Graduate | Courses |

Bowie State University Courses

Graduate courses offered in Europe normally carry 3 graduate credits. Courses are scheduled in a variety of formats, including four alternating weekends. Forty-eight contact hours (50 minutes/hour) are required for each 3-credit classroom course. For detailed course information, students should refer to current syllabi, available online. Additionally, the current course schedule, as well as the projected schedule, is available online at www.ed.umuc.edu/schedule.

COUN | ECON | EDUC | INSS | MGMT | PSYC | PUAD | SPED

Counseling

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of career development as it impacts on individuals throughout the life span. A basic assumption of the course is that understanding the adjustment of individuals is highly dependent upon understanding the choices they have made throughout their lives. Emphasis is placed on career and vocational choice theories, counseling delivery systems, career information, and social and psychological factors in career decision-making. Formal and informal occupational classification systems are covered. A great deal of emphasis is placed on practical applications of career theory to school counseling, individual counseling, group guidance, job search and placement, and career adjustment. Formerly GUCO 608

This course explores the basic concepts of quantifying behavior including validity, reliability, norms, and methods of expressing test scores statistically. The course emphasizes standardized and non-standardized instruments, methods of communicating test results, and planning the school and non-school testing program. Practice in test interpretation is provided. Formerly GUCO 610.

This course is designed to develop appropriate skills, competencies, and knowledge bases and to examine the beliefs of counselors working with people across cultures. The course focuses on researching, reading, and developing an understanding of cultures, customs, languages, traditions, religions, and spiritualities of people across cultures. Emphasis is given to the understanding of counseling students and individuals in a very diverse world. Formerly GUCO 633.

Prerequisites: PSYC 502 and PSYC 734. The primary objective of this course is to acquaint students with important skills that are considered to be prerequisites for effective group counseling as well as working with other kinds of groups, both in schools and in community mental health facilities. These skills include the basics of group dynamics and an introduction to the laboratory training method of working with groups. Formerly GUCO 731.

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. This course provides an opportunity for students interested in counseling and mental health to study basic theories and application for the principles of family counseling. By using various theories, students will learn how the application of family theories is used in developing a holistic understanding of the dynamics of a family. Through an in-depth comprehension of family behavior, students will use various family counseling theories demonstrating their skill development in counseling families. Formerly GUCO 732.

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. Students will develop skills in the application of counseling techniques that are used with individuals of all ages who abuse drugs and alcohol. The importance of philosophical assumptions about “drug abusers” will be examined; students will examine their own philosophies of counseling individuals who abuse drugs. Basic counseling techniques will be demonstrated, and students will participate in exercises and case consultations to develop their own skills. Formerly GUCO 762.

Prerequisites: PSYC 502, PSYC 734, PSYC 780, COUN 610, COUN 731, COUN 840; attendance at a practicum orientation; and permission of the program director. This course emphasizes practical counseling with supervised experience in school guidance programs, the role of the teacher and/or administrator of community services in the guidance program, and consideration of the problems and issues in consultation in the counseling relationship. Formerly GUCO 836. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is conducted over two sessions.

Prerequisite: COUN 836. This course continues to develop skills and places in-depth emphasis on practical counseling with supervised experience in school guidance programs, the role of the teacher and/or administrator of community services in the guidance program, and consideration of the problems and issues in consultation in the counseling relationship. Formerly GUCO 837. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is conducted over two sessions.

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. This course addresses the specific developmental stages, needs, and problems of children and adolescents in school and in the community at large. Techniques for counseling these groups will be illustrated through demonstrations and personal growth and development activities. Formerly GUCO 840.

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. This course explores theoretical applications regarding marital and couples counseling with a strong focus on clinical application, including case conceptualization, hypothesis building, and therapeutic technique. Formerly GUCO 843.

Prerequisite: EDUC 706 and successful completion of the comprehensive examination. This course is designed to give the student guidance and practice in the preparation and writing of a professional paper in the area of School Counseling. The course will focus attention on a review of relevant literature on current trends, issues, and problems with presentations and class discussions. Formerly GUCO 861. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is conducted over two sessions.

COUN | ECON | EDUC | INSS | MGMT | PSYC | PUAD | SPED

Education

This course places emphasis on the study of the characteristics of human growth at each stage of development. Special emphasis will be placed on counseling in various settings, including schools. Instruction and practice in the writing of a case study report is also given.

This course is designed to provide the graduate student with an understanding of the various kinds of behavioral research and to develop an understanding of various research designs appropriate to behavioral sciences. Use of basic statistical techniques appropriate to these designs is included.

COUN | ECON | EDUC | INSS | MGMT | PSYC | PUAD | SPED

Psychology

Historical, philosophical, psychological, and sociological bases of counseling in different settings (school, agency, and community) and with different populations will be explored. Intervention strategies, theoretical models, working contexts, consultation, relationships to other professions, ethics, obstacles to service delivery, and personal qualities of counselors are reviewed.

Prerequisites: 15 credits of graduate counseling courses, including COUN 610. The course emphasizes the administration, scoring and interpretation of intelligence, academic, projective and personality assessments. Included will be a survey of their development, their underlying theories, and current trends in their use. The course will review such tests as the Wechsler Scales, Woodcock Johnson Tests, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Rorschach Inkblot Test, Thematic Appreciation Test, Gestalt Test of Visual Perception, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. This course integrates various assessment methodologies for a comprehensive process of assessment. The purposes, techniques, and process of clinical assessment will be explored. Techniques for understanding of non-verbal, verbal, and interpersonal transactions, including the recapitulation of the family structure and dynamics, are examined. Students are introduced to situational assessment, psychological inference, and report writing.

Prerequisite: PSYC 502. In this course, several of the major approaches to counseling will be examined. The theoretical bases and major concepts of these approaches, as well as the process of counseling proposed by the advocates of different schools, will be studied. The theories studied will include client-centered, Gestalt, Behaviorist, Adlerian, etc.

Prerequisite: 21 credits of graduate counseling courses. This course is designed for non-medical psychotherapists and counselors. Students will be presented an overview of the current therapeutic use of psychotropic drugs. A neuroanatomy, a survey on current research on neurotransmitters, and a review of pharmacological terminology will be given. Specific drugs to be considered include the narcotic analgesics, the sedative hypnotics, stimulants, neuroleptic, anxiolytics, antidepressants, and lithium.

This course is designed to provide the helping professional with the knowledge of the major ethical and legal issues in counseling, school counseling, and psychotherapy today. Students will be exposed to such topics as ethical theory, laws and court decisions, incompetence, malpractice, licensure and certification, privileged communications, DSM-IV and family therapy, legal liabilities affecting psychologists, and legal obligations of psychotherapists. Ethical standards for individual practitioners will be examined in detail. Participants will be involved in case research, group discussions, group reports, and individual presentations of ethical and legal issues in the field of counseling, school counseling, and psychotherapy.

Prerequisites: COUN 837 or PSYC 858 and permission of the program director. This course builds on the experiences gained from the prerequisites courses and has a similar structure.

Prerequisites: PSYC 502, PSYC 734, PSYC 780, COUN 610, COUN 731, COUN 732; attendance at a practicum orientation; and permission of the program director. This course places emphasis on practical counseling with supervised experience in community and/or agency programs. The role of the administrator of community counseling services is considered. Problems and issues in consultation and in counseling are examined. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is conducted over two sessions.

Prerequisite: PSYC 836. This course continues to develop skills and places in-depth emphasis on practical counseling with supervised experience in community and/or agency programs. The role of the administrator of community counseling services is considered. Problems and issues in consultation and in counseling are examined. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is conducted over two sessions.

Prerequisite: EDUC 706 and successful completion of the comprehensive examination. This course is designed to give the student guidance and practice in the preparation and writing of a professional paper in the area of counseling psychology. The course will focus attention on a review of relevant literature on current trends, issues and problems with presentations and class discussions. Formerly PSYC 561. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is conducted over two sessions.

COUN | ECON | EDUC | INSS | MGMT | PSYC | PUAD | SPED

Special Education

Students examine the historical development, philosophies, research, legislation, and current difficulties that have emerged relative to the education of exceptional children. The characteristics of children with disabilities and the principles of effective instruction, management, and intervention are addressed as they apply to special education. Family empowerment concepts are explored relative to the diversity of our schools and communities. Professional, community, and parent organizations and local, state, and federal agencies dealing with exceptional children are also identified.

COUN | ECON | EDUC | INSS | MGMT | PSYC | PUAD | SPED

Management Information Systems (MIS)

Prerequisites: Undergraduate programming and college algebra, or permission of the program director. Provides an overview of basic computer concepts as they apply to MIS professionals. Emphasis is on basic machine architecture including data storage, manipulation, the human-machine interface including the basics of operating systems, algorithms, and programming languages. In addition, the basic concepts of data organization including data and file structures are examined. Emerging trends in computer technology and their impact on organizational information systems are also discussed.

Prerequisites: Undergraduate programming and college algebra, or permission of the program director. Recommended prerequisite: INSS 510. Provides an in-depth look at software from a design and implementation perspective. Language semantics and syntax issues are explored. Specification and implementation of data structures are examined. Characteristics of non-procedural, heuristic, and object-oriented languages are discussed. Current developments in software engineering methodologies are reviewed as well as research into the improvement of those practices. Software project management concepts and software quality issues are also addressed. Students will be required to complete programming projects.

Prerequisite: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, INSS 620, or permission of the program director. Many information systems fail due to organizational and behavioral issues. This course examines the dynamics of individuals and groups as they relate to the design, development, and implementation of information systems within organizations. Information systems are discussed within the context of an overall sociotechnical framework. Organizational culture and the politics of change within groups are discussed. The role of the system analyst as a change agent is examined.

Prerequisites: Undergraduate principles of management and economics, or permission of the program director. Introduces basic management information systems concepts and examines the fundamental types of information systems. Personal, work group, and enterprise information systems are discussed. The use of information to gain competitive advantage are also examined. Other topics to be discussed include the economics of information, use of value-added concepts to evaluate information system effectiveness, and the application of system theory to information system architecture.

Prerequisite: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, INSS 620, or permission of the program director. Provides analysis of data communication technology and its application within the public and private sector enterprise. Gives an in-depth view of the communication environment, data communication and telecommunication equipment, and local and wide area networks. The student is involved in case studies of communication systems design in educational, industrial, governmental, and military environments.

Prerequisites: Undergraduate statistics and quantitative methods, and either INSS 510, INSS 520, INSS 530, INSS 620, INSS 630, or permission of the program director. Provides an in-depth look at all phases of information systems development. Requirements acquisition methodologies are reviewed and evaluated with respect to different application areas. Logical design is reviewed and implementation issues are addressed. Data-centered as well as process-centered approaches to system design are reviewed. Particular design methodologies including structured design and object-oriented design are discussed. Life-cycle as well as heuristic approaches to system development are examined and discussed. Organizational and behavioral issues with respect to information system development are examined. An analysis and design project will be required.

Prerequisite: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, INSS 530, INSS 620, INSS 630, or permission of the program director. Examines database concepts and practices as they relate to business environments. Various database structures including relational and object-oriented are discussed. Concepts of distributed database architecture are explored. Design, development, and implementation of databases are examined. Organizational issues concerning the implementation of databases and the role of data in the decision-making process are examined. Decision support system architecture is reviewed with emphasis on the database component. Issues of intelligent databases are discussed. A database project is required.

Prerequisite: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, INSS 620, or permission of the program director. Examines human information processing capabilities and limitations as they relate to the design, development, and implementation of information systems. Artificial intelligence methodologies for the emulation and enhancement of human information processing are examined. Expert system, neural net, and natural language processing are discussed.

Prerequisites: All undergraduate program prerequisites, INSS 510, INSS 630, and INSS 640 , or permission of the program director. Examines the issue of linking business performance with information systems technology. Alternative structures for matching the information system organization with the overall organization are discussed and evaluated. Planning mechanisms and strategies are examined. Behavior and legal issues that relate to information systems management are addressed. Case studies are used to expose students to information systems policy issues

Prerequisite: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, INSS 530, INSS 620, INSS 630, or permission of the program director. Explores security policies, models, and mechanics for secrecy, integrity, and availability. Topics include operating systems models and mechanisms for mandatory and discretionary controls; data models, concepts, and mechanisms for database security; basic cryptography and its applications; security in computer networks and distributed systems; and control and prevention of viruses and other malicious programs.

Prerequisite: Either INSS 510, INSS 520, INSS 530, INSS 620, INSS 630, or permission of the program director. This course covers a broad range of the information management issues, concerns, and approaches for identifying, measuring, and controlling the process of solving complex systems problems. It explores general and specific methods for efficient solution to a variety of information systems problems encountered in the private and public sectors. The course will give students a thorough understanding of the universality of systems thinking and the dynamic nature of system problems. Students will be exposed to a life cycle approach to selecting, developing, and testing alternative solutions. Students will also be introduced to both quantitative and qualitative techniques for preparing and presenting managerial reports.

Prerequisite: Either INSS 530, INSS 540, INSS 630, INSS 640, or permission of the program director. Provides an overview of the project management process as it relates to information systems. Project management techniques and methodologies for information systems development are examined. Important issues addressed include scheduling, resource allocation, risk assessment, contingency planning, management and user reporting, and automated project management systems. A survey of automated project planning tools is included.

Prerequisite: Either INSS 540, INSS 620, INSS 640, INSS 720, or permission of the program director. In this course, current issues in information systems management that relate to the integration and implementation of new information systems technology into the organization are discussed. Possible topics include managing end-user computing, integrating artificial intelligence capabilities into information systems, and using intelligent databases. The focus of this course is on the management issues raised by the adoption of new information systems technology.

Prerequisites: INSS 640, INSS 650, INSS 720, and advancement to candidacy in the MIS program. Provides the student with practical experience in analyzing, designing, implementing, and evaluating an information system in educational, industrial, governmental, or military environments. The student completes a systems development project in which all of the systems development cycles can be experienced. Students can be placed in practicum sites independently or in a team to acquire practical experience. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is normally conducted over two sessions.

Addresses current topics in the management information systems field. Course topics will vary. Recent special topics include issues in e-government, e-commerce, and global positioning systems.

Prerequisite: Successful completion of the comprehensive examination. A capstone course designed to expose the student to the various areas of information systems in the organization where concepts from other core courses can be utilized. The focus is on information science research and on policy formation and issues. Students produce a professional paper within their chosen area of interest. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is normally conducted over two sessions.

COUN | ECON | EDUC | INSS | MGMT | PSYC | PUAD | SPED

Public Administration

Prerequisites: Undergraduate macroeconomics and microeconomics or equivalent and undergraduate American political science or American government, or permission of the program director. An analysis of the elements, structure, functions, and processes of public finance. This course covers theory and practice of the allocation, distribution, and stabilization roles of the government at national, state, and local levels.

The focus of the course is on management responsibilities, functions, and requirements common to all complex organizations. In addition, students will study the legal, political, and economic environments that contribute to similarities and differences between public and private sector endeavors, the problems with which they are concerned, and the values that influence their decision-making.

Presents basic concepts of formal organizations. Students become acquainted with the major conceptual models which purport to explain organizational behavior, acquire an understanding of the methods used to study organizations, and analyze research which has been produced. While the emphasis is placed on critical analysis of literature which deals with “what is,” attention is given to views about “what should be” in order for people to derive maximum satisfaction and other benefits from organizational activity.

Provides students with an understanding of the problems, issues, and opportunities in managing the procurement, development, utilization, and maintenance of an effective, productive, and satisfied work force.

This course is designed to acquaint the student with the nature of and the problems associated with human conflicts in the context of domestic and international organizations. It explains conflict situations, explores the competitive and cooperative conflict styles, and identifies and describes conflict resolution techniques. This course also discusses the elements of effective negotiations and explains the advantages of added-value negotiating.

Prerequisite: Business statistics or permission of the program director. Provides the knowledge necessary to interpret published research results and to permit elementary research in business and public administration. Content includes descriptive statistics, probability, estimation, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, sampling, correlation, linear regression, and multiple regression.

Prerequisite: College algebra or permission of the program director. Acquaints students with the quantitative techniques commonly used in the decision-making process. Sample topics include concepts of decision-making and decision analysis, linear programming, sensitivity analysis, transportation and assignments, problems forecasting and time-series analysis, inventory concepts, PERT, and mathematical simulation.

Prerequisites: MGMT 511, MGMT 571, PUAD 601, and PUAD 524, or permission of the program director. Strategic Planning: analyses of operational systems, policy issues, development and implementation of solutions to managerial problems. Students in the MIS program are not eligible for MGMT 640.

This course will focus on the analysis of current issues facing top management in mid-sized and large firms. Emphasis is placed on such issues as the globalization of goods, services, capital, technology, domestic and global competition, market opportunities and threats, business strategies, and innovation. Recent developments and trends concerning reengineering as well as organizational and managerial functions also will be reviewed.

Prerequisite: Permission of the program director. Specialized individual study requires students to complete a major study that applies and integrates prior learning. Students may design a study from their own work area or from another as approved by the faculty member.

Prerequisites: MGMT 511 and MGMT 571. This course is designed to provide an understanding of the underlying theory of organization change and intervention; to explore how various change strategies can be applied to problems involving people in intact systems; and to analyze successful approaches and techniques in organizational development, to include materials, techniques, designs, current issues, and practices in organizational development. Other topics covered in the course include the organization as a system, organization assessment, team building and inter-group work as OD intervention, entry strategies, internal/external change agents, and third-party consultation.

Prerequisites: MGMT 511 and MGMT 571. Problems in industrial relations and manpower involving the public interest; the work force and management; labor relations, compensation, and wage administration; job analysis development and evaluation; and work force development and appraisal.

COUN | ECON | EDUC | INSS | MGMT | PSYC | PUAD | SPED

The study and application of research methodology for organizations for use as a tool in decision-making. Emphasis is on applied research theories and designs for methodological approaches that apply non-experimental and quasi-experimental research designs as part of the research strategy.

Prerequisites: Undergraduate macroeconomics, microeconomics, and American political science or American government, and PUAD 601, or permission of the program director. Covers concepts, principles, and practices, and their specific application to the development of resources in support of programs and the allocation of these resources against the demands at national, state, and local levels. The student evaluates performance budgeting, PPBS, and zero-base budgeting.

Prerequisite: Undergraduate American political science or American government. A survey of the fundamentals of public administration, management strategies, and management techniques at the national, state, and local levels.

Prerequisites: Undergraduate macroeconomics, microeconomics, and American political science or American government, and PUAD 601 or PUAD 502, or permission of the program director. Focuses on the analysis of costs and benefits in the selection of public policy choices. Students analyze public policy alternatives, factors, and processes involved in policy development, including the rule making that occurs after legislative enactment of public programs.

Prerequisite: Successful completion of the comprehensive examination. This course will explore the methods and models for policy analysis and program evaluation; methods of collecting and analyzing evaluation data; and processes for linking evaluation to policy formulation and program management. Emphasis is on how to conduct formative evaluations of government programs. Students are also able to make the appropriate distinctions between the administrative systems that make government programs work as well as how the impact of these programs on the quality of life in society is measured. Students produce a professional paper within their chosen area of interest. Th is course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F) and is normally conducted over two sessions.

Prerequisites: Undergraduate American political science or American government and PUAD 601, or permission of the program director. Focuses on the complexities and inadequacies of the federal-state-local system with conflicts and cooperation between the three levels; with changing roles of government; with the development of structures, processes, and management to strengthen the intergovernmental system and improve performance; and with increasing student problem-solving and managerial capabilities.

Last updated: 11 August 2008