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The Miami Plan for Liberal Education:
Capstone Experience
Capstone Experience (3 hours minimum)

The Capstone Experience, completed near the end of baccalaureate studies, integrates liberal learning with specialized knowledge. Each Capstone emphasizes sharing of ideas, synthesis, and critical, informed reflection as significant precursors to action, and each includes student initiative in defining and investigating problems or projects.

Capstones may be completed in or outside your major; in some departments, the Capstone Experience may be a requirement of the major. All Capstones presume a significant scholarly background of specialized study in a major as well as in liberal education course work. In other words, a Capstone does more than culminate four years of baccalaureate study: it culminates your Miami undergraduate education.

Ordinarily, a Capstone Experience is taken at Miami and completed in the senior year (minimum of 96 hours registered or earned). Students who plan to transfer any course to meet the Capstone requirement must obtain permission from the Office of Liberal Education before they take the course.

The Office of Liberal Education Web site (here) provides a complete listing of Capstone Experiences. Please refer to the Courses of Instruction chapter for course descriptions of the Capstones.

Student-Initiated Capstones

Students may propose their own Senior Capstone Experience. Should they choose to do so, they must initiate the proposal process in their junior year or no later than the first week of October of their senior year. The proposed course must be approved by the Liberal Education Council and must include the following: three semester hours; the sponsorship of a faculty member; a minimum enrollment of 8, maximum enrollment of 20. Once approved by the Council, the capstone will be open to seniors as long as its enrollment does not exceed 20. Student-initiated Senior Capstone Experience proposal forms are available _ as well as examples of successful proposals -- from the Office of Liberal Education.

Endowed Capstones

Generous contributions from alumni and friends of the university have led to the creation of several endowed Capstone courses. These specially-designated Capstones provide funding for activities and opportunities not usually available in most Capstones. Students in endowed Capstones might meet and exchange ideas with distinguished scholars or specialists not affiliated with the university, might travel to sites studied by the Capstone, or might engage in any number of activities that, without external support, could not be offered to students.

Endowed Capstones include the following:

    The Mina Burckhardt Capstone in Women's Studies
    The Elizabeth Burckhardt Capstone in Psychology
    The Nevin Clark Family Fund Capstone in English
    The Walter Halbedel Capstone in Zoology
    The Ernst G. Siefert Capstone in Political Science
Capstone Experience Courses (as of January 2002)
AES 432 National Security Forces in Contemporary American Society (3)
AMS 401 Senior Capstone in American Studies (3)
ARC 402.C Senior Studio Capstone Experience (6)
ARC 405.U/GEO 493 Urban Field Experience (3)
ARC 426 Architecture and Society (3)
ART 452 Senior Thesis Project (3)
ART 453 Advertising Practice (Laws, Hall & Associates) (4, maximum 8)
ART 492 Professional Artist's Portfolio and Exhibition Experience (3)
ART 497 Museums as Interpreters of Culture (3)
ART 498 Seminar in the History and Methods of Art and Architectural History (3)
ATH 421 Senior Seminar in Anthropology (3)
ATH 426 Ethnographic Field Research (8)
ATH/ZOO 498 Evolution of Human Behavior (3)
BOT/ZOO 467 Conservation Biology (3)
BOT 490.A Current Advances and Issues in Botany (1) with concurrent enrollment in BOT 477 (2)
BOT 490.B Research/Internship Capstone in Botany (1) with concurrent enrollment in BOT 400 (2) or BOT 477 (2) for research option; or concurrent enrollment in BOT 340 (2) for internship option
BOT 490.C Departmental Honors Capstone in Botany (1) plus concurrent enrollment in BOT 480 (2)
BOT 490.D Undergraduate Botany Teaching (1) plus concurrent enrollment in BOT 477 (2)
BOT 3-2 Program in Forestry/Environmental Management
BOT/BUS/GEO/GLG/ZOO 494 Sustainability Perspectives in Resources and Business (3)
BOT / GEO 496 Biodiversity of Kenya (5)
BOT 499.A Tropical Flora of the Bahamas (3)
BUS 467 Entrepreneurship: New Ventures (3)
BWS/LAS/FST 415 Cuba in Revolution (4)
BWS/WMS 370.E Feminism and the Diaspora: Women of Color in the U.S. (3)
CHM 491 Chemistry in Societal Issues (3)
CHM 492 Independent Research Capstone in Chemistry (3)
CLS 401 The Age of Pericles (3)
CLS 402 The Age of Augustus (3)
COM/MIS 412 Communicating Through Multimedia (3)
COM 413 Senior Seminar in Communication Disorders (3)
COM 414 Senior Project in Communication (4)
COM 415 Practicum in Television Journalism (3)
COM 437 Advocacy in America (3)
COM 439 Organizational Communication (3)
COM 440 Practicum: Mass Media Advertising and Public Relations (Laws, Hall & Associates) (4)
COM 445 Seminar in Mass Communication Law (3)
COM 459 Advanced Public Relations (3)
CSA 475 Systems Design and Implementation (3)
DSC 461 Integration of Business Fundamentals Through Small Business Counseling (3)
ECO 405 Managerial Economics (3)
ECO 408 Productivity and Growth (3)
ECO 427 The Great Depression Revisited (3)
EDL 401 Cultural Studies and the Complexity of Empowerment (3)
EDP 460 Special Problems: Action Research/Problem-based Seminar in Exceptional Education/Developmental Differences (3)
EDP 497 Literacy Training Seminar (3)
EDT 419.G Supervised Teaching in Art (16)
EDT 422 Studies in Educational Issues (3)
EDT/EDL 499.C Comparing Selected U.S. and European Schools (3)
EDT 499.J The Inca Empire (3)
EGR 448, 449 Senior Design Project (2, 1-2)
Engineering 3-2 Program
ENG 405 Advanced Linguistics (3)
ENG 406 Gathering and Analyzing Language Data (3)
ENG 415 Practicum in Technical and Scientific Communication (3)
ENG 421 Capstone in Journalism (3)
ENG/HST 429 History Through Literature: A Novel For Children (3)
ENG 460 Capstone in Creative Writing--Issues in Creative Writing (3)
ENG 495 Capstone in Literature (3)
ENT 497, 498 Senior Design Project (2, 2)
FIN 465 Ethics, Law, and Business (3)
FIN 485 Integrative Concepts in Finance (3)
FRE 410 Senior Seminar (3)
FSW 498 Critical Thinking About Family Relationships (4)
GEO 491 Senior Seminar (4)
GEO 492 Geography of the Auto Industry (3)
GER 471 Applied German Linguistics (3)
GLG 411 Field Geology (6)
GTY/SOC 468 The Aging Individual in a Changing Society (3)
HST 400 Senior Capstone in History (3-6)
IDS 401 Global Climate Change (3)
ITS 402 Senior Capstone in International Studies (3)
MBI 440.C Research Problems (2) and
MBI 490.C Undergraduate Seminar (1)
MBI 477.C Independent Study (2) and
MBI 490.C Undergraduate Seminar (1)
MBI 480.C Departmental Honors (2) and
MBI 490.C Undergraduate Seminar (1)
MBI 487,488, 489 Clinical Laboratory Science Practicum (8, 15, 15)
MGT 495 Strategic Management (3)
MIS 495 Capstone in Management Information Systems (3)
MKT 442 Advertising Practice (Laws, Hall & Associates) (4)
MKT 491 Case Studies in Marketing Strategy (3)
MTH 407 Mathematical Patterns and Structures Through Inquiry
MTH 425 Number Theory (3)
MTH 435 Mathematical Modeling Seminar
MTH 482 Great Theorems of Mathematics (3)
MUS 453 Comparisons in the Arts (3)
MUS 475 Senior Practicum in Music Education (3)
MUS 493 Capstone Senior Recital (3)
NSC 416 Leadership Seminar (1) and
NSC 410 Leadership Laboratory (1, 1)
NSG 435 Challenges in Health Care Delivery (3)
PHL 401 Integrating Perspectives (4)
PHL 405 Philosophy for Children (4)
PHS 402 Critical Reflections on Health Care (3)
PHS 430 Capstone Professional Experience
PHS 431 Health-Related, Service-Learning Experiences with Children, Youth, and Families (3)
PHS 499.M International Health: Global Perspectives (4)
PHS 499.N A European Perspective: Health, Social, Economic and Political Impacts of Health Promotion (4)
PHY 488.A and 488.B Research Capstone in Physics (3)
PHY 490.S Topics in Physics Seminar (3)
POL 419 Civil Society and Modern Politics (4)
POL 424 Transatlantic Seminar on the European Union (6)
POL 439 North American Politics: Unity and Diversity (3)
POL 459 Capstone Seminar on the American Political System (4)
POL 466 Public Policy Analysis (3)
POL 471 The International System (3)
POL/LAS 478 Media and Politics in Latin America and the Caribbean (3)
POL 487 Individual Lives and International Politics (3)
POL 489 Conflict Management in a Divided World (3)
PPS 411 Advanced Paper Manufacturing (3)
PPS 471, 472 Senior Design I, II (2, 2)
PSY 410 Capstone Seminar in Psychology: Multiple Determinants of Behavior (3)
PSY 411 Philosophical Issues in Clinical Psychology (3)
PSY 412 Capstone Seminar in Psychology: Social Issues and Psychology (3)
PSY 490 Research Apprenticeship in Psychology (3)
REL 402 Basic Structures in the History of Religions (4)
RUS 401 St. Petersburg: History, Literature, Culture (3)
SOC 459 Sociology Capstone (3)
SOC 462 Applied Research Methods (3)
SPN 413 Senior Seminar in Communication Disorders (3)
SPN 499.B Intercultural Workshop in Speech Pathology and Audiology (3)
SPN 490 Issues in Hispanic Literature (3)
STA 475 Data Analysis Practicum (3)
THE 490 The Theatre and a Cultural Aesthetic (3)
THE 499.K Field Studies in the Czech Republic (8)
WCP 444, 445 Senior Workshop and Project (5, 5)
WMS 401 The Role of Women in a Transforming Society (3)
ZOO 400 Capstone Seminar: Contemporary Issues (3)
ZOO 419.R Independent Research in Zoology (3)
ZOO 431 Winter Biology (3)
ZOO 444 Molecular Biology (4)
ZOO 452 Nerve and Muscle Physiology (4)
ZOO 453 Animal Physiological Ecology (4)
ZOO 454 Endocrinology (5)
ZOO 459 Neurophysiology (4)
ZOO 462 Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment (4)
ZOO 465 Animal Behavior (4)

Field (80 - 86 semester hours)

Beyond your liberal education courses, you must complete work for your major and divisional requirements, and complete additional hours for minors or electives.

Frequency of Course Offerings

Information about frequency of offerings is provided by the Office of Liberal Education and divisional advising offices. Scheduling information is also provided for some courses in the Courses of Instruction chapter in this Bulletin. Scheduling patterns are subject to change without notice based, usually, on student demand, faculty availability, and programmatic priorities.


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