary examination, the student becomes a candidate for the Ph.D. degree. 2. The candidate must complete and successfully defend the dissertation. Transfer credits Acceptance of transfer credits from accredited institutions is dependent on the pertinence of the work to the Ph.D. program. Students requesting a transfer of credit from another institution are expected to submit information on the content of the courses for which credit is requested, including, for example, a syllabus. Transfer of credits should occur at the time of admission and is subject to the following restrictions: 1. Grades on all transfer credits must be a minimum of B 2. No credit used for another degree or preparatory deficiency course credit may be counted toward the 64 credits in the Ph.D. program. 3. Doctoral students may transfer in no more than 25 percent of the 64 course hours beyond the Masters required for the degree. Time Requirements/Limitations It is impossible to specify the precise length of time needed to complete the Ph.D. program due to the many variables associated with completing the degree requirements. Such variables include, but are not limited to the following: Number of credits allowed for previous graduate study Whether there are course deficiencies relative to the program requirements The number of credit hours completed during each academic term The time required to prepare for the preliminary exam and to complete the dissertation In general, however, a full-time student who has no prerequisite course deficiencies will likely complete all coursework requirements within two academic years. Thereafter, the length of time necessary to complete the dissertation will vary. Typically the dissertation takes 1-2 years to complete. The comprehensive examination is commonly taken following completion of coursework. Students are required to take all three required exams (the core PA exam and exams in each of their areas of specialization) within one year of completing all required PA coursework. 8

12 Extensions: In order to be granted an extension for completing the comprehensive exams, a student may request a six-month or one year extension to this policy in writing from the Director of Graduate Studies. Extensions will be made only in cases where there is a valid reason for the student to put off taking the exams (e.g., personal or family emergency). Following notice of satisfactory performance on the comprehensive examination, the student commences work on the dissertation proposal which must be presented and defended in front of the preliminary examination committee. Following the committee s approval, the student is admitted to candidacy. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must complete all work within a seven consecutive year period after initial registration in the program. Academic Standing Continuation in the graduate program requires satisfactory progress toward the graduate degree. Evidence of such progress includes maintenance of a 3.0 GPA throughout the course of academic study. In addition, credit is not given for any required course in which a grade of less than B is earned Students who do not maintain the required 3.0 cumulative GPA after the first 24 credit hours will be placed on academic probation in the semester immediately following the semester in which the cumulative GPA drops below the 3.0. Students have two terms of enrollment (including summer, if enrolled) after the term in which their degree GPA falls below 3.0 to remove themselves from probation. Students who fail to raise their averages to 3.0 or to otherwise fulfill the terms of their probation within the deadline will be dismissed from the university. The faculty of the program reserves the right to dismiss any student at any time when in its judgment the student is not making satisfactory progress toward completion of the degree. Course Loads Students who can devote full time to their studies usually enroll for 12 credit hours (three courses) each term. Those receiving financial assistance may be subject to specific course load requirements. See the Graduate College catalog at Registration for Zero Hours Registration for zero hours is only available to students who have completed all degree requirements except the dissertation. Students must have a minimum of 16 hours of PA 599, Dissertation Research before being eligible for zero hour status. Students wishing to register for zero hours must submit a Graduate College petition and receive permission from the DPA and the Graduate College prior to registration. Once permission is received, students may continue to register for zero hours provided they remain in the same program, continue to make satisfactory academic progress, and are within the time frame for degree completion. Plan of Study In the first year, each Ph.D. student should, in consultation with the DGS and other members of the faculty who are appropriate for their areas of interest, begin developing a Plan of Study (see 9

13 Appendix A for the Plan of Study form). It is important that the Plan of Study be developed at least on a tentative basis, as early as possible (ideally by the end of the first year or the completion of the equivalent of one full-time year of coursework i.e., 24 credit hours). When the Plan of Study has been prepared, it is to be filed and approved by the DGS. The Plan of Study will contain a listing of all courses for which a student is requesting master's transfer credit; a listing of all courses expected to be completed at UIC and proposed to be used to meet Ph.D. coursework requirements; identification of the two fields of specialization in which the student expects to be examined; and, if known, a very brief description of the dissertation topic which the student expects to propose. The Ph.D. Plan of Study may be filed at any time, but an approved plan must be filed prior to the comprehensive examination. A student may make changes in his/her Plan of Study subject to the approval of the DGS. It is comparatively easy to identify courses for the term immediately ahead because the department's and the university's course schedules for a particular term are published several months prior to the beginning of the next term. Selection of courses to be taken in semesters following the one immediately ahead is more difficult and should be treated as tentative because information about public administration (and other departments') course offerings and time schedules cannot be known with certainty until the beginning of a particular semester. A tentative four year course schedule and example student schedules are shown in Appendix B. Students are encouraged to take the following guidelines into account in planning course schedules: Incoming students should generally complete the core theory and core methods courses before taking electives and/or independent studies. One exception is if an elective is given infrequently and is part of the student s Plan of Study. All Ph.D. students should meet well before the beginning of each semester with the DGS or major professor to plan their course of study for the semester. Ph.D. students are also encouraged to seek the advice of other members of the faculty when they have questions that fall within the scope of the teaching and research specializations of other faculty. Do not make assumptions about the future availability of courses which are offered by other departments. Consult with the instructor or the chair of the department offering the course. Early filing of the tentative Plan of Study will raise the likelihood that your major professor and the Ph.D. committee can alert you to possible scheduling difficulties in time to adjust your plans accordingly. 10

14 CURRICULUM Core Theory Courses The three core theory courses are intended to provide students with a broad yet in-depth understanding of the discipline of public administration. The core theory courses are: PA 511 History and Development of Public Administration PA 510 Organization Theory and Behavior in Public Administration PA 515 Bureaucracy and the Policy Process Core Methods Courses Students are encouraged to develop competency in a wide range of methodological approaches. The methods requirement is intended to provide students with exposure to a variety of techniques and to allow them suitable opportunities to engage in research. The core methods courses are: PA 540, Research Design for Public Administration (or UPP 588, Research Design and Program Evaluation) PA 541, Advanced Data Analysis I (or UPP 589, Data Analysis for Planning and Management II) Plus two more ** methods courses. Students may take courses in other departments to fulfill this requirement (with permission from the DGS) or take two of the following courses PA 542, Advanced Data Analysis II PA 544, Qualitative Research Methods in Public Administration CHSC 447, Survey Planning and Design. PA528: Public Program Evaluation **Students who began the program prior to Fall 2011 are required to take only three methods courses to fulfill the Core Methods requirement. Applied Research Seminars The purpose of this two-course sequence (PA 545 & PA 546) is to provide students with an understanding of the craft-like elements of the research process, including how to select a research question, how to determine what methods are most appropriate to the question, how to balance considerations of rigor and practicality, and how to get published. Portions of these seminars will be devoted to a survey of different PA research areas, a review of research currently being undertaken by DPA faculty, and opportunities for students to present their research ideas and projects. The research seminars will help promote what is the primary activity of Ph.D., namely, to think critically and creatively. Two credit hours are awarded upon completion of each of the two seminars. Specializations/Electives Each Ph.D. student, in consultation with his or her major professor, selects two fields of specialization from the fields offered by the program and completes at least eight credit hours in each of the two fields. Although only eight credit hours of coursework relevant to a field are required, it is unlikely that a student without previous training in a field will be prepared for the comprehensive examination without either additional reading and/or coursework. 11

15 Doctoral students have the option of taking courses offered elsewhere in the university to complete the degree requirements. Previous students have taken courses in the School of Education, the School of Social Work, and the Departments of Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, and Economics. Students should consult the field faculty and their major professor in the selection of their courses. A student may petition for permission to substitute a field of specialization not currently offered by the program for one of the two required fields of specialization. The petition must explain how the alternative field of specialization is relevant to the student's dissertation plans, and he or she must identify the courses that will be taken in preparation for the comprehensive examination in the field. A petition to substitute an alternative field should be submitted to the DGS for review by the Ph.D. committee. Ordinarily, such a request will not be approved unless there is at least two, and preferably three faculty members in the Department of Public Administration who specialize in the field and who agree to participate in preparing and evaluating the comprehensive examination in the alternative field of specialization. The specializations currently offered are; 1. Public Management and Organizations All PhD students selecting this area of specialization are required to take PA 527, Public Management Theory 2. Financial Management All PhD students selecting this area of specialization are required to take PA 554, Advanced Seminar in Financial Management. 3. Science, Technology, and Information Policy All PhD students selecting this area of specialization are required to take PA 464, Technology and Innovation Theory and PA 466, Science, Technology and Public Policy. 4. Survey Methods All PhD students selecting this area of specialization are required to take PA 578, Surveys, Public Opinion and Public Policy. Independent Research In order to enroll for PA 593, Independent Research in Public Administration, a student must complete the Independent Study/Research & Thesis Research Request Form, including a paragraph describing the work to be done, and obtain written approval from the supervising faculty member(s), the DGS, and the Head of the Department of Public Administration. MPA Courses Doctoral students planning to take MPA courses as part of their programs are expected to work with the course instructors to develop appropriate modifications in both the content and requirements of those courses in order to make them serve the special needs of doctoral students. A Ph.D. student who wants to take an MPA course as part of their program should talk to the 12

16 DGS in advance and Ph.D. Students are strongly encouraged to take only MPA courses that are taught by full-time PA faculty (not those taught by adjuncts). See the following website for a list of required Ph.D. courses and generally approved MPA courses for Ph.D. credit. Catalogue descriptions of all core and required specialization courses are available in Appendix C. A list of which MPA courses can be used to fulfill specialization requirements also is available in Appendix D. REVIEW AND EAMINATION REQUIREMENTS Annual Review At the end of each academic year, the DGS asks each student to complete an Student Activities Report (see Appendix E) that asks them to report and evaluate their progress in the program during the academic year. The DGS also asks faculty to evaluate Ph.D. students (see Appendix F). These documents, along with students performance in their coursework will be used by the DGS to summarize the student s progress and provide feedback to each student. If the review shows that the student's performance has been adequate, he or she will be informed in writing that permission is granted to continue in the program. If, however, the review shows that the student's performance has been either so inadequate that dismissal seems appropriate or sufficiently marginal in one or more areas to merit probationary status, the basis for these tentative findings will be furnished to the student and he or she will be invited to meet with the Ph.D. Committee. If, after meeting with the student, the Ph.D. Committee concludes that a student should either be dismissed from the program or placed on probationary status, this recommendation will be reviewed by the full departmental faculty and the faculty's decision will be controlling. Comprehensive Examination After completion of their coursework students must pass a comprehensive examination designed to test their scholarly competence and knowledge. Each student will be examined in three fields: the public administration core, and their two areas of specialization. The doctoral comprehensive examination is designed to assess the degree of mastery which degree candidates have achieved over a body of knowledge, to measure their ability to integrate that knowledge, and to apply it creatively in the analysis of problems to which it is germane. Unlike final examinations administered at the conclusion of specific courses -- which are presumably limited to measuring the mastery of material covered in that course -- the comprehensive examination is not restricted to material covered in any or all of the courses comprising that core. Those formulating the comprehensive examination assume, in other words, that the reading and study of doctoral degree candidates will have taken them well beyond the confines of material assigned by instructors teaching individual courses comprising that core. See Appendix F for additional advice and information about studying and preparing for the comprehensive exams and 13

17 example questions from past exams. Upon completion of all coursework, a student will file with the DGS a written request to take the comprehensive examination. The request should be filed within the first two weeks of the semester in which the student plans to take the examination (the DGS may also survey students about their intentions to take the comprehensive exams, but it is the student s responsibility to notify the DGS of their intent to take the exams). The request should specify the two areas of specialization in which the student seeks to be tested. All students will be tested in the public administration core. Students must have submitted an approved Plan of Study before requesting permission to take the comprehensive examination. Only students in good standing are permitted to take the examination. According to the Graduate College, students are considered to be in good standing if they have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and are making satisfactory progress toward a degree. Upon receipt of one or more requests to take the comprehensive examination, the Head of the Department of Public Administration in consultation with the DGS will select a comprehensive examination committee for the core and each area of specialization. Each committee will consist of three (3) faculty members who teach courses or do research related to the exam area. One faculty member is designated as the committee chair and is responsible for organizing and managing all committee work. These committees prepare and grade the exam. At an early stage in preparing for the examination, the student should meet with members of the comprehensive examination committee to identify general topics on which the student may be tested. Students should develop a reading list to organize their study materials and members of the committee will provide feedback on this list. The comprehensive examination committee will determine the format for each of the three exams. Each exam will be read and evaluated by those members of the comprehensive examination committee associated with the field. The committee will give the student a grade of fail, pass, or high pass on the exam (grades on individual questions and/or committee votes may also be provided to students). A student can fail an individual question and pass the exam as a whole. A pass or high pass in each of the three components of the comprehensive examination is required. A student who fails to pass one or more of the three area of specialization components of the comprehensive examination may be dismissed from the program if the Ph.D. committee so determines. The Ph.D. Committee may grant permission for a second examination. Students who fail the comprehensive exam twice will be dismissed from the program. Policy regarding the timing of comprehensive exams: Students are required to take all three required exams within one year of completing all required PA coursework (excluding PA545 and PA546). For the purposes of this calculation, students are counted as completing a course at the end of the semester in which they are enrolled in that course (i.e., incomplete in courses do not extend this time period or stop the clock ). A student need not have taken PA545 or PA546 to take the exams these courses can be taken concurrently with an exam or exams. If a student fails an exam, he or she may retake it one time and must do so the next time the exam is given (e.g., if the student fails an exam in Spring semester, he or she must retake the exam in the fall of the same calendar year and if the student fails an exam in Fall semester, he or she must retake it in the spring of the next calendar year). A student who does not meet these time 14

18 requirements is dismissed from the program unless he or she is granted an extension (see guidelines regarding extensions below). Extensions: In order to be granted an extension for completing the comprehensive exams, a student may request a six-month or one year extension to this policy in writing from the Director of Graduate Studies. Extensions will be made only in cases where there is a valid reason for the student to put off taking the exams (e.g., personal or family emergency) COMPREHENSIVE EAM COMMITTEES Committee Faculty Core Public Finance Survey S&T Management Methods Beam, George Member Feeney, Mary Chair Member Hendrick, Rebecca Chair Holbrook, Allyson Member Johnson, Tim Chair LeRoux, Kelly Member Mastracci, Sharon Member Merriman, David Member Member Mossberger, Karen (HEAD) Sicciliano. Michael Member Thompson, Jim Chair Welch, Eric Chair Wu, Yonghong Member Member Preliminary Examination (Dissertation Proposal Defense) Upon successful completion of the comprehensive exam the student is eligible to take the preliminary examination. The preliminary examination consists of the presentation and defense of the student s dissertation proposal before the Preliminary Examination Committee. The student s proposal should be reviewed and approved by his/her major professor prior to scheduling the preliminary examination. The dissertation proposal identifies a problem to be explored, draws on relevant literature to show the significance of the problem for public administration, sets forth a line of argumentation to be pursued or hypotheses to be tested, and describes the approach or methods and the data that will be employed in conducting the research. As a practical matter, students are advised to consult with their major professor and to begin, at least tentatively, forming their proposed dissertation topic and developing their dissertation research plan even before they have completed their coursework. Early development of the dissertation proposal is essential if a student is to have a realistic chance of obtaining outside financial support for the dissertation research. In consultation with the student s major advisor, the student should identify a Preliminary Examination Committee to consist of at least five members at least three of whom are UIC 15

19 Graduate Faculty and two of whom are tenured The chair of the Committee must be a full member of the UIC Graduate Faculty. The request to take the preliminary examination and the Committee Recommendation Form will be reviewed by the DGS. If the DGS determines that the student has satisfactorily completed all coursework and the comprehensive exam, the DGS will notify the student and the members of the preliminary examination committee of the date(s) of the exam. The preliminary examination will be chaired by the student's major advisor. Consistent with Graduate College guidelines, Each member of the examining committee assigns a grade of pass or fail. A candidate cannot be passed with more than one fail vote. The committee may require that specific conditions be met before the pass recommendation becomes effective. At the recommendation of the committee, the head or chair may permit a second examination. A third examination is not permitted. Students who pass the preliminary examination are admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. Ph.D. students who have successfully taken the preliminary exam should shortly thereafter request in writing that 32 hours be transferred from the Master's degree to the Ph.D. degree. This is not an automatic process so it is the student's responsibility to request these hours in writing from the Director of Graduate Studies. If the student did not receive a Masters in Public Administration from UIC, he/she must list the relevant coursework and credit hours that would be equivalent to the 32 hours. Dissertation A dissertation must demonstrate a high level of scholarly and analytical ability and the candidate's intimate familiarity with all aspects of knowledge pertaining to the research topic. The dissertation must be an original and valuable contribution to the understanding of public administration or public policy. A final oral examination on the dissertation is scheduled by the Graduate College at the request of the dissertation advisor. A minimum of four weeks notice is required to schedule the defense. The Graduate College will also appoint an examining committee at the recommendation of the dissertation advisor and the department head. The examining committee will consist of 5 persons; at least two members of the committee must be tenured faculty at UIC; at least one must be from outside the degree-granting program, which may include graduate faculty from other UIC departments or colleges. The outside member can also be from outside the university. At least three members of the examining committee must be DPA faculty members. The final oral examination on the dissertation is intended to judge the quality of the dissertation, the amount of original work being presented, and the ability of the candidate to defend the dissertation and show competence in related fields. These criteria serve as the basis used by examining committee members when they vote on the acceptability of the dissertation and the student's performance in the examination. The committee vote is pass or fail. A candidate cannot be passed if more than one vote of fail is reported. A written report of the vote, signed by all members of the examining committee, is sent by the chair of the examining committee to 16

20 the Graduate College, together with appropriate comments. Note that according to Graduate College guidelines, a minimum of one year has to elapse before the defense of the dissertation after passing the preliminary examination. Members of the committees may make their approval conditional on certain changes in the dissertation being made by the candidate. For editorial changes, the committee may refer final approval to the candidate's dissertation advisor. If approval hinges on making substantive changes, committee members are expected to withhold their signatures of approval until the required changes have been made. All required corrections to the dissertation must be completed and approved at least two weeks before the proposed graduation date. If a majority of the committee does not vote favorably, a reexamination, possibly after revision of the dissertation and additional work, may be requested. The reexamination is treated in the same way as a new examination for scheduling purposes. The Graduate College also has a lot of rules about how to present and format your dissertation. The following website should take you to the Graduate College Thesis Manual which provides all the details: The following website also provides links to forms and deadlines for graduation and processing your dissertation: Dissertation Hours Registration for at least 16 but no more than 28 credit hours of dissertation (PA 599) is required. Except by permission of the DGS, no student may register for dissertation hours until his or her coursework is completed and s/he has passed the preliminary examination. Teaching The Ph.D. program does not include specific courses to prepare students to teach nor is there a requirement that students teach. However, the DPA recognizes that some Ph.D. students would like to obtain such skills and will work with such students to identify teaching opportunities in the DPA or elsewhere in the university that can provide students with the needed skills. Advising/Mentoring Upon entering the program, a student will consult with the DGS, who will serve as academic adviser until the student has selected a major professor. After the completion of 24 credit hours of course work, in consultation with the DGS and other members of the faculty, students should select a major professor from among the public administration faculty. The major professor will serve as the student's principal academic adviser, and together with the other professors, will supervise the work of the student until all requirements for the degree have been completed. Residency All students must enroll for at least 12 credits of coursework for each academic year prior to taking the comprehensive exam. Courses in the afternoon. 17

21 ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE The primary functions of the Director of Graduate Studies are insuring timely processing of applications to the doctoral program and general supervision of students as they progress through that program. The Director also chairs the Ph.D. Committee which oversees the curriculum, admissions, and the procedures for the preliminary examinations. The Ph.D. Committee is responsible for supervision of the doctoral program. This includes admissions, interpretation of policy, and general administration of the program. The committee conducts an annual review of the academic progress of each doctoral student. Members of the Ph.D. Committee are appointed by the Head of the Department of Public Administration in consultation with the DGS. GENERAL Other Financial Assistance UIC offers six basic types of financial aid for graduate students: fellowships, assistantships, tuition and fee waivers, traineeships, loans, and employment. Applicants for these types of aid must be admitted to a graduate degree program or have a completed application pending. Eligibility for loans is determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid. Applications for fellowships, assistantships, and tuition/fee waivers are available in the DPA office, the Graduate College office or the Graduate College web site. See the Graduate College web site at for more information on available assistance. The Department of Public Administration and research centers elsewhere in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs have graduate research assistantships. Graduate assistants work hours a week, receive a monthly stipend, and a tuition and service fee waiver from the University. Interested students should obtain information from the Director of Graduate Studies. Applicable Requirements Handbook curriculum policies in effect in a student's first semester of doctoral work following admission continue to apply to the student through graduation. In some circumstances, students may be allowed to switch from an older curriculum model to one recently adopted. Grading System In accordance with UIC policy, the grades that can be awarded following completion of each course are as follows; A Excellent (4.0) B Good (3.0) C Average (2.0) As established by the Department of Public Administration, only grades of B or better are acceptable in fulfilling the requirements in the Ph.D. program. 18

22 Course Times Ph.D. courses will be generally be offered in the afternoons from 3-6 p.m. or in the evenings from 6-9 p.m.. Ph.D. students may, on occasion choose to take masters-level courses, all of which meet from 6-9 p.m. Research Centers and Institutes The College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs includes seven research institutes including the Center for Urban Economic Development, the Great Cities Institute, the Great Cities Urban Data Visualization Program, the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, the Natalie P. Voorhees Program, the Survey Research Laboratory, and the Urban Transportation Center. There are significant opportunities for doctoral students to engage in research activities with one or more of these centers. Such students should contact such centers directly or consult with the DGS. Leaves of Absence Except for international students whose visas require continuous registration and doctoral students who have passed their preliminary exams, graduate-degree-seeking students may take off one semester plus the summer session without formal leave approval from the DPA or the Graduate College. Degree students who desire to take an additional consecutive semester off, for a total maximum of three consecutive terms, must file a Graduate Petition for Leave of Absence by the tenth day of the semester for which leave is requested. International students holding visas are subject to different requirements and should consult the Graduate College guidelines. Upon receipt of a leave of absence petition from the department/program, the DPA and the Graduate College will automatically approve the first leave up to one year maximum. At least one term as a graduate degree student must be completed before being eligible for a leave. After returning to the program from an approved leave, a second leave is not automatic and will only be granted by for medical or other extraordinary reasons. Graduate students who fail to register for two terms in a row (excluding summer) without taking an approved leave of absence forfeit their admission to the Graduate College and must reapply to the Graduate College and be readmitted to the doctoral program. Readmission is not guaranteed. Academic Integrity The UIC guidelines regarding academic integrity are as follows; As an academic community, the University of Illinois at Chicago is committed to providing an environment in which research, learning, and scholarship can flourish and in which all endeavors are guided by academic and professional integrity. All members of the campus community -- students, staff, faculty, administrators -- share the responsibility of insuring that these standards are upheld so that such an environment exists. Instances of academic misconduct by students, and as defined herein, shall be handled pursuant to the Student Disciplinary Procedures 19

23 Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: Cheating Either intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, people, or study aids in any academic exercise, or extending to or receiving any kind of unauthorized assistance on any examination or assignment to or from another person. Fabrication Knowing or unauthorized falsification, reproduction, lack of attribution, or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Facilitating Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism Intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise. Bribes, Favors, Threats Bribing or attempting to bribe, promising favors to or making threats against, any person, with the intention of affecting a record of a grade, grade, or evaluation of academic performance. Any conspiracy with another person who then takes or attempts to take action on behalf or at the direction of the student. Examination by Proxy Taking or attempting to take an exam for someone else other than the student is a violation by both the student enrolled in the course and the proxy or substitute. Grade Tampering Any unauthorized attempt to change, actual change of, or alteration of grades or any tampering with grades. Non-original Works Submission or attempt to submit any written work authored, in whole or part, by someone other than the student. PENALTIES FOR ACADEMIC DISHONESTY All allegations of student academic misconduct shall be handled pursuant to the Student Disciplinary Procedures Professional and Honor Societies Doctoral students are encouraged to participate in professional and honor societies. Among those available to DPA students are; The American Society for Public Administration. ASPA is a national professional organization dedicated to better government and excellence in the public service. ASPA and the Chicago Chapter of the society encourage doctoral students to participate in their activities, many of which provide opportunities for significant contacts with senior academicians, administrators, practitioners, and researchers in the field. ASPA has a reduced membership rate for students. Pi Alpha Alpha. Pi Alpha Alpha is a national academic honorary society for public affairs or public administration. All doctoral students are eligible for membership which requires a onetime fee of $40. New members are inducted at a ceremony held during the school year. 20

24 APPENDI A: PLAN OF STUDY (TO BE FILED WITH THE DGS BY THE END OF THE STUDENTS FIRST YEAR MAY BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT A STUDENT S COURSE OF STUDY) DPA PLAN OF STUDY FORM: Name: Date first enrolled in program: Last updated: CORE EAM: SEMESTER: YEAR: SPECIALIZATION #1 ( ) SEMESTER: YEAR: SPECIALIZATION #2 ( ) SEMESTER: YEAR: COURSEWORK SEMESTER: COURSE PURPOSE (CHECK ONE) CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE CORE THEORY SPECIALIZATION APPLIED RESEARCH CORE METHODS OTHER/ELECTIVE 21

25 Tentative course schedule: APPENDI B1 TENTATIVE 4-YEAR COURSE SCHEDULE AY AY AY AY Fall Spring Fall Spring Fall Spring Fall Spring CORE COURSES PA 510 Organization Theory and Behavior in Public Administration PA 511 History and Development of Public Administration Research and Theory PA 515 Bureaucracy and the Policy Process PA 540 Research Design for Public Administration PA 541 Advanced Data Analysis I PA 545 Research Topics in Public Administration I PA 546 Research Topics in Public Administration II REQUIRED SPECIALIZATION COURSES PA 554 Financial Management in PA PA 527 Public Management Theory PA 578 Surveys, Public Opinion, and Public Policy PA 464 Technology and Innovation Theory PA 466 Science, Technology, and Public Policy PHD LEVEL ELECTIVES PA 528 Public Program Evaluation PA 534 Human Resource Development and Management in Public Administration PA 544 Qualitative Research Methods Total Ph.D. course offerings

26 APPENDI B2 SUGGESTED STUDENT SCHEDULES FOR FULL AND PART-TIME STUDENTS Example student schedules: PA 515 PA 510 PA 511 Full-time A (STARTS YEAR 1 OR YEAR 3) Year 1 fall Year 1 spring Year 2 fall Year 2 spring YEAR 3 FALL YEAR 3 SPRING Full-time B (STARTS YEAR 2 OR YEAR 4) Year 1 fall Year 1 - spring Year 2 fall Year 2 - spring PA 540 PA 541 PA 545 PA 546 Third & fourth methods courses, specialization, or elective Part-time A (STARTS YEAR 1 OR YEAR 3) Year 1 fall Year 1 spring Year 2 fall Year 2 - spring Year 3 fall Year 3 - spring YEAR 4 FALL Part-time B (STARTS YEAR 2 OR YEAR 4) Year 1 fall Year 1 - spring Year 2 - fall Year 2 - spring Year 3 - fall Year 3 - spring YEAR 4 FALL 23

27 APPENDI C CORE AND REQUIRED SPECIALIZATION COURSE DESCRIPTIONS Core Theory Courses 510 Organization Theory and Behavior in Public Administration Research 4 hours. Analysis of major analytical models of organizations; decision-making; control and accountability; change and development; interorganizational relations; the organization-environment interface. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ph.D. in Public Administration program or approval of the program director. 511 The History and Development of Public Administration Research and Theory 4 hours. The history and development of modern public administration, with emphasis on the U.S. model. Major scholarly movements; institutional developments; other factors shaping the present state of the discipline. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ph.D in Public Administration program or approval of the program director. 515 The Bureaucracy and the Policy Process 4 hours. Theories and research issues concerning the role of administrators in policy formation. Case studies and research on federal, state, and local agencies. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ph.D. in Public Administration program or approval of the program director. Core Methods Courses 540 Research Design for Public Administration 4 hours. Logic and methods of quantitative and non-quantitative research in public administration. Issues in measurement; causal inference; experimental and quasi-experimental designs; and methods of data collection. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ph.D. in Public Administration program or approval of the program director. 541 Advanced Data Analysis I 4 hours. Elements of matrix theory; introduction to the theory of estimation; hypothesis testing; logit and probit models; factor analysis; and principal components analysis. Application of techniques to public administration research. Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; and PA 540 or equivalent or approval of the instructor. Plus a third methods course such as one of the following: 542 Advanced Data Analysis II 4 hours. For those likely to pursue careers in the more quantitative aspects of public administration research. Discrete multivariate analysis and regression; multivariate analysis of variance; other advanced techniques. Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; and PA 541or equivalent or approval of the instructor. 24

28 544 Qualitative Research Methods in Public Administration 4 hours. The uses, strengths and limitations of qualitative methods of research and analysis including case studies, participant-observer, and ethnography will be explored. Prerequisite(s): Graduate or professional standing; PA 540 or equivalent; or consent of the instructor. 528 Public Program Evaluation 4 hours. Theory and procedures for evaluating the effectiveness of programs administered by public and non-profit organizations. Includes application of research design, quantitative, and qualitative methodologies. Prerequisite(s): PA 542 or equivalent; and admission to the Ph.D. in Public Administration program or consent of the instructor. 447 Survey Planning and Design 3 hours. Theory and applications of sample survey planning and design for conducting research in health sciences and related fields. Addresses three major topics: survey design and planning, sampling and data collection procedures. Same as CHSC 447. Prerequisite(s): Graduate or professional standing and BSTT 400 or the equivalent. Recommended background: Credit in CHSC 446 or the equivalent. Applied Research Seminars 545 Research Topics in Public Administration I 2 hours. Provides Ph.D. students with a better understanding of current research topics in PA. Students will read current working papers and published articles so as to develop the tools needed for critical analysis of current research. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ph.D. program in Public Administration and advanced standing or consent of the instructor. 546 Research Topics in Public Administration II 2 hours. Continuation of PA 545. Students critically analyze current research and will develop a research topic of their own focusing on the elements needed to write a quality research paper. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): PA 545; and admission to the PhD program in Public Administration with advanced standing or consent of the instructor. Specialization Courses 1. Public Management and Organizations required specialization course 527 Public Management Theory 4 hours. Addresses the development of the public management subfield within the field of public administration. It covers the development of public management theory from its early stages to current questions and theoretical approaches. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ph.D. in Public Administration program or consent of the instructor 25

29 2. Financial Management required specialization course 554 Financial Management in Public Administration 4 hours. Principles of financial management and applications in various institutional and programmatic settings. Forecasting techniques, computer applications, innovations in public borrowing and debt management. Prerequisite(s): Graduate or professional standing; and PA 410 and PA 504 or equivalents; or consent of the instructor. 3. Science and Technology Policy required specialization courses 464 Technology and Innovation Theory 4 hours. The course focuses on theories surrounding the creation, development, transfer, and use of technology. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ph.D. in Public Administration program or consent of the instructor. 466 Science, Technology and Public Policy 4 hours. This course addresses the relationships between public policy and science and technology in the United States. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ph.D. in Public Administration program or consent of the instructor. 4. Survey Methods required specialization course 578 Surveys, Public Opinion, and Public Policy 4 hours. Addresses the nature of the relationship between public policy and public opinion and the role that surveys play in that relationship. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the MPA or Ph.D. in Public Administration program or consent of the instructor. 26

30 APPENDI D MPA COURSES THAT CAN BE USED FOR PHD SPECIALIZATIONS Courses that can be used to fulfill Ph.D. specialization requirements Ph.D. Specific PA464: Technology and Information Policy PA466: Science, Technology, and Public Policy PA527: Public Management Theory PA534: Human Resources Development and Management PA554: Advanced Seminar in Financial Management Public Management (Req.) Financial Management (Req.) S&T (Req.) (Req.) MPA Courses PA461: Management of Information Technology in Government PA463: The Internet and Public Administration Selected 494: Special Topics in PA courses PA521: Strategic Management: Planning and Measurement PA522: Ethics and Accountability PA523: Intergovernmental Management PA524: Leadership in Public Sector Organizations PA526: Public Decision Analysis PA529: Change and Reform in Public Organizations PA532: Labor Management Relations in the Public Sector PA533: Managing Workplace Diversity PA552: Capital Budgeting and Infrastructure PA553: State and Local Public Finance PA567/POLS: Information Management in Public Sector Organizations UPP533: Development Finance Analysis Note: Students are required to take PA578 for the survey methods specialization and can take any of the other survey methods courses to complete the specialization. 27

31 APPENDI E STUDENT ACTIVITIES REPORT FORM (DUE ELECTRONICALLY TO THE DGS BY THE END OF MAY, 2010) SECTION I: BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1. Your Name: 2. Your Advisor's Name: 3. Year and semester you entered the UIC PA Ph.D. program (e.g., Fall, 2006): 4. Have you attended full-time or part-time during the past year (indicate full time if you enrolled for at least 10 credits for summer 2009, fall 2009 or spring 2010): Full Time Part Time 4a. If you attended full time, what was your source(s) of funding during the past year? SECTION II: COURSEWORK 5. a. What are your two areas of specialization? b. Have you completed all the required core courses? YES NO c. Have you completed your specialization #1 courses? YES NO d. Have you completed your specialization #2 courses? YES NO e. Did you take any courses between summer 2009 and spring 2010? YES NO IF YOU ANSWERED NO TO PART D ABOVE, SKIP TO QUESTION 6 f. List below the course work you took during the year (or plan to take) to complete your core or specialization coursework. List the course number, title, and when you took or plan to take the course (if known). Place an asterisk (*) beside any course yet to be completed. CORE COURSES SPECIALIZATION #1 COURSES SPECIALIZATION #2 COURSES 28

32 SECTION III: COMPREHENSIVE EAMS AND DISSERTATION PROGRESS 6. Comprehensive exams: Please report below the semester and year in which you have taken each exam and the outcome (High Pass, Pass, or Fail). If you have not taken any exams, please report the semester and year in which you plan to take each exam. IF YOU COMPLETED ALL COMPREHENSIVE EAMS PRIOR TO FALL 09, GOTO QUESTION 7 First time taking exam Year Semester Outcome Second time taking exam Year Semester Outcome Intend to take exam Semester Year Core Exam Specialization #1 Specialization #2 IF YOU HAVE COURSEWORK OR EAMS TO COMPLETE, SKIP TO QUESTION 8 7. For students who have successfully taken and passed all three required exams, briefly discuss where you stand with respect to completing your dissertation (e.g., planning or writing proposal, data collection, etc.). Also, indicate your dissertation advisor and the semester and year in which you expect to graduate. a. Dissertation advisor: b. Expected graduation date: c. Explain current progress toward your dissertation: SECTION IV: STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND PRODUCTIVITY 8. Below, list the research projects that you have been involved in between summer, 2009 and spring, For each general project (though not necessarily every individual study), list a general subject title, your collaborators, and the current status of the research (e.g., planning, data collection, analysis, writing). TITLE OF RESEARCH COLLABORATORS STATUS 29

33 9. Using APA format, list below any papers presented or accepted for presentation at regional or national conventions during the academic year (between beginning of summer, 2009 and end of spring, 2010). Example: Johnson, T. P., Cho, Y. I., Holbrook, A. L., & Owens, L. (2007). Health disparities or measurement disparities? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Annaheim, CA. 11. Using APA format, list below any papers published, in press, or submitted for publication during the academic year (please specify the status of each paper as published, accepted for publication and in press, etc). Example: Meier, K. J., & O'Toole, L. J. (2002). Public management and organizational performance: The effect of managerial quality. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 21(4), List below any other significant accomplishments or experiences relevant to your training as a Ph.D. student during the academic year (e.g., conventions attended, honors/awards, manuscripts reviewed, etc.). 13. List any activities which support moving into a nonacademic path. Provide documentation (nonscholarly reports, reviews, job descriptions, summary descriptions of clients/colleagues, and business plans). 14. Below, explain how you have contributed to the public administration program in a service capacity (e.g., assisting in colloquium or forum activities, student recruitment, mentoring others, etc.). SECTION V: SELF-EVALUATION AND FINAL COMMENTS 15. SUMMARY SELF-EVALUATION - Below, indicate what progress you have made this year toward your goal of becoming a public administration researcher. Evaluate how well you have met your specific objectives of learning about the field, engaging in research, in teaching, and in providing service to the department and profession. In sum, we are interested in some assessment of how well YOU feel you are doing in the various aspects of the program. 15. FINAL COMMENTS: Is there anything else that the faculty should know about factors that have especially hindered or facilitated your progress in the public administration program? 16. CURRICULUM VITA. Attach a copy of your current curriculum vita to this report. 17. Indicate any information that you would like to bring to the attention of the faculty about the graduate program in general rather than about YOU in particular. Address any aspect of the program that you would like (e.g., classes, advising, research, colloquia, interpersonal relations, recruitment of new students, etc.) NOTE: Responses to question 17 may be detached and submitted separately (i.e., without name attached if you desire) 30

34 APPENDI F FACULTY EVALUATION FORM Ph.D. Student Evaluations: Student Name: Faculty Name: What opportunities did you have to interact with this student (please check all that apply): I had the student in a class Please specify which class: What was the student s grade in the class? I supervised the student in an independent study What was the topic of the independent study? I supervised the student in independent research What was the topic of the independent research? The student worked as an RA on my research project What was the topic of the research project? Other (please specify: ) Thinking about your interaction with the student, please answer the following questions about him or her. 1. Did the student perform at a level commensurate with his/her PhD status? 2. In what areas, if any, does the student need to improve? 3. Would you recommend that the student be retained in the program? 4. Is there any other feedback you would like to provide to the student? 31

35 APPENDI G ADVICE FOR COMPREHENSIVE EAMS AND ANSWERS TO FAQS. FAQs: What is the purpose of the comprehensive exams? The primary purpose of the exams is for students to demonstrate to faculty mastery of the field and an understanding of what constitutes a field or subfield. One of the things that we ask is whether or not we feel that the student has demonstrated a sufficient level of expertise. A doctoral degree means that you have expertise in a particular area knowing the theory and the research concepts, the methods, the debates in the field, any gaps in the literature. Taking an exam in an area means that you should be competent to teach courses in that area and conduct research if you choose to do so. Importantly, these are field exams, not course exams. The classes help to prepare you for the exams, but the exam questions (and expected responses) are not a simple additive function of class content. Comprehensive exams allow students to integrate material across courses within a concentration or the core to show that they see links across classes and between theories and concepts in the field. In addition to an understanding of the field as a whole and an ability to integrate and link material within the field, the comprehensive exams also assess skills like critical thinking, research design, and being able to extend a theory into a new domain or application. The exams therefore also assess students ability to think critically about the literature and move beyond the literature to generate new ideas. This is, after all, what you are being trained to do as Ph.D. students. What exams am I required to take? Each student must take three exams: the core exam and an exam in each of his or her 2 areas of specialization. When should I take the comprehensive exams? The exams are offered twice per year during the fall and spring semesters. They are offered during approximately the sixth week of the semester. We strongly encourage students to take the exams the semester after they have completed their coursework. How do I notify the DGS that I am planning on taking exams? You should notify the DGS in writing at the beginning of the semester of your intent to take the exams and which specialization exams you plan to take. The exam committees need time to meet and write questions and will not do so if no students are taking a particular exam. Typically, the DGS sends an to students asking who will be taking the exams, but the Ph.D. handbook specifies that it is your responsibility to notify the DGS of your intent in writing. 32

36 What is the format for the exams? The core exam which is taken by everyone is a 6 hour sit-down closed book exam typically given in Room 110. Students will be provided with laptops that do not have internet access. The DGS and/or a PA staff member will be available for questions or problems. The take-home exams in each area of specialization are 10 hour take-home open-book exams. The exam is ed to the students at 8am and to be returned to the DGS by 6pm the same day. Most of the exams ask students to answer 3-4 questions and most (although not all) give students some sort of choice in what questions to answer (e.g., answer 1 of the following three questions). Who writes the questions and grades the exams? Each exam is written by a committee of experts in the field that will include (but may not be limited) to PA faculty. Committees are typically made up of 3-4 faculty members who generate a pool of questions and then come to consensus about the format of the final exam (e.g., choice between questions, number of questions, wording of questions, etc.). The same committee grades exam responses and provides feedback to students. If the student created a unique specialization, a special committee may be formed to write and grade the specialization exam. Otherwise, exam committees for the core and the four standard areas of specialization are designated by the DGS at the beginning of each academic year. What should I bring to the core exam? If you want to take notes or sketch an outline on paper, you should bring a notepad and something to write with. We will provide laptops with internet disabled computers for you to work on. You may bring a blank thumb drive (please do not store references or other study materials on this drive!) to back up your responses or to take a copy with you. You should also bring food and drinks to consume during the exam as it has traditionally gone from 9am to 3pm. Water and sometimes fruit or bagels are often provided. When should I start studying (how long should I study for the exam?)? This obviously depends on how much time you have to study, but 1-2 months of study should be sufficient (many students use the summer to study to take the exams in the fall). It is more important to study in the right way (see advice below) than to study for a longer period of time. How do I decide what to study? You should create a study plan with a list of all materials they plan to study for each exam based on the assigned readings from relevant courses and your knowledge of the field. Students may also obtain study plans from students who previously took the exam, although 33

37 these are just a starting point and will need to be updated and revised. These plans can be constructed and revised in collaboration with other students taking the exam(s). Students are strongly encouraged to consult with faculty from the relevant committee for feedback on their study plan once it has been developed. The study plan represents a starting point for students. That s not to say that every student should necessarily read every article, book chapter and book included in the plan or that the plan necessarily represents everything students should read. But you should be familiar with what each of these sources contributes to the literature. Writing and sharing summaries of articles and books is useful for group study; reading the first and last chapters of books as a way to get the key points of the book both are efficient ways to get an understanding of what each reference contributes or concludes. Books or review essays that contain literature reviews or critiques of an area can also be helpful for study. What are the faculty looking for in exam responses? Knowledge of the literature and the field. The faculty grading the exams are looking to see that the student has an accurate and complete knowledge of the literature and can cite it correctly. The most useful citations to have at one s fingertips (especially for the sit-down exam) are those that cover the major works in the field in particular, and integrate knowledge. Abilities such as critical thinking and/or integration: Students responses should show the ability to make some sense of the literature, or to apply it to an issue or question (e.g., by comparing theories, evaluating or critiquing a theory or theories, or by integrating theoretical perspectives). Being on target and complete. Some questions have many parts. Sketch out your answers. A not-so-uncommon problem is not answering every part of the question, or answering the wrong question. The exam questions are not an invitation for a knowledge dump of every possible relevant reference and fact that you can bring to mind. Your answers should specifically and fully address each component of the question. You also need to pace yourself so that you don t run out of time and are able to answer all parts of all questions. The exam questions are not a test of your grammar or spelling ability. Obviously, they have to be well-written enough to be comprehensible, but do not spend an enormous time worrying about formatting or style. Organization is more important is the answer coherent and developed, utilizing the literature? How long will it take to get my exam grades back from the exam committee/dgs? The exam committees must read students answers, meet to grade the exams, develop written feedback for students and then come to consensus about that feedback. The DGS typically gives committees 2-3 weeks to grade exams and return the grades and feedback to the DGS, but realistically, it will likely take at least a month to get your grades and feedback. 34

38 What is the grading system for the exam? There are three possible grades for the exam: high pass, pass, and fail. Will I get feedback other than the grade from the committee? Providing feedback to the students is completely at the discretion of the committees. Most committees provide a grade for each question on the exam and some provide the vote for each question (e.g., 2 passes and 1 fail). Particularly for questions where students don t do well, most committees also provide fairly detailed written feedback about what the student failed to do well and how they could do better. However, this is also at the committee s discretion. Students are always free to talk to the DGS or the committee chair about their performance and to seek additional feedback and guidance. What happens if I fail an exam? If you fail an exam, you can take it again. You only have to take the exam that you fail (e.g., you can pass one exam and fail another and you only have to retake the exam you failed). Students have only two chances to pass an exam. If they fail the same exam twice, they are dismissed from the program. Is there anything special I should do to prepare for an exam that I ve failed? You should meet with the chair of the committee for that exam and perhaps ask for additional feedback in addition to the written feedback provided by the committee. Was the failure due to a perceived lack of knowledge of the field or a failure to answer the whole question (or answering the wrong question)? It would also be helpful to go back to the exam that you failed and write answers to the questions that address the feedback from the committee. In other words, get feedback and learn by writing a good answer to questions that you failed on the exam. Advice for Students Preparing for Exams Studying advice: 1. Study together. This allows you to discuss the readings and to do things like have different members of your study group prepare summaries of different articles from the readings lists or lead discussions on different topics. Also be inclusive invite students who are taking the exam try not to exclude anyone let each student decide if they want to participate in the group study process. 2. Practice questions from past exams. Compare your responses to others and discuss what made for better responses. If you finish practicing responses to all the past questions, write your own questions. This will force you to think of the major issues is the field and likely topics for future questions. 35

39 3. Define the field and what are important works for yourself the reading lists and course syllabi are suggestions. You may have other articles or chapters you read for class that you may use to study as well. 4. Take some time to look through the last 3 years of top PA journals and read abstracts of articles this will help you get an idea of where the field is and where it s going. 5. In discussions of the materials and studying, look at the overarching themes, major debates, or important concepts. Read some recent review articles or chapters that will help you to outline what these are for the field. 6. Particularly for the sit-down exam, identify key references that have relevance for multiple issues, theories, themes, and debates in the literature. These references are going to be the most efficient because they could be used to answer questions on different topics. Preparation advice: 1. Get a good night s sleep before the exam. 2. For the take-home exams, have copies of all the relevant articles and book chapters (and possibly key sections of books) and any summaries or notes organized in such a way that you can access them easily. Don t just have stack of articles or plan to look up articles on the library site. You may also do the latter, but have your study materials organized in a way that s intuitive to you and that will allow you to access the material and use your time efficiently. 3. Have anything else you think you might use to take the exam ready in advance. 4. Be ready to start the exam right on time. 5. For the take home exams only, consider having a list of references you have read (from the reading list) in an endnote file. This will save you from having to type references during the exam. Note that this is not allowed for the sit-down exam. Test-taking advice: 1. When you get the exam, take a deep breath and read the whole exam through from start to finish. Plan (approximately) how much time you will take to answer each question. 2. Start with the question you feel you know best how to answer. 3. Write or type a brief outline of your response to the question before you begin work. This helps to ensure that you have answered all parts of the question. 4. Review your work after you write your response and compare it to the question wording to make sure you have addressed all aspects of the question. 5. Do not worry about editing or formatting. 36

40 QUESTIONS FROM RECENT PAST EAMS NOTE: MOST EAMS HAVE HISTORICALLY INVOLVED ANSWERING THREE QUESTIONS WITH STUDENTS OFTEN HAVING SOME CHOICE ABOUT WHICH QUESTIONS TO ANSWER. THE EACT FORMAT OF EACH EAM IS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE EAM COMMITTEE. CORE QUESTIONS: Major policy changes are on the Washington agenda with the economic crisis, and now a new administration. Analyze the reasons for and the potential for change based on theories of agenda-setting and policy change. What can policy theory do in advancing our understanding, and where does it fall short? Consider some of the early critiques of policy research as well as criteria for good theory in general. One of the key concepts in organizational theory is behaviorism. Contrast the behavioral approach with a nonbehavioral approach to research on public organizations. What have been the contributions of behaviorism, as well as important critiques of this approach? Choose an aspect of human resource management. If you were to design behaviorist and nonbehaviorist research on this, how would the methods and research questions differ? Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches to this human resource management research in light of the debates over behavioral and nonbehavioral research and theory. Identify and discuss the main components of system theory/analysis. What are the implications of system theory for (a) organizational leadership, (b) ethics in organizations, and (c) organizational decision making? Based on this discussion, in what ways does systems theory fit or not fit criteria for good theory? Current organizational reforms focus on greater transparency in government organizations, including making more public information available online. Greater transparency may hold up agencies to more criticism from interest groups or from citizens. How would you study such organizational change? Devise a design that includes a brief overview of the theory or theories would be useful in predicting organizational change. What research questions would you ask, how would you define and operationalize key concepts, what would be your unit of analysis, what methods would you use to collect and analyze data? In what ways is the bureaucracy involved in the policy process? What bodies of literature provide insights into the nature of the interaction? What theoretical approaches are used to account for bureaucratic involvement in the policy process? Select one issue in which bureaucracy has been clearly involved with policy and compare and contrast the insights that two theoretical approaches to public policy provide. One of the central issues in public administration is accountability how are (or how should) unelected bureaucrats be held accountable for carrying out the public interest? There are many theories relevant to bureaucratic accountability. a. Choose one approach or theory and briefly describe its main propositions (citing relevant scholars). b. How would you empirically investigate a hypothesis that flows from these? Be sure to operationalize important concepts, describe the method(s) you would use to test this hypothesis and to analyze the data. Why are these appropriate methods to test your hypotheses what are the advantages of your methods? Herbert Simon has contributed in many ways to the field of public administration, and also public policy. Develop an academic essay that traces the historic evolution of the fields of public administration and public policy in response to Simon s ideas and work. The essay should include the relevance and impact of Simon s work through to recent research. What has been the role of the politics/administration dichotomy in the history and theory of public administration? Discuss how it has been defined, what values are embedded in the concept and debates surrounding it, and whether (or how) the concept has any relevance for public administration today? Beginning in the early 1900s, executive branch commissions and reports (except for the Gore Commission Report) have called for strengthening the chief executive. Each says that the chief executive is not as strong as he should be. The Brownlow Commission assessment the President needs help is the common theme. Why has such change 37

41 been difficult? Discuss both features of the American administrative context and theories of organizational change in explaining the lack of change in this area. Compare processes of policy change in 2 of the following 3 theoretical frameworks punctuated equilibrium, the advocacy coalition framework, or the policy streams model. Based on your comparative descriptions, what are the contributions made by each? Is one model or framework clearly stronger than the other, empirically and theoretically? (Remember to cite evidence for your assessment.) E.E. Schattschneider has said that the problem with the pluralist heavenly chorus is that it sings with an upper class accent. This challenges the pluralist argument that public policy making is open and democratic. What is pluralism, and what contribution has it made to major theories of the policy process? Select an example of a theory of the policy process that has been influenced by pluralism (has at least some pluralist elements) and discuss its relationships to pluralism and whether and/or how Schattschneider s critique still holds true in terms of that current theory of the policy process. In 1945 Paul Appleby wrote an article entitled Government is Different in which he asserted that the major commonality between public and private sectors is the sense of action. However, he argued that in many essential areas the public sector is different from the private sector. More recently research in public administration has noted the blurring of the sectors. In what ways are the public and private sectors different? What is meant by the blurring of sectors? Are there specific characteristics of public administration that limits the blurring of sectors? Provide examples and prior research to support your arguments. Strong leadership is a dominant value in public administration. Trace the development of this value, identifying and discussing major theorists and developments, such as the Brownlow Commission Report. In light of recent research on leadership, describe the extent to which presidents, governors, mayors, and other public sector chief executives are strong, and the extent to which they are weak, or as Kaufman in The Administrative Behavior of Federal Bureau Chiefs puts it confine[d]. Are today s public sector organizations best managed with strong or weak/confined leadership? Explain your answer. Survey research, as defined here, is any procedure or instrument that asks questions of respondents. Thus, survey research can be anything from a short paper-and-pencil feedback form to an intensive one-on-one in-depth interview. As we all know, survey research is the dominant research method in public administration. (1) Identify and briefly describe three major problems or issues in survey research, (2) indicate how these problems are addressed in the literature, and (3) evaluate these responses to the three problems you have identified. Provide a basic research design for a study, defining the research question/hypothesis to be investigated, key concepts and/or variables, the types of data that would be used, and methods of analysis. This could be a quantitative or qualitative study, but you will need to defend your methods in terms of the particular advantages that your approach and methods have for studying your topic. You will choose a research question that is relevant to ONE of the following; a. information technology policy or government use of technology OR b. public sector motivation Early in the history of public administration, the field was based on several accepted beliefs and principles that guided understanding about public administration. Authors such as Dwight Waldo, Herbert Simon, Paul Appleby and Pendleton Herring wrote significant works that challenged these beliefs and principles in ways that completely revised how we think about public administration today. Describe what the beliefs and principles were and discuss how these and other writers reframed and shaped the current field. The field of public administration has its roots in many disciplines including sociology, political science, economics and others. Write an essay that 1) identifies key sources and arguments from other disciplines, 2) examines how these disciplines have influenced (and still influence) the field of public administration; and 3) critiques the effect of multiple disciplinary roots on the discipline. Compare ideas of power and participation in early theories of pluralism and elitism to concepts about participation in recent theories of agenda-setting. How do Kingdon (1984/1995) and Baumgartner and Jones (1993) conceptualize the networks of actors who influence policy, and how do these relate to pluralist and elitist arguments 38

42 about participation in policymaking? What does this suggest about democracy and accountability in the policy process? What methods have been used since the early 1970 s to study implementation? What are the various waves of implementation research that have developed, and how have the methods used either (or both) helped or hindered the development of theories of implementation? After considering the evidence, what would you propose methodologically for further implementation research? Ethics in government has been a major topic in public administration, at least since Watergate. Describe the major characteristics (structures, programs, and the like) of the efforts to reduce corruption and advance ethical behavior in public sector agencies. Also, describe and assess the theoretical assumptions about organizations and human nature that underlie these efforts and, upon which, the success of these efforts is dependent. Leadership is highly valued in public administration. Trace the development of leadership, identifying and discussing major theorists, development (such as the Brownlow Commission Report), and major types of leadership (such as charismatic, servant leadership, etc.) In light of recent research on leadership, what type of leadership is considered best for today s public sector organizations? Much has been written about the role of street-level bureaucrats in shaping public policy. Their actions have been studied in a variety of ways, using different methodologies. Consider the role of street-level bureaucrats in a policy area of your choice. How would you study the influence that they have on shaping policy outcomes? a. Describe the policy briefly and the overall methods you will use to research this question. Why are these appropriate methods to test your hypotheses what are the advantages of your methods? b. Next, describe a basic research design to study this question, being sure to operationalize important concepts, discuss the type of data you will collect and how you will analyze it. Survey research, as defined here, is any procedure or instrument that asks questions of respondents. Thus, survey research can be anything from a short paper-and-pencil feedback form to an intensive one-on-one in-depth interview. As we all know, survey research is the dominant research method in public administration. c. Identify and briefly describe three major problems or issues in survey research, and d. Indicate how these problems are addressed in the literature. Although bureaucracy is bashed throughout much public administration literature (Goodsell s The Case for Bureaucracy and Nieman s Defending Government are two exceptions), all organizations, including public sector governments, departments, agencies, and programs have some degree or extent of Weberian bureaucracy. Describe four (4) main characteristics of Weberian bureaucracy and, for each of the characteristics you select, indicate the extent to which research substantiates arguments for and/or against these characteristics of bureaucracy. Early public administration theory emphasized efficiency in government, while later years focused on equity: creating a public service that was inclusive and representative of a diverse, multi-cultural society. In recent years, there has been an effort to return to efficiency as a primary measure of government performance. What is the appropriate balance between equity and efficiency in public service, and how can government serve populations with diverse values regarding ethnic, race, and gender roles? Cite the appropriate literature in your essay. It was argued by some early writers that public policy lacks theory and that the development of theory in public policy is problematic (Greenberg, Miller, Mohr, and Vladeck 1977). At the time this was written, much of the policy literature consisted of case studies. While the field has gone beyond this, there have been debates about the nature of theory in public policy. Referring to major examples of more recent work, to what extent can we have generalizable theory in public policy, and what hurdles (if any) still exist? The literatures on networks, collaboration, and many calls for public sector reform involve increased coordination among multiple agencies, actors, and participants in the administrative process. Answer both parts of the question below: a. According to these theories, why is this coordination or collaboration necessary, and what are the requirements for achieving coordinated action in dynamic environments? b. Drawing on the literature, outline a strategy and rationale for increasing coordination among multiple parties involved in one policy arena. Why is this a good example of a policy that requires coordination? 39

43 What are the advantages, as well as some of the issues or barriers for collaboration illustrated by your example? There are several paradigms for inquiry in the social sciences. These include, but are not limited to, approaches that emphasize qualitative vs. quantitative methodologies. Compare, contrast and critique the underlying values and assumptions that are represented by these alternative methodologies. What are the strengths and limitations of each of these approaches to social research? In 1945 Paul Appleby wrote an article entitled Government is Different in which he asserted that the major commonality between public and private sectors is the sense of action. However, he argued that in many essential areas the public sector is different from the private sector. More recently research in public administration has noted the blurring of the sectors. In what ways are the public and private sectors different? What is meant by the blurring of sectors? Are there specific characteristics of public administration that limits the blurring of sectors? Provide examples and prior research to support your arguments. Discuss the significance of problem definition as a mechanism of policy change. How do problems become redefined and what consequences do new definitions have for policy? Refer to the role of problem definition in various theories of the policy process. Describe the principle of representative bureaucracy. How does it differ from the Weberian view of bureaucracy? Describe, in detail, an example of a public personnel management initiative that demonstrates government s commitment to the principle of representative bureaucracy and make your case why the example that you chose is a strong one. The relative roles, responsibilities, and sizes of federal, state, and local governments have varied over time. The current debate about the size of the federal deficit has rekindled questions as to the role of the federal government in the economy. Based on economic theory (e.g., market failures, etc.), discuss the role of the federal government in the following three policy areas: a) primary school education, b) air pollution, c) welfare programs. What are the factors that affect whether policy responses should come from the federal, state, and/or local levels? Describe a research project you would like to undertake to advance the field of public administration. It can be related to what you have discussed in preceding questions, but it needs to extend any responses you have made to answer the following questions: Describe the conceptualization and theoretical import of the project, the design and methods you would use, possible data sources, likely results, and other major points. Explain clearly the significance of the project in the development of the field, citing the literature and other developments in the field that are relevant to the importance of your project. Choose a research question for which survey methodology is appropriate and describe how you would conduct a survey to answer this question. Be sure to discuss the research design issues that you would need to decide before beginning the survey, and what choices you would make, defending those choices as appropriate for your purposes. PUBLIC MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS: What is organizational culture, how important is it, and do public management personnel affect it? If so, how? Define organizational culture and discuss relevant research that: a. Supports your understanding of the importance of organizational culture, and; b. Supports your understanding of the effectiveness of personnel in dealing with organizational culture. What are the boundaries of public organizations? Where does public management begin and end in the study of public sector organizations? What is the relationship between public management (as a field) and democratic theory? What is the relationship between public management (as a field) and general management theory? a. Propose a study that illuminates where public management begins and ends in the study of a specific organization or set of organizations. 40

44 b. Specify a model as well as specific testable hypotheses. Describe Long s administrative power, Frederickson s public service ethic, and the more recent concept of the public service state of mind. Develop an argument that these principles are compatible, and then develop the counterargument that these principles are mutually exclusive in public management. To what extent is effective public management based on competition, and to what extent is effective public management based on collaboration and cooperation? What is a meaningful and helpful standard or guideline for using one or the other? Privatization of public services and activities has been one of the major trends in government around the world across the last several decades. a. Write a scholarly essay on privatization that includes reference to major scholar or experts and to research findings to the extent possible. b. Describe the trend including its major features, such as what government are privatizing and how, and what are the alternatives and patterns of privatization? c. Suggests reasons for the privatization trend and any evidence that you know about to support these suggestions. Is there any theory that supports the trend, and if so, what is your assessment of it? d. Discuss major issues that privatization raises for public management. Public management requires balancing three main components of organizations processes, structures, and personnel. Scholars disagree on the relative importance of processes, structures, and personnel in explaining what organizations do and how they could improve. Each has its proponents. Make an argument that one of these three components (processes, structures, or personnel) is more significant for explaining what organizations do and how they could improve. Clearly and specifically describe the component you select, and explain why the other two are of comparatively lesser significance. Ground your argument in the literature. Defend your argument using appropriate examples and relevant research. Finally, from the claims made in your argument propose three testable research hypotheses. Merton (1940) argued that individuals within bureaucratic organizations over time will lose sight of the larger purposes of rules and begin to adhere to rules for their own sake. He notes that this blind devotion to rules leads to bureaucratic behavior (and ultimately red tape). Merton argues that individuals with this bureaucratic personality can lead to a trained incapacity, defined as the tendency to apply organizationally-programmed responses without consideration of the particular context or circumstances. While programmed responses (e.g. standard operating procedures) are intended to promote organization efficiency, problems can arise when bureaucrats are unable to flexibly interpret and apply rules. Norma Riccucci also argues that SLBs are critical to the management of welfare reform and Steven Maynard-Moody and Michael Musheno, in their research of SLBs, argue that cops, teachers, and social workers require discretion to implement government programs. Drawing from the literature on public management and street-level bureaucrats discuss the tensions between management and SLBs and the role of policy, rules, and discretion. Discuss the pros and cons of using (1) clear rules and regulations and standard operating procedures or (2) discretion as effective means to manage an organization. Be sure to base your discussion in the literature. How can rules and street-level bureaucrats be managed in a way that balances the need for efficiency and appropriate decision-making? There is a long history of leadership studies in management. Today research is increasingly focused on understanding the role of networks in public management. Is leadership compatible with the optimal function of networks? If so, describe a theory of leadership and a theory of networks, and indicate how they are compatible. If not, describe how networks are governed and indicate the place of leadership in public management. Be sure to cite and discuss the relevant research in your descriptions and analyses of leadership, networks, governance, and public management. Define and describe administrative power. From the perspective of public management scholarship and research, discuss the importance and relevance of administrative power. Why is administrative power important to public management? Are there differences between political power and administrative power? And, if so, how does public 41

45 management research seek to understand or affect these differences? How is administrative power attained and maintained and what does that mean for public management? Use the appropriate literature to demonstrate whether or not the concept of administrative power sufficiently explains how public organizations function and the role of public managers in those organizations. What do you consider to be two (or more) major problems or issues in public management research and theory? Indicate whether the problems or issues you select are matters of organizational processes, structures, or personnel. Discuss the research and theoretical approach/approaches best suited to deal with these problems or issues. Three important topics in public management are leadership, governance and networks. Describe how networks are governed, and indicate the place of leadership in the governance of networks. Be sure to cite and discuss the relevant research in your descriptions and analyses of leadership, governance, and networks. One of the key concepts in organization theory is motivation. Present what you consider to be a sound theory of motivation, indicating the research and analysis that supports it. In your answer, be sure to define motivation and, in making your case for your theory of motivation, indicate its strengths in comparison with one or more other theories of motivation. Describe the principle of representative bureaucracy. How does it differ from the Weberian view of bureaucracy? How do representative bureaucracy and diversity management differ? Describe, in detail, an example of a public personnel management initiative that demonstrates government s commitment to the principle of representative bureaucracy and make your case why the example that you chose is a strong one. Behn (1995) poses three big research questions for public management. In your opinion, what are three big questions for public management research today? Justify your selection, e.g. explain why these three questions are of greater significance or importance than others. Of the three questions you propose, choose one question and describe, in detail how researchers can best go about answering this public management question. What theoretical framework can best inform this question? What are the best methods and data for answering this question? How will answering this question advance public management research, theory, and practice? Be sure to draw from the literature in your response. It has been approximately two decades since passage of the Government Performance and Results Act of What was the impetus for this law, including both objective and ideological factors? Based on research that has been done since the passage of GPRA, what has been learned about the use of performance measures in the public sector generally? Does performance measurement work? If so, under what conditions? If not, why not? What features of the public sector tend to impede the effectiveness of performance measurement? Be sure to draw from the literature in your response. Briefly describe the meaning of leadership in public management literature. Identify and briefly describe the theory and research that support this description. What are the strengths and weaknesses with this approach to leadership? Is leadership, as you have described it, compatible with other major concepts in public management? Explain your answer using evidence from the literature. Rainey and Bozeman (2000) argue that many of our beliefs about the distinctions between public and private management are not confirmed by empirical public management research but based on the a priori or untested assertions and foregone conclusions. More recently, public management researchers have advanced our understanding of distinctions between public and private management. Drawing from the empirical research, describe the current state of knowledge on how public management is distinct from private management. What is distinct about public sector management? Why are these distinctions important for research and practice? Be sure to draw evidence from the literature. Behn, R. D. (1995). The big questions of public management. Public Administration Review, 55, Rainey, H. G. and B. Bozeman. (2000). Comparing public and private organizations: Empirical research and the power of the a priori. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 10(2): According to the literature, what is public management? What are the disciplinary roots of public management? Explain carefully the relationship between public administration and public management. Does public management have a distinct theoretical or methodological approach? Is public management a subfield of public administration or a separate field? When answering these questions, be sure to ground your definition of public management firmly in the literature. 42

46 Frederickson and Smith (2003, p. 225) have argued that in much of the modern literature in the field, governance has become a virtual synonym for public management and public administration. What is meant by the term governance? How (if at all) does it differ from traditional understandings and workings of government? What are some of the factors that have contributed to the rise governance and public management scholars growing interest in it? Finally, identify some of the challenges that governance poses for contemporary public management. Be sure to draw on the existing literature and/or governance theories to explain your answer. Public service motivation has become one of the most widely studied phenomena in public management research since Perry and Wise s introduction of the concept in 1990, with dozens of empirical studies now published pertaining to PSM s causes, consequences, correlates, and construct measurement. Describe the highlights of this literature, and identify a few points or key findings that you think have the most significant implications for the practice of public management today. Explain why you chose these points. Finally, identify what you think are the most important unanswered questions pertaining to PSM (if any). The philosophy and approach of New Public Management presents challenges to traditional views of accountability in public administration. Write an essay that explains and contrasts the traditional view of accountability with what is put forward or conceptualized by NPM. Also discuss the extent to which these views are compatible or conflict with one another at an applied and theoretical level. Frederickson, H. and K. Smith Theories of governance. In K. Smith and H. Frederickson (Eds.) The Public Administration Theory Primer. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. Perry, J. and L. Wise The motivational bases of public service. Public Administration Review, 50(3): Rainey, Bozeman, Nutt and Backoff and others have contributed to a body of research that examines the differences between the public and private organizations. Their arguments focus on systematic and fundamental differences between the two sectors (and the non-profit sector) with respect to the environment, organizational process, nature of transactions, bureaucratization and formalization, outcomes, organizational structure, etc. Write an essay that explains what you believe to be the primary differences are between public and private organizations and why this matters for the management of government and public organizations. You do not have to discuss all the differences- - just those you believe are the most important and make a compelling argument about why these differences matter to management. Contemporary public management scholars argue that networking is a key strategy for improving organizational performance. According to the literature, what are some of the benefits of managerial networking, and how might this behavior bring about benefits for the manager s organization? If enhancing organizational performance is the objective, with whom should public managers network? Which actors are key to their success? Should managers network as much as possible, or is there a point at which too much networking might harm, rather than help the organization? Should whomever is elected president on November 6 make management reform a priority it will be important to take advantage of whatever has been learned from previous reform experiences. Write an essay summarizing what has been learned from attempts to introduce programs and practices associated with the New Public Management into the federal executive branch over the past 20 years. For the purpose of this essay, focus on the three NPM elements that you regard as most central to the U.S. experience. Lynn, Heinrich, and Hill (2001, 7) define governance in the public sector as regimes of laws, rules, judicial decisions, and administrative practices that constrain, prescribe, and enable the provision of publicly supported goods and services. Lynn and his colleagues also distinguish between institutional, managerial, and technical levels of governance in the public sector. This conceptualization or model has been used extensively by Lynn and others to study the management of public organizations. Write an essay that explains these different levels of governance and their relevance to or impacts on the management of public organizations. Discuss these impacts in terms of what they mean for both the practice and study of the management in public organizations. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT QUESTIONS: 43

47 Early in 2009 President Obama is likely to sign into law a bill to provide almost $800 billion of stimulus to the US economy. The legislation calls for almost $150 billion of spending to bolster states fiscal position, in addition to more than $30 billion of spending on transportation infrastructure. Assume that the final stimulus bill includes the following temporary increases in: the federal match rate for Medicaid, matching funds for state spending on transportation, aid to students in higher education, food stamps spending, federal funding for unemployment insurance. Suppose that the bill also includes a substantial temporary cut in personal income taxes. Design a research protocol, data collection and data analysis plan to determine the impact of the stimulus bill on the short and long term fiscal stability of state governments. You have five years and $750,000 to complete your research. The research you design should include a final report that, at a minimum, answers the following questions: How did the stimulus plan affect the short-run fiscal health of states? Did the stimulus plan change the timing of state spending and/or increase the long-run level of spending? Did the stimulus plan lead to inefficient spending? Which states benefitted most and least from the stimulus plan? Your answer will be enhanced if you link it to other literature and available data in this area. Please be as explicit as possible in describing the elements of your research plan. The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) 1999 publication Capital Budgeting in the States (see provides a list of good practices in capital budgeting including: 1. Define maintenance expenditures and specify funding of maintenance by formula or statute. 2. Maintain centralized oversight for capital projects. 3. Evaluate cost estimating methods to measure their validity. 4. Develop a system to rate maintenance projects. 5. Include specific operating costs for each capital project over a multi-year period. 6. Ensure that effective legislative involvement occurs throughout the capital budgeting process. 7. Evaluate cost estimating methods to measure their validity. 8. Develop a clear debt policy and integrate capital planning with debt affordability. Do you agree that maintenance expenditures should be funded by formula or statute and thus treated differently than other state operating expenditures? Why? Do you agree that states should Maintain centralized oversight for capital projects. Why or why not? Should states also maintain centralized oversight for operating expenses? Why or why not? Explain how you would implement two of the practices listed in items 3 through 7. Be as specific as possible. No government is an island when it comes to making decisions about taxing, spending, service delivery, and managing their finances. Governments interact directly and indirectly in many ways along a continuum of competition versus collaboration. Describe the primary ways in which governments at the same level or different levels interact with each other along this continuum and provide examples. In other words, what forms do competition and collaboration take? Explain some of the things we know generally about the effects of collaboration and competition on fiscal policy, practice, and government finances. Support your answers with references to appropriate literature and research. Much has been written about the use and value of performance measures at all levels of government in the last 20 years. A great deal of this literature is prescriptive in nature, advocating that governments include performance measures in their budgets and take account of performance in making financial and programmatic decisions. Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) even promotes including performance measures in the annual financial reports of state and local governments, which could require that performance measures be audited in the same manner as the financial data. Some of the literature on performance measures can be classified as empirical research that examines how performance measures are used by governments in the US and elsewhere. But what do we really know about how performance measures are actually used, and to what extent are their use likely to be consistent with what is promoted by prescriptive essays and groups such as GASB and Governmental Finance Officers Association? In other words, do you believe governments really consider performance measures when making financial and programmatic decisions, and are performance measures likely to be used in a manner that does not distort the advocated intent? Justify your reasoning and how you think performance measure will be used by 44

48 government if your answer is no to these questions. Keep in mind the methods used by empirical research on the use of performance measures and the context in which they are used. Financial management of government is a broad area of study and practice that encompasses different functional areas such as budgeting, purchasing, and debt management. Apply the concept of transaction costs to five functional areas of financial management and explain how the concept can help us better understand events and decisions in these areas. Finally, identify research questions that arise from the application of this concept to the functional areas. Many policy makers at the state and local level, and citizens of the US, consider the property tax to be an undesirable way to fund local services, especially K-12 education. Assess the advantages and disadvantages (costs and benefits) of the property tax from three different perspectives: economic (e.g. equity and efficiency), political, and managerial (implementation). In Chicago, the county tax, plus city and state taxes mean consumers pay a total sales tax of percent - the highest of any major city in the country. The Cook County Board voted to repeal a countywide increment of 1 percent sales tax enacted last year. However, the repeal was vetoed by the County Commissioner. As a public finance expert, you are invited to comment on the move to lower sales tax in the county. In particular, you may provide scholarly perspectives on how the level and change of sales tax may affect individual consumers, businesses, government finance, and etc. The optimal size of government is an important issue in government finance. There are pros and cons for having a large number of small governments or a small number of large governments. Discuss relevant economic issues relating to this issue, and how to determine the optimal government size from a public finance perspective. The current economic recession is very likely over. However, the unemployment rate is still quite high, and may go even higher in the near future. State and local government officials are under enormous pressure to create jobs within their jurisdictions. A variety of government tax incentives and other programs have been used to promote local economic development. Based on the literature on economic development, what recommendations can you provide to state and local governments on what they should or should not do in pursuit of economic development. As an important step to balance the state budget, Governor Guinn proposed an increase in state income tax rate from 3% to 4.5%. However, the Illinois House rejected the plan to increase income tax. Given the ongoing and probably deepening fiscal crisis, income tax increases are likely to be considered by Illinois and other state governments. As a public finance expert, you are invited to comment on the plan of raising income taxes to deal with the current fiscal crisis in Illinois and other states. In particular, you should provide scholarly assessment and critique on the pros and cons of increased reliance on personal income tax at the state level. Much research has been done on the subject of fiscal decentralization or centralization at the national and subnational level. This research is both prescriptive (is it better to be fiscally centralized or decentralized?) and descriptive (e.g. the effects of aid from and limitations on fiscal discretion imposed by higher levels of government on financial decisions at lower levels). One of the primary issues addressed by this research is how to measure fiscal centralization/decentralization. Write an essay that identifies the primary aspects or dimensions that must be considered to assess the level of fiscal centralization/ decentralization at the state and local level of the US government. Explain why you think these aspects are important to the operationalization of the concept and the primary difficulties you are likely to encounter in observing and measuring these components. The question does not ask you to develop a measure of this complex concept, only to identify what factors would have to be measured or observed to operationalize the concept and construct an index. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Build America Bond (BAB) program is established to help states pursue capital projects. Unlike traditional state and local government bonds that are exempted from federal income tax, the BABs are taxable just like corporate bonds. However, the federal government will make a direct payment to the state or local government issuer in an amount equal to 35 percent of the interest payment on the bonds. Write a short essay to compare BABs with traditional tax-exempt municipal bonds with regard to federal subsidy supporting state and local borrowing. You may use numeric examples to support your answer. 45

49 Bureaucracies have been described as leviathans and bureaucrats as greedy with respect to budgeting, expenditures, and revenues. Explain the theoretical underpinnings of these descriptions and the behaviors that one is likely to observe from bureaucrats, bureaucracies, elected officials, and other political organizations based on these theoretical premises. Identify and explain several important advancements that have occurred in scholarly thinking about bureaucracy from this perspective from the fields of economics, political science, and/or management. Answer the following questions about public production: a. What justifications exist for public production of goods in a market economy? b. If public production can be justified, what goods and services should state or local government provide? Why? c. Absent market signals, how can the desired quantity of public production be determined? Research on budgeting, financial management, and public finance often view the interaction between individuals and organizations in these processes as a contract between principals and agents. Identify contractual relationships of interest in each of the three areas of research and explain the nature of these contracts. Who are the parties involved in the contracts and what is the purpose of the contracts? What weaknesses and strengths (advantages and disadvantages) do the parties bring to the contractual relationship? Under what conditions do the strengths and weaknesses of the parties change in the contractual relationships? Make sure you identify and explain the primary concepts or constructs used in this research. Write an essay that describes the impact that Governmental Accounting Standards Board has on what we know and do not know about the financial position and broader financial condition of state and local government. More specifically, how do GASB financial accounting and reporting standards shape what we observe and do not observe about government finances? How does this affect our practical and theoretical knowledge about these events? How does this affect research on topics that use data affected by GASB standards? Keep in mind that these standards may misrepresent government financial position or condition. Use the examples of Statement #34 and Statement #45 to demonstrate your arguments. Scholarly literature on the governing of local public economies sometimes draws a distinction between the provision and production of public goods and services. Musgrave (1959) and Ostrom, Tiebout, and Warren (1961) were some of the first to make this distinction, but many have followed since then. A. Explain the different types of choices that governments often make in the provision of public goods and services and explain how financial (vs. political, equity or efficiency) considerations are an important factor in these choices. B. Identify and evaluate the different options for the production of public goods and services with respect to their financial impact (or what we think we know about their financial impact) on government. Apply your comments to a specific service area such as the production and provision of toll highways or social services. Scholars generally agree that a jurisdiction s tax structure and rates are determined by a variety of political, economic, and administrative factors. The Leviathan model assumes that unconstrained governments will adopt tax rates that maximize revenue. However, in most cases the Leviathan s choice is constrained by constitutional rules and political factors. On the other hand, the median voter model suggests that the choice of tax rate is selected by a majority vote and results in the median of the desired levels. Write an essay that discusses evidence and logic about the determinants of local tax structure and rates. Cite relevant literature. What research could you do to contribute to this body of literature? The recently released Report of the State Budget Crisis Task (Archived by WebCite at noted that many states have enormous unfunded public pension liabilities. A. Explain the main political, economic and institutional factors that caused these unfunded public pension liabilities. 46

50 B. Describe the virtues and weaknesses of two or more potential policies that have been suggested as a way to deal with these unfunded liabilities. C. Would you suggest changes in financial management practices to prevent governments from accumulating unfunded pension liabilities? If so, what changes would you suggest? (Please be as specific as possible.) In a famous article Paul Samuelson, (1955 Diagrammatic Exposition of a Theory of Public Expenditure The Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov., 1955), pp ) argued that government intervention in the economy is justified by the existence of public goods. A. Explain what Samuelson meant by a public good. B. The next year Charles Tiebout penned a response to Samuelson. What did Tiebout say and what did it imply about the efficiency of state and local governments in the US? C. Is empirical evidence consistent with Tiebout s argument? D. In view of Samuelson and Tiebout s work and subsequent research what role should the federal government play in funding and regulating sub-national governments? Kioko, Sharon N. and Christine R. Martell (2012) Impact of State-Level Tax and Expenditure Limits (TELs) on Government Revenues and Aid to Local Governments Public Finance Review 40(6) Kioko and Martell (2012) study the impact of tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) on government revenue. They differentiate between general fund TELs and procedural TELs. General fund TELs impose limits on the revenue or expenditures of states (e..g. revenue may not grow faster than the rate of inflation) while procedural TELs require a legislative supermajority or voter approval requirements for new or higher taxes. Kioko and Martel (2012) postulate the following estimating equation: Where the dependent variable Y it is one of four measures of state revenue (general revenue, tax revenue, user charges and miscellaneous revenue or aid to local governments), it is a vector of factors hypothesized to influence fiscal outcomes, TEL it is a dummy variable indicator equal to 1 if state i has a general fund TEL in year t, and 0 otherwise TEL_VOTEit is a dummy variable indicator equal to 1 if state i has a procedural TEL in year t and 0 otherwise. SD i and TD t denote state fixed effects and time dummies, respectively. Kioko and Martel (2012) report the following table of descriptive statistics about their data set which is based on 47 states over 37 years. 47

51 Kioko and Martel (2012) is included as an attachment with this exam. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY QUESTIONS: Discuss changes in science and technology policy since World War II. How do theories of agenda-setting and policy change help to explain this policy history? Are there limits to the theories in the case of science and technology policy, or ways in which this policy area may differ from others (such as welfare policy, for example)? American universities now eagerly patent the results of their research, and many other countries seek to emulate this phenomenon. What is the reasoning behind this movement to patent university research? What are some of the intended and unintended outcomes of policies aimed to promote patenting of university-based research? Using the U.S. as an example, would it be a good idea for other countries to follow the U.S. route? Women and minorities are generally under-represented in scientific occupations. However, the degree of underrepresentation varies significantly by social context (e.g. field, employment sector, rank/level of employment, country, time, and other dimensions). Review (a) the main perspectives accounting for why women and minorities are under-represented in scientific occupations, (b) the main policy tools aimed at addressing these issues, and the (c) ways in which policy makers, funding agencies, and social scientists evaluate these efforts. As with any other public policy, S&T policy is the subject of policy evaluation. a. Formulate the problem of policy evaluation for the S&T area (synonymous with R&D for the purposes of this question). b. Sketch an actual approach to evaluation that addresses the components of the evaluation process as you have sketched it above. c. What are the main challenges for policy evaluation in this area and what are the main proposals for overcoming them? You will find attached to this exam a statement of President Barak Obama s campaign statement on science and innovation. There is much in this statement that represents the tensions and traditions of science and innovation policy in the United States. Based on your general knowledge about the history of science policy in the US and selected content of Obama s statement, write an essay that entitled Barak Obama s Science Policy: a Lesson in the History of US Science policy. 48

52 To get started, you should first familiarize yourself with this document by skimming its contents. There is no need to read this document in excessive detail. As you skim, you should identify three to five general themes or approaches that reflect traditions and tensions of science policy in the US. Your essay should draw on your knowledge of US science policy literature at the same time that it integrates the key themes, approaches, or tensions that you have identified in Obama s statement. Some of the questions you should consider are: In what ways does Obama frame the problems and solutions? What is the role of government in science and innovation? What is the stated (or assumed) role of science in the US economy? How does Obama conceptualize the relationship between science and innovation? How do the assumptions, problems, solutions reflect what you know about the history and traditions of science policy in the US? Scholars contend that economic theory does not adequately account for technical change. However, during the last two decades or so, evolutionary theory has become an alternative to of technical change. Outline the main features of the neoclassical explanation of technology and technical change and the evolutionary approach. Explain clearly what the main differences are and in what ways the evolutionary approach is supposed to be superior. Illustrate the main points with examples from a sector of the economy you are familiar with. Provide references to the main exponents of each position in the literature. What do the concepts of human and social capital refer to in science and engineering? Why are they important, and where do they fit in current theories of knowledge-based economic growth? What are the challenges in building human capital? Are there different challenges for industrialized compared to developing countries? Provide references from the literature for the points raised in your essay. What is the "social contract for science'? How has the concept contributed to the development of theory in science and technology policy? Discuss its validity in describing the evolution of science and technology policy in the U.S., and what it says about the role the state in science and technology policy. How have governments tried to link their research organizations (research labs, public universities) to industry and industrial innovation? What factors have motivated the linkages between government research organizations and industries? What has worked and what has not worked? Does theory predict what is effective? Where does evaluation fit among the tools of the research manager? What are the major questions it answers? What are the main tools used for evaluating research programs, and what are their strengths and weaknesses? What are the main tools used for evaluating technology programs, and what are their strengths and weaknesses? What important questions about R&D programs are commonly neglected in the R&D evaluation literature? The goals of science and technology policy in the U.S. have changed over time due to a range of political, economic and social factors. Trace the historical change in goals paying particular attention to the way in which contextual factors, key people or important events have played a role in the process. How do theories of public policy help explain these changes? (You are encouraged to use policy theories from throughout your studies to answer this as well as those discussed in science and technology policy classes.) Measured by states share of total federal funding of academic research, there has been substantial disparity across states. Some states have received quite large proportions of federal research funding whereas the shares of some other states have been quite small. Write an easy to explore the reasons leading to this cross-state disparity in federal funding of academic research. Do you think if such an issue of regional disparity should be rectified? What can you recommend to reduce the regional disparity in federal funding of research? There are numerous issues of equity in science and technology policy that have been discussed and debated over the past 70 years or so. Choose one equity issue and develop an essay that examines the context and causes as well as its impact on science and society. What policy solutions have been developed to reduced inequities related to the issue you have chosen? Discuss the extent to which the policy solutions have been effective? Why or why not. The essay should draw on both theoretical and empirical literature on the topic. What is the appropriate role of the state vs. the market in science and technology policy? What are the debates around this issue and the theories or theoretical frameworks that inform these debates? After examining these, what do you conclude is the appropriate role of the state? Public administration theory is increasingly concerned with governance across sectors and in environments where no single government institution has the ability to govern effectively. Discuss the case of international internet 49

53 governance what are the challenges and the current arrangements? What lessons does this have generally for theories of governance about the ability of diverse actors and institutions to adapt to such environments? Researchers have developed several different theoretical models to describe the innovation process. In an essay, 1) clearly present the key concepts of the different models, 2) critique them in light of the empirical evidence that supports or does not support them, and 3) identify how these models are applied in practice through the use of examples. How is technology transfer conceptualized in each model and what does that mean for policy? Some might argue that the free market is the best mechanism for advancing the development of science and technology in the United States. Others view the state as playing an important role in advancing research and development in science and technology. Outline the theoretical reasoning behind the two sides of this issue, drawing from policy examples that advance both viewpoints. What types of institutional or organizational mechanisms advance each viewpoint? In your opinion, what is the appropriate role of government in fostering a thriving market for scientific innovation and research and development? Measured by states share of total federal funding of academic research, there has been substantial disparity across states. Some states have received quite large proportions of federal research funding whereas the shares of some other states have been quite small. Write an easy to explore the reasons leading to this cross-state disparity in federal funding of academic research. Some hope that federal set-aside programs such as EPSCoR may help to reduce the regional disparity in federal funding of research. Do you agree or disagree? Why? For over forty years now, researchers have sought to understand what explains the lack of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Theories abound as to why women are represented in lower numbers in STEM fields, as compared to the general work force. First, outline some of the theories that aim to explain the structural and social barriers facing women scientists. Second, drawing from the empirical research, discuss some of the evidence of the formal and informal barriers to the advancement of women in science. What role do networks and the structure of networks in science communities play in the professional advancement or hindrance of women in science? Finally, discuss some examples of how policy makers and funding agencies sought to address the underrepresentation of women in science? Some researchers argue that e-government efforts will increase transparency and accountability in government and increase civic participation. Discuss some of the research investigating e-government outcomes. What are the general findings of this literature? Where are the weaknesses with this research? How should future researchers seek to better understand the outcomes of e-government initiatives? Science policy researchers have applied numerous theoretical perspectives to understand and explain the roles that scientists have in society, politics and policy. Identify and explain the primary roles and the inherent demands and requirements of their different roles. In what ways are these roles in conflict? In what ways are scientists roles changing? Why? Provide examples to illustrate your essay. What characterizes a good theory in any field of study? How is a theory different from a concept or taxonomy? With these distinctions in mind, discuss the developed theoretical explanations that social scientists (broadly defined to include sociologists, economists, political scientists, etc.) use to address any two of the following questions. To what extent do they satisfy or represent good theory as you have characterized it? Be sure to draw extensively from the literature. a. What is the relationship between scientists and society? b. Why there continues to be disparities in salary, satisfaction, and other outcomes between men and women scientists in STEM fields. c. What are the mechanisms of technology transfer? And what facilitates or hinders the transfer of technology from invention to innovation? d. What determines the diffusion of innovation? Information policy in the US has sought to increase access to the internet for poor people. Suppose that Mayor Emanuel has decided to allocate funds to increase access and narrow the digital divide in Chicago by providing fiber optic cable to the house for 100,000 residents free of charge (this does not include paying the monthly fee for connection and use). But, recognizing that this is a complex issue because not everyone would pay for it, use it, or benefit in the same way, he does not know how to determine who should qualify for and receive the fiber optic cable. He asks you to develop a methodology to determine which 100,000 households should receive household connections. Given what you know from the literature on the digital divide, technology adoption, research methods, 50

54 etc. outline an appropriate methodological approach to determine which households should receive a connection. How would you go about determining criteria for receiving fiber optic cable to the house? Your approach should be supported by and draw extensively from all relevant literatures. The publication productivity of scientists is a growing area of research in S&T policy. First describe the policy context. Why is tracking scientific productivity such an important policy issue? What are the measures and how are they used in S&T policy? Explain the strengths and weakness of using publications to track scientific productivity. Explain the determinants of variation in productivity among scientists. Structure your response in terms of three levels of explanation applied in the literature: individual, organizational, and institutional determinants of productivity. Provide evidence from the literature showing how each level of explanation does or does not matter for productivity. Finally, describe the gaps in the literature explaining publication productivity and discuss ways to address the gaps through further study. Policy evaluation is increasingly being applied to assess public R&D programs. Describe a particular R&D program for which you would propose an evaluation. Develop an evaluation design to assess the program outcomes. Be specific in terms of outcomes and methods. Explain the limitations of your approach and of R&D evaluation in general. Your essay and responses should be supported by and draw extensively from the literature. Some researchers argue that e-government efforts will increase transparency and accountability in government and increase civic participation. Discuss some of the research investigating e-government outcomes. What are the general findings of this literature? Where are the weaknesses with this research? How should future researchers seek to better understand the outcomes of e-government initiatives? Your essay and responses should be supported by and draw extensively from the literature. Research universities in the U.S. are a major contributor to the nation s scientific and technological progress, which in turn enhances economic development. There is an increasing consensus that universities, especially major research universities, play important roles in national and regional economic development. One important mechanism through which universities may contribute to economic development is to convert research and inventions into innovation through patenting and licensing their research outputs. Based on the literature, write an essay discussing why and how research universities may contribute to national and regional economic development, and particularly how universities may facilitate patenting and licensing of university inventions. You may also address some of the intended and unintended outcomes of policies aimed to promote patenting and licensing of university-based research. In the fiscal year 2008, all doctorate-granting higher education institutions in the U.S. spent a total of $51 billon in their conduct of R&D activities. The money spent by universities came from difference sources: 60 percent from federal agencies, 6.5 percent from state governments, 5.5 percent from industries, 20.2 percent from higher education institutions, and 7.7 percent from other organizations. Write an essay that addresses and integrates the following issues related to financing academic R&D in the U.S. Your essay and responses should be supported by and draw extensively from the literature. a. Should the federal government provide such a large share of financial support to university R&D? What appropriate role for state government to play in this arena? b. The primary mechanism through which federal agencies allocate R&D funding is peer review. Some criticize the current peer review as a flawed and biased system leading to concentration of federal R&D funding in a limited number of universities and programs. What do you think about this criticism? If the undue concentration of federal R&D funding should be addressed, what is your recommendation to address this issue? SURVEY METHODS QUESTIONS: Theories about policy responsiveness, nonresponsiveness, and nonattitudes aim to understand the connection and causal mechanisms behind public opinion and public policy. Describe these theories and use an example(s) to illustrate these theories. Is public policy responsive to public opinion? Please explain your answer. For example, if policy is responsive, how and why does public opinion influence policy? If not, why not? If public opinion 51

55 influences policy only under certain conditions, please specify when and for whom it does (or does not). Remember to provide evidence for your arguments. There are numerous challenges to collecting survey data concerned with socially sensitive opinions and behaviors. Outline the applied strategies currently available for collecting sensitive survey data and consider separately the strengths and limitations of each approach for improving the quality of survey data concerned with (a) public opinion regarding federal abortion policies, (b) self-reports of personal income, and (c) self-reports of psychiatric symptoms. Briefly describe a cognitive model by which respondents answer survey questions. Discuss the problem of cultural variability for each cognitive stage of the survey response process in this model. Propose at least one methodology that might be useful for (a) detecting, and (b) minimizing cultural variability during each of these stages. Be specific. Imagine that you are a consultant to a small city which is in the process of planning how to spend its parks and recreation budget to best meet the demands and desires of the public. Develop a proposal to conduct a survey to do so that addresses the following questions: What would the primary goals of the survey be? What key constructs would be measured? What are some of the hypotheses it would be designed to test? Who would be surveyed and how would they be selected? How would the survey be administered? What strategies would be used to obtain adequate participation? How would adequate participation (and any implications for data quality) be assessed? How would the results be analyzed? In describing each decision in designing the survey, justify the design decisions being made. Compare and contrast sociological and psychological theories of survey unit nonresponse. Identify potential strategies for addressing unit nonresponse in telephone and face-to-face surveys that are can be derived from each of these theoretical traditions. To what degree does public opinion influence public policy? Discuss this question, presenting at least two relevant theories, and identify at least three recent case studies that support or refute at least one of these theories. Attached is a request for proposals. In response to this RFP, do the following: a) Design a survey project to address this RFP (including, if appropriate, methods and plans for pretesting). Describe each decision you would make as you are designing the survey (e.g., mode, population to be surveyed, sampling strategy, etc.) and why the design choice you advocate is most appropriate for this project. Be sure to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your design components, and how you plan to deal with potential sources of error (e.g., using Groves Total Survey Error perspective). Be as complete as possible. b) Describe some of the key constructs you would need to measure in the survey. Explain why each construct is important and how it helps meet the goals of the project. Give example questions for each construct. For each example question, explain why you have chosen the format for the question (e.g., open-ended versus closed-ended questions, number and type of response options, etc.). Describe the process you would use to develop and test this instrument. Note: You do not have to develop a budget for the project, but the project you propose should be generally consistent with budget limitations (e.g., you should not propose a five million dollar project if the project is going to be limited to $500.00). Nonresponse continues to be the Achilles heel of survey research methodology. Although decisions as to whether or not to cooperate with a survey request are made at the individual level, a number of elements of the social environment may also influence these decisions. Consider specific pathways by which variations in social structures and conditions may influence survey nonresponse processes for at least two different modes of survey data collection. What are some potential solutions to each? Scholars have long debated the role of surveys and public opinion in the public policy process. Some argue that public opinion drives modern policy making. Others argue that policy leaders and elites drive (or manipulate) public opinion using crafted talk. Select a current policy (e.g. health care reform in the US; the war in Iraq; the war in Afghanistan; proposed regulation of financial institutions; stimulus spending) and propose a study for assessing the 52

56 relationship between that specific policy and public opinion? What type of methods and instruments would be most appropriate in developing an understanding of the causal relationships between the policymaking and public opinion? How will you account for manipulated opinion and nonattitudes? Be specific in your response. Susan Herbst in Navigating Public Opinion (eds. Manza et al.) notes that the relationship between public opinion and the activity of state legislatures is vitally important (2002, pg. 171), but has received little attention. What are some of the reasons that explain why policy makers at the state and local level rely less on public opinion polls? Where do state and local policy makers get information about public opinion and how might this affect the ways in which policy is formed? Would increasing state and local policy makers access to public opinion polls improve their ability to make policy? Please explain your response using evidence from the literature. As a prelude to developing a public information campaign, you have been asked to provide consultation to the Florida Department of Health and Human Services (FDHHS). As part of this study the FDHHS is planning to assess the social service needs of adults within that state. Of particular interest to staff conducting the study is the likelihood that Florida s high race/ethnic heterogeneity will make the collection and analysis of comparable data difficult. Florida includes significant numbers of non-hispanic White and African American populations, as well as high representation of multiple Hispanic ethnicities. Staff are asking you to prepare a summary of potential threats to survey measurement equivalence that their study may encounter, as well as some realistic, cost-effective recommendations as to how to confront each of them. Please prepare a formal memorandum to FDHHS that addresses these issues. Many researchers argue that saliency is a critical factor when seeking to understand the relationship between public opinion and public policy. One might argue that saliency can help us to predict whether (1) public opinion drives public policy or (2) public policy drives public opinion. Drawing from the literature, discuss the role of saliency in the relationship between public opinion and public policy. Within your discussion, detail at least one case study or example of a policy (citing the literature where appropriate) where saliency is a key factor in understanding the relationship between public opinion and public policy. Propose a methodological tool(s) or questionnaire item(s) that might enable researchers to control for or test for saliency when measuring public opinion. There are numerous forms of measurement error in survey research. Drawing from the literature, review these various forms of error and discuss the relative importance of each as a potential source of bias when developing population estimates. Carefully review the attached request for proposals by the City of Aliso Viejo for the conduct of a community survey and prepare a response to it. In particular, develop a survey design that will address the Scope of Work outlined in Section III. For each element of your proposed design, discuss alternative approaches that you considered and defend the choices that you have made. Also consider the strengths and weaknesses of each design element using the Total Survey Error framework. Be as specific as possible. In addition, outline four constructs you would consider most important to measure as part of the proposed survey and discuss strategies for doing so. Provide some potential questionnaire items for each construct and outline your strategy for developing the final version of the instrument. 53