All majors complete an in-depth 20+ page research paper as the “capstone” or culmination of their studies in HSOC. The capstone requirement can be fulfilled only by taking a 4000-level HSOC course.
The capstone seminar must be taken in the spring of junior year or later (i.e., within the last three semesters before graduation).
The 20+ page capstone research paper must receive a grade of at least C- to receive capstone credit.
The capstone cannot be double-counted within the major as, for example, also a departmental elective or concentration course. It is a separate requirement.
The capstone project is not the same as a "senior honors thesis"; rather, it is the necessary first step in completing a thesis project. Please see the Senior Honors Thesis webpage for further details.
What you need to know about capstones:
4000-level HSOC and STSC courses taken earlier may not be used as the capstone (though students may take as many 4000-level HSOC or STSC courses in the department as they wish; these can count as department electives or they can be petitioned as concentration electives).
In some cases, the capstone requirement can be fuifilled through an Independent Study course (HSOC 4999). However, Independent Study capstones are reserved for special circumstances and must be approved by the HSOC Associate Director and HSOC Undergraduate Chair. All HSOC capstones must be directed by an HSOC core faculty member.
The Capstone requirement must be manually applied by the HSOC Associate Director. This is to ensure that the course is taken during one of the last three semesters. Your capstone will not show up on your Degree Audit as fulfilling this requirement until after the end of the drop period each semester.
