Certificate Program in Public Sector Human Resource Management

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.

Degree Conferred: Certificate only

Who Should Enroll

The certificate 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

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

Admission Requirements

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.

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 the certificate coordinator.

Prescribed Courses

Public Administration (P ADM)

• *505. Personnel Management: Public and Nonprofit Sectors (3)
• *510. Organizational Behavior (3)

Elective Courses (Select 2)

Public Administration (P ADM)

• 511. Organizational Change and Development (3)
• 512. Issues in Human Resources (3)
• 514. Public Organization and Managerial Consultation (3)
• *515. Labor Management Relations (3)
• 516. Strategic Planning (3)

Training and Development (TRDEV)

• 518. Systematic Instructional Design in Training (3)

*Note: MNGMT 505, MNGMT 510 or H ADM 510, and MNGMT 515 may be substituted for these courses.
Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 599. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (P ADM) course list

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT (TRDEV) course list

This page is not a part of the official Penn State University Bulletin.