Political Science and Public Administration Faculty
Department of Political Science and Public Administration
Location: Building 51, Room 2407
Phone: (904) 620-2997
Web Address: www.unf.edu/coas/pspa
Dr. Natasha V. Christie, Chair
Mission
The mission of the Department of Political Science and Public
Administration is to serve the State of Florida through excellent educational
opportunities involving outstanding teaching, quality research, and effective
civic engagement. The department focuses its resources to provide both
undergraduate and graduate students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities
for understanding, participating in, and managing the institutions, processes,
and behaviors characteristic of national and international politics and public
affairs. With excellent instruction as the highest priority, the department
also supports extensive interaction with external constituencies through local,
regional, state, and national professional service, and applied and theoretical
research. The department is dedicated to maintaining program effectiveness for
both students and community partners through continuous self-assessment and
improvement.
The Program
The Department of Political Science and Public Administration
offers a bachelor’s degree program in political science. The department also
offers minors in political science and public administration. The Department in
conjunction with the Department of Communication also offers a minor in
Political Communication and Advocacy. The public administration minor is a fast
track minor that allows an undergraduate to gain admission to our Masters of
Public Administration upon successful completion of the minor and graduation.
These minors may be taken with a student’s major program; students should
consult with their advisor on procedures for declaring a minor. The department
offers a master degree program in public administration and a graduate
certificate in nonprofit management. This graduate program is one of the
largest in the College of Arts and Sciences with over 80 active students.
Bachelor of Arts in Political
Science
Political Science, the study of politics, is concerned with
understanding political phenomena and developing citizens who are aware of
their political rights and responsibilities. The political science major at UNF
has three broad objectives. The first is to convey to students knowledge about
the subfields within the discipline, with an emphasis on American government
and politics, comparative politics, international relations and public
administration. The second is to provide students with the skills needed for
active and effective participation in the democratic process.
The final objective is to prepare students for careers associated
with politics. The political science major provides an excellent background for
admission to law school, and is a solid foundation for graduate work in
political science, public administration and urban planning. Majors also find
exciting work in campaign and legislative politics. In addition to preparing
students for graduate work, the conceptual and methodological skills developed
in the major equip students for employment by local, state and national
organizations, corporations and nonprofit groups located in the U.S. and
foreign countries, international organizations such as the United Nations, the
print and electronic media, and secondary education.
UNF offers an undergraduate major in political science culminating
in the Bachelor of Arts degree. Two minors, political science and public
administration are available within the department. Majors must have a grade of
“C” or better in each core course, and a minimum GPA of 2.0 in major elective
courses. The department also offers a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and
Master of Arts in International Affairs (MAIA) degrees.
Political Science majors choose one of five concentrations to
organize their major elective credits. The concentrations allow students to
focus on one of the subfields of political science (American Politics,
International Relations/Comparative Politics, Public Administration and Public Policy,
and Public Law) or to choose General Political Science. Once students choose
their concentration, they choose four courses from the list of electives within
each concentration. Those students choosing the General Political Science
concentration may choose electives from a comprehensive list of courses
including all those available under the other concentrations. The remaining
free electives may be selected from any concentration or any other approved
political science course except the foreign culture courses.
Fast Track Options
A Fast
Track leading to the Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree is available
to UNF Political Science majors. Students who successfully complete the Fast
Track requirements, and who meet the admission requirements for the MPA
program, will be able to complete the MPA degree with 33 hours of credit rather
than the 42 credit hours otherwise required.
Undergraduate Fast Track requirements are that a student: (1) must
declare a Public Administration Fast Track minor prior to their senior year;
(2) must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher in the last 60 hours of
undergraduate course work; (3) must make a grade of at least B or higher in PAD
4003 (taken as part of the Fast Track minor core requirements); (4) must have a
B average or above for the five courses required in the Fast Track minor. All
sections of these conditions must be met in full.
If the undergraduate requirements stated above are met, Fast Track students may
continue into the MPA program provided they apply for the program and meet the
minimum Graduate Record Exam (GRE) requirements of the program for
unconditional admission. Fast Track students who enter the MPA program in
conditional status are not eligible for the 33-hour version of the program. MPA
students who meet both Fast Track undergraduate and unconditional admission
requirements may omit PAD 6106 and two MPA program electives from their
graduate program of study. The remaining MPA core courses and electives constitute
the 33-hour program. Please see the MPA Director for further information on the
Fast Track option.
Graduate Programs
The Master of Public Administration
The mission of the UNF M.P.A. program is to provide students with
a broad understanding of the theory and practice of public administration, and
to contribute to the betterment of the public and not-for-profit service
community in the state, particularly in the Northeast Florida region. These
general goals are obtained commensurate with the University of North Florida’s
commitment to excellence, focus, relevance, and accountability in all of its
academic programs.
The M.P.A. program serves to open a path to graduate education to
a wide variety of students, particularly nontraditional students, who seek an
opportunity to enhance their professional qualifications and career prospects
in the public and not-for-profit sectors. The ultimate purpose of the M.P.A.
program is to enhance the capabilities of potential and current administrative,
managerial and political leaders of the region to better serve their
organizations and the public in the competitive environment of the 21st
century.
The M.P.A. curriculum is intended to enrich student understanding of the
complex arrangements that constitute modern governance, and to enable students
to develop the skills and attitudes that contribute to effective program
administration. For the student who already possesses significant government or
not-for-profit experience, the program provides opportunities to gain new
skills and to develop an enlarged perspective on public sector management. The
department has added a concentration and a certificate in Nonprofit Management.
This concentration will help those students who seek a broader understanding of
nongovernmental agencies that engage in important social and cultural
endeavors. The program has a combination of night classes and
online/hybrid classes.
Students from any discipline or background or at any stage in their careers,
who are interested in public or not-for-profit employment or advancement, are
encouraged to consider the M.P.A. program.
Accreditation
The M.P.A. program has been accredited by the National Association
of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration since 1999. The most recent
accreditation rolls through 2020.
The Master of Arts in International Affairs Program
The mission of the MAIA is to educate students about our world
today, our country’s interactions with other countries, and individual
awareness of the many ways we interact with other countries, cultures, and
peoples at home or abroad. More specifically, the program concentrates on
educating our students about: the global context for US domestic and foreign
policy making; contemporary global issues; the US role in the world and other
countries’ reactions to that role; globalization and the global economy; and
the cultures and societies of other countries. Each of these goals fits with
expectations of potential employers. A recent report by the Association of American
Colleges and Universities noted the following knowledge and skills were desired
by employers: the ability to understand the global context of situations and
decisions, knowledge of global issues and development and their implications
for the future, understanding of the role of the United States in the world,
understandings of cultural diversity in America and other countries, and
proficiency in a foreign language.
The Master of Arts in International Affairs (MAIA) is an
interdisciplinary offered jointly by seven departments across two
colleges. The Departments of Political Science and Public Administration;
Economics and Geography; History; and Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
offer the common core courses; The Departments of Political Science and Public
Administration; Economics and Geography; History; and Sociology, Anthropology
and Social Work offer the common core courses; the Departments of Economics and
Geography; English; History; Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Philosophy
and Religious Studies; Political Science; and Sociology, Anthropology and
Social Work will contribute elective courses.
The MAIA program consists of a minimum of 36 credit hours,
18 of which are earned through an interdisciplinary common core of required
courses: International Relations Theory, Foreign and Security Policy, Research
Methods, Globalization and Development, International Economics, and US in
World Affairs. Fifteen (15) credit hours are major electives. The final 3
credit hours are earned through a thesis or non-thesis option, the latter of
which would involve an internship or study abroad component. Students will have
to demonstrate intermediate-level foreign language proficiency either upon
admission or graduation.
The MAIA is meant to prepare our graduates for a variety of
careers that demand knowledge of and engagement with the wider world. Examples
include: the US government (Foreign Service, and other State Department
positions, Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs, etc.), international governmental
organizations such as the UN and international nongovernmental organizations
such as Human Rights Watch or International Crisis Group; international and
development consulting; international business; and education. Locally,
employment opportunities exist with agencies such as the Jacksonville Port
Authority, import-export companies, international moving and logistics
companies, and other international businesses in the Northeast Florida region.
Department
of Political Science & Public Administration Faculty
Natasha V. Christie, Associate Professor & Chair
Michael M. Binder, Associate Professor
Mary O. Borg, Professor
Gaylord G. Candler, Professor and MPA Director
Georgette E. Dumont, Associate Professor
Josh Gellers, Associate Professor
Adrienne Lerner, Instructor and Pre-Law Director
Emily Maiden, Assistant Professor
Sucheta Pyakuryal, Assistant Professor
David M. Schwam-Baird, Associate Professor and MAIA Director
Nicholas Seabrook, Associate Professor
Enrijeta Shino, Assistant Professor
Nancy E. Soderberg, Faculty Administrator
Pamela A. Zeiser, Associate Professor
^ Go to top
