IST 797 Capstone Thesis

IST 797 Capstone Thesis a two-semester, six hour alternative to the traditional Capstone course. Student will work closely with a faculty advisor and thesis committee on a culminating research project that integrates methods and approaches from two or more of the academic disciplines explored through the MAIS program’s coursework. The Capstone Thesis is available for those students who have intense research projects that cannot reasonably be accomplished in one semester. The thesis must be defended before a faculty committee and published as a Master's Thesis.

The MAIS graduates are capable of transdisciplinary thinking and working with experts on a professional level both in and outside of the academy. They are familiar with the state of the art in a selected field or problem space and can contribute new ideas or propose novel solutions. Graduates are ready to engage with experts in a chosen field.

Integrative Thinking

• • Students in IST 797 plan and produce an informed scholarly work that has clear application to a specific problem and is a unique contribution to the scholarly or applied field.

Critical Thinking

• • Students in IST 797 defend a thesis or proposed solution with new ideas and informed arguments that add to current debates and address conflicting conclusions from other experts.

Communication

• • Students in IST 797 produce writing that is sensitive to the expert audiences both inside and outside the academy, recognizes the state of the art in specific relevant fields, and address audiences and issues that are transdisciplinary in nature.

Information Literacy

• Students in IST 793 generate relevant and reliable information from scholarly sources and use that information properly in an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary project.

MAIS students produce a portfolio of their work in the graduate program. This portfolio was begun in IST 585 Introduction to Graduate Integrative Studies and continues in the thesis capstone course. The portfolio requirements created in IST 797 include

• Capstone Prospectus (IST 797)

A proposal for your final project that outlines the thesis or problem and your proposed research.

• Final Thesis (IST 797)

A substantial research project is your culminating work in the program.

• Two Artifacts and Reflection (IST 797)

Select two of artifacts from different disciplines for this portfolio as evidence of your accomplishments in the MAIS program. Artifacts are essays, papers, or creative works you turned in for other classes in your areas. Choose your best work; you are encouraged to revise an artifact before submitting it. Include a short narrative in which you explain the assignment and the course in which it was assigned; its contribution to your driving interdisciplinary interests in the program; your revisions, if appropriate; and why it represents your best work.