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Capstone units

Capstone unitsA capstone unit provides students with an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills learned throughout their degree.

Placed at the end of a degree, a capstone unit involves assessments that emulate professional practice by combining disciplinary knowledge and generic skills.

A capstone unit may address:

  • Relating discipline- or program-specific outcomes with ‘real world’ work
  • Allowing students to demonstrate what they have learned during their degree
  • Connecting program outcomes with curriculum
  • Bridging formal study with lifelong learning
  • Linking students with employers
  • Providing opportunities for students to reflect on their degree and generic skills development

Why

Capstone units are designed to provide an opportunity to synthesise and apply the range of skills and disciplinary knowledge students learn throughout a degree. A capstone unit can seldom occur earlier in a degree as it usually requires students to have experience the bulk of the program curriculum. Formative or summative assessments in a capstone determine whether students have learned the goals and outcomes defined by the degree program.

Because capstone units complete a degree, it is necessary to ensure that students have had opportunities to be introduced to the goals and outcomes during previous units of study. It is good practice to ensure that program-level outcomes are introduced and practiced throughout a degree so that students can give their best performance during a capstone unit.

Examples

Common capstone assessments include:

  • Problem or Project based learning gives students the opportunity to treat a problem or project as they would in the ‘real world’. It may be possible for students to work on problems or projects that are real, rather than hypothetical.
  • Case studies allow students to utilise problem-solving, analysis and reflection on theoretical or real scenarios relevant to the program.
  • Work placements or internships give students the opportunity to exercise the skills and knowledge learned in their degree in the ‘real world’.
  • Volunteer or service learning gives students opportunities to add civic and life skills and responsibilities to the suite of skills and knowledge gained in a degree.

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