PUBPOL 5983

Executive Master of Public Administration Capstone IV

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

The course is designed to act as an integrative experience combining the competencies and knowledge gained during the student’s time in the EMPA program and the experiences gained in employment. The field study allows students to work on a long-term project within their organization that has been identified as relevant to the coursework and important to the organization. Students will work on a project within their own organization throughout the 18-month course of the program. Applying what has been learned in courses and in their career, the students are expected to develop relevant and actionable strategic solutions for the project, culminating in an oral presentation, with a written summary of analysis, documentation, and rationale. The project, which will be determined in conjunction with the Capstone Advisor and a designated Executive-in-Residence (EIR), will allow the student to: experience firsthand project execution (including data collection and analysis), apply tools and concepts learned in EMPA coursework to actual organizational processes, hone skills for creative problem-solving, and develop and practice communication and leadership skills.

Prerequisites PUBPOL 5980, PUBPOL 5981 and PUBPOL 5982.

Exploratory Studies (CU-CEL)

Last 4 Terms Offered (None)

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate the ability to apply text, classroom, and career learning to real-life organizational problems.
• Demonstrate oral presentation and dialogue skills, demonstrate written communication skills.
• Demonstrate written communication skills.
• Demonstrate critical, creative, and reflective thinking (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills), providing their organization with a reasonable solution.

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