Established in 1982 as a department of Public Administration, the department began to offer an undergraduate degree in 1983, a Master of Arts degree in 1986, and a PhD degree in 1989. The Department changed its name to “The Department of Political Science and Public Administration” in 2006, and currently includes five departments of undergraduate and graduate study concentrations: Political and Social Sciences, Administrative Sciences, Local Government and Politics, Public Policy, and Legal Studies. In addition, the Social Sciences Institute offers four Master of Arts and two Doctoral (PhD) programs in two areas: Political Science and Public Administration.