| This page addresses basic questions about the duties of a Capstone Project advisor. For more detailed information, please refer to Complete Overview of the Honors Capstone Project .
What Is An Undergraduate Honors Capstone Project?
The Capstone Project allows students to pursue, in depth, an independent project of the student's own choosing in the major (with rare exceptions in special cases), under the close supervision of a faculty advisor. For many students, the project results in a written academic thesis. Some students in professional schools may undertake works of other kinds: engineering projects, works of art, screenplays, performances, documentary films, or architectural designs, for example. Students submitting creative projects will submit a "Reflective Essay" in which they discuss their aesthetic choices and how they situate the project within their artistic traditions. In all Capstone Projects, students work closely with their faculty advisors throughout the entire project.
While these Projects provide invaluable preparation for graduate or professional work, students report that the primary rewards are intrinsic: the opportunity to follow one's curiosity, to take ownership of a work and see it through to a successful conclusion, the intellectual and creative pleasure of independent learning, and the invaluable mentorship by one's advisor.
An Honors Capstone Project is expected to go well beyond typical coursework. It must meet four standards: 1) it typically must be in the student's major; 2) it must be worthy of a minimum of three hours of academic credit; 3) it must involve independent student work extending over more than one semester; 4) it should address a subject that the student finds compelling. An Honors Capstone Project need not make an original contribution to the knowledge base of a discipline, although many do.
A Capstone Project is usually about 60-70 pages, although some, particularly in the sciences and mathematics, may be shorter, and some in the humanities and social sciences are longer. Please help your student keep the Capstone Project under 100 pages. These are undergraduate projects; if your student's work approaches 100 pages, please make editorial suggestions to keep the project at an appropriate length. Most undergraduates overwrite, and learning to be concise is a valuable skill to master. Recall also that to select the "best project" in each category, your faculty colleagues must carefully read many projects within one week at the end of the semester. They will appreciate your keeping your student's work within prescribed limits.
Who Can Be a Capstone Project Advisor?
Any full-time member of the Syracuse University faculty can be a Capstone Project advisor. The advisor must be a faculty member in the student's major. Occasionally, under special circumstances, part-time or adjunct faculty members serve as Capstone Project advisors with the prior approval of the Chair of the Student's Program of Study and of the Director of the Honors Program. Occasionally, faculty members at SUNY Upstate Medical University serve as advisors.
What Are the Responsibilities of the Capstone Project Advisor?
The Advisor supervises the student's work from start to finish, helping the student refine a topic, develop an approach to it, and produce a polished creative work or piece of undergraduate scholarship of which both the advisor and the student will be proud. This could include involving the student in the faculty member's own research. The advisor guides the student through the research, creative or experimental process, and suggesting avenues to investigate and questions to explore, pointing out relevant resources, imparting the relevant technical skills and knowledge, and commenting thoroughly on iterations of the work, from initial drafts to the final product. Typically, a project goes through several iterations and the student is expected to give the advisor ample time to review and comment on each one.
The advisor meets regularly (at least once per month) with the advisee from the outset until the work is complete. (The last months of the project typically involve much more frequent meetings -- often weekly.) At these meetings student asks questions and seeks advice and the advisor gives direction and encouragement. Together they develop a strategy and timetable for the work's completion. Typically, the topic is formalized during the first semester of the junior year, pursued in the second semester of the junior year and the first semester of the senior year, and written/created in the second semester of the senior year. The advisor and the student should agree on an exact timetable for the completion of drafts, and of course, such a schedule will vary substantially according to discipline (scientific experiments, engineering prototypes, or dramatic performances will generally each call for a unique timetable). It is crucial to get started early. This means submitting chapter drafts during the fall semester of the senior year, and a complete first draft early in the spring semester, so there is sufficient time for both substantive and detailed editorial revisions.
The Final Product
The advisor helps, encourages, and urges the student to produce the best work they possibly can. These are not masters theses, but they ought to be distinguished undergraduate projects. They should be stylistically strong and unusually articulate. It is part of the advisor's role to assure that the final written project reads extremely well and is free of technical flaws in writing. Projects submitted to the Honors Program on Capstone Project Turn-in Day in April that do not meet this standard are returned to the student for re-writing, and the student will likely turn to the advisor for advice and assistance -- probably in a state of discouragement and anxiety. Clearly, it is preferable to have the careful editing take place before the work is submitted to Honors. We seek your help in this, and offer you our help also. The Honors Program Writing Consultant, Henry Jankiewicz, is always willing to work with students on writing problems, and will review drafts carefully and thoughtfully. If your student needs additional assistance beyond what you provide, refer students to Mr. Jankiewicz at any time -- as early as the fall semester if that seems useful.
The Honors Reader
The Advisor and student together select the Honors Reader, who is usually in the student's major or a thematically related field. The Honors Reader, although not as deeply involved as the Advisor, plays two important roles. The Honors Reader reviews an early draft/iteration of the project and gives the student useful comments on its strengths and on any weaknesses that need to be addressed, and communicates these to the Advisor as well. This can happen as early as the fall semester of the final year, but should take place no later than early February of the final semester to assure there is adequate time for the student to take advantage of suggestions and address significant concerns. The student works with the Advisor to incorporate these suggestions into future drafts.
The second, equally important, role for the Honors Reader comes in April of the senior year, after the student and Advisor together have reviewed many drafts of the project, and the Advisor is satisfied with the entire work and ready to give final approval to the project and the written components. The student then gives the project to the Honors Reader, who carefully reviews it on behalf of Honors to assure that it meets an appropriately high standard in the discipline (worthy of undergraduate Honors), and to assure that no grammatical, typographical, or other technical writing errors remain in the text. The student makes any necessary corrections to the draft; then both the Advisor and the Honors Reader approve the complete, final text and the student submits the entire project to the Honors Program on Capstone Turn-in Day.
Honors may require an additional reader for any Capstone Project -- in the case of an interdisciplinary Capstone Project, for example. Final approval of the project remains the responsibility of the Director of the Honors Program.
Supporting Coursework and Distinction Programs
If a student's major has a departmental "Distinction" program or required capstone project, the student will, in most cases, participate in that departmental program. The Honors Program fully supports such programs; they provide excellent preparation for the Honors Capstone Project. Whenever we can, we coordinate the student's Honors Project topic with the work in the departmental major capstone or distinction process.
Many such programs include a fall semester research seminar. For students who do not have the benefit of such a seminar, we recommend that students register for an independent study in the fall of the senior year (assuming spring graduation). This helps give them the time they need for thorough research. W e also strongly recommend students select appropriate graduate or upper-division courses in the major that will support the Capstone Project. Please work with your student to select appropriate courses.
Capstone Project Presentation Day
After turning in the completed project, the student gives a 15-minute presentation of his or her work "in progress" during "Capstone Project Presentation Day." The entire University community is invited to Presentation Day; Capstone Project advisors are urged to make every effort attend.
Suggested Timeline for May Graduates
Feb 15 Complete first draft submitted to advisor
Feb 16 - Mar 15 Confer with advisor and make necessary revisions, undertake additional research as necessary
March 16 - April 16 Prepare the final Capstone Project for submission to the Honors Program
April 15 (approximately) Capstone Project Turn-in Day
Suggested Timeline for December Graduates
October 15 Penultimate draft submitted to advisor
Oct 16 - Nov 15 Confer with advisor and make necessary revisions
Nov 16 - 30 Prepare the final Capstone Project for submission to the Honors Program
December Presentation to peers and faculty
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