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Unit of study_

CIVL5020: Capstone Project A

2025 unit information

The capstone project requires the student to plan and execute a substantial research-based project, using their technical and communication skills to design, evaluate, implement, analyse and theorise about developments that contribute to professional practice thus demonstrating the achievement of AQF Level 9. Capstone Project provides an opportunity for students to conduct original research. Students will generally work individually and an individual thesis must be submitted by each student. Capstone Project is a major task and is to be conducted with work spread over most of the year, in two successive Units of Study of 6 credits points each, Capstone Project A (CIVL5020) and Capstone Project B (CIVL5021). This particular unit of study, which must precede CIVL5021 Capstone Project B, should cover the first half of the work required for a complete Capstone Project. In particular, it should include almost all planning of a research or investigation project, a major proportion of the necessary literature review (unless the entire project is based on a literature review and critical analysis), and a significant proportion of the investigative work required of the project. A thesis at this level will represent a contribution to professional practice or research, however the timeframe available for the thesis also needs to be considered when developing project scopes. Indeed, a key aim of the thesis is to specify a research topic that arouses sufficient intellectual curiosity, and presents an appropriate range and diversity of technical and conceptual challenges, while remaining manageable and allowing achievable outcomes within the time and resources available. It is important that the topic be of sufficient scope and complexity to allow a student to learn their craft and demonstrate their research skills. Equally imperative is that the task not be so demanding as to elude completion. Finally the ability to plan such a project to achieve results within constraints and the identification of promising areas and approaches for future research is a key assessment criterion.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Engineering

Study level Postgraduate
Academic unit Civil Engineering
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
? 
96 credit points from MPE degree program or 48 credit points from the MPE(Accel) program or 24 credit points from the ME program (including any credit for previous study)
Corequisites:
? 
None
Prohibitions:
? 
CIVL5222 or CIVL5223
Assumed knowledge:
? 
None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. formulate and plan a personal research project
  • LO2. demonstrate originality, ingenuity and initiative in dealing with critical research issues
  • LO3. develop an in-depth knowledge of a specialised area within the discipline
  • LO4. formulate an appropriate method for investigating a specific research question
  • LO5. analyse data, draw appropriate conclusions and present those conclusions in context, with due consideration of methods and assumptions involved
  • LO6. document and report research work undertaken in a format appropriate for academic literature with correct referencing
  • LO7. deliver a research presentation that is clear, confident and engaging to an academic audience.

Unit availability

This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.

The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.

Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2024
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2025
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Semester 2 2025
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Outline unavailable
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2020
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2020
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2021
Supervision Remote
Semester 2 2021
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2021
Supervision Remote
Semester 1 2022
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2022
Supervision Remote
Semester 2 2022
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 2 2022
Supervision Remote
Semester 1 2023
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Semester 1 2023
Supervision Remote
Semester 2 2023
Supervision Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.