The public service sequence, listed on your degree, is designed to attract undergraduate students to careers in public service, to provide training for leaders in or likely to be in public service, and to offer development opportunities for more advanced students.
The public service sequence assumes that no government, regardless of its history and structure, can be better than the individuals who make it work. That is why the focus is on placing the best possible individuals in public service leadership.
The public service sequence is really a matter of enlightened self-interest. If our potential public servants are taught to do their jobs better, we are all the ultimate winners. How so? It is because we are all citizens and clients: we want to be served by an educated, professional set of governmental and quasi-governmental employees.
Students who complete the undergraduate sequence in public service may expect to find opportunities in a variety of career areas. Students have been employed in public service agencies that need specific talents and services. Agencies in which student have become full-time professionals include those associated with education,. underprivileged youth, hunger, the homeless, and health and medical issues. A goal of the sequence is to nurture committed involvement wit the community, from the global arena to the local arena.
Specifically, student completing the program have found jobs in the following areas:
The public service sequence is open to students in the political science major or minor. Students must complete 18 credit hours in the public service sequence as well as satisfy the respective major or minor requirements in political science.
The public service concentration requires students to take two courses: POS 231 Public Administration (F,S): Mission, structure, function, politics, and public policy development of public administration, including parameters of public finance and personnel. PREREQUISITES: POS 105 or consent of instructor;
POS 398.01: Public Service Internship (F,S)/ 3 credits: Planned, supervised experience in a governmental or community organization, providing on-the-job training and introduction to public service careers. PREREQUISITE: Department internship application procedure. Equivalent experience as determined by the internship faculty supervisor may substitute for the internship.
In addition to these two required courses and in consultation with the advisor, students will have two options for completion of the sequence: