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UW-Green Bay Master of Science in ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE |
| AREAS
OF EMPHASIS
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Administrative Science program prepares its graduates for positions in management, policy making, policy analysis and planning, and quality control for business, government and nonprofit organizations. The program's core focuses on studying organizational and administrative processes and problems, and in devising solutions to these problems. The program offers areas of emphasis in Quality Management and Systems Design, Project Management, and Public Management and Policy. The program helps bright, competent individuals, many with significant employment experience, develop the skills and knowledge necessary to become highly skilled and successful practitioners with leadership capabilities to bridge soft and hard technologies, to evaluate organizational processes, and plan and implement effective changes. The program's approach is to combine classroom instruction with applied research in real organizations. For example, mid-career students are able to conduct studies as participant observers in the organizations in which they are employed. Full-time students who are recent college graduates are encouraged to seek “hands-on” internship work experience. Virtually all thesis and professional project work focuses on organizational and administrative problems that integrate classroom course work with employment and internship experience. Administrative Science is not a business program. It does not require or offer courses that are central to an MBA such as marketing or accounting. Nor is the program a substitute for a graduate degree in public administration. The program graduates people who are best qualified to serve in senior staff positions — not line positions — in private, public, and nonprofit organizations. The program is unique in its interdisciplinary focus on organizations. Intellectually, Administrative Science draws from the fields of industrial and organizational psychology, engineering, systems and decision sciences, social and natural sciences, mathematics, business, and public administration. The Administrative Science graduate faculty also teach in a variety of interdisciplinary undergraduate programs and have strong professional ties to organizations outside the University. In this way it is able to build on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's undergraduate program which is recognized nationally for its strong problem-focused interdisciplinary programs. The Administrative Science program will meet the needs of: • professional employees of business and industry, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations who want to hone analytical skills and stay abreast of rapidly growing knowledge in management and quality processes, policy analysis and planning, or system design and decision making for career advancement and professional development; • recent college graduates in the social or natural sciences, engineering, liberal arts, or other fields who desire administrative, managerial, planning, or policy analyst positions at a professional level; and • individuals who intend to pursue doctoral studies in public administration, business, policy analysis, and who wish additional preparation beyond the baccalaureate level before beginning doctoral studies. The program fits the needs of both part-time and full-time students. Many graduate students work full time, live within commuting distance of the campus, and prefer to pursue their graduate studies on a part-time basis. To meet the scheduling needs of part-time working students, courses that meet once a week for the full 15-week semester begin late in the afternoon or no later that 6 p.m. Courses are also offered in a compressed format of fewer than 15 weeks. These courses may require classes to meet for the entire day on some Fridays and/or weekends. Please check the semester timetable for this information before enrolling. Full-time students benefit from involvement with a community of students, from a wide variety of university activities, and from close working relationships with faculty. Fully prepared full-time students find that it typically takes two years to complete the program. Part-time students are encouraged to complete the program within five years or fewer, depending on the pace they take in completing course work and thesis or professional project. Students like the small class sizes and opportunities to work closely with faculty. The program's faculty has extensive involvement and experience with public, private, and nonprofit organizations, in addition to its notable academic achievements. A recent survey of graduates indicates that their positions and incomes improved significantly after they completed their degrees in Administrative Science. About one-third are now employed throughout the United States and two-thirds are working in Wisconsin. In addition to a required common core of courses, the Administrative Science program offers students the opportunity for specialization in an area of emphasis:
Each area of emphasis is designed to develop a different set of skills that prepare the student for a particular career track. Students are required to take five courses (15 to 16 credits) in an area of emphasis. Each area has core courses as well as electives. Students can also take independent study and an internship. In independent study, the student works with an interested faculty member to explore a subject not treated in the curriculum. Internships with organizations in the surrounding area are especially valuable for full-time students who wish to explore different careers or gain valuable workplace experience. This provides them with a practical work experience which enhances their academic learning and enriches their classroom discussions with peers, many of whom work full time. Quality Management
and Systems Design Management philosophy, theory, and practice continue to evolve at a rapid pace. This course of study links traditional management approaches with the emerging methods designed to improve effectiveness and efficiency in organizations that produce products and deliver services. In response to rapid technological change, global electronic communication, increased competitiveness, and a world economy, both public and private organizations must be dynamic and flexible to survive. Traditional mechanistic views of organizations and management are being replaced by a systems perspective. Embedded in the systems perspective are the relational demands associated with people, communication, collaboration, information, organizational knowledge, and change. The theory and practice in these fields are addressed in the courses Systems and Process Design, Organizational Assessment and Development, New Management Paradigms, Organizational Communication and Conflict, Project Management, and Human Resource Management. Project Management Much of the knowledge needed to manage projects, such as critical path analysis and work breakdown structures, are studied and applied through a two-course sequence in Project Management. Students are encouraged to work on real projects and develop and apply project management knowledge in scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communication, risk, and procurement. Students learn how to integrate these knowledge areas in the pursuit of project goals and objectives. The goal of the Project Management emphasis is to prepare students with a professional competence to define, plan, organize, implement, manage, and complete a project under real time and budgetary constraints and performance standards. Students have some flexibility in course selections such as Management Information Systems. They may development an independent study on a topic of interest or take part in an internship with an organization in Northeast Wisconsin. Public Management and
Policy Along with the required area of emphasis courses in Public Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation, students interested in a managerial career might take courses in Management Information Systems, Human Resource Management, and Regulatory Policy and Administration. Students with an interest in policy can choose from courses in Environmental Policy and Administration, Urban Politics and Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, Administrative Law, Public Finance and Fiscal Policy. Every student develops his or her academic plan, the course study, in consultation with a member of the graduate faculty and graduate program adviser. Students who are prepared adequately when they enter the program may earn the degree by satisfactorily completing 30 credits of course work, independent study, internship, and a six-credit thesis; or 33 credits of course work, independent study, internship, and a three-credit professional project. Students who lack appropriate prerequisites or technical knowledge will have additional requirements. A faculty committee evaluates each student's prior academic and work experience when she or he enters the program. All students must have a baccalaureate degree or equivalent and are expected to have knowledge equivalent to that obtained in undergraduate courses appropriate to their selected major and minor. Students are expected to have knowledge equivalent to that obtained in undergraduate courses in government, political science, mathematics, statistics, and economics. They are expected to have college-level writing, oral communication, and computer skills. Lack of appropriate background may be remedied by taking undergraduate courses (such courses do not count as part of the master's degree program) or by demonstrating competency in the subject area. If a student has not had a course in statistics, the student will be required to take a basic course in statistics such as 255-205 Social Science Statistics, 600-260 Introductory Statistics, or 216-215 Introduction to Business Statistics. Each of the three areas of emphasis requires somewhat different skills and backgrounds, so that prerequisites in undergraduate course work and work experience will vary. For example, students with an undergraduate major and work experience in business would be well prepared for the emphasis in Quality Management and Systems Design. Students with a background in public administration or political science, and seeking a career in public service, would be prepared for the emphasis in Public Management and Policy. Another prerequisite to succeeding is being goal directed and highly motivated for career advancement or change. In this case, an engineer or public employee seeking to make a significant advance would understand the importance of acquiring more specialized professional competence in project management or quality management to go along with leadership, problem solving, and organizational management skills. Students will work with an adviser to learn whether deficiencies exist and how to remedy them. All deficiencies must be remedied early in the student's graduate studies. Students who show exceptional promise, but who lack appropriate background in some areas, may be admitted provisionally. They may need to take relevant undergraduate courses or demonstrate competency in those areas to the appropriate faculty. Undergraduate courses taken to gain such skills and knowledge do not count as part of the master's degree program. Students who have been out of college for a number of years and in the work force may have developed skills that they did not obtain as college students but are considered appropriate for an Administrative Science degree. Thus, a student might satisfy graduate course and program prerequisites in consultation with program faculty who would review work experience with the student. All applicants to the Administrative Science graduate program are required to take GMAT or GRE exams and submit scores when they apply for admission. The requirements for the Master of Science in Administrative Science consist of successfully completing at least 30 credits of approved course work, independent study, and/or internship, and a six-credit thesis or professional project. If a student chooses to do a three-credit professional project instead of the six-credit thesis, she or he will be required to take three credits of course work on a topic related to the project. Students must maintain at least a B average to remain in the program and to graduate. A grade of C or better is required for course work to be counted toward graduation. Administrative Science students share a common 15-credit core that should be completed before the student engages in significant additional study. The core consists of five courses: three courses in organizational management and processes, one course in budgeting and finance, and one in research methods. Each student also selects an area of emphasis consisting of 15 to 16 credits of course work. Students must file a Graduate Program Plan in the semester in which six graduate credits are completed. An adviser must be consulted prior to filing the academic plan. Both the thesis and professional project require students to conduct original research, apply theoretical constructs to explore or solve organizational problems or test hypotheses with empirical data. Students who choose to write a thesis will work with a committee of three professors and more closely with the major professor. The thesis process involves writing a proposal which is reviewed and approved by the thesis committee, writing, and defending the thesis before the committee. The role of the thesis committee and major professor is to provide guidance, deal with unanticipated issues, help solve problems, and ensure that the completed thesis meets acceptable graduate-level academic standards. Under the professional project, the student will work with a major professor to research and write a professional paper that demonstrates an application of organizational or related theory to a practical organizational problem. While the professional paper may be more applied than a thesis, it must meet the same academic standards as the thesis. An example of the quality of work expected of the professional project is a paper acceptable for publication by an academic or professional journal, or conference presentation. Work on the professional paper is complete after it is evaluated as acceptable by two other professors. Normally the evaluation is made at a formal presentation of the work to the faculty. Program requirements change from time to time. New graduate courses are added and others are dropped. As this catalog is being published, the background and admission competencies and degree requirements are being reviewed and revised to meet AACSB accreditation standards. The new curriculum will be instituted for the fall 2002 semester. Information about the restructured program will be available from the Office of Graduate Studies and on the Graduate Program web site, www.uwgb.edu/gradstu, as soon as they are finalized. This catalog describes the program requirements at the time of publication. Consult an adviser for any changes since publication. Core Courses, 15 credits
Required Core Courses:
Advanced
Professional Applications, 3-6 credits
Areas of Emphasis, 15-16
credits
Take the following two courses:
Take three of the following courses after consulting with your adviser:
Alesch, Daniel J.,
Professor, Public and Environmental Affairs (Political
Science). B.S. (1962), M.S. (1964) UW-Madison; M.A.
(1969), Ph.D. (1970) UC-Los Angeles. Holly, James N.,
Lecturer, Administrative Science. B.S. (1960) U.S. Air
Force Academy; B.S. (1971), M. Engr. (1977), M.B.A.
(1981) Florida Atlantic University; Ph.D. (1983)
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Littig, David M.,
Associate Professor, Public and Environmental Affairs
(Political Science) and Program Coordinator, Graduate
Program in Administrative Science. B.A. (1960) Indiana
University; M.A. (1962), Ph.D. (1974) UW-Madison. Warner, Lora,
Lecturer, Public and Environmental Affairs. B.S. (1982)
Hope College; M.Ed. (1984) University of Virginia; Ph.D.
(1987) Virginia Commonwealth University. Emeriti Faculty Jowett, David,
Professor, Natural and Applied Sciences (Statistics).
B.Sc. (1956) University College of North Wales; Ph.D.
(1959) Wales. |