Certificate in Political Management

This graduate certificate program provides students with a foundation in political management. It is designed to provide expertise for students who wish to work in public policy advocacy, political relations, with elected officials with the public, nonprofit or private sectors.

The Certificate in Political Management consists of 14-16 units of graduate course work depending on the courses selected.

REQUIRED COURSES
Students are required to complete the following courses:

Core Course (4 units)
PPD 658 — Advocacy in Public Administration (4)

Foundation Course (Select One: 2 or 4 units)
PPD 500 — Intersectoral Leadership (2)
PPD 540 — Public Administration and Society (4)
PPD 554 — Foundations of Policy Analysis (2)
PPD 684 — Leadership Development in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors (2)

Choose two of the following (8 units)
Students will select two courses from the following list for a total of 8 units.

PPD 616 — Participatory Methods in Planning and Policy (4) PPD 656 — Political Management: Theory and Applied Techniques (4) PPD 657 — Political Leadership in Public Organizations (4) PPD 693 — Communicating Public Policy (4)

Admission Requirements and Application Procedures
Applicants for the Certificate in Political Management who are currently enrolled in a graduate program at USC and are in good standing with a 3.0 GPA only need to submit the appropriate paperwork for adding the certificate program, which may be obtained from the program administrator.

Applicants for the Certificate in Political Management who have not matriculated at USC must make a formal application for admission to the certificate program, provide transcripts of all college work, a resume and one letter of recommendation.

Please contact the USC Price Office of Admissions at uscprice@usc.edu for more information.