Values, Mission, and Goal

Public Service Values

• Accountability (Ethical and democratic values)
• Effectiveness (Professional value)
• Honesty (Ethical value)
• Lawfulness (Democratic value)
• Social justice (Human value)

PPA Mission Statement

The Department of Public Policy and Administration at California State University Bakersfield will foster and improve critical thinking, communication, leadership, management, and ethical reasoning for present and future managers in government, nonprofit, and health care organizations within the San Joaquin Valley. The critical skills learned from this curriculum will ensure that managers in the government, nonprofit, and health care sectors exercise governance in an inclusive and socially responsible manner.

Strategic Goals

1. The purpose of the PPA programs is to prepare competent, ethical and effective public, nonprofit, and health care managers and leaders to advance the public service.
2. Consistent with, and in addition to, established university academic performance and student conduct standards for undergraduates, those admitted, retained, and awarded degrees must possess and demonstrate academic and professional integrity in all activities to inspire public confidence and trust in public service. Students and applicants who violate academic integrity or professional ethical standards of behavior will be subject to the academic integrity procedures of the university. Such actions are, of course, subject to university review and appeal.
3. Undergraduate students without experience in public service or administration are required to complete a service-learning requirement.

Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes of the BA can be found at https://bpa.csub.edu/departments/Public-Policy-and-Administration/page/learning-goals-and-objectives_4.html.

About Our Alumni

Our alumni serve in a variety of prestigious capacities, both locally and nationally. They include past and present county administrative officers (CAO’s); chief executive officers (CEO’s) of hospitals, retirement centers, mass transit systems, and special economic development zones; CEO’s of nonprofit organizations; policy specialists for elected officials at the national and local levels; presidents of private industry; presidents of state-wide professional associations; as well as elected public servants at the local and state levels. Other alumni enjoy professional careers in city management, special districts, social work organizations, criminal justice organizations (law enforcement and prison management), fire and public safety, and in the rapidly growing health care professions.

Public Administration majors must obtain advising before registering for classes. For information or an appointment with the Undergraduate Program Advisor, please contact Professor R. Steven Daniels (661) 654-2318 (BDC 116A) or BPA Student Services (661) 654-2326 (BDC 123A).

PPA Prerequisites

Course List

Code	Title	Units
All PPA 4000-level courses require sophomore or higher
PPA 3408	Policy Networks 1	3
PPA 4038	The Public Policy-Making Process 2	3
PPA 4908	Senior Seminar in Public Administration 3	3
PPA 2008	American Government & Public Administration	3
PPA 3000	Public Management & Leadership	3
PPA 4660	Public Human Resource Administration	3
or MGMT 3100	Human Resource Management
PPA service-learning requirement 4
PPA 4680	Budgeting in Public Organizations	3
Total Units		21

¹

Junior status or higher and either (1) complete JYDR or (2) corequisite any JYDR course.

²

Junior or higher and completion of A2

³

Senior status

⁴

Service-learning requirement can be completed as a co-requisite or pre-requisite.

 Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration

Course List

Code	Title	Units
Major Requirements
Lower Division Foundation Courses
ACCT 2200	Introduction to Financial Reporting and Accounting	3
ECON 2028	Essentials of Macro-Economics	3
PLSI 1018	American Government and Politics	3
BA 2100	Legal Environment of Domestic and International Business	3
or BA 3108	Business And Society
Core Courses
PPA 2008	American Government & Public Administration	3
PPA 3000	Public Management & Leadership	3
COMM 3008	Technical and Report Writing	3
PPA 3408	Policy Networks	3
PPA 4010	Analytical Methods in Administration	3
or BA 3010	Data Analysis & Decision Making
PPA 4650	The Principles and Practices of Supervision	3
PPA 4660	Public Human Resource Administration	3
or MGMT 3100	Human Resource Management
PPA 4680	Budgeting in Public Organizations	3
Select one of the following:		3
PPA 5020	Program Evaluation
PPA 5360
PPA 4850	Individual Study
PPA 4860	Internship in Public Administration
Other approved service-learning courses
PPA 4908	Senior Seminar in Public Administration	3
Upper Division Electives
Select four approved 3000- or 4000-level Public Policy and Administration courses 1		12
Subtotal		54
General Education Requirements
First-Year Seminar		2
LD Area A Foundational Skills		12
LD Area B Natural Sciences		6
LD Area C Arts and Humanities		6
LD Area D Social and Behavioral Sciences		3
LD Area F Ethnic Studies		3
American Institutions 2		0
SELF 2		1
Junior Year Diversity Requirement		3
UD Thematic Areas B and C		6
Capstone 2		0
GWAR (Exam) or Class 2		0
Additional Units		24
Subtotal		66
Total Units		120

¹

Students may take 5000-level courses as a senior or take two of the MPA foundation classes (PPA 4010 Analytical Methods in Administration, PPA 4038 The Public Policy-Making Process, PPA 5000 Survey of Public Administration, and PPA 5020 Program Evaluation). However, PPA 4010 Analytical Methods in Administration may not be counted by PPA majors in both the core and the electives. Students may also take coursework in other disciplines such as marketing, management, finance, economics, criminal justice, and other social science disciplines if it matches their career objectives. Make these choices after consulting with the undergraduate advisor.

²

Senior Capstone, American Institutions-Government, and GWAR satisfied in major. The SELF requirement is met by completing a LD Area B, C, or D course with a SELF component.

Note: One (1) semester unit of credit normally represents one hour of in-class work and 2-3 hours of outside study per week.

Service-Learning Component in BAPA

Undergraduate public administration students must complete at least one service earning component during their degree program. This service-learning component may be satisfied by a certified service-learning course such as

Course List

Code	Title	Units
PPA 5020	Program Evaluation	3
PPA 4850	Individual Study	3
PPA 4860	Internship in Public Administration	1-3

Students must develop a service-learning portfolio to be presented in PPA 4908 Senior Seminar in Public Administration.

Undergraduate Students Planning to Pursue the MPA

Note: Undergraduate students in any major planning to pursue the MPA may take up to two of the MPA foundation courses (PPA 4010 Analytical Methods in Administration, PPA 4038 The Public Policy-Making Process, PPA 5000 Survey of Public Administration, and PPA 5020 Program Evaluation) while still undergraduates. PPA students should complete two courses from PPA 4038 The Public Policy-Making Process, PPA 5000 Survey of Public Administration, or PPA 5020 Program Evaluation.

Requirements for the PPA-MPA 4+1 Program

Undergraduate PPA students may also pursue the MPA degree through an accelerated path. Students following this path will earn their BA and MPA degrees together in 5 years. Students will take their normal BA coursework for the first 3 years (90 units).  In the second semester of their third year, students may apply for the accelerated path if they meet the following conditions: have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and get approval from their faculty advisor. In their fourth year, students on this path will take PPA 4010 Analytical Methods in Administration, PPA 4038 The Public Policy-Making Process, PPA 5000 Survey of Public Administration, PPA 5020 Program Evaluation, and 6 other BA PPA (or other relevant) courses approved by their faculty advisor. At the end of this year, students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher may continue to the MPA program or revert to the BA degree program. Students with a GPA below 3.0 will end their participation in the accelerated path and will revert to the BA program.

Students continuing the accelerated path will take the following coursework in their fifth year: PPA 6100 Public Human Resources Administration, PPA 6110 Public Finance and Budgeting, PPA 6520 Public Management and Organizational Change, PPA 6530 Policy Analysis, 5 electives, and a culminating project.

Altogether, students on the accelerated path must complete at least 150 credits in order to earn their BA and MPA degrees. Students must consult their faculty advisor for more information.