The Capstone Project is the culminating academic experience for all Honors Program students completed in the second year of the program. A “capstone” is the final stone that unifies and protects an underlying structure. All Honors Program students complete a Capstone Project—a challenging scholarly experience that incorporates concepts and techniques learned throughout the Honors Program, through which students can make original scholarly or professional contributions to their field. The Capstone Project involves in-depth examination of a research problem, theoretical issue, new creative work, professional challenge, or innovative area of application (i.e., design or technological innovation) supervised by a faculty member chosen by the student in consultation with their faculty mentor.
Although there is wide variability in what can be approved for the Honors Capstone Project, there is a general set of principles that should be followed:
- Be a significant project involving at least 75 hours of academic work
- Require work at a high level appropriate to the field
- Supervision by a faculty member
- Have an interdisciplinary component
- Generate at least one artifact (e.g., research paper, film, information booklet, etc) AND an oral presentation
- Be a useful enterprise that elevates student preparation for their future academic and/or professional work
More information on the Capstone project will be provided by your Honors Program coordinator.