Local Government Management Graduate Certificate

Overview
Requirements

The Graduate Certificate in Local Government Management is designed for current professional staff, elected or non-elected local government officials, and those who are interested in pursuing a career in the local government sector. The certificate can be taken by itself or in conjunction with the Master of Public Policy Administration degree or other graduate degree. A separate application for the certificate program may be required when students in a degree program wish to incorporate the certificate program.

For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed this graduate certificate program, and other important information, please visit our Gainful Employment Disclosure website: http://umsl.edu/go/BpC .

Requirements

The Graduate Certificate in Local Government Management requires the completion of 18 credit hours. Twelve of these are the following core courses:

P P ADM 6180	Governmental Budgeting and Financial Control	3
P P ADM 6340	Seminar in City Administration	3
or P P ADM 6350	Issues in Urban Management
P P ADM 6490	Human Resources in the Public Sector	3
POL SCI 6470	Proseminar in Urban Politics	3
or POL SCI 6471	Seminar in Urban Politics
Total Hours		12

Three hours of electives are to be taken from selected courses in business administration, criminal justice, economics, political science, and public policy administration. A student may choose among these courses or other courses approved by the program director. Electives will be chosen from the following course list:

Select one of the following: ¹		3
CRIMIN 6442	Communities and Crime
ECON 4160	Geospatial Analysis in the Social Sciences
ECON 5700
POL SCI 6470	Proseminar in Urban Politics
POL SCI 6471	Seminar in Urban Politics
P P ADM/SOC WK 6300	Leadership and Management in Nonprofit Organizations
P P ADM 6340	Seminar in City Administration
P P ADM 6350	Issues in Urban Management
P P ADM 6400	Proseminar in Public Administration
P P ADM 6510	Urban and Regional Planning and Public Policy
P P ADM 6600	Managing People in Organizations
P P ADM 6680/MGMT 5612	Negotiating Workplace Conflict
Total Hours		3

Three hours of internship are also required but may be waived if the student has sufficient professional experience in the field. Any request for an exemption from the internship requirement must be submitted in writing and approved by the local government program director after a review of the student’s professional or managerial field experience. Students who receive an exemption must take another three hours of electives from courses listed above.

Other courses may be added as advisors deem appropriate for content.

Requirements for admission to the graduate certificate program include an undergraduate degree and a GPA of 3.0 or better. Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation. At least one of the letters should be from a current or former college-level instructor. Applicants must submit a two-page personal statement explaining how the certificate program fits in with the applicant’s educational and professional goals. The letters and the personal statement should be sent directly to the Public Policy Administration Program.