USC Schedule of Classes

Institutions, legal context, and processes of public policy and management. Contemporary theories of public policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. Public managerial challenges and reforms.

Gateway to B.S., Public Policy, Management and Planning and minor in Planning and Development. City building and development process; who plans; politics of planning and development; major topics include land use, fiscal policy, transportation, sustainability, and economic development.

Review of legal and ethical traditions of citizenship withemphasis on the latter; consideration of implications for currentpractice of public policy-making and management.

The urban context for planning and policy decisions. Socioeconomic, physical, and spatial structure of cities: and the underlying demographic, economic, and social processes that drive their ongoing transformation.

Social justice issues through the lens of public policy and urban planning with main focus on Los Angeles; critical thinking skills about the fields and their relevance to social justice

Policy, planning, and development skills for practice; internship seminar; leadership, group dynamics and presentation skills; application of management; organizational diversity; reflection on experiences. Duplicates credit in the former PPD-401.

Statistical applications applied to the real world; techniques including probability, sampling; hypothesis formation and testing; correlation, and linear regression.

Justifications for and effects of government policies; tax and spending sides of government budgets; public goods; externalities; social insurance; redistribution and welfare; tax policy.

Qualitative methods of analysis; ethical and political implications of policy choices; issue diagnosis and policy design skills; critical reasoning and ethics; policy leadership.

Basic accounting principles and concepts necessary for the preparation and understanding of financial statements; accounting for the service organizations in the public/nonprofit sector; fund accounting.

Institutions, policies, and processes affecting health care policy and management; historical and philosophical roots; management of health care delivery; access and quality issues; responsiveness to public needs. Duplicates credit in the former PPD-230.

Public policy agenda-setting, alternatives formulation, and implementation for crime and criminal justice; analysis of specific issues including crime control, death penalty, and gun control.

History, theories, philosophies, and practices of philanthropy; relationship between philanthropy and nonprofit world; grant-making procedures and relation to social innovation.

Interrelated roles of business and public institutions; effects of public policies and laws on business sector; incorporates public and business perspectives.

Current transportation planning and policy critiques. Transportation planning: the relationship to urban structure; conventional and para-transit modes; analysis of local plans.

Policy and planning as shaped by sustainability theories; sustainability indicators; topics include water resources, air quality, land use regulations, environmental design, carrying capacity, ecological footprint analysis. Duplicates credit in former PPD 461.

Theories of the voluntary nonprofit sector in society and its relationship to government and business; public policies toward the sector.

Applied analytic modeling and data manipulation; visual presentation; interpretation of data; needs assessment and market failure analysis; indexing; extrapolation and simple forecasting; simple risk analysis; benefit-cost analysis. Duplicates credit in the former PPD-473.

Seminar in cross cutting topics in public policy and urban studies that engages students with faculty and scholars in interdisciplinary research and analysis of key problems and issues in the fields.

Theory and practice; role of governing bodies, medical staffs and quality review committees; current trends; community responsibility; regulatory and oversight agencies.

Introduction of the role that technology will play in facilitating shared mobility, disrupting transportation markets, and reshaping multi-modal urban transportation systems; analyses of governance issues; the interaction between private markets and regulators; changes in the nature of infrastructure and urban planning that will be required to accommodate the wired future of transportation.

Application of methods in the exploration of a specific project, policy, or organization from the multiple perspectives of the five tracks in the undergraduate program.

Evolution of government housing and community development programs; present practices, e.g., housing elements, economic development, neighborhood rehabilitation; housing needs and market analysis; housing and health.

Strategies and processes of social innovation and change; examination of social change in the market, government, and within the nonprofit sector; dynamics; civic action and activism

Individual research and readings. Not available for graduate credit. Departmental approval.

Writing of the honors capstone project in an area of interest related to the track of study; research and writing skills.

Selected topics in Public Policy, Management and Planning.

Roles of public, private, nonprofit, and civil society sectors in policy, planning, and development. Leadership skills in negotiation, conflict resolution, institutional design, problem solving.

Microeconomic theory as applied to policy, planning, and development; concepts of efficiency; macroeconomic issues.

Statistical analysis concepts and reasoning; sampling and data sources; focus on basic statistical applications in public management and policy analysis

Economic theory as applied to public policy. Concepts of efficiency and equity, analysis of market failure and policy interventions.

Essential statistics for public managers and administrators; application of statistical methods in addressing public policy and management questions.

Improving operations, patient flow, quality and processes. Students will become familiar with methods for implementing change in health care settings such as hospitals or clinics.

Principles of epidemiology; disease trends, treatment efficacy, influences on utilization; health promotion, disease prevention and health protection; intergovernmental relationships; management of public health programs.

Conceptual framework for database development; relational data management; use of health statistics; health indicators; confidentiality, security, privacy. Recommended preparation: PPD 502x or competence in statistics and PPD 516x or competence in accounting.

Rights of consumers; health-related powers of governments; rights and responsibilities of health care providers; interrelationships of rights, powers, and responsibilities. Recommended preparation: PPD 509 or substantial prior work experience in health care organizations. Open only to graduate students.

Accounting as a management tool; accounting systems; basic accounting concepts and procedures; budgets; financial statements. Open only to graduate students.

Quality issues and complexities affecting healthcare; fundamentals of quality improvement programs; examination of quality issues and improvement programs in various health care venues; strategies

Explores the history and theories underlying professional planning practice; evolving theoretical frameworks that will shape the planning field. Focuses on theoretical/historical perspectives on social justice, inclusion, and diversity.

Exploration of the theories and concepts of livable communities and good city form. Introductory basics of design and city form. Case studies of historical and current best practices.

Understanding of the legal system and its processes and laws applicable to land use and development and the legal nature of powers of public and private entities.

Application of methods in planning, programming, research, andevaluation in a professional context; data collection andanalysis; case studies; practical applications.

Administrative concepts, institutions, legal systems, and practices; values; facilitation of responsibilities and rights; professional applications for personal, private sector and public achievement.

Financial management applied to public and nonprofit organizations; financial valuation, financial markets, budgeting, tax administration, debt financing, cost-benefit analysis and financial analysis. Duplicates credit in PPDE 645.

Methods and models for policy and program evaluation; methods for collecting and analyzing evaluation data; processes for linking evaluation to policy formulation and program management.

Supervised study of management, analytical, or other professional activities in government; integration of theory, practice and relevant literature.

Behavior in organizations; focus on personal, interpersonal, and group level factors that influence such behavior.

Constitutionally accountable and ethical practice, individually and organizationally; applications of core competencies; practical inquiry, analysis, systems; comparative frameworks; citizenship and public service. Prerequisite: PPD 540 and PPD 545 and PPD 542 or PPD 557. Open only to master and doctoral students.

Introduction to public policy analysis; issue diagnosis and policy design; analytic reasoning and argumentation; the role of the public policy professional; ethical issues in policy analysis.

Political and organizational perspectives on policy making process; agenda setting, policy design, adoption, implementation, evaluation, modification or termination. Policy leadership skills: negotiation and strategic mapping.

Management science methods that support decision making in policy, management, and planning settings. Includes linear programming, queuing theory, decision analysis, and forecasting.

Applied multivariate statistics in support of policy, management, and planning problem solving. Includes regression analysis, logit models, and an introduction to time-series models and multi-equation estimation.

Application and integration of the knowledge and techniques of analytic, quantitative, managerial, political and ethical analyses to specific public policy problems.

Introduction to leading issues of environmental governance and policy in looking toward a more sustainable future; normatively important concerns and the social, cultural, and political dimensions; thematic look from values to action.

Enables students to integrate theory, research and practice into an applied project of their own choosing. The output of this course is a professional report in a selected public policy or management area.

Use of statistical reasoning to answer questions related to public policy and management. Students will review and understand selected statistical techniques for analyzing data and for addressing public policy and management questions of interest using applied data analysis.

An introduction to the concepts and methods of public policy analysis and management. Highlights some of the constraints of the policy process. Includes examples from the United States but also presents comparative views of the contours of public policy in both developed and developing nations. The course applies public policy and management frameworks to selected areas of social policy.

Federal and state statutory and regulatory requirements affecting California transportation systems, including transportation planning and funding law; and government contracting, environmental and civil rights requirements.

Research leading to the master's degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

Part-time or full-time, practical work experience in the students field of study. The internship must be located at an off-campus facility. Students are individually supervised by faculty. May not be taken until the student has completed at least one semester of enrollment in the graduate program with a cumulative 3.0 GPA.

History, development, trends; major policy issues; organization of systems; principles and techniques of administration; management of institutional and community based programs. Open only to graduate students.

Emphasis on current or emergent issues in the health care industry. Focus on impact of recent health legislation and/or health care system responsiveness.

Determinants and analytical models of land use; interaction of land uses with environmental quality and natural resources, land use policy instruments; regulation, taxation, public services.

Legal, political/institutional, and technical aspects of environmental impact reports for urban planning.

Socioeconomic change, economic development theory, assessment techniques, and economic indicators in the context of planning and development policies and programs.

Urban planning and social work: theory, values, techniques of inquiry, and problem- solving methods appropriate to urban planning and social work.

Introduction to GIS systems and usage in the public sector; spatial data; understanding software and the application of technology; analysis of data using GIS.

Analysis of policies relating to transportation alternatives; institutional environment and background; federal, state, regional, and local agency responsibilities and interactions.

Theories of community and economic development and a contextual understanding of the forces that change the development and community life of urban areas.

An intensive introduction to leading through core values. Focuses on developing leadership skills at the personal level to build a foundation for leadership at all levels. Open only to Executive Master in Leadership students.

Application and practice of leadership skills working across the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Skills include negotiation, collaboration, communication, political management and ethical responsibilities. Open only to Executive Master in Leadership students.

Introduction to the theories and concepts and good city form. Explores the options for designing more livable and sustainable urban communities.

Sources of government revenue, intergovernmental financial relations, budgeting, public goods theory. Theoretical and applied skills in analysis of equity and efficiency issues.

Analysis/field application of action research models for strategic planning in public agencies; design of effective public systems; citizens/administrators' roles in strategic decision-making.

Issues in nonprofit management and leadership including: the role of boards; strategic planning; marketing and fundraising; financial management; and volunteer and human resource management. Recommended preparation: PPD 689.

Theories and techniques of assessing and improving interpersonal relationships and group dynamics in an organizational context; action research-based approaches to implementing organizational change.

Definition and history of terrorism, counterterrorism, domestic policy and public sector management; intelligence/information sharing and analysis; emergency perparedness planning, response and recovery.

Merit principles, position classification, recruitment and selection, compensation, organizational development, labor relations; challenges and strategies for managing a diverse workforce.

Nonprofit organizations and their relation to government and business; the role of philanthropy, social enterprise, and public support and implications for policy, strategy and management.

Focuses on developing the resourcefulness, know-how and decision support skills needed to identify, assess and develop new health ventures. Includes business planning, financing, strategy, entrepreneurship. Recommended preparation: PPD 510a or HMGT 565.

Selected topics in public policy, management and planning.

Philosophy of social science; applied social research; research design; sampling & validity; overview of qualitative and quantitative methods

Research fields and design; literature reviews; critical reading and critiquing; project development

Theories of the role, structure, and growth of the public sector; political economy of public bureaucracies; the voluntary nonprofit sector.

Urbanization, urban economics, land use, the politics of growth, governance, regulation, and the state, immigration, and place promotion.

Implementation of microeconometric techniques and assessement of studies; empirical strategies for research questions and data preparation and analytic tasks in Stata.

Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.