The Delaware Model

Integrating Theory and Practice

The School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy has long been a leader in integrating theory and practice into graduate education. This seamless integration of opposing strengths is accomplished by practicing what we preach; The Delaware Model is our academic ideal, our guiding philosophy, and our management model.

Rather than distinguishing faculty as concerned with theory and professional staff as concerned with application or practice, both faculty and professional staff of the affiliated CHEP research centers are equally and fully involved in both theory and practice and both are equally involved in the educational program.

Integral to the student's graduate experience is the physical and psychological merger between coursework and application. While attending SUAPP, students integrate theory with real-world experience through mini-courses, research assistantships, internships, and the legislative fellows program.

Mini-courses are short courses (usually one credit) skill-based courses. These allow students to explore a variety of skills they'll find valuable during their careers. Examples include Contemporary Issues courses, Conflict Resolution, Financial Statements Analysis for Nonprofits, Volunteer Management, Intro to GIS, Grantsmanship and Proposal Writing, Survey Research, Managing Risk and Security, Virtual Government, Planning IT-Enhanced Projects and several other information technology courses.
Research assistantships allow students to work alongside faculty and staff in research positions, policy studies, or program development and management in state and local government and nonprofit agencies.
Students attain paid internships, usually over the summer, for which they can receive academic credit. Internships allow students to develop professional skills, apply academic theory, and build connections for potential future employment.
The Legislative Fellows program places students in Legislative Hall in Dover, DE, and gives them access to the policymakers and policymaking process. This inside look at public policy formation prepares students for work in federal, state and local government.
The Delaware Model is not limited to Delaware. Many faculty members bring experience from their work in other geographic areas, including their work abroad. We believe much of students' experiences are easily transferrable to other locations.

The University of Delaware School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy has achieved a significant integration of theory and practice in its educational programs based on a similar integration in its structure and organization. The integration of theory and practice that students experience during their graduate program is likely to make them more effective in learning and adapting to change over the course of their careers. Such a perspective, we feel, is of great value, both to individuals and to the public service generally.

Read the full text Delaware Model article.

(This information is based on and excerpted from Denhardt, R. B., Lewis, J. D., Raffel, J. R., and Rich, D. "Integrating Theory and Practice in MPA Education: The Delaware Model." Journal of Public Administration Education, vol. 3, no. 2 (May 1997):153-62 and reprinted in the 1997 Education Supplement, PA Times, October 1997, 5-7.)

School of Urban Affairs & Public Policy
184 Graham Hall | University of Delaware | Newark, DE 19716
phone 302 831 1687 | e-mail suapp@udel.edu | fax 302 831 3296