The following advising guidelines and practices are currently in use by CDSI student services specific to the Public Management Degree program. Also to be considered are FAU guidelines for admissions and graduation as listed in the current catalog.

 

A. Admissions Requirements

1. There are no special admissions criteria for the BPM beyond those of FAU for transfer or four-year students. Students beginning their freshman program (students with fewer than 30 College or University credit hours) at FAU must follow the FAU "Native Student" guidelines in the catalog. Students admitted with significant college credit must meet the criteria of the catalog for transfer students.
2. Students transferring into the BPM from other FAU majors must have a FAU GPA of 2.0 or greater.
3. CLAST must be satisfied either by exemption or by completing the CLAST exam early in the Junior year. See the catalog for details on CLAST.
4. There is no special foreign language requirement for the BPM. However, all FAU graduates must satisfy the FAU Foreign Language Admissions requirement of 2 years of High School OR the second level of College language such as SPN 1121 OR demonstrate equivalent ability. See Admissions Requirement for Foreign Language in Catalog.
5. Gordon Rule requirements: refer to FAU catalog.

 

B. Prerequisite Coursework

1. Students are required to satisfy prerequisite course work either prior to or early in the BPM program. Students may choose to "dual enroll" at Community College to finish these requirements while attending FAU. Guidelines for the prerequisites are as follows:
   • American National Government: POS 1041 at FAU or POS 2041 at most FL Community Colleges. With advisor approval, this requirement may be satisfied with an introductory Political Science course usually titled "American National Government" or "Introduction to Political Science." Such a course should deal with the structure and functions of the U.S. Federal system. Students with POS 2112, State and Local Government on their transcript, may be allowed to use this course to satisfy the prerequisite with permission, but students lacking both should be advised to take the National Government course, not State and Local. American History, or World Civilization does not meet the intent of the prerequisite.
   • Economics: (ECO 2013 at FL Community Colleges) This requirement is satisfied with an introductory course in Macroeconomics. Microeconomics (ECO 2023 at FL CC) may be considered with approval from the Faculty member in charge of the BPM program but students lacking both are advised to take Macroeconomics-ECO 2013.
   • Introduction to Data Processing: Satisfied by an introductory ISM or CGS course such as ISM 2000 or CGS 1000.
   • Statistics: this requirement is satisfied with an introductory statistics course (STA2023 or STA3163). The statistics class at the sophomore level may be taken at community college.
2. Prerequisite courses can be taken at a Community College or FAU while pursuing the BPM. Students currently enrolled at FAU should complete a Transient Student/Dual Enrollment form to insure that credits are properly transferred to FAU. Students should be reminded to check with their financial aid and work reimbursement rules before enrolling for courses at two institutions simultaneously. Taking lower-division course work at Community College late in a student's program does not violate the "30 hours rule" stated in the Catalog because these prerequisites are not upper-division courses.

 

C. Required Public Management Core Course Work and PAD Elective Course Work

1. Students are advised to complete PAD 3003 Public Management and Administration during their first semester or as early as possible. This course is a prerequisite to PAD 4223, PAD 4414, and PAD 4604.
2. Students must complete each PAD prefixed course with a grade of "C" or better. A grade of "C-" will not counted as credit toward the BPM degree. Any PAD Required Core Course completed with a grade of C- or lower must be retaken. See forgiveness policy in the Catalog for grade replacement options.
3. PAD prefixed course work taken beyond the necessary three courses in the Required Elective Section will satisfy course work in the Approved or Free Elective sections of the program. The Special Topics course (PAD 4931) can be taken repeatedly as long as the course title and course content differs.
4. PAD 4945 Management Policies in Public Administration is a capstone course usually taught in the Spring semester and is appropriate for students after they have completed nearly all of the PAD core course work and achieved senior status. Students should contact their academic coordinator or the Director of the School of Public Administration, or the current PAD 4945 instructor with any questions regarding readiness for this course.
5. Directed Independent Study course (PAD 4905) must be pursued by the student with a faculty member. Students should not sign up for this course without first making arrangements with a PAD faculty member. The course will count either as a PAD elective, or approved elective.

 

D. Approved Elective Course Work

1. Students are advised to first select approved elective course work from the Faculty-Approved list of Electives. However, course work at the 3000 or 4000 level in general areas of studies represented by the prefixes listed on the SAS program also count toward the Approved Elective Section. Any PAD course not counted as part of the PAD Core or PAD Elective sections may count as an approved elective with a grade of "C" or better.
2. Students transferring from another degree program into the BPM with upper division credits may transfer up to 27 credit hours of 3000 and 4000 level credits into the approved elective section.

 

E. Free Elective Course Work

1. This section may be satisfied with 2000 level Community College or University course work not previously counted toward the first 60 hours of BPM degree. This section may also be satisfied with 3000 and 4000 level courses.
2. Free Electives may be used to fulfill FAU admissions, Foreign Language, Gordon Rule, General Education and/or BPM prerequisite deficiencies.

 

F. BPM Internship Requirement

1. All BPM majors must satisfy a Government Internship requirement either by completing PAD 4941 or by receiving a waiver from the School of Public Administration for work experience. Students who believe they have sufficient previous public sector organization experience must submit a letter to the Faculty member in charge of the BPM program through their Academic Coordinator. A waiver does not mean that 3 credit hours toward degree have been awarded-only that PAD 4941 is not required.
2. Students needing the internship course (PAD 4941) are to call the Faculty Internship Coordinator for this program (number and name available through academic coordinator) and arrange for the course.

 

G. Students Transferring with Upper Division Credits

1. Students who have completed PAD prefixed credits at another institution may bring these credits into their program. The course work will be compared/evaluated with the BPM courses offered and required by FAU. FAU requires that 30 credit hours of 3000 and 4000 level credit must be completed at FAU to receive a degree from FAU.

 

H. Double Major and Dual Degree

1. Students pursing a double major must satisfy the BPM prerequisites, 21 credit hours of PAD core and 12 credit hours of PAD elective course work. Students must also summit a Double Major form to the Office of the Registrar.
2. Student pursuing a Dual or Second Bachelors degree must meet the University requirement of 33 additional hours beyond a 120 degree program plus the BPM prerequisites, PAD core and PAD core electives.

During the first week of the last semester of the program, students are required to submit an application for graduation, which notifies FAU of your intent to graduate and begins the process of degree approval. It also enables the graduate to receive commencement ticket information.

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For any questions regarding the Bachelor of Public Management degree program, please contact Dr. Alka Sapat (Faculty Advisor) at asapat@fau.edu or at 561-297-0443.

For questions about advising, please contact the College Advising Center at 561-297-2316. To make an appointment with your advisor, please log on to the Success Network/Starfish.