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Capstone Project Timelines

The Capstone Project Timeline is a visual representation of your project's schedule and establishes when tasks and milestone assignments will be completed.

There are two timelines that you can follow:

  1. The Standard Timeline: The recommended timeline for successful completion of the Capstone Project by the end of the Second Year
  2. The Alternate Timeline: A modified timeline to accommodate completion of the capstone project past the second semester of the second year

Timeline Phases

We break the timeline down into roughly three phases, with the following listed tasks:

Prepare

  • Select a Mentor
  • Complete the Capstone Authorization Packet
  • Learn methods
  • Explore hypotheses
  • Complete the Alternate Timeline Worksheet (optional)

Propose

  • Write the Capstone Proposal which is designed to finalize:
  • Your Hypothesis
  • Your Specific Aims
  • The Scope of Work of the Project
  • Complete Data Collection

Present

  • Complete the Data Analysis
  • Present your findings in a public forum (e.g. Poster Presentation).
  • Write up your results as Capstone Report.

Example Timelines

Standard Timeline

The following timeline is recommended for successful completion of the Capstone Project by the end of your second year.

standard timeline diagram

Here, the bars indicate the tasks that you should be engaged in during the indicated time frame. The gold stars indicate deadlines for Milestone Assignments, such as the Capstone Proposal or the Written report.

Although, the official Standard Timeline for the Capstone Project starts in the fall and is completed in the spring of the second year of your MHA tenure, we strongly recommend that you start in the summer to begin the Prepare Phase. Two semesters is rarely enough time to complete the project. But, if you are unable to take action over the summer, then compress the suggested actions and milestones into the fall semester.

The standard timeline can easily be extended into the second summer if additional time is needed for data collection or analysis. In this case, you would simply present your findings as a talk during the Summer. Students who present in the summer can still graduate on time and walk with their fellow cohort in May. You do not need to switch timelines if you present in your second summer.

Enroll in the Standard Timeline Canvas Site on the Assignments Page

Alternate Timelines

Based on your personal trajectory, the standard timeline may not work for you. For example, if you are in the Dental Track, you will be unavailable to complete the Capstone project by your second year. Or, if you plan on completing your Master's in more than 2 years, you may want to space out your Capstone Project accordingly. In such cases, you are going to need to develop your own personal Capstone Timeline. But the sequence of events and milestones should remain roughly the same.

The following example timeline starts in the Fall of Year two and finishes a year later.

alternate timeline diagram

Notice that for both timelines, a submitted Capstone Proposal is required before you start to write up the Final Written Report. Also, in the alternate timeline, your presentation will most likely be a talk instead of a poster. Otherwise, everything else will be pretty much the same.

  • canvas bug Alternate Timeline Canvas Site

    Enroll in the Alternate Timeline Canvas Site on the Assignments Page

  • Alternate Timeline Worksheet

    Create your own timeline using the Alternate Timeline worksheet—a Microsoft Excel File. You just enter the start and end dates of the Project, and the spreadsheet creates recommended deadlines for the milestone assignments, based on the spacing of the standard timeline.

    Download Timeline Worksheet