Q: What is Capstone?
A: Capstone serves as the culminating experience of the NYU Master's Program in Global Public Health. It provides an important resource to organizations – a team of committed students dedicated to addressing its needs – while allowing students to demonstrate the acquisition of fundamental public health competencies. Students undertake projects in their final year of the Global MPH program (simultaneous with other classes) from September to April and deliver a final product to organizations at the end of the academic year.
Q: How does an interested organization apply for a Capstone project?
A: Interested organizations should read the Capstone Guide for Organizations and other related Capstone materials and submit a Capstone Application by May 29, 2009 in order to be considered for a project beginning in Fall 2009. If you have concerns regarding the deadline, please contact Amy Joyce at amy.joyce@nyu.edu or 1-212-992-9928.
Q: What makes a good Capstone proposal and what are some tips for applying?
A: The NYU Master's Program in Global Public Health embraces an interdisciplinary philosophy; therefore projects should propose an innovative and multidisciplinary approach. A good Capstone proposal will outline a solid project that can be accomplished within a feasible timeframe. Projects should identify a well-defined product that a team of students will be responsible for delivering, e.g. an evaluation of a program, the creation of an advocacy guide, a system of data collection. While details of the scope may change/evolve later, projects should be defined as clearly as possible in the application. Full criteria for project selection can be found on page 3 of this guide.
Q: How are the details of the Capstone project determined?
A: The student teams and the client organizations are expected to work together to refine the problem statement and develop an explicit working agreement governing the scope of the project. The student teams are expected to engage with their client organizations in open dialogue about the parameters and expectations of the project.
Q: What types of potential activities could a Capstone project entail?
A: While the project undertaken by a student team will depend on the needs of your organization, below are examples of potential activities. Student teams might:
· Conduct a community needs assessment
· Develop a pilot study/program
· Design an epidemiologic study
· Devise recommendations for policy innovation
· Create advocacy materials
· Evaluate a project/policy
· Design systems of data collection
· Identify surveillance priorities
· Develop learning tools
· Prepare publishable manuscripts
· Write a proposal for funding
· Develop a fundraising strategy
Q: What are some examples of deliverables that Capstone teams might produce?
A: The final product / expected outcome of a Capstone project will vary considerably and will be negotiated/established/developed in the work agreement that the MPH student team draws up in collaboration with the Capstone organization in September. The following are some examples of potential deliverables:
· Antenatal care curriculum
· Bed net intervention project protocol
· Educational media program
· Evaluation of an urban permaculture project
· Feasibility study of a vaccine delivery system
· Field guide for monitoring health inequalities
· Handbook for organization-wide M&E system
· Mixed-method study on adolescent mortality
· Oral health prevention program
· Poison prevention education program
· Resource guide for HIV outreach programs
· Training of trainers manual
Q: Do students select their Capstone project?
A: At the Capstone seminar in September, the specific Capstone projects will be presented to students who will be asked to rank order projects offered based on their specific professional interests and experience. While attempts will be made to prioritize students’ interests in formulating teams, other considerations will also be taken into account.
Q: How are student teams formulated?
A: The Capstone faculty will review and consider students' ranking of Capstone projects and formulate the final composition of the teams in order to ensure that they are multi-disciplinary in nature and that student skills match the project requirements.
Q: What if the team encounters unforeseen difficulties in its project?
A: The very nature of Capstone is that is it a complex, and sometimes messy, process as is most project work in the real world. The nature and extent of the difficulties will determine what course of action the team should undertake.
Simultaneously, within each team, students should discuss difficulties in an open and transparent manner and attempt to work directly with the organization to resolve them. Should the team decide that an issue with the organization needs intervention from Global MPH faculty, the team should discuss the issue with the appropriate faculty member for advice about how to handle the problem. Should the organization liaison encounter difficulties with the team that are not resolvable with the team directly, he/she should contact Global MPH faculty or administrators, as necessary.
Q: What kind of commitment does the Capstone require of the host agency/organization?
A: While there is no set requirement with regards to the amount of time an organization must invest in a Capstone project, it is important that the organization identifies dedicated staff members (one primary liaison and one back-up staff person) who are able to respond to queries throughout the project. The time that the designated liaisons devote to the project will depend on the size and scope of the Capstone project as agreed to by both the organization and team.
Q: Do organizations have to pay a fee to the Global MPH Program in order to participate in the Capstone program?
A: No. Organizations must be able to provide the appropriate human resources and capacity to undertake the Capstone project and support the student team, but there is no fee involved.
Q: Where do the student teams conduct the work?
A: A significant amount of the project work will be done in New York City. When necessary to the completion of the project, several members of a team are likely to spend one to three weeks full time in the field gathering data or conducting assessments, then returning to NYU for analysis and production of the final report.
Q: Will all students be expected to travel internationally as part of the Capstone experience?
A: Although we anticipate that most projects will require travel to an international site for field work, some may not. Each team will have to consider what is in the best interest of the project and, within budget constraints and the ability of its various members to travel internationally, determine how best to cover this part of the project's requirements.
Q: Are students expected to make their own travel arrangements?
A: Students are expected to make their own travel arrangements. Travel suggestions and assistance from selected Capstone organizations are always appreciated. Students will be expected to prepare a detailed budget listing all items related to the international travel component of the Capstone. Although it is the students' ultimate responsibility, the program (and in some cases the client organization) can help to facilitate travel and lodging for students.
Q: Are organizations expected to pay for student travel?
A: No, organizations are not expected to pay for student travel. The Global MPH program covers a majority of students’ travel-related expenses, according to Global MPH policy.
Q: How will the teams be evaluated?
A: Teams will be evaluated by the quality of their final product/report and any intermediate deliverables requested by faculty. Feedback from the organization will be requested on the final product. The team’s performance will be evaluated by Global MPH faculty and each student will receive a course grade. At the end of the first and second semesters, team members will be asked to rate themselves on their team participation and team members will evaluate their peers.
Q: Can organizations that previously applied for, or completed, a Capstone project apply again?
A: Absolutely. We encourage all interested organizations, including previous applicants, to submit an application.
Q: How do I obtain more information about the Capstone process?
A: Interested organizations should contact Amy Joyce, Public Health Practice Coordinator, at amy.joyce@nyu.edu or 212-992-9928 for more information. All materials are available on the NYU Masters Program in Global Public Health website: www.nyu.edu/mph.
