Each MPSIA student must complete one of the following capstone projects:
- PSIA392 Master’s Essay (3 credits)
- PSIA395 Master’s Thesis (6 credits)
The goals of the capstone project are to provide students with the opportunity to reflect on their learning throughout their studies and contribute to knowledge in their area of interest. The maximum length of the capstone essay is 10,000 words, excluding bibliography. For the thesis it is 25,000 words.
Presentations
Students are required to present their research findings from their capstone project in an open forum in mid to late April, attended by faculty and students who give feedback. Guidelines for presentations:
- Presentations should be a maximum of 10 minutes, plus 5 minutes for questions and discussion from the audience.
- Students may use Power Point slides (or some other visual aid).
- Students should briefly introduce research question and/ or hypotheses, or explain internship project.
- Students should explain how they have answered their research questions/ hypotheses, or what they learned during their internship.
- Summarize conclusion.
Audience members provide feedback and then presenters will have a few weeks to complete their essays or theses.
Submission
The capstone is to be submitted by the final day of classes of the semester. Students must submit it both in hard copy and electronic copy:
- Two hard copies to be submitted to PSIA administrator (one for the department library, the other for the examiner).
- Electronic copy to be submitted through Turnitin on Moodle. A Moodle page will be created for submissions.
Grading – capstones are read and graded by the supervisor and one other faculty member. The two come to an agreement on the final grade by consensus. The second examiner will not be involved with the project prior to grading. Grades will be submitted by the course grade submission deadline of given semester.