HONORS CAPSTONE PROJECT GUIDELINES

This set of guidelines is designed for use by faculty and students working on, or considering involvement in, Honors Capstone Projects. The information below supplements that contained on the Capstone Project Proposal and Completion Forms.

Honors students expecting to undertake a Capstone Project are first asked to reflect on research interests and possible topics at the end of their sophomore year. They are encouraged to explore these ideas during their junior year with appropriate faculty. Ordinarily the project is actually undertaken during the senior year, preferably during the seventh semester.

Capstone honors projects are usually done under the transcript rubric of an independent study. Thus a single research and writing project is being used to satisfy two sets of criteria. The independent study is no different from other independent studies as far as faculty responsibility is concerned. The single faculty member supervising the independent study is solely responsible for the grade, to be determined in the usual way. On the other hand, the Honors Capstone project, while it is directed primarily by that same faculty member, is evaluated by the project committee. That committee must determine whether the completed project, including its public presentation, warrants recognition as an “honors” project.

Ultimately each committee will determine its own standards, but at a minimum , honors recognition should not be given to anything less than what would normally be considered ‘A’ or ‘B’ work. I am often asked what the scope of an honors project should be. It is difficult to come up with a single criterion to encompass, for example, library research, laboratory research, and artistic production. I suggest to students that a library research project should lead to a paper of approximately 30-50 pages.

In the past, many more students have begun Capstone projects than have successfully competed them. Serious use of the time line found on the reverse side of the Capstone Project Proposal form should help ensure consistent progress and successful completion. Committees need to provide support and criticism throughout the process. Find out what some of the proposed topics of Honors students here.

Usually, the Capstone project is the most ambitious research and writing effort the student has yet undertaken. Consequently, committees may need to provide guidance with some basic tasks that tend to get overlooked or are poorly understood: 1) library research and note taking, 2) the early states of writing, including “writing to think,” 3) formulating a thesis, 4) writing an analytical literature survey, 5) organizing a longer paper, 6) rewriting and editing. While none of these tasks will be new to honors students, supportive committee oversight can make all the difference in the quality of the final product.

Since the two evaluations of the project (for a transcript grade and for honors recognition) are independent, it is entirely possible for a student to complete the independent study and receive a grade from the independent study director without ever finishing work the honors senior project committee deems necessary to receive honors recognition. This, in fact, has happened. It is also possible for a student to receive a grade for the independent study in time to graduate and to complete the honors project after graduation. Although possible and attempted several times, this alternative has rarely been successful.

Our hope is that Capstone Projects will provide a culminating educational experience for the student and a rewarding opportunity for collegial mentorship for both faculty and students.