Capstone: Learning In Action

Regardless of program/specialization, all students share the same learning goals for Capstone:

1. How to design and execute an extended project for a client organization

2. How to successfully work with a client and relevant stakeholders

3. How to function as a member of a consulting team working for a client

4. How to conduct and present effective applied research

We hope that among the projects presented in your section, you find a project related to your interests. However, keep in mind that Capstone’s purpose is about skill-building and synthesizing learning from your Wagner experience.

1. Capstone is not an internship.

2. Capstone is not about getting on a project for an organization you want to work for after graduation.

3. Your Capstone project will not necessarily be specifically tailored to your primary area of interest. It is, however, a chance to gain useful experience informative to your career.

For eligible students only. Over the course of a full academic year, teams in this Capstone option work under faculty supervision to investigate a pressing social or policy question by developing research questions, conducting literature reviews, identifying and accessing relevant datasets, and performing rigorous quantitative analyses. Students gain hands-on experience in data acquisition, cleaning, modeling, and visualization, as well as the ethical use of sensitive information, while strengthening skills in project management, teamwork, critical thinking, and the clear communication of actionable findings for diverse stakeholders.

The Impact Lab is designed to deliver timely, actionable policy and management recommendations to high-level policy makers. Our inaugural year will focus on the problem of New York City’s public bathroom scarcity, which impacts public health, unhoused populations, and public safety for visitors and local residents alike. 

Over the last thirty years, the city council and mayor's office have tried to solve this vexing issue with mixed results. NYU’s Impact Lab will bring together students, faculty, and a range of stakeholders from the major “clients” in the Mamdani administration, as well as impacted departments and agencies such as Parks, Libraries, NYPD, MTA, DOT, DEP, DOB, Coalition for the Homeless, New York Food Truck Association, New York City Council, non-profit and advocacy organizations, architects, urban planners, builders, healthcare professionals and experts from abroad. 

These partners will inform the work of a 50-student lab coached by faculty members from NYU Wagner, Grossman, Tandon, and Global Public Health. 

We will use available data sets, policy reports, and extensive interviews with key players to generate a set of recommendations for our clients and partners in a final town hall presentation open to our entire community. If you're interested, email wagner.capstone@nyu.edu.