Certificate Courses

The Collaborative Governance Graduate Certificate allows you to earn a graduate-level credential in just over one year.

The Collaborative Governance Graduate Certificate allows you to earn a graduate-level credential in just over one year (depending on which electives you choose and their availability). With your certificate, you will be able to lead collaborative projects in your professional sphere or community to create and implement solutions to public issues.

You’ll complete 16 credit hours of graduate coursework—four core classes and one elective. All core courses are offered online. Electives may be offered online or in-person.

Core Courses

(Take all three)

PA 575: Foundations of Collaborative Governance (3 credits) - Fall
This initial course provides an overview of the current governing context and the new models that have emerged in response. In addition, students will explore the nature of collaborative relationships, the role of trust, harnessing the potential power of groups, and how to address conflict and reach consensus.

PA 576: The Practice of Collaborative Governance in Public Policy (3 credits) - Winter
This skills-based course focuses on the assessment, organization, and phases of facilitating collaborative agreement-seeking processes, emphasizing techniques and challenges for reaching mutually satisfying agreements, including how to frame an issue to increase the group's chance for success.

USP 584: Negotiation in the Public Sector (4 credits) - Summer
This course offers an overview of the conventional and innovative applications of negotiations in public sector activities, and the potential and limitations of negotiation-based approaches to public decision making. Key components include negotiation theory, individual skill development and a review of the institutional, legal, and political context of negotiations.

Electives

(Choose two. Courses not on this list may be eligible with program pre-approval. Timing of these courses depends on the department offering the course. Verify offerings in the PSU Course Calendar)

• PA 511 Public Administration and Democratic Governance (3 credits)
• PA 547 Culture, Values, and Leadership (3 credits)
• PA 510 Urban-Rural Ambassadors (1 credit)
• PA 533 Public Policy Origins and Processes (3 credits)
• PA 549 Cross-Cultural Communication in the Public Sector (3 credits)
• PA 556 Public Contract Management (3 credits)
• PA 558 Managing Public Projects and Programs: From Local to Global (3 credits)
• PA 560 Local Government Administration (3 credits)
• PA 561 Intergovernmental Relations (3 credits)
• PA 582 Public Budgeting Process (3 credits)
• PS 515 Comparative Public Policy (4 credits)
• PS 523 Civil Liberties (4 credits)
• PS 529 American Immigration Politics and Policy (4 credits)
• PS 571 Gender and Politics: A Comparative Perspective (4 credits)
• PS 576 Politics of Inequality in the United States (4 credits)
• USP 516 International Urban Issues Seminar (1 credit)
• USP 519 Population and Society (4 credits)
• USP 542 Land Use Implementation (3 credits)
• USP 550 Participatory Planning (3 credits)

Contact

For program information and student advising:

Kristen Wright
(503) 725-9078
kjwright@pdx.edu

For registration and admissions:

Public Administration Department, Main Office
T (503) 725-3921
F (503) 725-8250
publicad@pdx.edu