Public Sector Human Resources Management (12 Credits)

View a printable brochure of this program

The Certificate Program in Public Sector Human Resources Management is offered by the Master of Public Administration Program at Penn State Harrisburg. The M.P.A. program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration.

Who Should Enroll:

The program is designed for administrators and other professionals in government and not-for-profit organizations who need to acquire additional knowledge and skills in the following areas:

• personnel/human resource management
• labor relations
• problem solving
• planning
• management of organizational change and development

Certificate Content

The Certificate Program in Public Sector Human Resources Management requires taking four courses (12 credits) - two required and two elective courses.

Required Courses

• *P ADM 505
• *P ADM 510

Electives (choose two)

• P ADM 511 Organizational Change and Development Theory of organizational change and development; case analysis of applications in actual situations.
• P ADM 512 Issues in Human Resources A survey of major human resource issues such as job stress, burnout, and the many forms of discrimination in organizations.
• P ADM 514 Public Organization and Managerial Consultation Review of the theories, approaches, methods, and expected outcomes of organization and management consultation and problem solving.
• *P ADM 515 Labor Management Relations Labor relations issues; collective bargaining agreements, negotiations, and administration; legal framework of collective bargaining; labor relations in a larger social context.
• P ADM 516 Strategic Planning A survey of strategic planning purposes, approaches/methods, and expected outcomes in small and large organizations.
• TRDEV 518 Systematic Instructional Design in Training Study of theory and practice of systematic instructional design. Application of instructional design principles to training problems in organizations.

*Note: MNGMT 505, MNGMT 510 or H ADM 510, and MNGMT 515 may be substituted for these courses.

Admissions Criteria

Individuals who have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university may apply for the certificate program. An application for nondegree admission to Penn State Harrisburg must be completed and submitted with copies of all undergraduate degree transcripts. Applicants must have a 3.0 grade point average in the last two years of undergraduate work. This requirement may be waived in exceptional circumstances.

Course Substitution

Applicants who have graduate degrees in public administration or a related field, and who have taken graduate courses that duplicate courses in the Certificate program, may substitute other courses in the M.P.A. curriculum for those courses. Graduate transcripts will be needed for this evaluation process. M.P.A. Program Certificate courses may be used toward completion of the Master's Degrees in Public Administration and in Health Administration. Please contact Certificate coordinators. Tuition for the Certificate program may be reimbursed by your employer - consult your Human Resources Office.

Additional Information

About Certificate program content:
Dr. James T. Ziegenfuss, Jr. (Email: JTZ1@psu.edu)
School of Public Affairs
Penn State Harrisburg
777 W. Harrisburg Pike
Middletown, PA 17057-4898
Phone: (717) 948-6050
Fax: (717) 948-6320