Instructor: Dr. Anne Hubbell
Email for more information: ahubbell@nmsu.edu
Students in the Internship Capstone course will need to have an internship in place before they sign up for or take the Capstone Internship course. They are encouraged to work with faculty in their Major or Minor to help them find internships in their discipline. Students should plan on working at their internship for 10 hours a week in the regular academic year or 20 hours a week during the summer. As this is a Capstone class, students will complete a Capstone Project which will be approved by the Internship Site Mentor and the Honors College.
CAPSTONE Internship Project Format/Sections:
Cover page with:
- Title
- Student Name
- NMSU Email
Project Summary
A brief summary of the overall goal of the project and the final outcomes to be developed from the work. Answer the question, “What is the planned deliverable as part of the project?”
Background on Project Area
This should include a review of the background situation and/or problem you are solving. Answer the question, “Why does this matter, what does it contribute to the organization?” Also, include relevant background information. For example, background information could include:
- A traditional literature review with peer reviewed scholarship
- Internet research (for example if you are researching different art exhibits to improve one you are working on)
- Research on social media or websites (for example, if you are working to improve a website for an organization)
- The background for your project area should demonstrate that you have learned about the relevant issues you are working with or on and your mentor in the organization and at NMSU for your internship should help guide you on what is appropriate to include in this area
Target Audience
Students should consider the individuals in the organization who will use the project they will create. This is not an extensive section but gives the student an opportunity to think about how they will write up the final project so that it is accessible to everyone in their target audience. Please also consider the students, faculty, and staff in Honors who you may present your project to upon completion. For this section, then, students should think about the demographics and education levels of the people in the organization where they work as well as the students, staff, and faculty in Honors they may present to. This should only be about a page to two pages long and not go into excessive detail. Also, if demographic data are not available, focus on what you do know about the individuals with regard to education and do not make any assumptions about the audience.
Project Implementation/Methods
Although the nature of the work will vary widely depending on the project to be completed, students must first provide a detailed description of the steps to be taken to complete the project. This is an opportunity for the student and advisor to ensure that the steps in the process from inception to completion are clearly identified in advance. For research projects, this will be the procedures and nature of the analysis. For an original creative activity, this might be the steps in the creative process to develop the final product.
Results
After completion of the Project the student will need to write up their findings and how what they found impacted or will impact the organization with whom they are working and how it impacts them in their future education and/or careers.
Final Product
Regardless of the format of the work, all students are expected to submit a final written report as part of their end product. The written report might be a major final paper itself but for other students, (e.g., creative work) the report might be more like an artist statement or reflection on
the work completed. Although there is not formal page limit, almost all capstone papers will be 10+ pages in length but this is dependent on the discipline and the proposal (e.g., mathematical proof, brief research report with poster presentation for conference, 100 pages of a novel).
Dissemination
All capstone work should be developed with a plan for dissemination - proposals should specify where this work can be shared. Students can share on campus at URCAS, RCW, or structured exhibitions, but everyone is encouraged to design their work to share off campus in professional settings, at research conferences, or other public exhibitions.
References
A reference list of work cited in the proposal must be included in whatever format is appropriate to the discipline.
Capstone Internship Application
Capstone Internship Project Format
HONORS COLLEGE
