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A critical component of the second year curriculum, the capstone project is a small-group consultancy project, designed to provide a response to a particular client on a policy problem. A wide of organizations are involved: government agencies, regional and local authorities, private firms which articulate with public affairs, international organizations, and NGO's.
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A capstone is defined as “a client-oriented,
group research project, based on original field research, which
generates a deliverable product for the client, and where this
product is also graded according to norms of academic quality.”
The methods used in the capstone draw on the methods from the
MPA as a whole (analytical, academic methods), but goes
beyond them to engage the students in a hands-on
professional experience, involving experiential learning
in a professional setting. The group experience is critical to
this learning process, as is the understanding of the client’s
needs, engagement with the client in achieving the appropriate
definition of the problem to be addressed and hence the scope
of the work, and the nature of the final product to be delivered.
The relationship between capstones and concentrations is flexible:
some capstones are offered by concentration leaders and have
a close link to concentrations. Some concentrations do not offer
linked capstones. Some capstones are offered by capstone leaders
who do not teach concentrations.
Even in the case of a capstone that is offered by a concentration,
students who are from outside the concentration may elect to
take that capstone, after conferring with the capstone leader
and getting approval to participate.
The capstone leader identifies the client,
the deliverable, and works with students to define the nature
of the group preparation, field work, and writing
to be done.
Students in each capstone are required to participate in the
two-semester group capstone tutorial course (RCAP1,
RCAP2).
Dates to be borne in mind are:
1. Registration week: students choose capstones
2. November 1: tutorials begin
3. December 15: capstone group “work plan” submitted
to MPA Director
4. March 15: all field research completed
5. May 15: first full draft of capstone project submitted to
MPA Director; plans for completion of final draft by May 31
are detailed
6. Last week of May: two-day internal capstone conference, required
for all second year students. Each group makes formal, required
presentation to conference
Capstones offered in previous years:
· Corporate Social Responsibility (Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead) 
Capstone Report
· An Evaluation Framework For Major World Exhibitions (Chris Brooks)
Capstone Report
· Human Security (Hitomi Kubo)
Capstone Report
· Regulation Through Risks (Olivier Borraz and Pierre-Benoit Joly)
Capstone Report
· Regional Responses to Global Issues - The OECD Perspective (Chris Brooks)
Capstone Report
· Eastern Europe and Great Mekong Sub region - A Comparative Perspective (François Bafoil)
Capstone Report
· Diversity and Discrimination within Global Companies (Virginie Guiraudon)
Capstone Report
· The Future of the Financial Sector (Thierry Senechal)
Capstone Report
To view capstones offered in 2009-2010, please click here.
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PROFILES
Lingzhi Zhang
Chinese student
Flight operations inspector, China Civil Aviation
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