Student–Community Partnerships

Academic Programs
Humphrey School of Public Affairs

301 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States

Students interested in finding out more about their capstone requirement should visit this page on the Capstone Workshop.

Humphrey School Capstone Projects: Bridging the Classroom to Community

If you are a public or nonprofit organization, the Humphrey School wants to partner with you.

Each year, the Humphrey School connects with community organizations on field projects. This partnership allows our students to gain real-life experience while the organization gets to leverage the skills of our graduate students. If you have a project that aligns with the work we do here at the Humphrey School, our capstone projects might be a great fit.

The Humphrey School’s capstone program is one of the principal avenues for academic outreach and service to the broader community. Each year, the Humphrey School offers approximately 8 different capstone workshop courses and completes approximately 35 different capstone projects in support of community clients from the public and nonprofit sectors. 

View 2023–2024 capstone projects overview

Capstone courses are mainly offered in the spring semester, with one course offered in the summer semester. The topical focus for each course varies according to the expertise of the faculty, needs of the student, and requests from the community.

Before you submit a project proposal, here's what you need to know:

Faculty Letter to Prospective Clients

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What are capstone student-consultant teams?

A group of three to five graduate students serves as a consultant team for an organizational client. The student-consultant team conducts research, analysis, and delivers a final presentation and product to the client upon completion of the project. Throughout their capstone project, the team members interface directly with the client through a point of contact, where they develop a working relationship that is crucial to the success of the capstone study.

Who are previous capstone clients?

Clients are usually, but not limited to, public or nonprofit organizations and are based locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally. Previous capstone clients include:

  • Mercado Local 
  • Hennepin County Housing Stability
  • Metropolitan Council
  • City of Minneapolis, MN
  • City of Duluth, MN
  • Second Harvest Heartland
  • The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (MLBO)
  • Great River Energy
  • Children of Incarcerated Caregivers
  • International Foundation for Electoral Systems
  • Stimson Center
  • Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
    and many more.

What makes a good capstone project?

Here are some helpful tips for a successful capstone project:

  1. Create a project that involves real policy work.
  2. Make sure the project does not require organization-specific content knowledge.
  3. Have clear deliverables and make sure the project is of a manageable scope for the timeline. It should be able to be completed in one academic semester.
  4. Think about how you will explain the project to students and why they will find it interesting. Often it is not the subject matter but the type of work the students will perform that gets them excited.
  5. Communicate frequently. Several meetings leading up to the semester and regular meetings throughout the project are needed.
  6. Think about how the student work will be used by your organization once it is completed. Students have the most interest working on projects that have a direct benefit or impact back to the organization and its constituents.
  7. Plan to make yourself accessible during the project. At times, a short turnaround is required.
  8. Be open to new ideas, new ways of doing things, and be careful not to insert your own "solution” into your problem statement. The capstone team works as consultants and partners to bring new solutions and approaches to the project.

How are faculty involved?

Each capstone workshop is run by one or more professors who serve as teacher and coach to the student-consultant teams. Capstone faculty members are typically involved in the initial project coordination with the capstone client in order to evaluate the validity of a capstone project proposal and establish the initial parameters and scope of the study. Throughout the project, the faculty member provides instruction and advice to students on completion of key elements of the study. They also contribute to the evaluation of the project deliverables and the quality of the team’s effort.

Each faculty instructor may have slightly different project requirements or meeting frequency. Faculty interested in a project will communicate their sections' needs and requirements with the client.

What is the process for submitting and reviewing projects?

We are no longer accepting proposals for projects to be completed in Spring 2025.

Capstone project proposals are now being accepted for Summer 2025 until November 30th, 2024.

Download and review our Faculty Letter to Prospective Clients for details about the capstone program’s structure, schedule, and expectations if we select your organization’s proposal.

Once a project proposal is submitted for consideration, it is reviewed for potential expertise matches among the capstone faculty who will be teaching in the next capstone cycle. Projects can be submitted throughout the year. Capstone is offered in the Spring and Summer semesters but not currently offered in the fall semester. Capstone faculty can change from year to year so the areas of expertise for projects may also fluctuate.

Spring SemesterSummer Semester 
Mid-AugLate NovDeadline for project proposal from clients
Mid-SepLate MarchPotential projects are announced to students
OctLate MarchStudents submit their preferences and teams are formed by capstone faculty
Late OctEarly AprAll clients are notified whether their project was selected or not
Nov/DecApr/MayStudent teams meet with client to develop the scope of work, project plan and memorandum of agreement
Mid-JanMid-MaySemester begins
Mid-MayMid-AugFinal paper and presentation are due

If your project doesn’t seem to fit into the capstone format, there may still be opportunities within the School to connect with instructors or students. Please contact the Faculty Director of the Capstone Program, Angie Fertig, at [email protected] with any questions.

What happens after a project is selected as a capstone?

If selected, clients must complete a memorandum of understanding/agreement with the student-consultant team that further details the capstone proposal's scope, requirements, and responsibilities. This process starts during a half-semester course that precedes the capstone semester to enable students to lay the groundwork for a strong start of the capstone. Clients assist the student-consultant teams by providing appropriate background data or relevant resources and arranging for a professional presentation to the respective organization's decision-makers near the end of the semester.

Have More Questions?

Still have questions? We have answers. Figuring out whether your organization is a good fit for the capstone program all starts with a conversation, so please don't hesitate to reach out to the Academic Programs team. Angie Fertig is the Faculty Director of the Capstone Program and Sarah French is the Academic Project Specialist. The team can be reached at [email protected].

Ready to Apply?

Once you are ready to submit a project proposal and partner with the Humphrey School on a capstone project, fill out the capstone project proposal form.