What is a Capstone Experience?

A “capstone” is a significant culminating and integrative experience, typically completed shortly before graduation (AAC&U).

Exercise and Health Science Capstone Requirement

There are two options through which students may complete the Exercise and Health Science (EXHS) Capstone requirement: 1) a capstone Internship or 2) an undergraduate research project.

Internship Option

To fulfill the EXHS Capstone requirement through the internship option, students must complete an internship that fulfills the following requirements:

1. The one internship must include 160 hours of ‘onsite’ experience (i.e., the 160 hours cannot be completed through multiple internships).
2. The internship work duties and responsibilities must show evidence the student is actively engaged in the internship experience (i.e., shadow or observation experiences are not sufficient).
3. The internship work duties and responsibilities must involve either exercise or human health or both.
4. The internship is to be a novel experience (i.e., the internship cannot have the same roles and responsibilities as their current job or volunteer experience).
5. The internship experience must enable the student to show evidence of achieving the Exercise and Health Science curricular learning outcomes.
6. The internship must meet the general requirements for CSB/SJU internships, as describe on the XPD webpages.
7. The internship must be completed within one academic year prior to graduation.

The student is responsible for identifying and securing the internship. Assistance in identifying potential internship sites will be provided by the EXHS faculty and the XPD Office. Resources for locating potential internships are located on the XPD Internship webpage. However, the student is encouraged to develop their own internship opportunity, an internship that is meaningful and enables integration and application of knowledge and skills learned through the EXHS curriculum.

The student is encouraged to consider the resources required to complete the internship (e.g., transportation) and how the internship fits into their academic schedule/plan. Additionally, many internships are not paid, so there are also financial considerations in identifying potential capstone internships. Finally, internship sites may have specific requirements in place that the student must consider (e.g., background check, vaccinations, CPR/AED certification, etc.)

The EXHS capstone internship may be completed during the fall, spring, or summer semester of the student’s senior year. With a fall or spring semester internship, the student will enroll in a four-credit EXHS 397 Internship course (enrollment instructions provided below). The academic credit costs for the fall or spring semester internship are included in the student’s tuition. However, the academic credit costs for a summer internship ARE NOT included in the student’s tuition. If the student choses to enroll in a summer internship, the student has two options: 1) enroll in a four-credit summer internship or 2) enroll in a two-credit summer internship and a two-credit fall semester Independent Learning Project course.

The following is the process for enrolling in a four-credit EXHS capstone internship.

1. The student will secure the internship and confirm the name and contact information for the site supervisor.
2. In collaboration with the site supervisor, the student will identify the internship roles and responsibilities.
3. The student will email Don Fischer, EXHS Internship Faculty Moderator, and inform him of the internship plans, including the internship site, internship title, the name of the site supervisor, and the internship duties and responsibilities.
4. Don will send the student a document that contains a link to the Internship Learning Contract and language that is to be copied and pasted into the Internship Learning Contract form.
5. The student will complete and submit the Internship Learning Contract form.
6. Don Fischer will review the proposed Internship Learning Contract and, if the information provided meets the EXHS Capstone requirements and the XPD requirements, the form will be approved by the department.
7. The Internship Learning Contact will then be sent to the site supervisor for approval and to the XPD Office for approval.
8. Once all the required approvals are obtained, the student will be enrolled in the EXHS 397 Internship course.

The following is the process for enrolling in a two-credit EXHS capstone internship and a two-credit fall semester Independent Learning Project course.

1. The process for enrolling in a two-credit summer internship is the same as enrolling in a four-credit summer internship (see the instructions provided above).
2. Once all the required approvals for the two-credit internship are obtained and the student is enrolled in the EXHS 397 Internship course, Don Fischer will provide the student with a document that contains a link to the Independent Learning Project (ILP) form and language that is to be copied and pasted into the ILP form.
3. The student will complete and submit the ILP form.
4. Don Fischer will review the proposed ILP and, if the information provided meets the EXHS Capstone requirements, the form will be approved and forwarded to the Registrar’s Office.
5. Upon receiving the approved ILP form, the Registrar’s Office will enroll the student in the two-credit EXHS 371 Independent Learning Project course.

Undergraduate Research Option

To fulfill the EXHS Capstone requirement through the undergraduate research option, students must complete the EXHS 394 Research Design (two-credits), EXHS 395 Research Seminar I (one-credit), and EXHS 396 Research Seminar II (one-credit) course sequence. However, due to chronically low student enrollment, the research course sequence will not be offered as traditional courses. Instead, the student must enroll in EXHS 394 Research Design, EXHS 395 Research Seminar I, and EXHS 396 Research Seminar II as Independent Learning Project (ILP) courses. It is important to note that, including the planning, completion of the Exercise and Health Science Capstone requirement through the undergraduate research option is typically a two-year process.

The following is the process for enrolling in the EXHS 394 Research Design, EXHS 395 Research Seminar I, and EXHS 396 Research Seminar II courses.

1. The student must complete the EXHS 379A (or EXHS 379B) Research Methods in Exercise and Health Science course.
2. Typically, in the fall semester of the student’s junior year, the student will identify and secure an EXHS faculty member to serve as a mentor and moderator of the undergraduate research project.
3. Once a faculty mentor/moderator has been secured, the student will work with the faculty member to complete the ILP form and enroll in the EXHS 394 Research Design course in the spring semester of the student’s junior year.
4. Upon successful completion of EXHS 394 Research Design, the student will continue to work with the faculty mentor/moderator and complete EXHS 395 Research Seminar I during the fall semester of the student’s senior year and EXHS 396 Research Seminar II during the spring semester of the student’s senior year. The student will need to work with the faculty mentor/moderator to, again, complete the required ILP forms and enroll in EXHS 395 Research Seminar I and EXHS 396 Research Seminar II as ILP courses.