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Senior Capstone

Requirement Purpose

To prepare students to be engaged citizens who are able to apply their learning in a specific disciplines to the larger community through work and/or service, each major requires a capstone experience (or in the case of interdisciplinary capstones, in conjunction with other departments) that allows students to demonstrate their abilities as apprentice practitioners in their chosen fields of study.

Since the capstone experience may vary widely by major, the specific learning objectives for the experience are determined by faculty in the discipline in which the student is majoring. Students share their work with an audience appropriate to the project as determined by the faculty of that department. Senior research projects, senior seminars, and senior exhibitions or performances are examples of past capstone experiences.

Required Experience Characteristics

A capstone experience in the major will

  • engage students in advanced disciplinary or interdisciplinary work to synthesize and culminate the students’ learning
  • require students to produce a final paper, report, creative work, portfolio, exhibition, performance, or other document or presentation appropriate for the discipline
  • require students to share their work with an audience as determined by the department.
  • Examples of potential presentations include but are not limited to
    • presentations to a class, department, division or college wide audience
    • senior recitals, art exhibitions, or theatrical performances
    • student teaching

Capstone in the Major Learning Objectives

Through the completion of a capstone experience in the major, students should be able to demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge and skills associated with apprentice practitioners in their chosen fields of study by presenting their work to an audience chosen by the department.