When I began my studies in the Master of Communication and Media (MCM) program in the fall of 2020, a capstone project was not even on my radar. In fact, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, physically going to class was also, at the time, out of the cards. I nevertheless found myself part of a new and growing community of students and scholars, joined together by our shared interest in the many facets and fascinations of contemporary communication.

Even through discussion boards on Canvas, it quickly became apparent that both the students and faculty here at the School of Communication & Information (SC&I) bring to the table a whole host of lived and professional experiences. It is sharing these experiences over the course of, now, three semesters that has truly enriched my time in the program and provided me with new conceptual and practical perspectives on my work.

Indeed, my time in the program seemed to fly by until I found myself in January of 2022 – my final semester in the MCM program. Reaching this momentous milestone is significant for a couple reasons. First, it means that I will be graduating in a little under five months. Hooray! It also means that I need to fulfill one of my final program requirements: I need to write and present my Capstone project. Now what, exactly, does that entail?

The purpose of the Capstone project is to demonstrate, through both written and spoken word, the critical thinking skills and subject matter knowledge we gained over the course of our time in the MCM program. It is our chance to highlight our academic and professional prowess in formulating arguments and defending them with data and literature. When we start or continue our professional careers, it is important for us to show our employers the value of the work we do. The value of our work is ascertained through research and analysis… Sound like a certain project to you?

Over the course of one semester, I will be developing a topic and researching a subject area of my choice. It is important to select a topic that relates, in some form, to communication. Admittedly, this is a broad net to cast, as communication is quickly becoming an interdisciplinary subject. However, this also means that we have quite a degree of academic freedom to explore aspects of communication that we personally find interesting. In my case, I am looking to study the effects of perceived internal disagreement on trust in public institutions.

While the structure of your capstone course may differ slightly for different instructors, the first step in the capstone process usually includes the submission of a Topic Paper. This is a document providing an overview of the topic you choose, along with a brief discussion as to its relevance to communication and your initial research question. A research question, much as it sounds, is the central question guiding your inquiry. It is also the question you will seek to answer through your research.

Now, given time and resource constraints, what might your research look like? In most cases, you will be conducting content analyses of different media and analyzing your work alongside the existing literature. More on content analysis in a later article! Once you have drafted your research question, it is time to think of hypotheses – based on the literature and your own knowledge, what effect or phenomenon do you think you will observe? Are you expecting a particular outcome for your research? Why? Try to limit yourself to no more than one or two research questions with one or two hypotheses. Otherwise, you risk becoming overwhelmed.

It is important to use the topic paper as a sort of roadmap for where you think your project is going to lead. I say ‘think’ because you will be receiving feedback from your capstone instructor. Do not be surprised if they work with you to tweak your research priorities a bit – they are here to help and to make sure we do not overburden ourselves. This is the point I am currently at in my own capstone journey, having just submitted my topic paper the other day.

This, of course, is only the first step in the capstone process. The project is designed to be completed in stages, like putting together a very impressive academic puzzle. And, just like a puzzle, this project does require careful time and attention throughout the semester. I know this may sound daunting at first, but I am here to help guide you all through the process as I, myself, work my way through it. And with that, I wish you well on your capstone journey, if you are currently on it, and I look forward to learning and growing with you this semester.