Spring 2021 Course Offerings
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All information on this page is tentative and subject to change. Check the course catalogue for updates.
Instructors: Stephanie Davis
Offered: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:10-11:00 am
Delivery Mode: Hybrid
Course Description: This class introduces some of the most vital concerns and issues challenging democratic capitalistic urban societies today. Topics addressed include different perspectives on the causes and portent of the urban underclass, the growing inequality between the educated and less well educated in the nation’s labor markets, the causes of the marked resegregation of many of the nation’s urban centers by race and income and the implications of privatization and interjurisdictional competition for the public policy behavior and outcomes of subnational governments.
Instructors: David Bieri
Offered: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:20-1:10 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Introduction to real estate, including markets, land use planning and zoning, development, finance, construction, sales, marketing, management and property valuation. Examines the key actors and processes in each of these areas. Explores major public policies impacting real estate.
Instructors: Stephanie Davis
Offered: Monday & Wednesday 4:00-5:15 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Systematic analysis of the field and practice of public policy implementation. Includes analysis of the structure and dynamics of the policy process as well as specific analytic approaches to understanding policy implementation. Includes analysis of intra-organizational, interorganizational and intergovernmental implementation processes.
Instructors: Andrea Morris
Offered: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1:25-2:15 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Methods and approaches used in the analysis and evaluation of public policy; strengths and limitations of various analytic tools; normative issues in the practice of policy analysis.
Instructor: John Randolph
Offered: Tuesday 5:00-7:30 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Practical design fundamentals for small scale renewable energy systems: solar building heating and cooling; solar domestic hot water; wind, photovoltaic, and hydroelectric systems; alcohol, methane and other biomass conversion systems. Developing plans, programs, and policies to stimulate development of renewable systems.
Instructors: Ari Theresa
Offered: Tuesday / Thursday: 9:30am to 10:45am
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Examination of the legal context in which urban planning and public policy operate. Legal structure, role of law, powers of sovereign governments, constitutional limitations on government activities, and public-private conflict and their influence on planning and public policy are examined. Pre: Junior standing required.
Instructors: Theo Lim
Offered: Tuesday & Thursday 12:30-1:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Hybrid
Course Description: Course examines the interdependences among the elements of the built environment of the city and those between the elements of the built environment and the policy/planning structure of the city. Considered are those elements associated with the primary urban activities (residential, commercial, industrial) as well as the urban form-giving infrastructure facilities that support those land uses (water supply, sewerage, solid waste disposal, transportation, education, recreation, health, and safety).
Instructors: Ralph Hall
Offered: Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-3:15 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Unsatisfied with current economic and development trends? Concerned about the environment? Worried that advanced technology/robotics/AI are undermining the future of work? Students in this capstone seminar will explore these questions and consider how programs such as the Green New Deal could provide a unique opportunity to advance a more sustainable future.
Instructor: Chad Levinson
Offered: Monday and Wednesday 4:00-5:15 pm
Delivery Mode: Online Synchronous
Course Description: Introduction to government and politics of the United States the Constitution, and various institutional designs and structures. Focus on political culture, interest groups, political parties, and elections. Roles and responsibilities of Congress, bureaucracy, Presidency, and federal courts; Discussion of selected current policy issues.
Instructor: Giselle Datz
Offered: Monday 7:00-9:30 pm
Delivery Mode: hybrid mode (online and in person, if/ when possible)
Course Description: Focuses on actors, issues, and processes pertaining to foreign policy formulation and implementation. Examines theoretical and historical perspectives on foreign policy analysis. Investigates the national security, foreign policy, and diplomacy nexus. Discusses types of diplomacy and diplomatic methods. Pre: IS 2054 or PSCI 2054 or GEOG 2054.
Instructor: Joel Peters
Offered: Tuesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Hybrid (Zoom/in person)
Course Description: Examines the fundamentals of policy analysis and formulation and emphasizes research and writing on topics pertaining to diplomacy, security, and foreign policy. Focuses on policy analysis and evaluation and concentrates on policy design. Emphasizes preparation and presentation of policy reports. May be taken three times for credit with different policy topics. Pre: Junior Standing. (3H,3C)
Instructors: Diane Zahm
Offered: Tuesday & Thursday 8:00-9:15 AM
Delivery Mode: Hybrid
Course Description: Introduction to systems thinking concepts and their application to community-based problem solving and decision making. Emphasis on identifying interactions between technical and contextual dimensions of persistent, complex global problems. Introduces systemic frameworks for defining problems, identifying and engaging stakeholders, ideating interventions, selecting and employing criteria for decision making, and creating feedback mechanisms for iterative design. Ethics of community engagement is considered. Includes problem- based service-learning projects.
Instructors: R. Oliver
Offered: Tuesday & Thursday 5:00-6:15 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Process of urbanization and theories and approaches of urban development. Debates on the meanings of sustainable urbanization and development in cities and how they are measured. Urban sustainability initiatives in the context of urban political economies, land-use practices, urban inequality and diversity, urban nature, and urban policy and politics. Programs and policies designed to enhance sustainable urbanization. Comparative approach and global perspective.
Instructors: Ralph Buehler
Offered: Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Connections among active transportation (e.g., bicycling, walking) and significant global challenges such as physical inactivity, health, the environment, and the economy on local to global scales. Methods to assess walkability among communities with different worldviews and the influence of the built environment on rates of active transportation. Approaches to evaluate demographic and psychosocial predictors and physical and policy barriers to use of active transportation. Successful strategies to increase active transportation through community design guidelines, behavior change tools, transportation planning, and policy.
Instructors: Shalini Misra
Offered: Thursday 2:00-3:15 pm
Delivery Mode: Online -Asynchronous
Course Description: Strategies and skills for transdisciplinary problem solving. Emphasis on integrative thinking strategies and cognitive and interpersonal skills required to bridge scientific discipline-based, non-scientific discipline-based and cultural knowledge. Strategies to identify important disciplinary, non-scientific, ethical, cultural, and structural elements of a problem. Problem-based learning, ethics, team work, and effective communication skills.
Instructors: M. Gebresselasie
Offered: Wednesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg
Course Description: Cities as complex systems. Interdependence of social, economic, environmental, and technological components and how these change over time. Theories about city formation, structure, and change, with implications for sustainability, resilience, and globalization.
Instructors: Theo Lim
Offered: Tuesday & Thursday 11:30-12:15 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Critical examination of use of scientific and technical information in planning and policy-making, exploring issues and challenges through social science lens. Investigation of appropriate and responsible use of data within collaborative and deliberative policy-making and planning processes. Presentation of data and underlying models in accessible and understandable formats. Integrating all forms of knowledge into decision-making, including local and traditional knowledge.
Instructors: Terry Clements
Offered: Wednesdays 6:30-9:30 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Team oriented, problem-solving approaches to creating ecological cities that foster the interconnections between human and natural systems through coordination among multiple disciplines. Analysis of problems from practical and ethical perspectives in the context of the diverse knowledge bases and values of decision-makers in ecological cities. Formation and utilization of integrated design teams to solve complex urban design problems at a variety of scales.
Instructor: Neda Moayerian
Offered: Wednesday 1:30-4:00 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: This class offers collaborative community problem solving in team environments. Data collection, interpretation, and presentation augment community-based, iterative design and planning processes. Consideration of ethical engagement and community goals related to social justice, resilience, and sustainability. Discourse-based project culminating in presentation of intervention proposals to stakeholders. Pre: SPIA 1024, SPIA 2024, 3 credits in Discourse. (3H, 3C)
Click here to access this information via a PDF
All information on this page is tentative and subject to change. Check the course catalogue for updates.
Instructor: Chad Levinson
Offered: Wednesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington (VTRCA 6-051)
Course Description: Social science theory and research on the distribution of power in the US, especially as it shapes important national policy outcomes. Institutional and class bases of power will be examined, including membership on corporate boards and in policy-shaping think tanks. Implications for democracy in society will be drawn. Cross listed with UAP 5004. Graduate standing.
Instructor: Giselle Datz
Offered: Thursday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Instructor: K. Kitchens
Offered: Wednesday 10:10 am-1:00 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Instructor: Gerard Toal
Delivery Mode: Online – Asynchronous
Location: Arlington
Course Description: Examines theoretical issues in the study of global conflicts. Reviews theories of nationalism, states and territory as factors. Examines dynamics of contemporary conflicts from different regions of globe as case studies illustrating theoretical issues. Reviews role of leaders in conflict processes. Graduate standing. Cross listed with PSCI 5254.
Instructor: Mehrzad Boroujerdi
Offered: Tuesday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Key issues in international relations in the Middle East, including impact of political geography, emergence of regional systems, relationship between identity and citizenship, domestic and transnational political contestation, and U.S. regional policy. Application of theories of social change to examine linkage between citizenship, religion, and political authority. Focus on Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Persian Gulf region.
Instructor: Gerard Toal
Offered: Monday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online – synchronous
Location: Arlington
Course Description: Territorial basis of political systems, political processes, and political behavior from local to global scales; evolution of contemporary political geographic patterns, territorial divisions, and process of partitioning the earth. Cross listed with GEOG 5424
Instructor: Joel Peters
Delivery Mode: Online - not Zoom, asynchronous
Location: Arlington
Course Description: Dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Critical issues that underlie the conflict and divide Israel and the Palestinians. Diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the conflict.
Instructor: JA Glick
Offered: Wednesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: A multidisciplinary introduction to theory, strategy, decision making, and doctrine of Homeland Security as practiced in the U. S. Describes the threat, nature of current global conflicts in which the U. S. is engaged, Americas foreign and domestic policy responses to 9/11, and strategic and operational homeland security functions. Prerequisite: Graduate standing required.
Instructor: David Bredenkamp
Offered: Monday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Blacksburg
Course Description: The first of a sequence of two, provides theoretically grounded but practical knowledge on behavioral skills necessary for the public manager. These include the ability to lead, to supervise, to organize, and to communicate in public settings and in agencies serving the community and society. 5316: The second of a sequence of two, teaches the techniques and technology necessary to manage public organizations efficiently and effectively and to be held accountable for administrative actions and programs.
Instructor: David Bredenkamp
Offered: Tuesday 6:00-8:45pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Richmond
Course Description: The first of a sequence of two, provides theoretically grounded but practical knowledge on behavioral skills necessary for the public manager. These include the ability to lead, to supervise, to organize, and to communicate in public settings and in agencies serving the community and society. 5316: The second of a sequence of two, teaches the techniques and technology necessary to manage public organizations efficiently and effectively and to be held accountable for administrative actions and programs.
Instructor: Patrick Roberts
Offered: Tuesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington
Course Description: 5315: The first of a sequence of two, provides theoretically grounded but practical knowledge on behavioral skills necessary for the public manager. These include the ability to lead, to supervise, to organize, and to communicate in public settings and in agencies serving the community and society. 5316: The second of a sequence of two, teaches the techniques and technology necessary to manage public organizations efficiently and effectively and to be held accountable for administrative actions and programs.
Instructor: Rees
Offered: M 6:00-8:45 pm
Delivery Mode: TBA
Location: Arlington and Richmond
CPAP Students only by permission of instructor.
Instructor: Robin H. Lemaire
Offered: Tuesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Blacksburg
CPAP Students only by permission of instructor
Instructor: Stephanie Smith
Offered: Tuesday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington
Course Description: This course provides an introduction to the study and practice of public policy making. The content emphasizes the institutions and political forces at work in the process of making, remaking, and even unmaking public policy at all levels of government in the U.S. It is grounded in what we know about the complex dynamics of the policy process, as confirmed through scholarly research and practitioner experience. The process can vary considerably from one policy issue to the next in terms of the actors involved and the resources they can bring to bear in influencing the outcomes of the process. The course offers an understanding of the policy process primarily from the perspective of the public administrator. PhD only.
Instructor: Adrienne Edisis
Offered: Wednesday 6:00-8:45 pm
Delivery Mode: TBA
Location: Arlington
Course Description: This course examines the theory and practice of public policy design and decision-making. The course combines an introduction to the basic concepts and tools of policy analysis with consideration of the conflicting values and limitations on rationality that define policy decision making in the real world. Prerequisite PAPA 6514. MPA Only.
Instructor: Adrienne T. Edisis
Offered: Thursday 6:00-8:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Richmond
Course Description: This course examines the theory and practice of public policy design and decision-making. The course combines an introduction to the basic concepts and tools of policy analysis with consideration of the conflicting values and limitations on rationality that define policy decision making in the real world. Prerequisite PAPA 6514. MPA Only.
Instructor: Mathew Dull
Offered: Wednesday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington
Course Description: This course examines the theory and practice of public policy design and decision-making. The course combines an introduction to the basic concepts and tools of policy analysis with consideration of the conflicting values and limitations on rationality that define policy decision making in the real world. Prerequisite PAPA 6514. MPA Only.
Instructor: Ray Zuniga
Offered: Wednesday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Hybrid
Location: Blacksburg & Arlington
Course Description: Selected topics in public policy analysis and program evaluation. Theoretical perspectives, methodological issues, and current research on selected policies and programs at international, national, or subnational levels, etc. PhD and Master Level by Permission.
Instructor: Laura Jensen
Offered: Thursday 4:00- 6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Blacksburg & Arlington
Course Description: This course is designed for CPAP PhD and MPA students. Students from other programs may register only by permission of instructor. The seminar will examine the legal dimensions of public administration, focusing on the role of public law as the field’s foundation (in theory and in practice). Topics covered include constitutional law, administrative regulation, due process, and legal accountability. We will also consider what the “rule of law” means and what happens when public law seems wrong or unjust in the eyes of citizens. Throughout the term, we will probe the question of whether public law is a vital guide or an impediment to the operation of the modern American administrative state.
Instructor: Laura Jensen
Offered: Tuesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg
Course Description: Capstone A and Capstone B support the transition from advanced coursework to the development of dissertation research. Specifically, the capstones support the articulation of a sophisticated research question that engages a theory or conceptual framework, the development and implementation of a research strategy, the application of an appropriate methodology, and completion of a paper to be submitted to a conference or for peer review in a journal in the field of public administration and policy. Ideally, this work will provide a starting point for dissertation research. Capstone A focuses on the development of a research question, identification of a relevant theory, articulation of an appropriate methodology, and initial empirical research leading to completion of a draft paper that will be the basis for work in Capstone B.
Registration by Instructor Permission Only
Instructor: Stephanie Davis
Offered: Monday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Blacksburg
Course Description: This course surveys the basic concepts and practices of contemporary public budgeting at all levels of government, and considers the historic and contemporary relationships between and among the budget process; its political and economic contexts; the actors involved in setting budget priorities (whether public officials or citizens); and public policy and administration.
Instructor: Patrick Roberts
Offered: Monday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg
Course Description: Managing crises requires preparing for routine emergencies as well as more challenging and larger crises. This course will consider the theory and practice of crisis management and leadership and extend to governance, or the larger systems in which crisis management occurs. PhD and Master Level by Permission.
Instructor: Eric Malczewski
Offered: Wednesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Blacksburg & Arlington
Course Description: The course will examine the discretionary judgments of administrators as the central normative issue in the field of public administration and will look to constitutional principles for guidance in the responsible exercise of administrative discretion. Particular emphasis will be placed on selected court decisions to compare and contrast legal and moral reasoning. PhD Only.
Instructor: Raymond Zuniga
Offered: Thursday 6:00-8:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Face to Face
Location: Blacksburg
Course Description: Provides students with a general background in the design and execution of inquiry in public administration and policy. Includes examination of concepts, issues and problems of inquiry design, measurement, data collection, analysis, and the application of computers, and other information processing tools to support research and decision making in public administration and policy. MPA Only.
Instructor: Matthew Dull
Offered: Monday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg
Course Description: Provides students with a general background in the design and execution of inquiry in public administration and policy. Includes examination of concepts, issues and problems of inquiry design, measurement, data collection, analysis, and the application of computers, and other information processing tools to support research and decision making in public administration and policy. PhD Only.
Instructor: Stephanie Smith
Offered: Meeting: Thursday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington
DMP Reg for course semester in which student reaches 15 credits.
Instructor: Eric Malczewski
Offered: Thursday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Blacksburg
DMP Reg for course semester in which student reaches 15 credits.
Certificate Courses
(LGC Open to Graduates and Seniors at the Undergraduate Level)
Instructor: TBA
Offered: Wednesday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Explores the institutions and systems in which public administrators work, and the dynamics of public administration within the larger political, economic, and social environment. Special focus on the local government management profession, the evolution of the council-manager government and the core ethical and democratic values of the profession. Review skills necessary for effective local government managers, including critical strategic thinking, communication, organizational and community leadership competencies. Explores career management approaches for local government managers. Considers the implication of future trends in local government management and the profession. (3 hours, 3 credits)
Instructor: TBD
Offered: Thursday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: This course will focus on local government management and community development. It will examine the local government management process that supports community and economic development, including the local and regional planning processes, growth management, urban design for creating livable communities, property law, and local government tools and strategies for securing economic and community development. In addition, it will focus on the managerial competencies required for leading the community and economic activities of local governments. (3 hours, 3 credits)
Instructors: TBD
Offered: Wednesday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Examines the powers, structure, roles, and responsibilities of the local government within the U.S. and Virginia federal system from the perspective of the local government manager. Considers the election process, state legislative process, state/local relations and intergovernmental relations that constitute important internal and external forces in the local management environment. Explores the state/local government delivery systems of public education, public safety, transportation, public health, social services, environmental quality, criminal justice, and public works and utilities, as well as other programs that are provided either partly or wholly by local governments. (3 hours, 3 credits)
Instructor: Leisha LaRiviere & Sheryl Bailey
Offered: Wednesday 6:00-9:00 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Role of finance in the management of complex public, nonprofit, and nongovernmental organizations. Functions of financial management, including planning and budgeting, reporting, resource acquisition, and internal controls in the nonprofit context. Pre: Graduate Standing.
Instructor: Jim Banks
Offered: Tuesday 6:00-9:00 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Course Description: Professional managers engaging legal, ethical, and normative systems affecting nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations (NGO), both domestically and internationally. Historical foundations of legal regulation and professional ethics impacting nonprofit and NGOs. Professional ethics. Tax implications related to charitable giving, advocacy, lobbying, political and commercial activities of tax-exempt organizations. Current theories of nonprofit and nongovernmental organization regulation. Pre: Graduate Standing.
Instructor: John Randolph
Offered: Tuesday 5:00-7:30 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Blacksburg
Course Description: Critical review of energy issues from local to international including economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Introduction to energy science, engineering, and economics. Application of energy and economic analysis to efficient and renewable energy systems in buildings, electricity, and transportation. Review and assessment of energy planning and policies for efficient and renewable energy at the local, state, and national levels. Prerequisite: Graduate Standing required
Instructor: Kris Wernstedt
Offered: Tuesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Hybrid
Location: Arlington (VTRCA 6-017)
Course Description: An examination of a wide range of computer-based techniques that are of value in analyzing urban and regional planning and management problems. Techniques include linear programming, goal programming; modeling of complex systems; and decision modeling. May be repeated with different content for a maximum of 12 credits.
Instructor: Yang Zhang
Offered: Tuesday 2:00-4:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Hybrid
Location: Blacksburg (AA1)
Course Description: An examination of a wide range of computer-based techniques that are of value in analyzing urban and regional planning and management problems. Techniques include linear programming, goal programming; modeling of complex systems; and decision modeling. May be repeated with different content for a maximum of 12 credits.
Instructor: Diane Zahm
Offered: Thursday 12:30-3:30 pm
Delivery Mode: Hybrid
Location: Blacksburg (AA111)
Instructor: Thomas Sanchez
Offered: Thursday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington
Instructor: Shalini Misra
Offered: Monday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg
Course Description: The course will provide an overview of key planning theories, planning history, and planning processes and approaches. This course is intended to equip you with a set of conceptual tools that will improve the quality of deliberation and provide you with a critical perspective on the challenges and issues facing contemporary urban planning. Pre: Graduate Standing.
Instructor: Yang Zhang
Offered: Monday 9:15-12:00 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Blacksburg (AA 111)
Course Description: Concepts, theory, and practice of resilience-based, climate- change integrated natural resources management and hazards planning. Effects of land, water, soil, and ecosystem management on quality of life for present and future generations. Natural resources and natural hazards planning process and tools for local communities and policies at state and federal levels. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours. Pre: Graduate standing.
Instructor: Shelley Mastran
Offered: Wednesday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg
Course Description: Procedures for: (1) identifying the type, magnitude, and locational characteristics of urban land uses; (2) making projections of future land use; and (3) preparation of land use plans.
Instructor: LA Krometis
Offered: Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 pm
Delivery Mode: Hybrid
Location: Blacksburg (SEITZ 108)
Course Description: Introduces students to the principles and planning process of rural water supply and sanitation (W&S) services in developing countries, with a focus on appropriate technologies. The course is structured from an interdisciplinary perspective providing both an engineering/science and policy perspective on the subject. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to plan appropriate water supply and sanitation systems and technologies for developing countries that are compatible with social and geographical contexts and available financial and human resources.
Instructor: Thomas Sanchez
Offered: Wednesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg
Course Description: Offered with undergraduate course TBA. A topics course focusing on the methods and techniques of evaluating physical development needs of metropolitan areas their sub-areas. Emphasis on elements of land use, physical development needs, representation, and the role of comprehensive plans and implementing regulatory ordinances (zoning, land subdivision regulations, building codes, environmental regulations). May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 12 credits.
Still under development.
Instructor: Ari Theresa
Offered: Tuesday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg
Course Description: Fundamentals of law as it applies to the use of land, with a primary focus on its practice in the United States. Comparative land use law. Case law and statutory law briefing. Constitutional and statutory limitations on regulation; common law principles; traditional use-based zoning and zoning processes and documents; alternative approaches to planning and zoning such as smart growth techniques and form-based codes; and the relationship between land use regulation and urban/metropolitan issues, such as social segregation, sustainability, and environmental justice. Pre: Graduate Standing.
Instructor: Ralph Buehler
Offered: Thursday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg
Course Description: This course in urban transport planning focuses on concepts, methods, and applications for sustainable transport. Generally all modes of daily urban travel are considered, but the course focuses on policy and planning for bicycling and walking. We cover the following topics: sustainable transport in the United States, data sources for transport planning, introduction to the urban transport planning process, regional travel demand forecasting, traffic calming, as well as planning for bicycling and walking. Guest speakers will highlight aspects of planning for more sustainable transport.
Instructor: Ralph Hall
Offered: Wednesday 12:30-3:15 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg (AA 111)
Course Description: International development project initiation and institutional framework; project design processes, criteria, and methods; implementation and evaluation design processes, criteria, and methods. Examination of case projects by public and private donor agencies as a basis for project design. Emphasis is placed on synthesizing and practicing skills through the preparation of a proposal for an international development project/program.
Instructor: John Provo
Offered: Wednesday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Arlington & Blacksburg
Course Description: This course will provide students with an opportunity to conduct a real world study involving data gathering, analysis, writing and presentation; become familiar with the tools and strategies in economic development; understand project management skills and requirements; and gain experience working in a team for a client. Pre: UAP 5234 or UAP 5784
Instructor: Todd Schenk
Offered: Wednesday 7:00-9:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Hybrid
Location: Blacksburg
Course Description: In-depth case-based exploration of roles of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in policy-making. Application of theories, concepts and practices for policy decision-making, including stakeholder engagement, human behavior, and organizational development. Critical examination of ethics, and fostering of reflective practice. Implications of "big data” and modeling in decision-making. Pre: Graduate standing.
Instructor: Max Stephenson
Offered: Monday 4:00-6:45 pm
Delivery Mode: Hybrid
Location: Blacksburg
Course Description: Roles of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO) in international development. NGO interactions with local governments, community organizations, international governmental organizations, and private businesses. Tensions and collaborations between NGOs and other development actors. Pre: Graduate Standing.
Instructor: Leisha LaRiviere & Sheryl Bailey
Offered: Wednesday 6:00-9:00 pm
Delivery Mode: TBD
Location: Richmond
Course Description: Role of finance in the management of complex public, nonprofit, and nongovernmental organizations. Functions of financial management, including planning and budgeting, reporting, resource acquisition, and internal controls in the nonprofit context. Pre: Graduate Standing.
Instructor: Sheryl Bailey
Offred: Wednesday 6:00-9:00 pm
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
Location: Richmond
Instructor: Mehrzad Boroujerdi
Offered: MTWTF 8:00-5:00 pm (March 22-26, 2021)
Delivery Mode: Online w/Sync Mtgs
This intensive, one-week professional development course designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the U.S. national security apparatus, the appropriations process, gaming, decision-making under adverse conditions, and the relationship between emerging technologies and national security. Participants may be SPIA students enrolled in degree-seeking programs, or national security professionals who are taking this program for professional development. Modules will be taught by leading academics and policy experts, including from the uniformed services and federal agencies.
Current VT students will be permitted to register for the program through regular course registration processes and their successful completion of the course will qualify for 3 graduate credit hours.