Public Planning and Administration (Bachelor of Science, B.S.)

This is a draft edition of the 2025-2026 catalog. Information contained within is subject to change.

The only undergraduate major of its kind in Missouri, the career-focused Bachelor’s Degree in Public Planning and Administration trains students to cultivate their appreciation for social sciences and humanities to improve the quality of life in their communities. Students won’t just learn social sciences and humanities, they will learn how to “do” social sciences and humanities for the greater good. Students with an interest in Economics, History, Philosophy, Political Science, or Sociology can put their core transferable skills to use in service to others. The Public Planning and Administration degree will prepare students for internships and employment in many growing areas: local, state, and national government; non-profit organizations; community outreach and uplift organizations; and service-oriented businesses.

Students who choose this bachelor degree program will have no more than 6 years from admission or subsequent declaration to meet the requirements listed below. If certification, accreditation or statutory requirements change and additional requirements become effective during this time, the new requirements take precedence.  

General Studies42
Students must complete General Studies courses 1
Major Requirements48
ACC 201Introductory Financial Accounting3
ECO 260Principles of Macroeconomics3
ECO 362Public Finance3
ENG 415Proposal and Grant Writing3
GBA 201Business Analytics and Reporting3
HIS 150American History since 18653
HIS 230Modern Europe: 1789 to the Present3
HUM 314Technology and Society3
PHL 230Ethics3
or PHL 231 Healthcare Ethics
or PHL 232 Business Ethics
PSC 101American National Government3
PSC 110American State and Local Government3
PSC 320Public Administration3
PSC 370American Public Policy3
SOC 110Introduction to Sociology3
SOC 230Social Problems3
SOC 400Racial and Ethnic Relations3
Applied Learning Requirements9
PSC 493Applied Learning Experience3
SOC 460Methods of Social Research3
UNV 301Community Service Learning for Majors3
Select nine credit hours from the following:9
Economics of Health Care
Missouri History
American Women's History
African American History
Race, Science, and Medicine in American History
Museums: History and Practice
United States Constitutional History
History and Philosophy of the Natural Sciences
Sociology of Health, Illness and Medicine
1

Courses in general studies may also be required within the major. While the course(s) may satisfy both requirements, the credit hours will count only one time in the overall hours earned.

Program Graduation Requirements 

  1. Earn an overall GPA of at least 2.0 and a major GPA of at least 2.0.

University Graduation Requirements 

  1. Earn a minimum of 120 credit hours (100 level and higher, maximum of 6 CED credit hours applicable).
  2. Earn a minimum of 30 credit hours in upper-division courses.  Lower-division transfer courses accepted as meeting upper-division departmental course requirements cannot be used to fulfill this requirement.
  3. Earn 30 of the last 45 credit hours at MWSU in institutional coursework (exclusive of credit by examination).
  4. Participate in required departmental and campus wide assessments. 
  5. Fulfill the Missouri Constitution requirement.
  6. Successfully pass the Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement exam.