SWO 715 Capstone

Students will work closely with and receive mentorship from a Simmons faculty member who serves as a guide throughout the capstone experience and helps students continuously develop their identities as DSWs, with an emphasis on academic rigor. Specifically, the candidate must shape what they have learned toward a personally meaningful project, demonstrating their application of advanced knowledge that has emerged from DSW program training. Successful completion of the capstone project will demonstrate the candidate’s ability to launch or enhance their career in practice, education, or leadership.

The capstone will be incorporated into the student’s capstone portfolio, which is an expanded version of the seminar portfolio. In the capstone portfolio, students reflect on their learning to-date and explore topics of special interest within the field, pushing the bounds of their knowledge via the lens of antiracism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and power. The capstone portfolio will challenge students to synthesize what they have learned throughout the program. Students may also decide to do two publishable papers with a dissemination plan for their capstone.