Capstone Project - Yale-NUS College · 2018-03-29 · capstone project; submitting the progress report form to Registry at the end of Semester 1; collating all the students’ final

Capstone Project – AY2016/2017 *Version August 2016

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Capstone Project

Guidelines & Regulations AY2016/2017


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Contents 1. Mission/objectives of capstone ................................................................................................... 5

2. Format ................................................................................................................................................ 5

3. Selection and scope of project .................................................................................................... 5

4. Definitions and responsibilities .................................................................................................. 6

4.1 Head of Studies/Designate/Capstone Coordinator .............................................................. 6

4.2 Supervisors and co-supervisors .............................................................................................. 6

4.3 Responsibilities of the supervisor ........................................................................................... 6

4.4 Responsibilities of the co-supervisor ...................................................................................... 7

4.5 Responsibilities of the student................................................................................................. 7

4.6 Process for Resolution of disputes/problems ....................................................................... 7

5. Project framework and guidelines .............................................................................................. 7

6. Timeline ............................................................................................................................................. 9

7. Presentation of capstone work in the Residential Colleges ..............................................10

8. Administration, policies and procedures ...............................................................................11

9. Grading ............................................................................................................................................11

10. Funding/resources ....................................................................................................................11

11. Student preparation ..................................................................................................................11

12. Supervisor preparation ............................................................................................................12

13. Celebrations for completed projects ...................................................................................12

14. Feedback and Evaluation ........................................................................................................12

15. Appendix 1 – details of each major (softcopies) ..............................................................12

15.1 Anthropology ............................................................................................................................14

15.2 Arts and Humanities ................................................................................................................15

15.3 Economics ................................................................................................................................16

15.4 Environmental Studies ............................................................................................................17

15.5 Global Affairs ............................................................................................................................18

15.6 History .......................................................................................................................................19

15.7 Life Sciences ............................................................................................................................20

15.8 Literature ...................................................................................................................................21

15.9 Mathematical Computational Science ..................................................................................22

15.10 Philosophy ............................................................................................................................23

15.11 Physical Sciences ...............................................................................................................24


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15.12 Politics, Philosophy, Economics .......................................................................................25

15.13 Psychology ...........................................................................................................................26

15.14 Urban Studies ......................................................................................................................27

16. Appendix 2 - Forms (softcopies) ...........................................................................................28

16.1 Formal proposal registration form .........................................................................................29

16.2 End Semester 1 progress assessment form by supervisor ..............................................31

16.3 End Semester 1 progress assessment results submitted by HOS to Registry .............32

16.4 Student’s declaration of personal work ................................................................................33

16.5 Final assessment form ...........................................................................................................34

16.6 Final grade submission by HOS ...........................................................................................35

16.7 Feedback and evaluation of capstone project by student at end of Semester 1 ...........36

16.8 Feedback and evaluation of capstone project by student at end of Semester 2 ...........37


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1. Mission/objectives of capstone The Yale-NUS curriculum culminates in an original capstone project which all students undertake

with the guidance of Yale-NUS faculty and other subject matter experts. In the capstone program,

students hone the disciplinary and general intellectual skills necessary to conceive, design and

execute a year-long, self-directed project within their major. The program requires every student

to engage with research in their discipline, to produce scholarship across appropriate formats,

and to communicate their results to a variety of audiences. By completing their capstone work,

students demonstrate independence, creativity and critical analysis.

2. Format The Capstone Project is a two-semester module worth a total of 10 MC’s over the last year of

the 4-year course. It allows students the opportunity to pursue, in depth, an advanced project of

their own choosing, while working closely with a faculty supervisor. Students will work on an

advanced creative and/or research or experiential project that integrates skills from the Common

Curriculum and learning in the major. The Capstone Project will culminate in a substantial piece

of work that reflects a deep engagement with the topic.

3. Selection and scope of project Faculty can make suggestions based on identified student interest, or circulate a few topics of

interest that students could take or adapt. Students can also suggest their own topics – the most

appropriate means for determining topics will vary from major to major. The Capstone project

may be part of a larger effort being undertaken by the faculty supervisor and others, but the

Capstone itself must be clearly identified as a separate intellectual entity within that broader

project.

Students are strongly encouraged to choose a topic which they find compelling and in which they

may have some competence based on prior academic work, professional experience, or

exploration of future career options. While there will be a supervisor who is a domain expert to

be a guide, the students will work largely on their own.

As the Capstone Project is equivalent to a 10 MC module, students should plan and supervisors

should expect the student to spend at least as much time and energy on the Capstone Project

as would be devoted to one 5 MC module per semester. We note that the formal definition of a

5MC module entails 12.5 hours of work per week. While workloads may vary between projects


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and within a project as it develops, projects that require either substantially more or substantially

less effort than is suggested by this workload should be restructured. Both students and

supervisors

are responsible for keeping the Capstone project to an appropriate scope.

4. Definitions and responsibilities

4.1 Head of Studies/Designate/Capstone Coordinator

Any reference to “Head of Studies” will mean the Head of Studies OR the person designated by

the Head of Studies to undertake his/her responsibilities OR another faculty who is identified as

the Capstone Coordinator for that major. The Head of Studies will submit all the capstone project

proposals from his/her major to Registry at the end of Week 2, Semester 1. He/She is responsible

for approving external supervisors and appointing co-supervisors; collecting feedback from the

students at the end of Semesters 1 and 2; resolving any dispute or problems related to the

capstone project; submitting the progress report form to Registry at the end of Semester 1;

collating all the students’ final grades to be submitted to Registry; mediating any other issues as

outlined in this document.

4.2 Supervisors and co-supervisors

Every capstone project must have a supervisor who is typically a faculty member in Yale-NUS

College. With the approval of the Head of Studies, the supervisor may be from outside Yale-

NUS. In this case, the student will be assigned a separate faculty member from Yale-NUS to

serve as Co-supervisor.

4.3 Responsibilities of the supervisor

The supervisor will work with the student from the beginning till the end of the project. He/she

will help the student refine the project goals and objectives as well as set up a timeline to help

the student stay on track. The supervisor should guide the student through the project by

answering questions, suggesting avenues to investigate, commenting on the current state and

progress of the project, and assisting with relevant resources applicable to the project. Together

with another examiner, the supervisor is also responsible for assessing the capstone module

and giving the final grade.


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4.4 Responsibilities of the co-supervisor

If the supervisor is not a Yale-NUS faculty, then the internal Yale-NUS co-supervisor will keep in

contact with the external supervisor and the student on a periodic basis to ensure that the

external supervisor is meeting his/her responsibilities toward the student and that the student is

making satisfactory progress on the project.

4.5 Responsibilities of the student

The student should work closely with the supervisor to ensure that the goals and objectives of

the project are clear and that the timeline to achieve them is reasonable. As research projects

are, by definition, journeys into the unknown, failure to achieve a specific result will not

necessarily count against the student BUT any demonstrable lack of effort certainly will.

4.6 Process for Resolution of disputes/problems

If any dispute or problem arises, the Head of Studies should be informed as soon as possible so

that it can be resolved. If resolution by the Head of Studies is not possible, then the Divisional

Directors should get involved and, if necessary, set up a 3-faculty panel to resolve the

dispute/problem. If there are further questions about the dispute/problem then the Associate

Dean of Faculty will be consulted. In all such circumstances, the interests of the student should

be paramount and the dispute/problem should be resolved speedily.

5. Project framework and guidelines a) Students may start discussions with the HOS and potential supervisors in advance.

However formal enrolment in the Capstone Project module takes place at the beginning

of Year 4, prior to the end of the second week.

b) The supervisor is a faculty member of Yale-NUS or someone approved by the Head of

Studies. If the supervisor is external to Yale-NUS, a faculty member of Yale-NUS will be

appointed as co-supervisor.

c) At the end of Semester 1, both the student and the supervisor will submit a brief

description of progress made so far. Each major can decide on the format of this

Semester 1 report although a suggested format is also available. A grade of IP will be

recorded based on the supervisor’s endorsement and an assessment determined by the

Head of Studies which will then be submitted to Registry. Students who have not made

satisfactory progress should be advised by the supervisor and Head of Studies on steps

to take in Semester 2 to fulfil the requirements of the project.


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d) Depending on the design of the project, students will submit a formal thesis or some other

piece(s) of work in the second semester. For written work, three simply bounded/covered

copies and one electronic copy are required. Two will be graded by the supervisor and

an examiner; the other will be added to the Yale-NUS library of Capstone Projects.

e) Depending on the major and project, viva voce style presentations may take different

forms and be graded as determined by the supervisor and Head of Studies. If these are

required, then they should be completed before the end of Week 13 in Semester 2.

f) Grading of the final project will be done by the supervisor and another examiner

independently and the final grade will be the average of the two grades or as mutually

determined by the supervisor and examiner. If the two grades differ by more than two

grade steps or a mutually satisfactory grade cannot be determined, a third examiner will

be appointed by the Head of Studies (or the Divisional Director, if the HOS is the original

supervisor/examiner) to assess the project and determine the final grade in consultation

with the Divisional Director or HOS.

g) The format used for the overall grading of the capstone project will be designed by each

major but should be recorded on forms to be submitted to the Head of Studies who will

be responsible for collating all the grades and determining all the students’ final grades

to be submitted to Registry.

h) Where necessary, he supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the project follows the

College’s guidelines on ethical standards of research for undergraduates.

i) Policy on Failure – Any student who receives a final grade of D in the Capstone project

will have to satisfactorily complete a remediation process to be confirmed by the

supervisor and Head of Studies before the student is allowed to graduate. Upon

successful remediation, the grade will be changed to a C. Remediation will be undertaken

during the long vacation under the supervision of the supervisor and the final remediation

report/thesis submitted by the end of the third week of June so that the decision on the

remediation is available by mid-July. Any student who receives a final grade of F or fails

the remediation will have to re-do the whole capstone project before being allowed to

graduate. Such students will re-enrol for one more semester at the College and register

for the Repeat Capstone module by Week 2 of Semester 1 or Semester 2 if the student

decides to take a leave of absence for one semester before re-enrolling. The Repeat

Capstone module will also carry 10MC’s but has to be completed within the one semester

and the student will be working on the project full-time. The deadline for submission of


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the final report/thesis will be Week 11 of the Semester and grading procedures will be

the same as for the normal Capstone project.

j) Late submission policy – Any final thesis/report that is submitted after the end of Week

11 of Semester 2 will be subject to penalties as described in the document that has the

details of the capstone project for each major. However, students with Vice-rectors’ notes,

which are given for medical reasons, will not receive any grade penalty. Where there are

other extenuating circumstances as recognized by the Head of Studies, the penalties will

not apply until the agreed period of extension has been exceeded.

k) Academic integrity – Students should conduct all work on the capstone project according

to the policy on academic integrity that is part of the academic regulations of the College.

Any violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to the disciplinary policies

and procedures of the College and may result in required remediation of the project prior

to graduation.

l) Out of sequence students - In order not to be out of sequence for the capstone module

for all majors, it is highly recommended that all capstone projects should be completed

within Semester 1 and 2 of any academic year. In the event that a student has to be on

leave in any semester and is then out of sequence with his/her cohort because he/she

will be scheduled to graduate at the end of Semester 1 of his/her final year at the College,

the student will still register for the capstone project in August of his/her penultimate year

so that the project can be completed the following April/May. Then the student will register

for the next semester (the following August) in order to take additional modules required

to graduate. All such students will need to propose an academic plan supported by the

HOS and approved by the Capstone Committee that will adjudicate such exceptions. The

Capstone Committee will be chaired by the Associate Dean of Faculty with the Head of

Studies and relevant Divisional Director as members.

6. Timeline Each Head of Studies is responsible for preparing and ensuring that their students meet the

following deadlines for the items listed in Table 1 that need to be submitted to Registry. All

supervisors will submit Semester 1 Progress reports to the Head of Studies. Students will submit

Semester 1 and Semester 2 feedback forms on the capstone project to the Head of Studies who

will keep them confidential but have the prerogative to discuss relevant content with the

supervisor and/or Divisional Director.


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In Semester 2, the final report of the capstone is due on the Friday of Week 11 and all other

assessed activities (e.g. viva voce exams, exhibits and poster sessions, etc.) should be

completed by the end of Week 13.

Table 1 Deadlines for Submission to Registry

Date of Submission- End of

1. Capstone project proposal form Sem 1 Week 2

2. In progress Semester 1 assessment form for all students

in the major from Head of Studies

Sem 1 Week 13

3. Final Report/Thesis/Reflective Report

(with Student Declaration of independent work form)

Sem 2 Week 11

4. Final grade for all students in the major by Head of

Studies

Sem 2 Week 15

7. Presentation of capstone work in the Residential Colleges As students progress through their college years, they move from a tight bond with their year

cohort in the residential college as freshmen, to broader associations with people from different

colleges and years through their activities with various affinity groups and their majors. In their

final year as seniors it is both satisfying and useful to recover those connections of their original

class cohort bond, a kind of return to the grounding elements of their first year, prior to their

collective launch into post-college life.

As all Yale-NUS students have to work on a capstone project, one way to engineer and

rediscover this cohort reconnection is for seniors to present their research to their year cohort

within their colleges. We imagine a series of evenings over the course of the latter part of the

first semester and through the second semester in a student’s senior year, whereby seniors

gather each week for dinner or some refreshment with their rectors and vice-rectors or

designates. These evenings would be organized by the Rectors and the RC staff. Over the

course of each session, four or five seniors present their work. Those students presenting would

be allowed to invite their advisors and friends to hear the presentations and join with the group

for their meal.

These presentations would serve two major purposes: to help hone the presentational elements


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of student capstone projects and to help recreate cohort connection in order to enhance the

development of the alumni cohort. They would not be required or graded. Instead the individual

majors that do want formal or graded student presentations, should have their students present

a viva voce at the end of the year in a controlled group session with all students presenting the

final versions of their projects. It is these presentations that could be assessed and graded.

8. Administration, policies and procedures

Details for each major are in Appendix 1

9. Grading

At the end of Semester 1, a grade of IP will be recorded based on an assessment by the

supervisor. Depending on the design of the project, students will submit a formal thesis or other

written work at the end of Semester 2 and will generally make a presentation or exhibit of some

kind, the nature of which will be determined by the individual major. The final project will be

assessed by the supervisor and another examiner, and the overall grading of the Capstone

module will be as defined by the major as presented in the description of the Capstones of the

individual major. The final grade will be submitted to the Registry by the Head of Studies.

10. Funding/resources Students can make use of all the resources available from ERT and other resources available

within Yale-NUS College. Each Capstone project will have a small amount of money (SGD 50)

which will be reimbursed upon presentation of receipts. Guidelines for the use of this funding will

be prepared. Majors can petition the Dean of Faculty to increase this standard amount for each

student for particular kinds of Capstones that have specific needs (e.g. lab or studio art-based

Capstones). Individual Capstones can also petition to the Dean of Faculty for specific resources

once the capstone proposal has been submitted.

11. Student preparation Each major will have individualized preparation requirements and these should be shared with

students in Year 3.


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12. Supervisor preparation All supervisors are reminded that the Capstone Project is only equivalent to a 10 MC module.

Therefore, students should plan and supervisors should expect the student to spend as much

time and energy on the Capstone Project as would be devoted to one 5 MC module per semester.

Both students and supervisors should keep the Capstone project within a limited and realistic

scope.

For the preparation of supervisors, the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Yale-NUS College

and the Dean of Faculty Office will sponsor workshops on effective supervision of capstone

projects in Semester 2.

13. Celebrations for completed projects Prizes will be available for the best project in various categories and/or each major. Details will

be worked out later.

14. Feedback and Evaluation Students will be requested to share their feedback and evaluation of the Capstone Project at the

end of Semesters 1 and 2. Heads of Studies will also discuss the capstone projects with the

supervisors in their major to share good practices and avoid difficulties/challenges that might

have occurred in the past year. Additionally, post-graduation, students will also be requested to

give feedback on the impact of their capstone project experience on their career or further

studies.

15. Appendix 1 – details of each major (softcopies) Double-click icons to access softcopies

Anthropology_4 Aug 2016.docx

Arts and Humanities Capston

Economics Capstone template.d

Environmental Studies Capstone te


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Global Affairs Capstone Template.d

History Capstone Template.docx

Life Sciences Capstone Template.d

Literature Capstone Template.docx

MCS Capstone Template.docx

Philosophy Capstone Template.d

Physical Sciences Capstone template.d

PPE Capstone Template.docx

Psychology Capstone Template.d

Urban Studies Capstone Template


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15.1 Anthropology


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15.2 Arts and Humanities


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15.3 Economics


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15.4 Environmental Studies


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15.5 Global Affairs


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History


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15.6 Life Sciences


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15.7 Literature


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15.8 Mathematical Computational Science


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15.9 Philosophy


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15.10 Physical Sciences


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15.11 Politics, Philosophy, Economics


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15.12 Psychology


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15.13 Urban Studies


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2 End-Sem 1 Capstone Progress F

16. Appendix 2 - Forms (softcopies) Double-click icons to access softcopies

1 Capstone-proposal

3 End-Sem 1 Capstone Progress R

4 Students Declaration of Perso

5 End of Capstone Project Final Assessm

6 End of Capstone Project Final Grade S

7 End Semester 1 Evaluation 151113.d

8 End Semester 2 evaluation 151113.d


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16.1 Formal proposal registration form (for capstone project by student and confirmed by supervisor, co-supervisor, and HOS)


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16.2 End Semester 1 Progress Assessment Form (To be completed by Supervisor) [if desired, this can be re-designed by HOS]


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16.3 End Semester 1 Progress Assessment Results (To be submitted by HOS to Registry)


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16.4 Student’s Declaration of Personal Work (To be completed by student and submitted

together with the final report)


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16.5 Final Assessment Form


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Final Grade Submission (To be completed by HOS)

(with assessment and comments/recommendations from a mediating third examiner where necessary)


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16.6 Feedback and evaluation of capstone project by student at end of Semester 1


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16.7 Feedback and evaluation of capstone project by student at end of Semester 2


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*Record of Version Updates:

Version Information Updated Page affected July 2016 Description of Capstone - Urban Studies Page 27 August 2016 Description of Capstone - Anthropology Page 14

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Capstone Project - Yale-NUS College · 2018-03-29 · capstone project; submitting the progress report form to Registry at the end of Semester 1; collating all the students’ final