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Types of capstone projects

Generally speaking, there are three different types of capstone projects:

  1. High school capstone project
  2. Undergraduate capstone project
  3. Graduate school capstone project

These will vary in intensity and subject matter, although a capstone project is a tool which helps students delve deeper into a particular area of interest, demonstrates their research and analytical skills and displays their passion for the subject matter. As we've seen, a high school capstone project is typically a self-guided project undertaken by a student out of interest. Some examples would be a student writing a novel or short story and submitting it for publication or for an award, a student completing a business plan proposal for an entrepreneurial enterprise and so on. High school capstone projects might be undertaken as part of a school curriculum or independently by the student as a passion project. Either way, completing a capstone project shows universities and colleges that a student has the skill and drive to complete a capstone project, making them a desirable candidate for admissions.

Undergraduate capstone projects and graduate school capstone projects are usually the culminating assignment of the program, and are focused and specific to the subject matter of study. They are also extremely intensive for they involve rigid academic guidelines that need to be followed, as students will usually be completing an academic research paper as part of the project.

Capstone project format

While the structure of a capstone project paper may vary, it will usually include a formal title page, introduction, and references page. It will also include a literature review, where a student reads and analyzes existing scholarly publications on their topic of choice, a methodology section wherein the student expands on his or her own research and analysis, and a results discussion and conclusion, where the student shares their findings or solution and suggests further research that could be undertaken. A typical capstone project is over 20 pages in length. Capstone projects are submitted at the end of a student’s last semester, typically.

The importance of a capstone project

Capstone projects are some of the biggest assignments for students in academic programs. As they are a culmination of sometimes years of learning, they are important for synthesizing knowledge and demonstrating the student’s learned skills.

A capstone project’s main purpose is to hone students' real-world skills by having them tackle a real-world problem and coming up with a solution. Not only is it an evaluation of everything you’ve learned, but it helps prepare you for the world of professional work and your time after school. Capstone projects are usually a required project for students in business school, sciences, law, environmental or political sciences, so sharpening professional work skills is a must. Employers value skills like critical thinking, strategic planning, excellent communication, good team management, and effective research analysis, and a capstone project gives students experience in all of these.

A capstone project helps students practice their leadership, team management, research and writing skills in the academic environment before they enter the workforce. It also gives students a concrete document in their professional portfolio, which they can use to demonstrate these skills to future employers. A capstone project can be added to your graduate school CV or MBA resume for a nice boost to your qualifications. Some students also publish their capstone project research, especially if they are pursuing careers in research or academia. If you’re intending to apply to a grad school program, a capstone project can be a good item to mention in your research interest statement.

Most importantly, a capstone project offers graduates practical experience in applying their knowledge, something which many graduates do not have. Learning in the classroom is all well and good, but tackling a capstone project and a problem allows you to see how everything you’ve learned plays out in a real-world scenario.

Wondering how you can gain acceptance to grad school? Check out this infographic for tips:

How capstone projects can help you

A capstone project can be a great addition to your CV or resume, a precursor to future professional work, a great learning experience, but it can also be a great way to get into a competitive undergraduate program or into grad school. If you’re looking at pursuing a graduate degree after the completion of your schooling, a capstone project is a great example of your work and dedication, as well as a complement to your graduate school statement of intent, if you’re looking at a research intensive program.

If you decide to write your own capstone project, it’s also excellent practice for writing the grad school essay you’ll need to complete for admission. Though some students will still think about hiring a grad school essay tutor to finetune their writing skills.


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