Environmental Studies Capstone Experience

What Is the Capstone Experience?

In architecture, a capstone is the final building block in a structure – the stone at the top and center of an arch, for example – without which the structure would collapse into a heap of rubble. The PoE Capstone plays much the same role; without it, the Environmental Studies degree would simply be a collection of interesting coursework with only a limited emphasis on “real-world” applications and solutions. The Capstone Experience, then, is an opportunity to take your interdisciplinary education into the world beyond the classroom and to apply your knowledge and skills in the public arena.

Many Capstone students work together, whether as part of a team or on different projects with the same agency or organization.  To date, Capstones have ranged across a spectrum as wide as environmental issues themselves: environmental curriculum design for international programs; Superfund site identification with the U.S. EPA; applied advocacy with local and international NGOs; on-the-ground work such as restoration, urban agriculture, or journalism; and public health research.  To see what current Environmental Studies students are doing for their Capstones, see the current Capstone Conference web site.

In addition to being hands-on, however, the Capstone is also intended to be the culminating experience of your undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies. To that end, you will be making connections between your first-person experiences and the broader environmental, social, scientific, political, and technological context in which they take place. The end result is a Capstone Experience that carries both personal meaning and academic integrity.

Beyond the specifics of each student’s hands-on experience, Capstone courses are designed to give students a space to step back and reflect on their education. What does it mean to be ecologically literate? What are the connections between a PoE education and the broader world? What does it mean to be an engaged citizen? What is an “environmentalist”? These and other questions are at the heart of the Pre- and Post-Capstone Seminars in particular, and are intended to provide students with a chance to think and write about their own education, both at the University of Washington and beyond.

Students, Site Supervisors, and Faculty Advisors involved in the Capstone Experience should read the material provided on this website before setting up a Capstone in order to ensure that the experience meets both the needs of the participants and the expectations of the Program on the Environment. For additional information, please don't hesitate to contact Capstone Instructor Michael Reese or Academic Advisor Michelle Hall.