Academics
Senior Capstone Experiences

Senior Capstone Experiences

The Senior Capstone Experience (SCE) is an important part of your time at Washington College. The SCE is the culmination of all your studies and experiences and is required of all graduating seniors. Working with an advisor, you define your SCE—whether a research paper, comprehensive exam, professional portfolio, or another project of active learning.

Why Senior Capstones?

The SCE lets you demonstrate relevant knowledge and skills from your entire academic program in a project that shows mastery and intellectual accomplishment significantly beyond classroom learning. The SCE also offers tremendous value for students and graduates as they apply to graduate or professional school or look to enter the workplace, showing a degree of academic achievement not often evident among undergraduates.

Overwhelmingly, Washington College faculty say that the following skills that employers seek are “Extremely important” to successful completion of an SCE:

Critical thinking and problem solving
Synthesizing information and constructing an argument
Work ethic and initiative
Written communication skills
Research Skills
Time management and long-term planning

By completing a capstone, using learned skills of research, critical thinking, analysis, synthesis, and clear communication, students complete the progression from consumers to creators ofinformation.—Michael Harvey, Business
The SCE allows a student to simultaneously apply knowledge and skills from many courseswhile taking control of the process and outcome.—Gabe Feinberg, Mathematics and Computer Science
The SCE gives [students] a concrete project to talk about during job/graduate school interviews.—Audrey Weil, psychology
A capstone project helps students to tie together and integrate their learning across the liberal arts. This allows students to independently navigate their liberal arts education and make meaningful connections across the curriculum. This self-driven project is just the first steptoward the independent leadership they will execute in their future careers.—Caddie Putnam Rankin, Business
The Senior Capstone Experience is the culmination of what a liberal arts education is about. Over the course of four years, I expect our students to grow as the well-rounded graduates that companies, academic and governmental institutions are eager to hire. The overarching goal of the SCE is that students gain independence as researchers and ultimately transform themselves into teachers and peer-reviewed authors over time.—Anne Marteel-Parrish, Chemistry
It is the culmination of a diligent research process. It validates for the student that his/her owninitiative, creativity and critical thinking skills can contribute to a larger discussion/debate aboutproblems/questions/issues.—Aaron Lampman, Anthropology

Senior Capstone Experience Highlights

Who better to tell you what an SCE entails than some of our students!

Scholars Unite!

During the months of November and April we celebrate the Senior Capstone Experience, the culmination of each student's individual learning journey. Come out and support your peers' undergraduate research, the result of a year or more researching, prepping, and executing a self-directed project with the help of a faculty mentor. As part of their work, students present their research and creative activity in performances, installations, poster sessions, lightning talks, studio sessions, film screenings, or symposiums.

Senior Capstone Issues

The Washington College Review is a journal that recognizes the best inquiry and expression in the liberal arts and sciences. We publish work that emerges from the four requirements of our college-wide writing program and is deserving of wider availability to readers in the Washington College community and beyond. We also feature Artwork by students working in a variety of graphic media. Every spring, the journal features stories (and artwork) across the disciplines related to the Senior Capstone Experience.