Courses Currently Taught

PA 306 SL: Policy Systems

• In this introductory graduate level course geared toward current and aspiring public administrators, we will discuss a wide range of public policy theories and models, such as rational comprehensive model, network governance model, advocacy coalition framework, and complex system dynamics model. Students will be required to engage in critically analyzing and evaluating substantive policy issues of their interest. The emphasis will be placed on learning about different models of policy analysis and evaluation, and investigating when, where and how different policy implementation tools are deployed in variegated policy contexts.
• Spring semester
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PA 308: Decision Making Models

• In this advanced graduate level seminar, we will explore and analyze a wide range of normative, descriptive and prescriptive decision making models and theories. This course focuses on systems level thinking to impart problem-solving skills in complex decision-making contexts. Decision making problems in the real-world public policy, business and management arenas will be analyzed and modeled with different tools developed in the fields of Decision Analysis, Behavioral Sciences, Game Theory and Complex Systems. The emphasis will be placed on imparting cutting edge skills to the students to develop decision support systems that require the design and implementation of multiple criteria decision analysis models, behavioral experimental models and agent based simulation models.
• Fall semester
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PA 311 SL: Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation

• In this advanced graduate-level seminar geared toward current and aspiring public administrators, you will learn hands-on knowledge about program evaluation and policy analysis techniques using case studies of current projects and problems. Specific techniques covered in this course include logic models, evaluability assessment, implementation evaluation, quasi-experimentation, randomized experiments, meta-analysis, systematic reviews and research syntheses, cost effectiveness and cost benefit analysis, decision analysis, discourse analysis and complex systems models. You are required to engage in learning about the fundamental mechanisms of these techniques, critically evaluating their applications in various substantive policy domains and applying these techniques to the current policy problems and programs at all levels of the government.
• Spring semester
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CDAE 251 SL: Contemporary Policy Issues: Community Development

• In this advanced undergraduate service-learning course, you will learn about analyzing and evaluating a wide range of sustainable development policies, with emphasis on understanding the interactions among biodiversity, climate change, energy, transportation, food, water and air quality management policies. The emphasis will be placed on understanding the dynamics of complex systems, and investigating how different public policy interventions in complex systems change the structure and the dynamics of the biogeophyscial and socioeconomic systems. You will become familiar with three policy analytical tools: Participatory Multi-Criteria Analysis, Complex Systems Dynamic Modeling and Critical Discourse & Argumentation Analysis.
• Fall semester
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• In this upper undergraduate/graduate level course, we will explore complex adaptive systems and adaptive management approaches to design smart resilient communities. Increasing demands of a globalizing economy, aging critical infrastructure, changing demographics, and a changing climate has led to increasing concern about the resiliency of social-ecological and socio-technological systems at multiple scales of governance. Multi-scale challenges require multi-scale solutions. In particular, secure provision of food, energy and water and early warnings to vulnerable communities in the face of natural and man-made hazards requires urgent attention of policy makers, planners and citizens. This course will focus on social ecological systems and socio-technological systems integration framework to unravel the complex pathways that determine community resilience and enable smart design processes at the nexus of food, energy and water systems. The emphasis will be placed on practical skills, such as early warning systems, ubiquitous computing and sensors, resilience design approaches and interactive scenario planning techniques, for analyzing and designing smart resilient and sustainable communities.
• Spring semester
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