CAPSTONE brings together teams of graduate students to address complex challenges and identify new opportunities for nonprofit, governmental, health-related, urban planning, and international agencies. Project teams approach their assignments with initiative and professionalism, and they organize and frame their projects into a thorough work plan that results in a carefully considered final product. Every team produces a written report and conducts a final presentation of their findings and recommendations.
Agencies that wish to enter into such a partnership with NYU Wagner are required to complete and submit a Capstone Project Proposal for consideration.
We are no longer accepting proposals for the 2008-2009 academic year.
The RFP process for the 2009-2010 academic year will open in March, 2009.
CAPSTONE QUICKLINKS
Capstone is learning in action. Part of the core curriculum of the Masters program at NYU Wagner, it provides students with both a critical learning experience and an opportunity to perform a public service. Over the course of an academic year, students work in teams - either to address challenges and identify opportunities for a client organization or to conduct research on a pressing social question. Ultimately, Capstone contributes not only to the students' education, but also to the public good.
Capstone teams are comprised of 3-5 NYU Wagner graduate students completing the last two semesters of their Master of Public Administration degree or their Master of Urban Planning Degree. Students come to NYU Wagner with a wide variety of professional and educational backgrounds: They are seasoned professionals with years of public service behind them, recent college graduates committed to bettering the future, and mid-career professionals who want to advance or shift their career paths. Yet for all their differences, they are united by the common desire to acquire the skills necessary to transform their personal commitment into public leadership.
Click here to review a sampling of past Capstone Projects.
You must complete and submit a project proposal for consideration. Visit the Capstone Project Proposal Web page or download the PDF of the Capstone Proposal Guidelines.
For the 2008 - 2009 academic year, project proposals are due May 30, 2008. Please see the Capstone Project Proposal Guidelines Web page for more information.
Given that Capstone teams are not employees, interns, or independent contractors of a Capstone client organization, all teams will develop and negotiate a scope of work agreement with their client once their proposal has been selected. Project teams will use their best efforts to perform the services described in the work plan and will inform the client of any potential problems which would change the scope of services. Client agencies agree to provide the assistance and access to information necessary for the Capstone Project team to perform effectively.
Organizations should also read our Mutual Expectations document, which explains the roles and expectations of the various project stakeholders - clients, students, faculty, and NYU Wagner - that are understood during a Capstone project.
An engagement fee paid to NYU Wagner is suggested for chosen projects. This fee is based on the following sliding scale:
|
Engagement Fee Sliding Scale Table
|
|
|
Organization’s Annual Operating Budget
|
Capstone Fee *
|
|
Less than $500,000
|
$500
|
|
$500,000 - $1,000,000
|
$1,000
|
|
$1,000,000 - $2,500,000
|
$2,500
|
|
More than $2,500,000
|
$5,000
|
* NYU Wagner recognizes there will be organizations for which this fee may be prohibitive. In these cases, the fee will be adjusted, and sometimes waived, to reflect the resources available to each agency. Wagner will also consider the provision of travel and accommodations for a Capstone Team in lieu of the engagement fee by internationally-based or domestic Capstoneclients outside of the Northeast corridor. All proposals are reviewed on a needs-blind basis, and an organization's ability to pay an engagement fee will in no way influence the decision to approve a project.
The best Capstone proposals are important but not urgent; achievable within the academic timeframe and with the resources available;provide a clear definition of the problem or issue to be addressed; and specify tangible deliverables for the Capstone team to provide. Proposals that generally do not make it past the first cut are those that ask for interns, a team of one or two students,administrative support work, or agencies without the capacity to appropriately support the Capstone team's efforts.
Submitted proposals are first vetted for appropriateness and feasibility. Approved proposals are distributed to the Capstone faculty for review, who contact prospective clients for clarification on the scope of projects. The faculty will then select projects that will be presented to their classes where the students choose which projects they are interested in working on. Clients are then notified whether their projects have been chosen by a Capstone Team.
We receive more proposals than we have student teams. As a result, there is no guarantee that a proposal will be chosen. However, some projects that have not been chosen for Capstone have been downsized and "chunked" in order to be converted into internship opportunities for Wagner students.
All Capstone clients must designate one person in their agency who will act as the project liaison. Project Liaisons are expected to act as the main organizational contact to the Capstone Team and to respond to the Capstone Team as appropriate. The time that a Project Liaison will devote to the project will depend on the size and scope of the Capstone project as agreed to by both the organization and team.
Capstone clients will have the opportunity to attend a Capstone opening breakfast and an End Event. As part of the End Event, each team will be required to write an abstract and create a visual presentation that describes the project's purpose, methodology, key insights and recommendations.
The final work product is owned by the Capstone client organization. However, NYU Wagner reserves the right to publicly list the organization as a Capstone client, to keep copies of all Capstone teams' final reports for review by the Wagner community, and to include a brief project description in Capstone promotional materials. Furthermore, students will be allowed to use the work produced for their Capstone client in pursuit of their educational or professional careers.
Should you have any additional questions about the Capstone Program, please contact David Schachter, Assistant Dean for Career Services and Experiential Learning, at 212.998.7474 or at david.schachter@nyu.edu.
Download Capstone Proposal Guidelines(pdf).
Read about sample Capstone
Projects that have been done in the past.
Clients on Capstone |
Our team was terrific and the work first-rate. 