The Capstone Project

Creating a capstone project is a pivotal cornerstone of many degree programs. The ultimate endeavor and goal of the capstone is to reflect an understanding of the course of study in a practical application to the working world. The successful capstone project will reflect a student’s learning as it will apply in a real world situation. This often requires the student to thoroughly understand current best practices, viable alternatives and subject specific data; for instance appropriate drug dosaging calculations in the field of nursing.

Case studies are an excellent basis for the capstone project. They offer the student a real life scenario from which the student can glean information, formulate an opinion and make practical suggestions for how to proceed. In a sense a capstone project can be described as a specialized research project with practical applications not restricted to any one field of study. Indeed a capstone project is adaptable to clinical studies as well as the humanities and all other fields of research.

It is prudent to note there is not much difference between a capstone project and an argumentative essay, other than the capstone is most usually assigned at the end of a course or module to encompass and reflect the learning of the whole course. The argumentative essay may be assigned at any juncture and may or may not include a holistic view. In either case significant detailed research is required which the student is expected to evaluate and use to draw conclusions. The word count requirements of a capstone project are usually significant and many professors will assign an argumentative essay as the capstone project of their course.

A successful capstone project requires revision and will carefully consider all components of the course content, evaluate data and establish specific actions and parameters within the framework of the project. Outside sources will also undoubtedly be requires and should always, at this level, be credible, peer reviewed sources.