Capstone Project

The capstone project requirement gives students the opportunity to research a specific topic in greater depth than is possible in a normal semester.Religious studies majors should select a topic that relates to the area concentration in their major program.

View the Honors Capstone Project guidelines.

Begin early! Plan ahead!

The Capstone Project:

Define Your Research Topic

  • Consider building on a topic you’ve already researched in a class
  • Consider new ways to put together ideas from across different classes

Define Your Research Method

  • What types of data will you use and how will you gather it?
  • How long will it take you to gather your information?
    • Literary material: fiction, narratives, religious texts
    • Historical information collected from secondary sources, government offices, archives, newspapers or other periodicals
    • Ethnographic information collected through observation, interviews, surveys

Gather Sources 

  • Who are the main scholars who have addressed your topic? What have they had to say about it?
  • What primary sources will be included? How will you decide which editions to use?

Find a Capstone Advisor

  • Make an appointment with a Religious Studies faculty member to discuss your topic and whether they would be able to direct the project.

Registration

Students in Religious Studies do the capstone project as a directed research project with a Religious Studies faculty member of their choice, who serves as the capstone project advisor.

  • 4 capstone project credits are required. This may be fulfilled by a 4-credit independent project or, with the approval of the faculty advisor and the DUS, by an augmented course project.  In this case, students should register for the course (typically 3 credits) and register for one RELS 4993 credit.
  • Follow directions for CLA Directed Study Registration and Credit and click "online workflow".
  • Fill out the form with your capstone project advisor. Faculty members vary greatly in how much detail they will require on the contract. Be sure to discuss the entire process and their expectations with your faculty advisor.
  • The course number is RELS 4953.
  • Sign the form yourself electronically and route it to your faculty capstone advisor
  • Route the form to the Religious Studies Directed of Undergraduate Studies
  • The faculty advisor should sign the form and route it to the Religious Studies Directed of Undergraduate Studies, Katharine Gerbner (kgerbner)
  • You will receive an email with a permission number. 
  • Use the permission number to register through OneStop.

Workshop

During some semesters, Religious Studies offers a voluntary writing workshop for students working on capstone projects in religious studies. The workshop focuses on research and writing strategies throughout the semester—providing tips on such aspects as:

  • Developing your topic focus through defining a problem statement
  • Developing a research plan
  • Developing and writing a review of the secondary literature
  • Gathering and keeping track of information
  • Outlining and rough drafting
  • Drafting
  • Polishing

Workshop participants will read one another's work and provide feedback.

Expectations

Capstone projects should consist of original research on a topic related to religion, carried out by the student in consultation with a faculty member. Capstone projects in most cases will deal with a topic related to the area concentration of the individual student.

Capstone projects usually take the final form of an analytical research paper of approximately 25 pages in length. Such papers must be fully documented and include a bibliography. Other forms may be negotiated with the capstone project advisor.

The final grade of a capstone project is given exclusively by the capstone project advisor.