All students are required to complete two core courses and 6 electives, as well as a capstone paper. The student is expected to complete an original research paper dealing with a chosen topic under the supervision of a MPA faculty member. It usually takes more than a semester to complete the capstone paper, and the minimum length is 15,000 for the paper to be written in English.
To benefit further from NTU's outstanding faculty and resources, students will also have the option to select up to two relevant courses from NTU's other graduate programmes as electives to fulfil their course requirement. These courses, however, must be approved by both the Director of NCPA and the NTU School or division concerned.
CORE COURSES
PM6000 Applied Public Sector Economics
This course serves as an introduction to how markets operate and how the public sector may improve market outcomes. Students learn about essential microeconomic principles and applying these principles to analyse public policy issues. The first part of the course covers markets and the price mechanism, the strategies of consumers and firms, and market structures. The second part examines topics relevant to the public sector. Topics include the effects of government intervention in the form of price or quantity controls, various kinds of market failure and rationales for government’s role in improving market efficiency, and basics of taxation.
PM6003 Public Policy: Theory and Practice
This course is designed to provide students an introductory overview in the field of public policy and policy science. Policy science refers to a problem-solving orientation that cuts across all disciplines to deal with important societal decisions. Policy science aims to integrate all relevant policy-related disciplines into a unified whole. Therefore, students having different backgrounds are all welcome to this course. This course introduces basic elements (e.g. policy environment, decision making, policy output, policy implementation, and policy evaluation) of a public policy process. This course also examines several substantive policy areas such as social welfare policy, education policy, economic policy, etc. in Singapore and many other countries. Students will have chances to analyse real Singapore policy cases by employing theories covered in the lecture. In sum, this course aims to provide both theoretical and practical training for students.
ELECTIVES
PM6001 Public Administration and Society
This course introduces the discipline and practice of Public Administration. With the examination of the academic development of Public Administration, this course provides students a basic framework of Public Administration through overview of all of its subfields including the political environment, intergovernmental structure, public ethics, public organisation theory and behaviour, public strategic management, public human resource management, public budgeting and financial management, and public policy.
PM6002 Public Strategic Management
This course examines the new approaches to public strategic management around the world particularly in the United States and other major OECD countries, including the new managerial revolution, the reengineering movement, the empowerment, the New Public Management, the public entrepreneurialism, privatisation and public-private partnerships.
PM6004 Leadership in Public Sector
This course examines theories and practices of leadership in public sector. It helps the students develop knowledge, understanding and skills to work more effectively in public sector and to be a more effective leader.
PM6100 Macroeconomic Environment and Policy
This course provides reviews and analyses of current macroeconomic issues and methodologies from the perspective of government policymakers, especially those in East Asia. In the first part, we discuss types of data used to measure macroeconomic performance. The second part covers basic macroeconomic models that economists use to explain the macro-economy in the short run and long run. Finally, we focus on applications of macroeconomic theories in the third part, and explore issues in stabilisation policies, international trade and international finance. An integrated theoretical framework introduces international dimensions from the start.
PM6102 Seminar in Public Policy and Management
The course serves two main purposes. One is to provide students with a broad overview of the practice of policy analysis. The other is to help students synthesise what they have learned in the MPA programme, and write a Capstone Paper. The first half of the course covers generic instruments of public policy, basics of benefit-cost analysis, policy implementation, and the role of policy analysts. During the second part of the course, students are provided with an integrative experience through their own efforts in developing an actual program in public policy or management. With faculty supervision and guidance, students go through all aspect of completing a Capstone Paper, including topic selection, problem definition, literature review, analysis, and writing.
PM6105 Research and Statistical Methods in Policy Analysis
The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of methods employed in pursuing research projects in policy analysis. Both the conceptual and empirical dimensions of the subject are explored. On the empirical side, considerable attention is accorded to qualitative methods which feature prominently in administrative research. Basic statistics such as descriptive statistics, probability, sampling, estimation, inference and hypothesis testing, variable analysis and correlation, regression theory, reliability and validity, and prediction and simulation are included.
PM6119 Globalisation and World Economic Order
The process of internationalisation, globalisation and eventual integration of world economy, driven by developed economies, has speeded up. The negative economic impacts of globalisation have prompted increasing demonstration from environmentalists and developing economies. What are the impacts of economic globalisation on the developed and developing economies?
PM6120 Urban & Regional Economics
This course consists of 4 parts: (1) land system and policy, urban structure and housing policy; (2) infrastructure investment and management; (3) transportation policy and management; (4) the issues of trade, labour, comparative advantage and so on in regional development.
PM6122 World Economic Development and World Financial System
The course evaluates the theories of world development and underdevelopment by per capita income and by different rates of GDP growth. It also covers the theories of recession and depression and measures for their cures. The course enables the students to achieve understanding of global economic problems and their recommended solutions. It helps them to assume a good leadership role in global economic fora as well as regional and national economic debates.
PM6127 Principles of Biostatistics
This course provides lectures designed to acquaint the student with the basic concepts of biostatistics and their applications and interpretation. Topics include descriptive statistics, graphics, diagnostic tests, probability distributions, inference, tests of significance, association, linear and logistic regression, and life tables.
PM6131 Globalisation and International Talent Strategies
At the time of accelerated globalisation and advent of the knowledge economy, talent management (including recruiting, nurturing and assessing) becomes a defining characteristic of a nation’s competitiveness. This course is concerned with the impact of globalisation upon different governments’ talent management strategies, both domestic and international. It first introduces various theoretical discussions about globalisation, “war for talents”, and brain circulation. It then discusses in details, and comparatively, talent strategies and challenges in Singapore, China, the USA, UK and Japan. Furthermore, this course will examine different patterns of reactions of global talents to various government initiatives. This course will also critically assess the impact of talent strategies not just on domestic and global talents, but also on the public policies within which talent mobility is to be situated. It concludes with some policy recommendations for managing talent at the time of globalisation.
PM6132 Singapore Public Administration
This course provides an in-depth study of the governance of Singapore--the principles of managing within government and its core public policies that have made Singapore a “first world” nation. Topics covered include: guiding ideologies in public administration, the Singapore style; relations between the ruling party and the government; relations between the government and the multi-racial citizens; relations between the government and the civil service; symbiotic relations between the government and trade unions and crisis management.
PM6133 Happiness and Public Policy
This course examines the concept, measurement, and comparability of happiness and its role in public policy. How happiness may be increased will be discussed both at the individual and social levels. Facts and fallacies on happiness will be critically examined. Questions such as whether money can buy happiness will be discussed. Related issues like environmental quality, relative competition and the appropriate level of public spending will be analysed. Implications for individuals and public policy will also be drawn.
PM6134 Financial Development & Financial Supervision
The course will first cover the broader issues concerning the financial sector, from monetary policy to ensure price and financial stability to financial sector development. It then delves with the financial markets, financial intermediaries and financial instruments. Finally, the course touches on the issues concerning public sector officials from financial supervision and regulation to prevent financial failure or crisis, managing financial innovation, to protecting financial consumers.
PM6135 Global Environment Politics and Governance
This course is first to introduce global environment politics and governance (actors, institutions, mechanisms, and power dynamics) to students, and examine the topic(s) b a typology of three categories: global common pool resources, transboundary environmental disputes and cooperation, and local accumulative environmental change. Secondary, the course, as part of the international relations (IR) curriculum, introduces advanced IR theories and elaborates the theoretical challenges and contributions of the environmental field focusing on power in international politics, causes for international cooperation and normative development in global governance. Students shall have a background in IR theory and commit to collective learning through discussion and interactive reasoning.
PM6136 Cost-Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice
Cost-benefit analysis is a formal way to estimate and weight the cost and benefits of policy alternatives. It is a standard and useful tool for government in both developed and developing economies to balance competing social goals, such as environmental protection and economic growth. Cost-benefit analysis holds a great deal of promise for aiding government decision-making.
PM6137 Behavioural Economics for Public Policy
Behavioural Economics studies how psychological limitations influence economic decision makings. Those who design and implement public policy can make use of behavioural economics to achieve the stated objectives of public policy effectively.
PM6138 Security Governance
The course build understanding of the changing threat landscape and how governments and partners should manage existing and emerging security threats. With rapid globalisation, the spectrum of threats have widened from conventional military threats to non-traditional security threats. The security threats range from missile and fissile proliferation, organised and common crime, piracy and robbery at sea, infectious diseases and pandemics, cybercrime and information infrastructure attack and terrorism and extremism. To manage threats, national security agencies, law enforcement, and military forces increasingly work with partners in community, private sector and academia. While the functional focus of the course is global, the regional focus is East Asia, with an emphasis on how Singapore manages security challenges.
PM6141 Global Finance: Policy, Economics and Technology
This course will provide a broad and policy-oriented understanding of global finance. It will take a multidisciplinary approach by drawing from public policy, economics, and urban studies. More than simply an economic phenomenon, finance affects the daily lives and urban environs of citizens across the world. While this course is largely based on the case of Singapore, it will also draw on the examples of other major global financial centres.
PM6142 Politics and Security in Asia
This course is intended to provide a comprehensive analysis on inter-state politics and regional security in Asia, covering Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Many analysts believe that with the rise of China, a power shift from the US to China is taking place in Asia. This power shift is generating tremendous impacts on the geopolitical alignments and security issues in Asia. The regional order is undergoing a profound transformation. This process of transformation, however, is expected to be very complicated and even dangerous given the intensifying strategic rivalry between China and the US, territorial and maritime disputes between/among various regional states, and the history of inter-state relations in the region. In addition to the impacts of Sino-US relations, the Asian region has been faced with a number of daunting security challenges, including the North Korean nuclear issue, the East China Sea dispute, the Taiwan issue, the South China Sea disputes, and the border dispute between China and India. None of these issues can be easily resolved and they will continue to affect peace and stability in Asia. There are other important issues that are pertinent to Asian security, for instance regional multilateral institutions, economic interdependence, nationalism and domestic politics in various regional states, as well as non-traditional security challenges. These will be the main topics that will be explored in this course.
PM6143 Innovation in the Public Sector & Policy Design
This course examines governance in a world of increasing complexity, hyper-connectivity, high level of uncertainty. In this challenging context, the public sector’s role in developing innovative solutions is critical. Public sector innovation has distinctive characteristics that make it irreplaceable, and they are linked to the authority of the State and the legitimacy of government to intervene in the public sphere to change the course of events in a manner judged preferable for society.
Through the interplay of technology, Public-Private-People (3Ps) collaboration, design thinking and behavioural insights, this course is designed to help students to analyse complex policy problems presented in case studies and develop innovative policy solutions to address long-term challenges.
PM6144 Public Economy & Budgeting Issues
This course introduces you to an in-depth examination of the forces that influence the behaviors of public administrators and policymakers engaged in the decision-making process on political-economy and public budgeting issues. A fundamental purpose of the course is to train you to have the economic way of thinking yet socially responsible decisions and to show how such approaches enable you to make more informed and better choices at an advanced level, especially given limited financial resources.
CAPSTONE
PM6999 Capstone Paper
Under the supervision of the MPA faculty, students are expected to write a paper that identifies and addresses a critical gap in knowledge about a particular issue in public policy or management, which is relevant and significant. The papers can be client-based or non-client-based, and they can be a policy analysis paper, a reform paper, or a case study. Students are expected to consider various analytical approaches learned in the MPA programme to address the problems chosen. Findings from Capstone Papers will be orally presented.
