What is a Capstone Project?
The capstone project is a demanding year-long endeavor aimed at creating a significant piece of research and/or creative work. This can take the form of a thesis project: for example, a historical narrative; an analysis and discussion; and/or participation within an ongoing philosophical or theoretical debate.
Capstone projects can also take the form of a musical composition, a performance, a film or documentary, a series of prints or other visual creations.
Scholarship is crucial to all of these projects, and students will also call on their individual creativity and personal expressive capabilities.
Cast of Characters
This is a list of individuals and teams that work together to bring the capstones to life. Note that this list is not exhaustive, and it truly takes a village to raise a capstone!
Student - The student is the main star of the capstone process. They are the ones creating an original piece of scholarly or creative work.
Capstone Advisor - The Capstone Advisor is a faculty member who supports the student through the capstone process. While they are typically housed in the same program as the student's major, they are not necessarily that student's Major Mentor. The Capstone Advisor will also act as an initial budget reviewer and will serve as the Defense Committee Chair.
Capstone Seminar Leader - This is the faculty member who leads the first course in the capstone process - the Capstone Seminar, which is typically offered during the fall semester of the Senior Year.
Program Head - The head of the program will oversee the assignment of the capstone advisors, the seminar leaders, and will typically act as the instructor of record for the capstone project course, which occurs in the spring semester of the Senior Year. All capstone funding will be routed through them before progression to the Dean's Office for review.
Dean's Office - The Dean's office will constitute final approval for capstone funding. They also review and approve any requests for individual or programmatic extensions and deviations from the standard divisional timelines and deadlines.
Capstone Administrative team - This team sits looks after the general timeline, guidelines, communications, and reviews and processes all capstone funding requests from students. Team alias: nyuad.ah.capstones@nyu.edu
Capstone Production team - This team looks after the organization, coordination and preparation of the Capstone festival events aspect, including the communication, the marketing materials, and space allocation. Team alias: nyuad.ahproduction@nyu.edu
Academic Staff in the Arts - Academic Staff in the Arts will work with Arts Practice students in a variety of ways, including assisting, advising, and reviewing the budgets, helping secure materials, managing the productions, and reviewing and developing the marketing materials for both individual projects and the divisional festival as a whole.
Academic Staff in the Writing Center - Academic Staff in the Writing Center are a wonderful resource who can help with everything from the proposal process, the draft development, and the poster creations. Encourage your students to seek these folks out early and often.
Archivist - A representative from the library will document all aspects of the capstone project, including photo and video collection of the festival, and will help the students to submit large files of materials. This person is Lauren Kata (lak12@@nyu.edu). Note: all final papers, including arts reflection papers, will still need to be submitted through the student portal, and not through the Archivist.
For a general overview of the capstone process within Arts & Humanities, please refer to this comprehensive document.
For the specific dates relating to the Academic Year 2024-25, kindly find the timeline here.
General Progression
The capstone process typically starts in the spring of a student's year, when they submit their capstone proposal to their program for review. It then culminates with a final project in the spring of their senior year. This schedule can change depending on the program or a student's unique circumstances. For a general overview, please see the basic timeline below.
Basic Timeline
Spring of the Junior Year
Students submit a Capstone Project Proposal to their program and the division.
Fall of the Senior Year
Students enroll in the Capstone Seminar Course and begin to work seriously on their projects.
Spring of the Senior Year
Students enroll in the Capstone Project Course and finalize their project. This semester will conclude with students carrying out the following activities:
Submitting their final paper to their advisor and the library archive;
Participating in a community-facing activity to showcase their work, typically through the Capstone Festival
Note: Participation in a community-facing activity is not always required. In addition, students in an off-cycle capstone have a variety of options for how to proceed. The Advisor or Program Head should reach out to the Capstone Administrator to discuss ways for the student to engage with the community if this is a desired component of the capstone process.
Engaging in a serious discussion of their project through the Capstone Defense;
Reconciling any expenses they were allocated.
In order to ensure that a student is on the right track with their capstone project idea, they will submit a capstone proposal to their program for review. Once it is approved by the program, they will then submit the final version on the student portal.
The division has created this document with additional details and a suggested process, however, the process can be tweaked by the program as necessary. In addition, there are general and program-specific guidelines for what should be included in a proposal which can be found below and on the student portal. Any updates to your program's guidelines or suggested edits to the general guidelines can be sent to the A&H Capstone email: nyuad.ah.capstones@nyu.edu.
NOTE: Some programs ask that budgets are included as a part of the capstone proposal. The students should be made aware that this is not a formal request for funding, but rather a way for the program to assess needs and resources. For more information about capstone funding, please review the section below.
General Capstone Project Proposal Guidelines: Arts
General Capstone Project Proposal Guidelines: Arts Studies and Humanities
Capstone advisors are paired with each capstone student, typically in the spring of their junior year after their proposal has been approved. The range of responsibilities for the capstone advisor differs by program and individual student need, but there are a few commonalities for all advisors, including:
The capstone advisor will receive all email communications that the division sends to the students. This will help them be aware of what is expected of the students at the divisional level.
The capstone advisor will be requested to reach out to the student if the division is not able to obtain key pieces of information from the student. This usually involves information that is used for the capstone festival.
The capstone advisor will review any funding request before the student submits it. The advisor should review the application carefully, and discuss with the student the purpose for any seemingly unnecessary, excessive, or inappropriate requests. Additional information about the capstone funding application can be found in that section below.
The capstone advisor receives the rough draft of the final paper and provides feedback to the student.
The capstone advisor serves as the student's defense committee chair. Additional information about the capstone defense can be found in that section below.
Introduction
Every capstone student is invited to submit a request for funding to support their project. However, they should be aware that each application goes through a rigorous review process, and funding is not guaranteed. Students, advisors, and program heads are encouraged to reach out to the dean's office using this email: nyuad.ah.capstones@nyu.edu early with any questions on this process.
Application
Once the student is ready to submit an application, they will do so on the student portal. This page also has additional instructions and the requisite forms that the student will need to complete before submitting the application.
Types of Expenses
While each funding application is unique, and successful applications depend on the needs, merits, and justification of the project and the resources of the program, here are some general guidelines for when an item or items may receive additional scrutiny:
Food for friends, celebrations, or on-campus activities when it is either not an integral part of the project, or there are alternative dining options (i.e., all students already have a meal plan, so providing snacks or meals to other students is usually not necessary).
An excessive list of books or films will likely need a specific justification. In addition, these types of requests should be routed through the library first, as they can often obtain books and films that are minimally or only potentially needed.
Requests for extraneous items that are not integral to the capstone project are likely to be denied, such as special pens, notebooks, motivational posters, etc.
Funding for personal services also requires heightened scrutiny and thus needs a clear justification. Examples of services that might be approved include translation and transcription services. Examples of services that will likely be denied include anything that a student can access for free on campus, or is seen as replacing their required work for the project. Any requests for service expenditures should be discussed with both the program head and the dean's office in advance of submitting and approval and finalizing a service agreement.
Any equipment or imperishable supplies, including items used for props and costumes, acquired with capstone funding is property of NYUAD. All such equipment and supplies should be returned to the Arts and Humanities division upon completion of the capstone project.
As a reminder, we encourage anyone with questions on this process to reach out early and often to the A&H Capstone Email Alias: nyuad.ah.capstones@nyu.edu
Reconciliation
Prior to graduation, it is required that all students who received capstone funding reconcile their expenses. Any unused funding will need to be paid back to the division through Student Finance. Instructions on the reconciliation process can be reviewed here.
One of the culminating experiences for all capstone students is the Capstone Defense. The student will present and defend their capstone project to a faculty committee chaired by their capstone advisor(s) and made up of two to three additional faculty members. The program head, in consultation with the chair, will typically determine the members of the committee.
Some basic parameters for the defenses:
Faculty and not students should determine the constitution of the defense committees.
Students completing a capstone within one major will have a defense committee of three members (inclusive of the chair)
Students completing a joint capstone comprised of two majors will have a defense committee of four members - including a joint chairship of both majors, plus two additional faculty representatives.
The chairs and not the capstone administrator, nor other divisional staff, will determine the schedule of the defense in consultation with the committee members and the student.
The chair(s) are responsible for collecting the final comments and summarizing them for the student, and then submitting the report and grading sheet to the program head and capstone administrator.
The division is responsible for setting the timeframe for when the defenses must occur. Extensions and exceptions:
The Program Head is responsible for seeking a programmatic exception to the time frame presented by the division from the Dean's Office.
The Capstone Advisor/Defense Chair is responsible for seeking approvals for extension requests for an individual student from both the Program Head and the Dean's Office.
Current Guidelines - Note that these are subject to change, and are for reference purposes only.
A&H Capstone Guidelines for Final Submission and the Defense - Spring 2025
This is a collection of forms that both faculty and students use. This section will be continually updated. In addition, some forms are specific to the graduating year of the student and may not be available yet.
Students:
Faculty:
Q. How does a student access past capstone projects?
A. The Library holds the archives for all capstone materials, which can be shared with current students. The division or the program does not share the files. Please have the student email the Library to access a past capstone project: nyuad.library@nyu.edu.