Public Service and Nonprofit Leadership
https://manchester.unh.edu/academics/degree-programs/public-service-and-nonprofit-leadership
Developing agents of change in the classroom and in the field
The bachelor of science degree in public service and nonprofit leadership provides an interdisciplinary, applied approach to the study of public and not-for-profit institutions and actors. Students explore the ways that leaders and citizens work in and around governments to address the complex problems confronted by N.H. and the U.S. today.
All students choose a path that enables them to complete an accelerated Masters in Public Policy or Masters in Public Administration, where they take their most advanced courses in the Major alongside graduate students in the UNH Carsey School of Public Policy. Those courses count as 12 credits toward their BS degree and as 9 credits toward a UNH-Carsey MPP or MPA, should a student choose to continue on to a Masters. Most students entering as first-year students will be able to complete a combined BS/MPA or BS/MPP within five years.
Politics and Society (PS)
PS 402 - Practical Politics
Credits: 4
With particular attention to the development and evolution of US political institutions over time, this course seeks to help students understand how national politics affects them and their communities and how they can, in turn, use that insight to affect national politics. We will work to develop not just new knowledge, but to foster tools and practices of civic engagement.
Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)
Mutual Exclusion: No credit for students who have taken POLT 402.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS #407 - Politics, Law and Contemporary Society
Credits: 4
This course examines the foundation and structure of the American legal system and the complex relationship between law, politics, and contemporary social structures, including the philosophical and historical origins of law and the concept of sovereignty. Using case studies and United States Supreme Court decisions, the course considers the philosophical, historical, economic, environmental, and sociological underpinnings of contemporary legal and politics issues.
Attributes: Social Science (Discovery)
Equivalent(s): POLT #407, POLT 407H
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 425 - Exploring Leadership
Credits: 1-4
Exploring Leadership is an introductory course on the foundations of student development and leadership, with an emphasis on applying the formal literature on leadership to help students develop and articulate their own personal philosophy of leadership and enact a leadership action plan for their club/organization/leadership position. no credit for students who have taken.
Equivalent(s): UMST 525
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 426 - Social Justice & Leadership
Credits: 1-4
An exploration of social justice through personal and institutional lenses to analyze power and privilege, discrimination and prejudice, inclusion and equity through the intersections of multiple social identities to develop student leaders who will promote an equitable and inclusive environment and serve as social change agents in the college and community.
Equivalent(s): UMST 526
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 430 - The Mindful Leader
Credits: 2
Research has shown that mindfulness and emotional intelligence positively impact leadership, job performance and satisfaction, and work-life balance. This course will introduce students to mindfulness and emotional intelligence through research, discussion, and personal experience. Students will explore how to lead mindfully and develop their emotional intelligence to better manage personal and professional stress and support a culture of vulnerability, non-judgment, and being in the present moment. This course is open to all undergraduate students. Credit cannot be earned if taken UMST 599: The Mindful Leader.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 500 - Wicked Problems: Puzzles in Public Policy
Credits: 4
Meaningful change in the US is difficult under the best of circumstances, and it's almost never the best o circumstances. As a result, the richer your understanding of the complex and often irrational US policy-making system, the better the chance that you will be able to understand why certain policies are made (or not made), why they take the form that they do, and how to alter them.
Attributes: Social Science (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course
Mutual Exclusion: No credit for students who have taken POLT 500.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 501 - Social and Political-Economic Theory
Credits: 4
Classics of sociological and political economic theory, as well as contemporary thinking in conservative, classical liberal, modern liberal, and radical political economy. Emphasis on the historical context in which these ideas emerge, and the links among them. Readings and discussions include such thinkers as Comte, Spencer, Weber, Durkheim, Locke, Marx, Smith, Riccardo, J.S. Mill, Shumpeter, Keynes, Hayek.
Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS #502 - Political Psychology
Credits: 4
Political opinion, identity, and belief-formation and reinforcement. The roles of cognition and emotion in how political identities, opinions and beliefs form, change and resist change. The implications of idea-framing in the acceptance and rejection of political concepts and ideologies. The role of social contexts and the media in creating conceptual boundaries in contemporary politics.
Attributes: Social Science (Discovery)
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS #502W - Political Psychology
Credits: 4
Political opinion, identity, and belief-formation and reinforcement. The roles of cognition and emotion in how political identities, opinions and beliefs form, change and resist change. The implications of idea-framing in the acceptance and rejection of political concepts and ideologies. The role of social contexts and the media in creating conceptual boundaries in contemporary politics.
Attributes: Social Science (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 506 - Civil Society and Public Policy
Credits: 4
Explores how grassroots advocacy organizations and social movements mobilize human and material resources in order to shape public policy and what tactics and organizational and communication strategies lead to success. Provides students with hand-on learning through service learning project at a local organization. Policy areas may include immigration, environmental conservation, women's issues and more.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 507 - Justice, Law and Politics
Credits: 4
This course examines the relationships among law, politics, and social structures and how much relationships shape our conceptions of justice. We explore philosophical and historical origins of US law and such concepts as due process and sovereignty. We examine the foundations and economic, environmental, and sociological underpinnings of contemporary legal and political issues.
Attributes: Social Science (Discovery)
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS #508 - Supreme Court in US Society
Credits: 4
This course examines Supreme Court legal holdings from the creation of the American Republic to the present, with attention to the social and historical contexts in which holdings have been made. We examine Constitutional issues, the process by which the Court examines such issues, the ways in which political and social context has framed and influenced Court decisions, as well as how the Court has influenced politics and the broader society.
Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)
Equivalent(s): POLT 508
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 509 - Political and Social Change in Developing Countries
Credits: 4
Overview of the pressing social, political, and economic issues in the developing world. Analysis includes: political development, including different forms of authoritarianism and democracy; international political economy and models of macro-economic development; international and national aid programs aimed at reducing poverty. Case studies include China, India, Iraq and more.
Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery)
Equivalent(s): POLT 553
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 510 - Politics of Food
Credits: 4
This course examines the politics of how food is produced, marketed and distributed in the United States, with attention to how the American food system has changed since World War II. The ethics and nutritional and public health implications of current agricultural policies and practices are looked at carefully, as are the environmental impacts of current practices. The impact on international food prices and markets and world hunger are also examined.
Attributes: Environment,TechSociety(Disc)
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 511 - Women and War
Credits: 4
Explores impact of war on women as both victims (i.e. refugees, rape victims) and participants (i.e. warriors). Covers issues such as women in combat as soldiers and terrorists, women's rights, sexual violence and rape during warfare, women's roles during peace-building etc. Case studies include Bosnia, Liberia, Afghanistan, USA, Colombia, and more.
Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery)
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS #513 - Politics of Red Tape: Bureaucracy & Policy
Credits: 4
Bureaucrat, someone is reported to have once said, is the only word in the English language that can be hissed even though it has no "s." The labyrinthine workings of government itself--the bureaucracy--are a seemingly constant source of fear, anger, frustration and indignation. Why does the public sector seem to generate such antipathy? We will explore this question, and examine how administrative agencies can be effectively and democratically managed. No credit if taken POLT 509.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 515 - New Hampshire Politics in Action
Credits: 4
A hands-on course on New Hampshire politics and policymaking, in which students will identify a Bill currently active in the NH General Court and develop and execute a step-by-step plan for helping get it enacted or defeated. Periodic travel to the State Capitol in Concord will be required. Writing intensive.
Attributes: Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 520 - Globalization: Politics, Economics and Culture
Credits: 4
Globalization is a complex web of interwoven processes that affect virtually all facets of our daily lives, from pop culture to economics to politics and everything in between. But what exactly is globalization, anyway? And does increased interconnectedness and interdependence do more harm than good? What are the effects of globalization on our society and on others around the world? How can we solve problems, such as climate change, that transcend national boundaries? This course covers different dimensions of globalization, exploring everything from free trade and global supply chains in business to the global hip-hop phenomenon to the problem of international terrorism, and many other issues.
Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery)
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 595 - Research for Political and Policy Action
Credits: 4
This course offers an overview of how the social sciences--political science especially--decide which questions to ask and how to design the research projects that will help them develop answers to those questions. As we explore these methods of inquiry and analysis, students undertake their own multi-methods research project to better understand something that interests or puzzles them while experiencing first hand the challenges inherent in sound research.
Attributes: Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course
Mutual Exclusion: No credit for students who have taken POLT 595.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS #599 - Peer Educator Development
Credits: 1 or 4
Preparing students to be leaders on their campus and in their community. Upon completion, students will be eligible to take the BACCHUS Certified Peer Educator (CPE) exam to become a nationally-certified peer educator. No credit for students who have taken UMST 599 - Peer Educator Development.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS #651 - Selected Topics: Public Service
Credits: 4
Interdisciplinary treatment of selected topics in politics and society. Topics may include democracy, empire and war, gender roles in electoral process, the sociology and psychology of terrorism, the political economy of hunger and poverty, the social origins of dictatorship and democracy, and others. Topic: Empire, Democracy, and War is Writing intensive.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS #695 - Public Service Independent Study
Credits: 1-4
Independent study on specific topics in Politics and Society. Project must be approved by the project supervisor Politics and Society Program.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 701 - Senior Seminar/Internship in Public Service
Credits: 4
Students undertake internships or other approved field projects with organizations such as political campaigns, media organizations, government offices, business or community groups. The seminar component enables students to share and analyze these experiences, employing readings, discussions, collective behavior games, and speakers. Permission required. Writing intensive.
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 731 - Community Leadership - Capstone
Credits: 4
Culminating experience for the Community Leadership Minor, but open to other students with instructor's permission. Working alone or in groups, students will design and execute a project of benefit to a community partner.
Equivalent(s): UMST 531, UMST 701
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
PS 750 - Poverty & Inequality Past and Present
Credits: 4
This course will help students develop the knowledge and tools, using the best available data and research from across disciplines, to describe the scale and scope of need in the US. It will also help you develop understanding of the causes of poverty, inequality, and homelessness, and the consequences of them too -- not just upon individuals and families, but ultimately upon entire neighborhoods, communities, and the nation as a whole.
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Mutual Exclusion: No credit for students who have taken POLT 750.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading