Capstone Project Seminar

Catalog description

In this seminar, students finish the capstone project, the groundwork for which they do in HR 504 and 505: Integrative Community-Based Research I & II, MSHR 520 Community-Based Experience, as well as MSHR 510 Theorizing Social Change. Students will select between two tracks: 1) traditional research thesis and 2) applied project thesis. Under both tracks, the focus will shift from methods and data gathering to analysis and synthesis. Students must have their capstone project proposals (which will be based on proposals written for MSHR 504/505 and 520) approved by faculty by the end of the second semester of studies. Students are expected to collect data on research or begin implementation in the summer before taking MSHR 599. Track 1: Students in the research thesis track will write a draft of the capstone project paper, based on the data gathered in the second semester or the summer, in the first month of the third semester. The subsequent two months of the semester will focus on revisions, informed by peer and instructor feedback. The product will be a paper of publishable quality. Students are required to submit this paper to a peer-reviewed journal in the last week of classes. Students will do a mock conference presentation to prepare students for academic and other conferences. Track 2: Students in the applied track will submit a summer progress report at the beginning of the semester, and continue to submit regular progress reports as the semester progresses. During the seminar, students will receive feedback from community members, their colleagues and faculty in the human rights program, which will inform the evolution of the project and its implementation. Students are required to submit a final program evaluation at the end of the semester, which assesses the achievements of the projects with respect to its stated goals, and provides a reflection on the student’s experience. Students will create a mock conference presentation, in order to prepare to present their work in a professional setting. Offered: fall.