Capstone Client FAQs

Capstone projects benefit both parties. The organizations benefit from the expertise of SIPA students, who have a wide variety of professional and educational backgrounds and who are in the final semester of a demanding, two-year professional degree program at one of the leading schools of international and public affairs in the world.

The students benefit from the opportunity to put learning into practice. We seek to partner with organizations that can offer a project that is timely, but not urgent, which can be completed within a four-month period, that is of value both to the organization itself and to the learning experience of students—and produces actionable recommendations, which ideally will be utilized by the client within the near future.

Student teams, working under the supervision of a faculty expert, answer a carefully defined problem posed by the client. Each team produces an actionable report and an oral briefing of their findings at the close of the workshop that is designed to translate into real change on the ground. 

The Capstone Workshop process begins at the end of the spring semester (late April) through the summer (June–August), when possible project ideas are discussed with clients.  By the end of September, a preliminary Terms of Reference is developed.  In October, students submit a formal application to the Capstone program, rank ordering their first through fifth choice.  Students are selected by the faculty advisor and are matched with projects based on their demonstrated skill sets and interests. 

Supported by a Columbia faculty advisor, each student team starts work in January on a draft work plan.  Based on their desk and field research, each team prepares a report and recommendations for review by the client in early April.  Students work on average 8-12 hours per week on their project.

If you are interested in becoming a potential Capstone client, please complete the Capstone Client Application.

Begin the Capstone Client Application Form

Client organizations benefit from the expertise of SIPA students who have a wide variety of professional and educational backgrounds and who are in the final semester of a demanding, two-year professional degree program at one of the leading schools of international and public affairs in the world. All student teams are advised by a SIPA faculty member with relevant expertise. The specific scope and deliverables of the project will be determined by the Faculty Advisor and Client Project Director. All teams will produce a report and deliver an oral briefing of the findings and recommendations to the client.

A Client Project Director is a senior-level person who interacts directly with the team on a regular basis and may appoint a colleague to be in charge of the more day to day communication (at least twice a month) throughout the course of the project. The Client Project Director is expected to meet with the Capstone team for three standard meetings throughout the semester—this includes an initial meeting, a mid-term briefing and a final presentation. Additional Interaction can be in person or via conference call. 

Projects are selected by the SIPA Office of Academic Affairs and selected faculty advisors. Criteria for selection include the significance and feasibility of the project, match between the project and the skills and interests of SIPA students, and other factors.

We expect to have more workshop proposals than workshop teams and, therefore, cannot guarantee every applicant a workshop. Applicants who are not selected for a workshop this year may be considered for the following year.

Each organization that agrees to work with a student team is expected to assign one, senior-level person to interact directly with the team on a regular basis throughout the course of the project. This person is expected to provide access to information necessary for the completion of the project and to serve as a resource for the students. The client liaison is also expected to organize an appropriate group of senior decision-makers to receive the team’s final oral presentation.

SIPA will consult with the client at the close of the workshop to determine what of the final report is available for publication on SIPA’s website. When possible, we would like to publish all of the final deliverables on our website with the understanding that certain projects will not be available for full publication. Whether a report is published on the SIPA website is at the client’s discretion. At minimum, SIPA would like to share the name of the client organization and a brief 250-word abstract of the report. Students also retain the right to reference the name of the client and project and accurately describe in general terms their contribution to the project.