Public Administration

Aim and program profile

The objective of the programme is deepening and expansion of knowledge obtained from the bachelor programme in the field of public administration, by exploring new achievements of the science on public administration, for sustainable cultivation of the theoretical and scientific profile of the future graduates that the programme will produce. The goal of this programme enables growth and development of research skills on administrative and diplomatic processes and issues. Through individual research work, the attendees of the programme will identify, explain and develop an advanced theoretical scientific concept and a pragmatic quality performance in the field of public administration and diplomacy. The programme encourages students to give original and advanced comments, to have a well-informed approach on trends and developments in the country and region. The programme will affect development of skills that will meet highest scientific standards and will assist students in developing critical, analytic and research skills that can be applied in many fields, especially in the core areas of the programme.

Expected learning outcomes

– to successfully apply the knowledge acquired from Public Administration and Diplomacy in many situations where relevant practical and theoretical issues are considered; -to assess issues based on their context, relevance, immediacy and importance and relate relevant information and key sources through electronic media or other means from the point of perspective and success; – to assess issues and to find a solution related to the implementation of the advanced theory on Public Administration and Diplomacy, on the current concept of Public Administration Reform. – To know about the best international practices of academic world and refer to them when conducting empirical and theoretical research in elaborating and exploring fields of study; -to demonstrate free opinion, critique, and ability to provide a creative approach to problem solving in the context of native country principles, objectives and strategies in the field of public administration by respecting international and European documents on human rights and freedoms. -To be consistent with regard to scientific progress and to develop a research ambition for doctoral level studies.

Academic level and degree

Upon completion of two years of studies, the students obtains the title: Master of Arts in Public Administration (MA).

Duration of studies and workload

Master studies last for two years with four semesters online, while the total number of ECTS is 120.

Year I

Political and administrative institutions – 7 ETCS

The course will develop an overview of political and administrative institutions from political and administrative viewpoints. It will analyse political and administrative institutions and stakeholders of democratic states and compare them with political and administrative institutions of Kosovo. It will address studying political phenomena in different historic, cultural and institutional contexts. In the beginning, there will be a differentiation between political and administrative institutions and interaction between them. It will also deal with the operation of administrative institutions in the framework of public institutions and main developments that characterise these institutions.

Scientific Research Methodology – 7 ETCS

The course will develop the basic concepts on scientific research, an analysis of relation between theory and practice in the research and in understanding how scientific research may be implemented effectively during the work with institutions. The module will address a number of key ethical, practical and theoretical issues in the field of methodology of scientific research. It will analyse data collection techniques, organisation of data, editing and drafting of reports, data severance and final presentation of research reports.

EU Institutions – 6 ETCS

The course aims at explaining the development of European Union institutions and their administration. It will also focus on institutional changes in the EU and different stages of its enlargement and the effect of the enlargement as regards its administration. It will also tackle EU governance in several levels (multi-level governance) and its interaction with the administrations of member countries.

International Public Law – 6 ETCS

The course aims at studying the international legal system. It will focus on the main topics of the filed, such as: sources and subjects of international law, international state jurisdictions, use of force. It will also address relations between international law and domestic laws. It will elaborate on several matters of international law adjudicated upon by national and international courts as well as treaties, resolutions and other important legal instruments.

Information Storage and Protection – 4 ETCS

The course will deal with issues of inspecting, protecting and benefiting from information and detection of various responses to threats that emerge once information is acquired. It will also focus on technical and managerial solutions as well as those related to information security. It will consider different actions that render preservation and conservation of information possible. In addition, the course will exploit the notion of information, operational and strategic nature of information, legal framework, law on access to information, syntactical, semantic and pragmatic aspects, techniques at the service of information, etc.

Globalisation and International Organisations – 4 ETCS

Globalisation has brought radical changes in medical and economic environments in which it operates. Market liberalisation, deregulation and new information technologies are redesigning global political and economic systems. The course will address globalisation consequences among institutions and states and the increasing role of international organisations as prevailing institutions in the international political system. The notion of globalization, international organizations, globalization stakeholders, technology, Internet and liberalization of borders, corporations and global market redesign, global security and sustainability of global economic stability.

SEMESTER II – Profile: Public Administration

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Local Government Administration – 7 ETCS

The subject was built around studying the basics concepts of local governance. It will focus on local government units, power, authority, trends and developments in government agencies from a comparative viewpoint. A special attention will be paid to the basic concepts and policies as set out in the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The course will study the relation between laws, politics and reality. The subject will also compare the reality of the local governments in the state of South-East Europe with the view of analysing the strong and weak points of their limited domestic powers. Therefore, we will employ political concepts and theories of concepts analysis and case studies.

Management and Leadership – 7 ETCS

The subject content is focused on a background of management and leadership, administration bodies and implementation of management and leadership processes, from management to leadership; role of management and leadership in administrative organizations and other state bodies; Impact of various individual differences and situations in practices of leadership.

Advanced administrative law 6 ETCS

The Advanced Administrative Law will focus on the division of administrative government and other independent administrative agencies. This because the number of administrative agencies in Kosovo has amounted to 40 and there is a need to understand this from the administrative law viewpoint. Moreover, it will focus on problems that derive from administrative procedure and its permanent reformation. Finally, it will address methods used to expand legal control over administration action.

E-Administration – 6 ETCS

The course aims at dealing with e-administration, which is present in every environment in which administrative decisions are taken, including all issues that relate to the digitalisation of public administration. The subject presents the e-government technology with an in-depth analysis of current government development and management in the provision of services and information in an electronic form, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Advanced Administrative Law – 6 ETCS

The Advanced Administrative Law will focus on the division of administrative government and other independent administrative agencies. This because the number of administrative agencies in Kosovo has amounted to 40 and there is a need to understand this from the administrative law viewpoint. Moreover, it will focus on problems that derive from administrative procedure and its permanent reformation. Finally, it will address methods used to expand legal control over administration action.

Administration of EU Institutions – 4 ETCS

The course elaborates on structure and physiognomy of EU institutions, administration mechanisms, action strategy in implementing the objectives and the legal framework in practice and appraising the performance of EU institutions. Hence, the course explains the development of EU institutions and their administration by focusing on institutional changes in the EU and different stages of its enlargement and the effect of the enlargement as regards its administration. It will also tackle EU governance in several levels (multi-level governance) and its interaction with the administrations of member countries.

Human Resource Management – 4 ETCS

The subject of Human Rights Management explains clearly the meaning and importance of human resource management and engagement at the right time and in the right place within the scope of an organization. The course will deal with basic functions of management, such as: planning, organization, leadership and oversight. A successful human resource management helps provide for and satisfy organisation’s needs for quality people and skills at the right time and in the right place.

SEMESTER II – Profile: Diplomacy

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History of Diplomacy – 7 ETCS

The course aims at explaining the development and evolution of diplomacy in the historic context. The course will also focus on changes, institutional relations and interaction of diplomacy and its methods in different circumstances in the course of its development, through different processes that have taken place internationally. The subject also explains various stages of expansion and the impact of the expansion upon administration and management of international matters.

Theories of International Relations – 7 ETCS

The course has been designed to explore diplomacy as a political process and an instrument of foreign policy from theoretical and practical viewpoints. The course will address theory from a historical viewpoint and from the perspective of diplomats’ interaction with their governments. Studying diplomacy from a historical viewpoint enables us to understand how diplomats use the information on politics, economies and societies of their states.

Public Diplomacy – 6 ETCS

Public Diplomacy is about understanding, engaging, informing and influencing the external opinion. The course will study the forms of conducting foreign policy by means of public diplomacy, such as: media broadcasts, different cultural relations, establishing human networks through elites, etc. The course will address public diplomacy from the perspectives of its historic evolution and strategies and techniques that it employs to influence the international opinion. It will focus on building important communication and data analysis skills by taking into account morale, political and practical issues of public diplomacy.

Basics of Security and Transnational Threats – 6 ETCS

The course will analyse institutional responses as regards international cooperation in the fight against transnational crime and terrorism and trafficking of human beings in particular. The course involves an analysis of universal legal concepts underlying the approach to “transnational” or “international” crimes and an evaluation of types of institutions established to track down and try international criminals. The course will focus on several notions, such as: the notion of security, threatening transnational factors, globalisation and organised crime, globalisation and terrorism, international conventions and documents on prevention of organised crime and terrorism and the relation between socio-economic factors, organised crime and terrorism.

Politics and Religion – 7 ETCS

The course will provide students with knowledge of basic concepts of and theoretical approaches to politics and religion. The course will involve a wide range of topics and relations between them tyre. The objective is to develop a critical approach to religion and politics as well as analytical and studying skills as regards relations between the two.

Diplomatic Practices of the European Union – 4 ETCS

The course will address the diplomatic system of the European Union and activities that have characterised the BE as regards diplomacy and foreign policy over the last 50 years. It will also deal with the operation and basic practices of the current European diplomacy whereby we can understand the system of foreign services and the European diplomatic organogram. It will also study EU legislation with reference to EU diplomacy.

Year II

Comparative administration – 7 ETCS

States vary as to administrative models and this is the reason why there is no unique administrative model which we would hold ideal and typical. The course will focus on existing differences between states, differences that stem from political, cultural and technological factors, etc. In addition, in terms of comparison, the course will also focus on the reform and comparison of elements that have survived in most modern administrative systems. Moreover, special weight will be attached to modern administration organisational structure and operation, to the legal and constitutional system and interferences in modelling public administration.

Administrative Procedure and Conflict – 7 ETCS

The Administrative Procedure study course involves two specific fields: the administrative procedure and administrative conflict, which constitute the main subject of study of the so-called formal (procedural) of administrative law. The elaboration on administrative procedure during the course enables the students to gain knowledge of and understand, explain and analyse issues that relate to the notions and institutions of procedural administrative law more easily. Basic notions and principles of procedural administrative law will be explained in the beginning of each part.

Preparatory Seminar on Master Thesis – 6 ETCS

The stage when the master thesis must be identified, conceptualised and defined and when its draft must be prepared represents one of the most important tasks to complete the knowledge gained during the master studies. Accordingly, the course focuses on the practical application of this important phase, as the students attending the master studies in the department have a separate semester for mentoring the preparation of their master thesis. The course has been organised so as to go through all the stages, so that the student is ready to embark on the mentoring stage for the completion of the thesis for the master’s degree.

Analysis of Public Policies – 6 ETCS

The course will address a number of issues that relate to public policies, starting with the interaction between politics and public policies; values and ideologies that enliven the debates on public policies; the power or powerlessness of markets, governments and communities as solvers of social problems; main features of a decision-making process and the way this process has changed historically. Hence, the content of the course was prepared so as to allow the students to become familiar with the public policymaking process, including all it stages as well as interaction of various institutional and extra-institutional stakeholders in the development of public policies.

Management of Public Funds – 4 ETCS

The aim of the course is to introduce the students with standards and practices in the financial work of organisational groups, methods and use of public funds through public procurement and other techniques related to financial administration and responsibility. It will also include an observation of analyses of technical aspects of accounting and an interpretation of financial reports. The concept of efficient utilisation of resources represents a foundation for principles and procedures and allows for establishing a rational resource allocation framework. The course helps create a balance between theory and practice and observes all practices from various studies and was designed so as to elicit students’ interest.

Public-Private Partnership – 4 ETCS

The course content deals with the initial processes of identification and determination by distinguishing the concepts of cooperative governance, strategy and public private partnership, partnership between stakeholders, accountability, sustainability, conscientious capitalism, social value of joint corporate partnerships. By the end, ne we will start discussing the added value of innovative partnerships in resolving the seemingly difficult public policy issues.

Master Thesis 30 ETCS

Master thesis must be an original work done by the candidate and meet professional criteria and standards, be written in accordance with the rules on drafting scientific papers, with a suitable and revised terminology and appropriate technique. The thesis, or the dissertation, as it called otherwise, or the draft research, is perhaps the most important task or project that a student will undertake andwork on while at universityandis often the main indicator of communication, studying and research skills of a student. A dissertation must adhere to some basic principles of academic writing. This is a structured part of writing that develops a clear line of thought(an ‘argument’) as an answer to a central question or proposal (thesis). Dissertationis an extended part of the work,usually divided intochaptersand a considerably more detailed examination of issuesin the related field andvarious pieces of evidencerelated to the field ofstudy,which requires much more effortthan an essay.

SEMESTER III – Diplomacy ETCS

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Human Rights – 7 ETCS

Human Rightsis a course that aims to introduce the students with the main principles and concepts of universal human rights guaranteed by international conventions and domestic legislations. In more specific terms, they will become acquainted with the main world legal acts and documents that promote human rights and freedoms in universal, political, economic and cultural terms and so on. In addition, through the course, the students will understand the importance of human rights to the stability and peace in the world and the importance of human rights to liberal-democratic states.

Conflict Management and Resolution – 7 ETCS

The course aims at addressing conflict as a component that is present in every environment when decisions are made, including all issues that relate to the protection of environment, planning, public administration and management. The curse provides opportunities to understand the nature of the conflict and the process of decision-making. It will also provide means to understand the strategies that help resolve conflicts and negotiate solutions within organisations. The course will address the conflict as a generator of crises and peaceful conflict resolution as a strategy without alternatives.

Preparatory Seminar on Master Thesis – 6 ETCS

The stage when the master thesis must be identified, conceptualised and defined and when its draft must be prepared represents one of the most important tasks to complete the knowledge gained during the master studies. Accordingly, the course focuses on the practical application of this important phase, as the students attending the master studies in the department have a separate semester for mentoring the preparation of their master thesis. The course has been organised so as to go through all the stages, so that the student is ready to mentoring stage for the completion of the thesis for the master’s degree.

Foreign Policy – 6 ETCS

The course aims at developing a critical approach to understanding international relations in relation to diplomacy. It will address diplomatic issues such as multilateralism, collective safety, foreign state policy, etc.

Media and Politics – 4 ETCS

The course deals with the interaction between the media and politics in a society, starting with an explanation of the main concepts of the media, political communication and mediatisation of public life up to the media impact upon politics and the public and the other way round. The course also tackles interaction between media and politics in political and democratic developments in a country, mediatisation of public life and relationship of the media with business, politics and the truth the public/electorate hope for.

Diplomatic Protocol and Documents – 4 ETCS

The course has to do with the functioning of diplomatic services, first with regard to its importance as an integral part of ministries of foreign affairs and diplomatic missions. It will focus on understanding the protocol order and the ceremonial function related to official state representatives, etc. In addition, the course will also consist in practicing the use of state symbols in foreign official visits.

Master Thesis 30 ETCS

Master thesis must be an original work done by the candidate and meet professional criteria and standards, be written in accordance with the rules on drafting scientific papers, with a suitable and revised terminology and appropriate technique. The thesis, or the dissertation, as it called otherwise, or the draft research, is perhaps the most important task or project that a student will undertake andwork on while at universityandis often the main indicator of communication, studying and research skills of a student.A dissertation must adhere to some basic principles of academic writing. This is a structured part of writing that develops a clear line of thought(an ‘argument’) as an answer to a central question or proposal (thesis). Dissertationis an extended part of the work,usually divided intochaptersand a considerably more detailed examination of issuesin the related field andvarious pieces of evidencerelated to the field ofstudy,which requires much more effortthan an essay.