Coping with diversity undergraduate public administration education in the 1980's

Abstract

This article examines the state of undergraduate public administration through an analysis of a survey of schools in the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration with undergraduate programs. The survey was based on a fourteen page questionnaire covering topics from background of faculty to required courses. The results confirm the diversity of the field. The diversity reflects both tensions between liberal and professional education and the inability of American public administration to develop a stable academic base. The article concludes with recommendations for how public administration can handle the diversity and facilitate the development of undergraduate programs. The authors are past-chairs of the Undergraduate Section of NASPAA and are actively involved in undergraduate activities nationally.