EMAC CAPSTONE PROPOSAL
We often describe your capstone project as the culmination of your college experience. It should
demonstrate your ability to combine theory with creative practice to produce something that shows you
understand the implications of our increasingly networked world. Good projects are more than just
something you produce; they try to resolve an underlying problem or question that has some theoretical
significance and relates to an audience. In doing so, your project should demonstrate how you have
mastered the EMAC program objectives described in the university catalog:
 Develop creative ways to use emerging technology to express ideas and solve problems,
 Analyze communication opportunities to determine appropriate media and rhetorical strategies
when creating content for existing and/or emerging media platforms,
 Adapt messages to audiences and technological constraints while retaining (and amplifying) the
benefits provided by emerging media, and
 Anticipate the ethical implications of emerging media and their power to shape public opinion.
To put it another way, when thinking about your capstone project, you should ask yourself, “How does
this project demonstrate that I have a college education?” If your project only demonstrates mastery of
skills that you could have picked up from Lynda, CodeAcademy, or the WordPress toolbox, you aren’t
demonstrating a college education. If your proposal focuses on the final deliverable – a video, a blog, an
app prototype, a research paper – without some theoretical framework or context to give it purpose,
your project does not demonstrate the depth and breadth of your education.
You start to demonstrate the strength of your EMAC education when you integrate theory into your
project to give it more grounding. To develop a stronger theoretical frame, you might start by reviewing
your syllabi and notes from courses you have taken. For example, in ATEC 2321, we discuss social
capital; in ATEC 2322, information ownership; in ATEC 3326, participatory culture; in ATEC 4326,
surveillance; in Dr. Lee’s COMM 3342, framing; and in COMM 4314, Cialdini’s social influence strategies.
When we consider your proposal, we will evaluate it in terms of:
 Theoretical grounding: Do you have a strong justification for why your project/research paper
matters?
 Audience: Who is your audience? How will you reach them?
 Format: What will your final deliverable look like? How does it take advantage of digital
networks?
 Project scope: Is your project sufficiently challenging to demonstrate the quality of your EMAC
education and also manageable in a single semester? What are your markers for success?
The capstone project proposal appears on the following page. Please complete it and return it to
emac@utdallas.edu by Wednesday, March 30. Return the document in .docx or .pdf format, and use
the filename convention Yourlastname Capstone. Faculty members will meet to review proposals and
assign project supervisors based on the fit of the project topic and methods the following week. Late,
incorrect, or incomplete applications risk reduced supervisor options and could delay graduation.
FALL 2016 EMAC CAPSTONE PROPOSAL
Please answer each of the following questions to develop a proposal that articulates a project scope,
strong theoretical grounding, clear sense of audience, and appropriate format.
Your Name and UTD email
What is your general topic area?
What questions do you hope to answer or problems do you hope to solve with your project?
Who, aside from you, should care about this topic or problem, and why?
What theoretical concepts inform that topic? In other words, what concepts from your coursework
relate to it? Why do they matter? Don’t try to throw in everything but the kitchen sink – select your
theoretical perspectives strategically to define your focus.
In what creative ways will you use emerging technology to express your ideas?
What are the affordances of your chosen platform? How will you use them to enhance your content?
Describe the one person who is your ideal audience member.
What are the ethical, political, and social implications of your project?
What existing projects serve as inspiration for this one? How will your project differ from similar
projects that already exist?