CURRICULUM
Students must complete three required courses (9 credit hours) and one elective for a total of 12 credit hours to earn the Graduate Certificate in Collaborative Governance. Courses are offered so that students can complete the certificate within one calendar year starting in the Fall.

Required Courses (9 credit hours across three courses)
The following courses have been designed to provide an integrated cumulative learning experience, using online and direct delivery modes:

PA620A Collaborative Governance in Theory, Practice and Research (Fall online, 3 credit hours)- Provides students with a foundation in collaborative governance: the underlying theories that support it; how it is practiced in various policy arenas; and the recent findings from research to improve its use. Students will critique the use of collaborative governance in different case studies, apply principles of practice to simulated contexts, and develop alternative collaborative approaches to hypothetical or contemporary governance challenges.

PA622A Institutional Design and Learning for Collaborative Governance (Spring online, 3 credit hours) This course focuses on institutional design and learning in cross-boundary collaborative governance in  interagency, intergovernmental, cross-sector and civic engagement settings. We discuss a broad range of cases including economic development, human services, health care, education, environmental policy, biotechnology, and emergency planning.

PA 507 Conflict Management in the Public Sector (classroom, 3 credit hours)- This graduate course provides students with knowledge and skills to manage conflicts within their organization or agency, with contractors and client populations, and with organized stakeholders and the public at large. The course addresses the nature of professional conflicts and public disputes and the range of traditional and innovative methods for managing disputes, from coercion to litigation, arbitration, negotiation, facilitation, mediation, joint fact finding, multi-party negotiation and collaborative public engagement. Students will explore their own conflict styles and capacities and build skills in negotiation and conflict management in their roles as employees, administrators and public servants. They will also learn how to be more effective as leaders, advocates and participants in public disputes.

Elective (3 credit hours)
In addition to the core courses, students must select a graduate level course appropriate to the study of Collaborative Governance from SGPP (PA/POL), Law, Journalism, Communication or Psychology. Students should consult with the program director prior to enrollment in the elective.