Students spend their first semester taking the required courses in the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Courses in the School of Public Administration are begun during the second semester of the first year. Thesis and field practicum are taken through the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.
Two versions of this dual degree are available, one with a general orientation and one with an emphasis on health services administration.
Students must apply to both schools and, if accepted to both, participate in a specially designed program combining course work from both schools.
Curriculum requirements for the general focus dual degree are detailed in the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology section of this catalogue. Students are encouraged to seek advisement as they plan their actual programs, since curriculum changes may occur.
Some of the topics covered in the Law Center are also covered in the program of the School of Public Administration, so some credit toward the law degree may appropriately be given for specified graduate work taken in the School of Public Administration. Similarly, some credit toward the master's degree may appropriately be awarded for certain work completed in the Law Center. The goal of the program is to encourage law students to gain a recognized competence in administration, which has a direct relevance for the roles lawyers are asked to play in society.
Students must apply to, and be accepted by, both schools. They may be accepted to a dual degree program at the time of their acceptance to the Law Center or at the beginning of their second year of law school. The program requires the completion of the required first year of law school and the fulfillment of a statistics prerequisite, either by passing a proficiency examination or by successfully completing PPMT 404 Statistics in Public Policy and Management before beginning work on the M.P.A.
Credit toward the law degree may not be given for graduate work completed prior to the completion of the first year of law school. The School of Public Administration, on the other hand, may allow some credit toward the M.P.A. for approved work completed prior to the first year of law school.
Students are required to complete 93 units of course work.
Second and Third Year The remaining 39 units of law school courses, four units of thesis and 24 additional units of public administration courses. These courses constitute the M.P.A. core.
Master of Public Administration and Master of Social Work
The Master of Public Administration/Master of Social Work (M.P.A./M.S.W.) dual degree offers students who are interested in careers as administrators of social agencies the opportunity to combine solid preparation in the substantive field of social work with the acquisition of the administrative capabilities necessary in the public sector.
It is anticipated that the M.P.A./M.S.W. will require two calendar years of full-time study. The first academic year will be devoted to the standard social work first year curriculum. Students can enter this program only with the written consent of both schools. Students who apply initially to the School of Social Work must declare their intention to pursue the M.P.A./M.S.W. dual degree at the time of their application. If admission is approved, such students will be admitted to the dual degree program. Social work students selecting this program are required to select the Community Organization, Planning and Administration concentration in their second year program. However, students who have substantial prior supervisory or administrative experience can petition the dean of the School of Social Work to waive this concentration requirement.
During the second year, the curriculum will combine both social work and public administration course work. The curriculum for both summers will be in public administration.
| Social Work (50 units) | Units | |
| SOWK 503 | Human Behavior and the Social Environment I | 3 |
| SOWK 505 | Human Behavior and the Social Environment II | 3 |
| SOWK 533 | Social Welfare I | 3 |
| SOWK 535 | Social Welfare II | 3 |
| SOWK 543 | Social Work Practice I | 3 |
| SOWK 545 | Social Work Practice II | 3 |
| SOWK 562 | Social Work Research | 3 |
| SOWK 586ab | Field Practicum I | 6 |
| SOWK 609 | Human Behavior in Groups and Organizations | 3 |
| SOWK 629 | Evaluation of Research: Community Organization, Planning and Administration | 3 |
| SOWK 649ab | Seminar in Community Organization | 6 |
| SOWK 679 | Social Planning and Administration Processes | 3 |
| SOWK 686ab | Field Practicum II | 8 |
| Public Administration (28 units) | Units | |
| PUAD 500 | Public Administration and Society | 4 |
| PUAD 513 | Finance of the Public Sector, or | |
| PUAD 514 | Public Financial Management and Budgeting | 4 |
| PUAD 526 | Public Policy Analysis | 4 |
| PUAD 597 | Public Organization and Management | 4 |
| Elective* | (PUAD) | 12 |
| *An elective is defined as one of the following courses: | ||
| PUAD 506 | Administrative Research and Analysis | |
| PUAD 512 | Public Managerial Economics | |
| PUAD 515 | Concepts and Practices of Public Budgeting | |
| PUAD 516 | Concepts and Practices of Public Personnel Administration | |
| PUAD 518 | Labor-Management Relations in Government | |
| PUAD 527 | Public Policy Formulation | |
| PUAD 528 | Public Policy Formulation and Implementation | |
| PUAD 551 | Financial Accounting in the Public and Non-Profit Sector | |
| PUAD 558 | Quantitative Analysis I | |
M.P.A./M.S.W. students are required to take three elective courses. Substitutions may be requested by petition, if the request courses are in the same field or concentration. Such requests should be made to the Master's Degree Program Office in the School of Public Administration.
Produced by the USC Division of Student Affairs, Office of University Publications, May 1, 1995