On Campus Program
The On Campus GDPA courses are offered during summer term in May and June. These are intensive one-week courses (Monday - Friday all day).
Attendance and participation is expected and evaluated as part of the final grade for each course. On top of the in-person learning mentioned above, significant work in the form of readings, quizzes, and independent and group assignments take place outside of class time.
Classes generally comprise no more than 30 students, allowing ample opportunity for class discussion and individual attention. The intensive learning environment is a strength of the program, and the professional contacts and friendships formed during the GDPA are one of the program's lasting benefits.
Most students take two courses in their first summer term and two courses in the following summer term. There is flexibility for students who need to extend their progression beyond two years.
COURSES
PA 9901 - Advanced Local Government
This course provides an advanced overview of local government in Canada. It surveys the structures, functions, and financing of local governments, and examines their relations with federal and provincial governments. This course is also a gateway for the rest of the program. It will give students the foundational knowledge needed to understand many of the most important issues facing local governments in Canada.
PA 9902 - The Policy Process in Local Government
Building on PA9901, this course introduces students to selected aspects of the academic literature on public policy processes and applies these in the Canadian municipal context, with particular emphasis on Ontario applications and examples.
PA 9903 – Theories in Organizations
This course introduces students to select aspects of the academic literature on theories of public administration and organizational behaviour. Students will learn how public organizations and the behaviours of the people who inhabit them relate to individual, group, organizational, and societal outcomes. They will apply a theory-based lens to help them better understand how public organizations work.
PA 9904 - Local Government Management/Administration
Drawing upon theories and research findings in public administration and management, this course examines administrative approaches, issues, and debates arising in local government administration. Students will learn how the complex and unstable environment of public sector organizations produces both challenges and opportunities for public sector managers and will apply insights from the management and public administration literatures to real-world local government settings.
