University of Southern California Certificate in Public Financial Management
http://www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/programs/certificate/public_financial_management.html
Certificate in Public Financial Management
This graduate certificate program provides students with a foundation in public financial management. This program required 52 units of graduate course work (53 for pre-service students).
Core Courses (14 units)
PPD 500 — Intersectoral Leadership
PPD 501ab — Economics for Policy, Planning, and Development
PPD 540 — Public Administration and Society
PPD 546 — Professional Practice of Public Administration
Management Competencies (12 units)
PPD 541 — Public Financial Management and Budgeting
PPD 542 — Policy and Program Evaluation or
PPD 557 — Modeling and Operations Research or
PPD 666 — Administration Research and Analysis
PPD 545 — Human Behavior in Public Organizations
16 units from these courses:
PPD 516x — Financial Accounting in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
PPD 554* — Foundations of Public Policy Analysis or
PPD 555 — Public Policy Formulation and Implementation
PPD 647 — Finance of the Public Sector
PPD 661 — Intergovernmental Management: Local Perspective or
PPD 662 — Intergovernmental Management: State Perspective or
PPD 669 — Federal Management Systems
10 units of approved electives from the following list:
PPD 510b — Economics for PPD
PPD 542 — Policy and Program Evaluation
PPD 652 — Financial Administration in Local Government
PPD 660 — Local Agency Debt and Cash Administration
PPD 661 — Intergovernmental Management: Local Perspective
PPD 662 — Intergovernmental Management: State Perspective
PPD 669 — Federal Management Systems
PPD 679 — Financial Administration in Developing Countries
PPD 688 — Business and Public Policy
Pre-service students must also serve an internship and be enrolled in PD 543.
Students may receive this certificate with a specialization in intergovernmental management provided they complete the three course sequence (PPD 661, PPD 662, PPD 669). Students may satisfy this requirement if they apply two of these courses toward the 10-unit elective requirement and apply the third course toward the 16-unit finance and related subjects requirement.
*Students who select PPD 554 (rather than PPD 555) must select an additional 2-unit elective.
Application Materials
Prospective USC students, as well as continuing USC students, must submit the following documents:
a completed USC Graduate Application (may be completed on-line)
$85 application fee (waived for USC current student, alumni, and staff)
official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
a current resume
one letter of recommendation, preferably an academic reference
a written statement of approximately 1,500 words addressing the following questions:
Why are you interested in pursuing the Certificate in Public Financial Management?
How will a Certificate in Public Financial Management affect or enhance your career aspirations and goals?
International students must also submit the following documents:
official TOEFL scores
official transcripts indicating the award of all degrees with the title and date conferred in the applicant’s native language and an exact translation into English of each document
a financial guarantee statement showing proof of the ability to pay all tuition and living expenses
Continuing SPPD students are not required to submit transcripts and letters of recommendation; these documents will be obtained electronically by the Office of Graduate Admissions from their original online graduate application.
Application Deadlines
July 1: Fall Admission
April 1: Summer Admission
November 1: Spring Admission