Doctor
of Philosophy in Public Affairs
http://www.utdallas.edu/epps/pa/
Faculty
Professors: L. Douglas Kiel, Robert W. Taylor
Associate Professors: Paul
Battaglio, Simon Fass, Douglas Goodman, Jeremy L. Hall
Assistant Professors: Young-joo Lee, Meghna Sabharwal
Clinical Professors: Donald
Arbuckle, Robert Whelan
Mission
The mission of the Ph.D. in Public Affairs
program is to prepare students for research-oriented careers in academia or executive public/nonprofit management positions. The rigorous core curriculum provides advanced conceptual and theoretical training in the principal areas of public administration and management,
including: public policy, intergovernmental relations, budget and finance,
human capital and organizational theory. Students develop analytical
competencies through a sequence of research methods courses, and they develop
technical knowledge in specific topics through a flexible elective sequence. Through instruction and
research, faculty guide students as
they obtain
a firm understanding of the broad intellectual tradition of public
administration and related fields.
Objectives
The Doctor of Philosophy in Public Affairs
degree is an interdisciplinary doctoral program that prepares graduates to
assume positions in academia, research producing
organizations or positions of administrative authority in public,
quasi-public, and nonprofit organizations. The guiding
philosophy of the degree is that "public affairs" involves more than
mere functional administration, policy implementation or quantitative policy
analysis. Rather, doctoral education in public affairs requires an interface
between the traditions of public management, public
policy, and organizations with a
practical appreciation for the challenges of maintaining and building
institutions of governance and a civic culture in a complex, democratic
society.
The PhD program in Public Affairs begins as a cohort program
where each year entering students remain together through four core courses and
the qualifying examination, after which they are able to diverge into
specialization courses appropriate for their interests and methodological
approach. This approach produces shared experiences and progress through the
program that enrich student learning and student research. The program requires
42 hours of coursework plus doctoral dissertation hours (12 hours). Well-prepared students (for example, those with a
master’s degree in public administration, public affairs, public policy, business
administration, health administration, or education administration) may be able
to complete the course requirements and the dissertation within 3 years from
their initial enrollment. Students typically take 6 hours of
classes each fall, spring and summer semester,
though the flexibility of the program permits full time students to take more than two courses per
semester.
Students will generally start the production of the dissertation during fall
of their third year in the program.
Faculty
Commitments
The faculty of the PhD program in Public
Affairs is committed to producing clear and specific results for our students.
Thus, the specific objectives for all graduates of the PhD in Public Affairs
program are:
1. To
Demonstrate Comprehensive and Deep Knowledge: Students will demonstrate their knowledge in principal fields of public administration and management,
including: public policy, intergovernmental relations, organization theory,
budget and finance, and human capital.
2. To Understand and Apply
Theories and Processes of Knowledge Acquisition: Students will demonstrate familiarity with key theories in each of the principal fields of public administration and management, and will apply this theoretical knowledge in the development of research projects
ranging from course assignments to their dissertation research projects.
3. To Produce Scholarly
Manuscripts and Publications: Students, as scholars, will have the ability
to execute research projects that
utilize state of the art methodologies to produce scholarly manuscripts that are worthy
of publication in the journals of the field.
4. To Develop, Present, and Defend Complex Ideas: Students will have the
ability to develop, present, and defend both orally and in writing complex
ideas based on in-depth scholarly research.
Facilities
Students have access to the computing
facilities in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences and the
University’s Computing Center. The School has two computing laboratories which
house over 30 computers that are network linked and equipped with major social
science software packages, including E-Views, R, RATS, SPSS, and STATA. A
computerized geographic information system, the Lexis Nexis
database, and Westlaw are also available for student use. The University’s
Computing Center provides personal computers and UNIX workstations.
Admission
Procedures and Policies
Application Deadlines: The Ph.D. program in
Public Affairs admits a cohort of students each fall semester. Students are only admitted during fall semesters, so students intending to begin
the program in fall of a particular year must submit their applications by March 1 for full consideration.
Application/Admission Requirements: Prospective
students must complete the University’s graduate application form and arrange
to have GRE scores and transcripts of all college coursework sent to UTD. A
graduate GPA of 3.0 or better and a minimum combined math and verbal GRE score
of 1100 are expected. The program typically admits only
students who have completed a Masters degree. Three letters of
recommendation are also required. Applicants must submit a written statement
that should, at a minimum, include: (1) the student’s
interest in pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Affairs, (2) the student’s academic
background in research ability related to public affairs; (3) their career
goals upon completion of the Ph.D.; (4) the nature of the student’s current work situation
and responsibilities (if applicable);and (5) responsibilities for large
scale/strategic issues in their current
or past work
environment (if applicable). All applicants must also
submit a complete professional resume.
Graduate Assistantships: Students admitted to
the program may be eligible to receive teaching
assistantships. Prospective students interested in receiving assistantships
must have submitted all application materials including a TA
application form by March 1 of the year they intend to start the program.
Applications for the assistantships may be obtained from the Public Affairs
Program Office. Offers of teaching assistantships will be made by May 1 of the
year of fall enrollment, although additional appointments may be made as new
positions become available each semester.
Ph.D. in Public Affairs
The Ph.D. requires a minimum
of 42 hours of course work and twelve hours of dissertation work beyond the
master’s degree (36 hours) for a total of 90 graduate
hours. Students must also complete a qualifying examination and the doctoral
dissertation.
Students not holding a
master’s degree in public affairs, public administration, public policy or
other related field may be expected to complete additional course work. Typical courses include: public policy, public management,
statistics, financial management, budgeting or economics to provide the
necessary preparation for advanced doctoral study. These courses will be
determined by the program director. The Ph.D. core curriculum rotates so as to
offer flexibility to students taking either two (part-time) or three
(full-time) courses per semester. Six courses (five core courses plus research
methods) are offered each year (three each fall and three each spring) in the following
rotation:
Fall:
PA 7310 Advanced Policy Process,
Implementation and Evaluation (T) (required in year one)
PA 7320 Advanced Human Capital
Research and Theory (W) (may be taken in year one or two)
PA 7330 Research Design in PA (R)
(required in year one)
Spring:
PA 7340 Intergovernmental and Intersectoral Relations (T) (required in year one)
PA 7350 Advanced Organizational
Theory and Behavior (W) (required in year one)
PA 7360 Advanced Fiscal and
Budgetary Policy (R) (may be taken in year one or two)
All students must take the four courses included on the
qualifying exam (7310, 7330, 7340, & 7350) during the first year in the
program. Full time students will take the complete rotation presented above,
while part time students will take two seminars (7320 & 7360) in the second
year, as they are not included on the qualifying exam.
Prerequisites
Prior to enrolling in core classes in the PhD program
students must show evidence of completing graduate level course work in public policy, public management, graduate level statistics, financial management and budgeting
and economics or public finance. Students admitted to the Ph.D. program without
these requirements may be directed to complete relevant courses in the Masters
of Public Affairs program at UTD prior to taking Ph.D. level courses. Students
lacking a recent graduate level statistics course are
required to complete EPPS 6313 Introduction to Quantitative Methods prior to continuing their methods sequence.
Required Courses (42 hours)
The Program consists of course work in five core substantive knowledge areas
central to public administration and management,
including: public policy, intergovernmental relations and management, organizational theory, fiscal and budgetary theory, and human
capital (15 hours).
Research
methods provide analytical skills necessary to conduct doctoral level research
beginning with Research Design, a regression course suitable for the student’s
mathematical skill set (EPPS 6316 for algebra, EPPS 7316 for calculus), and a
methods course appropriate for the student’s intended dissertation research (9
hours).
Building
on the core curriculum, elective courses allow students to develop specialized
concentrations in their area of interest (15 hours). Students have the
flexibility to design their own custom concentration from existing EPPS courses
(6000 level or above; with program director approval) or may select courses
from one of four existing concentrations:
The
dissertation seminar (PA 8340) is a directed study course during which students
work one-on-one with an appropriate faculty member to develop and prepare the
dissertation proposal (3 hours).
To
graduate, students are required to enroll for dissertation research credit (PA
8v99) with their appointed dissertation chairperson (12 hours minimum). To
remain in good standing, students must remain enrolled in 8V99 while completing
their dissertation.
Program
Course Work
*** Indicates the four (4) courses
included in the required qualifying examination taken during summer immediately
following the student’s first two semesters of coursework.
I. Public Affairs Core
(15 hours)
1.
PA 7310 Advanced Policy Process,
Implementation and Evaluation***
2.
PA 7320 Advanced Human Capital Research and
Theory
3.
PA 7340 Intergovernmental and Intersectoral Relations***
4.
PA 7350 Advanced Organizational Theory and
Behavior***
5.
PA 7360 Advanced Fiscal and Budgetary Policy
II.
Research Methods (9 hours)
Prerequisites: Students are
expected to arrive with EPPS 6313 or equivalent; if not, it must be taken prior
to EPPS 6316 and does not count toward hours for graduation.
1.
PA 7330 Research Design in Public Affairs***
2.
Applied Regression (EPPS 6316) OR
Regression and Multivariate Analysis (EPPS 7316). Note: 6000 presumes algebra;
7000 level presumes calculus.
3.
ONE of the following (or
alternate with program director approval): Qualitative Research Methods (EPPS
6346), Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables (EPPS 7344), Time Series
Analysis (EPPS 7370), Survey Research (EPPS 7386), Applied Multivariate Analysis
(EPPS 7380), Evaluation Research (EPPS 6352).
III.
Concentration (See Below; 15 hours)
1.
Elective 1
2.
Elective 2
3.
Elective 3
4.
Elective 4
5.
Elective 5
IV.
Dissertation Seminar (Directed Study, PA 8340) (3 Hours)
V. Dissertation Research
(12 hours)
Concentration
1: Policy Analysis and Evaluation (Choose 5 courses)
1.
PA 6340 Domestic Social Policy or
2.
PA 6344 State/Local Economic Development
3.
EPPS 6352 Evaluation Research Methods
4.
PA 6336 Bureaucracy and Public Policy
5.
PA 7304 Benefit Cost Analysis
6.
PA 6314 Policy Analysis
7.
Other approved elective(s)
Concentration
2: Emergency Management (Choose 5 courses)
1.
PA 6353 Emergency Management
2.
PA 6351 Homeland Security
3.
PA 6371 Strategies for Homeland Security
4.
PA 6390 Administration and Management of
Justice Agencies
5.
PA 7307 Information Sharing and Communication
for HS
6.
PA 7309 Protecting Critical Resources and
Infrastructure
7.
CRIM 6314/PA6319 Policing
8.
Other approved elective(s)
Concentration
3: Nonprofit Management (Choose 5 courses)
1.
PA 6374 Financial Management for Nonprofit
Orgs
2.
PA 7375 Nonprofit Orgs
3.
PA Leadership and Change in Public/Nonprofit
Organizations
4.
EPPS 6352 Evaluation Research Methods
5.
PA 6375 History and Theories of the American
Philanthropic Sector
6.
Other approved elective(s)
Concentration
4: Urban Policy and Administration (Choose 5 courses)
1.
PA Negotiations for effective managers
2.
PA 7305 Leadership and Change in
Public/Nonprofit Organizations
3.
PA 6326 Decision Tools for Managers
4.
PA 7375 Nonprofit organizations: Theory and
Practice
5.
EPPS 6352 Evaluation Research Methods
6.
PA 6344 State/Local Economic Development
7.
PA 6327 Land Use Law and Ethics
8.
Other approved elective(s)
Concentration
5: Customized and Directed Research (Choose 5 courses; *must be pre-approved by
program director)
Qualifying Examinations and Assessment
of Student Performance
All students must successfully complete a
qualifying examination after completion of their first two semesters in the
program (during which they take PA 7310 Advanced Policy Process, Implementation and Evaluation and PA 7330 Research Design in the first fall semester and PA 7340 Intergovernmental and Intersectoral Management and PA 7350
Advanced Organizational Theory and Behavior in the first spring semester).
The examination will cover the
material in the four classes noted above
and will
occur immediately after the first spring semester of enrollment. In addition, student’s progress
is assessed by instructors of record in the four core
courses and student GPA is reviewed to
ascertain progress in the program. This tripartite assessment is conducted
according to PA Policy Memorandum 2008 I.1 (Revised September 14, 2011), the
language of which follows below:
PhD
in Public Affairs Program
First Year Review
Every PhD student entering the Public Affairs
Program in fall 2008 and later is subject to a comprehensive first year review
which takes place after the student completes two semesters of study. This
review comprises a Faculty Assessment and a qualifying examination. The
Assessment identifies priority areas for academic improvement,
evaluates the student’s likelihood of successful program completion, and
recommends whether the student should remain in the
Program.
The qualifying examination, a take-home
assignment, is based on student coursework during the first year. To continue
in the program, a student must obtain a positive recommendation from the
Faculty Assessment and pass the qualifying examination.
All four of the required courses must be
completed before sitting for the qualifying examination. Students are expected
to complete the examination immediately following their first spring semester
of enrollment in the program. Students may not defer the examination; rather,
it must be taken immediately upon completion of the four covered courses. If
for any reason a student fails to complete the four courses during the first
year of program enrollment, they must complete the four courses and sit for the
qualifying exam immediately following their second spring semester of
enrollment in the program. Students who have not taken the examination
following their second spring semester will be dismissed from the program.
A. Faculty Assessment
The Faculty Assessment is
compiled two weeks after the last spring semester final examination date on the
UTD academic calendar. It is based on performance in the four classes that the
student must complete during the first year in the program:
•
PA
7310 Advanced Policy Process, Implementation and Evaluation
•
PA
7340 Intergovernmental and Intersectoral Management
•
PA
7330 Research Design
•
PA
7350 Advanced Organizational Theory and Behavior
Every assessment is
completed by the instructor of record at the end of each of the listed courses.
It judges the student’s promise with respect to five elements: critical
thinking, quality of writing, proper use and application of citations and
references, research ability and final course grade. The assessment will be
copied in triplicate. The student will receive a copy of the assessment at the
end of each course. A copy will be
placed in the student’s permanent file at the end of each course and the faculty
member producing the report will retain a copy of each student’s assessment.
A Faculty Assessment
Committee (FAC) compiles and reviews the four individual assessments for each
student. The FAC then prepares a report that specifies areas of academic
performance that warrant attention and enhancement, determines the likelihood
of successful program completion, and recommends whether the student should
remain in or be dismissed from the Program.
B. Qualifying
Examination
The qualifying examination
takes place during the same time period as the Faculty Assessment. It is a
take-home assignment comprising several questions that students collect at or
after 8:00 am on Tuesday of the examination week and then submit - in hard copy
and electronic form - before 5:00 pm on Thursday of the same week. Assignments
are not accepted after this deadline.
The examination consists of
two parts: a methods section and a field section. The methods section requires
the student to answer one of two proposed questions based on subject matters
covered in PA 7330 Research Design.
The field section requires
the student to answer two of three proposed questions based on subject matters
covered in:
•
PA
7310 Advanced Policy Process, Implementation and Evaluation
•
PA
7340 Intergovernmental and Intersectoral Management
•
PA
7350 Advanced Organizational Theory and Behavior
Answers to each examination
question are limited to no more than 10 numbered pages of double-spaced text,
prepared in 12-point font size with 1-inch margins on all sides, excluding end
notes, reference lists, and other supplementary materials. All references must
be properly cited within the text of each answer using a standard academic
citation format.
The qualifying examination
is assessed and graded within two weeks of its submission by a Qualification Examination
Committee (QEC) comprised of program faculty. Students are notified of the
result within three weeks of submission. Possible grades for a question are
Excellent, Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. The student passes a question if a
majority of QEC members grade the answer as Satisfactory (or better). The
student passes the examination if all answers are Satisfactory (or better).
A student receiving an
unsatisfactory grade on one question must retake that section (containing a new
set of questions) six weeks after notification of the initial qualifying
examination result. The examination format and procedure are the same as
described above for the initial examination. Failure to receive a grade of
Satisfactory (or better) on the qualifying examination a second time results in dismissal from the program.
If an emergency arises and the
student in unable to take the examinations on the initially prescribed dates
the student may complete the exams six weeks after the initial exam dates. If a
student fails to take the exams on the initially prescribed dates and does not
provide adequate justification for a change in dates he/she will be dropped
from the PhD program. The Program Head will determine if justification for not
taking the exam on the prescribed date is justified.
Dissertation Seminar and Dissertation
Students typically enroll in PA 8340 Dissertation Seminar
at the beginning of their third year in the program. This is an individual
study course, supervised by the student’s likely dissertation chair, and
normally would culminate in the completion of a dissertation proposal.
Assignment to a dissertation chair is based on a number of factors, and
students are encouraged to consult with the program director about the
selection of their chair and the rest of their dissertation committee.
Following the public defense of their
proposal, students begin work on their dissertation research, and enroll in PA
8V99 Dissertation during the semesters following their successful proposal
defense. Students enroll for up to 18 hours of PA 8V99, and typically will
complete their dissertation research and writing within a year of the proposal
defense. The final dissertation defense is conducted when the student’s chair
and committee agree that the dissertation is satisfactorily completed.