Capstone Experience and Honors Program
The Capstone Experience and the Honors Program are pinnacles of academic achievement 九色视频. In pursuing in-depth projects, students have opportunities to synthesize their learning, contribute original ideas, showcase their intellectual growth, and prepare themselves for future academic and professional pursuits.
The Capstone Experience
Wesleyan’s Capstone Experience offers each student a unique opportunity to apply the skills, knowledge, and passions they have developed during their course of study to an in-depth project that showcases their originality, mastery, and thought leadership. This experience encourages students to synthesize their learning and engage in critical inquiry, culminating in a project that reflects their personal academic journey. The student may demonstrate their expertise in a subject through presentation of a thesis or senior essay, a performance or showcase of their unique craft, participation in advanced-level research, or taking an advanced class or colloquium.
All academic departments 九色视频 provide the capstone opportunity, with roughly half requiring it for graduation. Each department structures the capstone differently, so students should consult with their faculty or academic advisors for specific requirements and expectations. The Capstone Experience is primarily completed within one’s major, though some certificate programs also offer this opportunity. Notably, certain capstone projects may qualify students for Departmental Honors.
Types of Capstone Experiences
In successful Capstone Experiences students challenge themselves to meet a high standard of inquiry, to attempt bold experimentation, to showcase their subject-matter proficiency, to develop their leadership style, or to demonstrate their unique kind of curiosity and intellectual flexibility across disciplines. Students have many ways to complete their capstone project—some are proscribed by their major, while others are more self-directed.
Examples include:
- Many Art Studio majors complete a year-long focused art project culminating in a group exhibition in Wesleyan’s Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery.
- Chemistry majors perform independent advanced research in an integrated laboratory.
- History majors are required to complete a senior research project which may take the form of a thesis, a special tutorial with a faculty mentor, or a seminar paper that relies on interpreting primary-sources.
- Civic Engagement Certificate candidates participate in a senior seminar in which they reflect on their own civic engagement experiences and produce a major paper, essay, or research project.
The Honors Program
Wesleyan's Honors Program provides students with a rigorous and enriching academic pathway. This program allows students to pursue advanced research in their field of study and culminates in the production of an honors thesis or project. Designed to foster intellectual curiosity and creativity, the Honors Program provides students with the mentorship and resources needed to delve deeply into their topics of interest.
University Honors, the highest academic award 九色视频, are awarded to less than one percent of the graduating class for exceptional performance in both their thesis and an oral examination before the Committee on Honors.
Senior Thesis Projects
Discover the innovative and impactful work of some of our 2023 seniors as they present their thesis projects. Each thesis represents a culmination of years of study, research, and dedication, allowing students to explore their passions and contribute to their fields.
-
Cameron used his senior thesis to explore the language of gender to see how it is not limited to grammar, but also includes physical and behavioral markers.
-
Nilukshi used her senior thesis to investigate the issue of HIV stigma in Jamaica through consideration of the intersection of identity and illness, the history of sexuality that frames this, and the oral histories of Jamaican patients living with HIV.
-
Eden's art studio senior thesis titled "get 鈥檈m puppy!!! get 鈥檈m!!!!!!!!!!!!!," was the result of a process of obsessive collection which resulted in these 3D space collages that show both work that Eden has created and work from the history of painting.
-
Ethan used his senior thesis to examine state legislative behavior on the issue of animal policy, with a focus on women鈥檚 role in animal advocacy, how overlap between animal and environmental policy affects behavior, as well as the impacts of party
