Guide To Capstone Experiences

Version 2022.1

A capstone experience is a multi-faceted project that results in a product, prototype, detailed solution, and/or presentation, and that serves as a culmination of a student’s undergraduate education. A capstone experience may be an individual project or a group project completed through a course, an independent study, or an external research experience or internship. Capstone experiences typically require students to “synthesize and integrate cumulative knowledge; apply learning and create new knowledge; work independently, bringing their own ideas to their work; present the results of the capstone work to an audience; meet rigorous professional and disciplinary standards; [and] reflect on their own development.” (Egan et al.) This section provides guidance on how to weigh the benefits of different capstone structures, provide departmental support for such experiences, and engage students in them. See the sections on Undergraduate Research and Internships for guidance on how to provide students with those specific types of capstone experiences.

Benefits

Capstone experiences provide opportunities for students to synthesize previous experiences and gain skills and competencies that may not be found elsewhere in the curriculum, including independence, project management, time management, research, communication, producing a final product, and, in some cases, working in teams. Capstone projects can provide opportunities for students to grapple with and develop skills needed to solve complex, open-ended, real-world problems that are generally not found in other courses, and thus prepare students to address the pressing issues facing society. Capstone projects can tackle open-ended, real-world problems that are generally not found in other courses. Capstone experiences have been identified as a high-impact practice and can be a powerful tool for recruiting and retention, particularly for students from

Marginalized Groups

People of color and others with marginalized ethnicities, women and others who experience misogyny, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and others who have traditionally been marginalized in society and in physics. According to the TEAM-UP Report, marginalized groups are “groups of people defined by a common social identity who lack adequate social power or resources to design, build, or perpetuate social structures or institutions that reflect the centrality … of their identities, proclivities, and points of view. … They need not be underrepresented or numerical minorities, but often are.” We use the term marginalized groups, rather than minorities, underrepresented groups, or other commonly used terms, because people in these groups are not always minorities or underrepresented, and in order to convey that underrepresentation is the result of marginalization rather than a statistical accident. Another common term is minoritized groups. While we use this general term for brevity and readability, it is important to recognize that the many different groups encompassed by this term face different challenges and have different needs that should be addressed individually whenever possible, to learn the terms that people ask to be called, and to recognize that these terms may change over time.

. They provide excellent career preparation for students who are entering the workforce as well as those who are continuing to graduate study. A capstone course can also serve as a vehicle for assessing your

Program-Level Student Learning Outcomes

Statements describing what your students should be able to do as a result of completing your degree program. Outcomes emphasize the integration and application of knowledge rather than coverage of material, and are observable, measurable, and demonstrable. They use specific, active verbs (e.g., “identify,” “develop,” “communicate,” “demonstrate”) rather than “understand.” Program-level student learning outcomes are often abbreviated as program-level SLOs or as PLOs, and are also known as program-level learning goals. The term “outcomes” is becoming preferred over “goals” or “objectives” because it makes it clearer that these are defined expectations upon completion of the program, rather than aspirational goals that may or may not be achieved. Examples include:

  • Identify, formulate, and solve broadly defined technical or scientific problems by applying knowledge of mathematics and science and/or technical topics to areas relevant to the discipline
  • Develop and conduct experiments or test hypotheses, analyze and interpret data, and use scientific judgment to draw conclusions
  • Communicate scientific ideas and results in written and oral form according to professional standards and norms
  • Demonstrate and exemplify an understanding of ethical conduct in scientific and professional settings

Program-level student learning outcomes generally focus on overall program outcomes, in contrast to course-level student learning outcomes, which are specific to the knowledge and skills addressed in individual courses. Accreditation requirements typically require program-level student learning outcomes to be defined separately for each degree program (e.g., BA, BS, or minor), even though there will often be considerable overlap among these sets of outcomes. For more details, see the section on How to Assess Student Learning at the Program Level. For examples, see the supplement on Sample Documents for Program-Level Assessment of Student Learning or the PhysPort expert recommendation How do I develop student learning outcomes for physics courses?

and providing a summative assessment of your undergraduate physics program.

The Cycle of Reflection and Action

Effective Practices

Effective Practices

  1. Weigh the benefits of different structures for capstone experiences

  2. Establish and sustain departmental support for your capstone experiences

  3. Engage students

Programmatic Assessments

Programmatic Assessments

Capstone experiences have been identified as one of 11 high-impact educational practices that increase student retention and engagement. There is also evidence that students from

Marginalized Groups

People of color and others with marginalized ethnicities, women and others who experience misogyny, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and others who have traditionally been marginalized in society and in physics. According to the TEAM-UP Report, marginalized groups are “groups of people defined by a common social identity who lack adequate social power or resources to design, build, or perpetuate social structures or institutions that reflect the centrality … of their identities, proclivities, and points of view. … They need not be underrepresented or numerical minorities, but often are.” We use the term marginalized groups, rather than minorities, underrepresented groups, or other commonly used terms, because people in these groups are not always minorities or underrepresented, and in order to convey that underrepresentation is the result of marginalization rather than a statistical accident. Another common term is minoritized groups. While we use this general term for brevity and readability, it is important to recognize that the many different groups encompassed by this term face different challenges and have different needs that should be addressed individually whenever possible, to learn the terms that people ask to be called, and to recognize that these terms may change over time.

are both the most likely to benefit from and the least likely to have access to these high-impact practices.

  1. G. D. Kuh, “High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter,” American Association of Colleges and Universities (2008).
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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. 1738311, 1747563, and 1821372. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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