Ed.D. CAPSTONE PROJECT MANUAL
CURRY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
September 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Overview of Steps for Capstone Project Requirements ......................................................................... 2
PART I ........................................................................................................................................................................ 3
General Suggestions and Expectations ......................................................................................................... 3
Examples of Capstone Projects ........................................................................................................................ 3
Sources of Problems of Practice ...................................................................................................................... 4
Capstone Components ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Proposal ................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Final Project.......................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Capstone Quality Indicators.............................................................................................................................. 7
Rating Levels for the Indicators ................................................................................................................................... 7
Capstone Quality Indicators Checklist ....................................................................................................................... 8
Using the Indicators ........................................................................................................................................................ 11
Writing Style ........................................................................................................................................................ 12
Reference Style ................................................................................................................................................... 13
Logistical and Administrative Details for the Capstone Project ...................................................... 13
Protection of Human Subjects and the Institutional Review Board Process ........................................... 13
Relationships with Schools and Other Agencies that Provide Data ............................................................ 14
Schedule of Tasks and Accomplishments............................................................................................................... 14
Capstone Committee ....................................................................................................................................................... 15
Presenting Drafts to Committee Members ............................................................................................................ 15
Students’, Capstone Project Chairs’, and Committee Members’ Responsibilities.................................. 16
Attendance at and Participation in Proposal and Project Defenses ............................................................ 17
Archiving.............................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Capstones and Publication ........................................................................................................................................... 18
Additional Resources ...................................................................................................................................................... 18
Exceptions to Capstone Project Guidelines and Regulations ......................................................................... 18
PART II ................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Answers to Common Questions ................................................................................................................... 19
1. When should I start thinking about my capstone project? ........................................................................ 19
2. What should I do to prepare for my capstone? ............................................................................................... 19
3. Who should be my capstone project chair? ...................................................................................................... 19
4. Who should be on my capstone project committee? .................................................................................... 20
5. What are the elements of a good capstone project proposal? .................................................................. 20
6. How can I find good examples to follow for my proposal and capstone project? ............................ 20
7. Are proposal and capstone project proposal defenses open to the public? ........................................ 21
8. What are the expectations for a capstone project proposal defense? ................................................... 21
9. What should I do if I have not successfully defended my capstone project proposal ? ................. 22
10. What should I do if my capstone project proposal is accepted with minor revisions? ............... 22
11. What is expected of me before, during, and after data collection?....................................................... 23
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12. What if I must modify my research? ................................................................................................................. 23
13. What are my responsibilities in writing the capstone project? ............................................................. 23
14. What should my capstone project chair and committee do regarding my manuscript? ............ 23
15. What else should I expect of my capstone project chair and committee?......................................... 24
16. What should my capstone project chair and committee expect of me? ............................................. 24
17. What should I expect at my capstone project defense? ............................................................................ 24
18. What should I do if I do not defend my capstone project successfully? ............................................. 26
19. When may I participate in a graduation? ........................................................................................................ 26
PART III .................................................................................................................................................................. 27
Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation ..................................................................................................... 27
Formatting .......................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Pagination............................................................................................................................................................................ 27
Footnotes/Endnotes (see APA manual) ................................................................................................................. 28
References (see APA manual) ..................................................................................................................................... 28
Capstone Project Pages – Order and Numbering Sequence ........................................................................... 28
PART IV .................................................................................................................................................................. 40
Post-Capstone Project Defense Checklist ................................................................................................. 40
Paper Submission............................................................................................................................................................. 40
Digital Submission ........................................................................................................................................................... 40
Both Forms of Submission............................................................................................................................................ 41
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Preface
These guidelines are intended to give both doctoral students and faculty members at the
Curry School of Education a description of procedures and expectations that will make
the Ed.D. capstone process easier, more predictable, and more successful. Departments
or programs in the Curry School may add to the requirements or guidelines as they see fit
– as long as they are no less demanding than the ones set forth in this document. Nothing
in these guidelines is intended to conflict with statements in the University Record.
Part I provides general suggestions, examples, and resources that will help students write
better proposals and projects and help faculty members provide better guidance and
feedback to their advisees. It also describes the various components of the capstone
proposal and project.
Part II is intended to answer students’ questions, although faculty members may find it
helpful as well. It is organized around common questions about the capstone process. It
amplifies the suggestions of Part I and ties them to specific issues and procedures
described elsewhere. Any questions not answered by these guidelines should be directed
to the Curry School of Education’s Director of Doctoral Studies.
Part III provides guidelines for the preparation of capstone project manuscripts and
examples of properly formatted pages and components.
Part IV is the post-capstone project checklist.
1
Overview of Steps for Capstone Project Requirements
1.
Delimit an area of interest.
2.
Find a capstone project chair appropriate to your area of interest.
3.
With the chair, form an Ed.D. capstone committee.
4.
Confer with your chair and committee to develop your proposal.
5.
With the chair’s consent, determine a date and time when all committee members
can attend the capstone proposal defense.
6.
Submit an announcement to the Curry School of Education’s Admissions and
Student Affairs Office two weeks prior to the date of the defense and distribute the
capstone project proposal to the committee members.
7.
Defend your capstone project proposal.
8.
After a successful defense, submit Institutional Review Board (IRB) forms for
approval, if appropriate.
9.
After receiving IRB approval, conduct your study by collecting and analyzing data
according to your research design.
10.
Work closely with your chair and relevant committee members while writing the
capstone project.
11.
With the chair’s consent, determine a date and time when all committee members
can attend the capstone project defense.
12.
Submit an announcement to the Curry School of Education’s Admissions and
Student Affairs Office two weeks prior to the date of the capstone project defense
and distribute the capstone project to the committee members.
13.
Defend your capstone project.
14.
Incorporate edits pursuant to your committee’s recommendations.
15.
Submit the final copy of the approved capstone project to the Admissions Office,
Curry School of Education before the specified deadline for a given graduation
date (see Schedule, p. 13).
16.
Take your project to the Alderman Copy Center, deposit a print copy in the
University library, and provide all committee members who want a copy with one.
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PART I
General Suggestions and Expectations
The goal of an Ed.D. program is to prepare practitioner-scholars, individuals who meet a
set of expectations distinct from those for scholars, on the one hand, and practitioners on
the other. Scholars develop and disseminate knowledge. Practitioner-scholars draw on
the knowledge, skills, and understanding that they have acquired in the course of their
doctoral studies to examine and address a significant problem of practice.
A capstone project is intended to be of direct benefit to practitioners and, ultimately, the
public. It is also a demonstration of a student’s ability to carry out disciplined inquiry and
argumentation in accordance with Curry’s standards of performance, which should
prepare students to be leaders in their fields.
Through the project, students should demonstrate the capacity to:
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Consider problems of practice from perspectives other than those derived from
their own experience and early training.
Challenge prevailing assumptions and beliefs about teaching, learning,
leadership, and what it means to be a professional in a democratic society.
Make sound, defensible, research-based judgments regarding how current
practices can be undertaken more effectively and efficiently.
Apply skills of practical inquiry in a rigorous and systematic way to address
problems of practice. Such skills should include, but not be limited to, locating
and framing problems; acquiring, organizing, and analyzing information; and
planning, implementing, and evaluating decisions.
Develop recommendations regarding practices, programs, and/or policies.
Take into consideration the needs of specific individuals and the characteristics of
particular contexts.
Effectively communicate the results to appropriate audiences.
Examples of Capstone Projects
Students undertake capstone projects to improve practice by solving problems and
contributing to improved organizational or professional performance. To do this, they
inquire into and analyze the nature and dimensions of a problem and establish that there
is a difference between the present and the ideal state, then build a case for
improvements and make persuasive recommendations for action. Such disciplined
inquiry may draw upon qualitative and/or quantitative research techniques.
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Once students identify their problem(s), they may employ several possible forms of
disciplined inquiry—for example needs analysis, program evaluation or process analysis,
program development and design, organizational diagnosis, organizational development,
policy analysis, impact evaluation, or cost-benefit analysis.
Here are some examples:
Format
Program
evaluation/
process
analysis
Program
development
and design
Problem
Staff are dissatisfied with
the supervision process at
West Middle School
There is poor freshmanto-sophomore retention of
at-risk students at
U-Name-It University
Organizational The organizational culture
and structure of North High
development
School is a barrier to
individualizing instruction
for students
East Division’s ninth-grade
Policy
students are struggling in
analysis
the transition to high
school
West Division is considering
Cost-benefit
alternatives to the existing
analysis
community-education
program
Guiding Question
How close is the supervision process to
an ideal program, and how can it be
improved?
Does the transitional summer improve
students’ chances of success, and how
might it be modified to be more
effective?
What can be done to facilitate the
implementation of Response to
Intervention (RTI) in the high school?
How can the challenges associated with
the transition from middle school to high
school be addressed through better
policies?
What would be the most cost-effective
way to preserve high-quality
community-education programming?
Sources of Problems of Practice
A capstone problem of practice may be identified in one of two ways:
1) The student identifies a problem through independent data analysis and/or
consultation with a field organization and presents it for approval as a capstone
proposal.
2) The student responds to a field-based organization’s request for assistance by
developing a capstone proposal.
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Capstone Components
The following components will be included in each capstone project. Program areas may
make a formal proposal to the Faculty Council to use an alternative structure, with a clear
description of the required components of the alternative; once approved, it will become
an appendix in the manual.
Proposal
Problem of practice. Practicing professionals are besieged with problems that
require current information, new understanding, and workplace skills for the development
and implementation of solutions. Capstone projects are designed to serve this need; they
are grounded in the field and privilege professional as well as academic knowledge.
Students need to describe the problem(s) identified through an analysis of an
organizational situation; show how the problem is grounded in the organization’s context
and culture; recount the causes and evolution of the problem; and describe their role, if
any, in the organization and how it relates to the problem. They then articulate reasons for
addressing the problem and show that it can be solved using research and professional
knowledge.
Literature review. A good review of the literature has the following characteristics: It
 focuses on important research on a well-delineated topic, and
 makes sense of the scholarly conversation pertinent to the capstone topic,
delineating what is known about that topic and what needs to be known.
A complete review of the important literature requires electronic searches through
databases, as well as hand searches through journals, books, and other materials. It
sometimes requires contacting researchers who are working on the same or similar
topics; researchers must not work in isolation or assume that whatever has been
published is the most current available information. A good review describes the methods
of search used to find the relevant literature.
A good review separates sound from unsound research; it may ignore or mention studies
of little or no merit, but it gives disproportionate attention to those with the best designs
and the most defensible conclusions and explains legitimate differences in the findings
and/or opinions of researchers. Studies that have undergone rigorous peer review are
typically, but not always, more trustworthy than are those that have not, but peer review is
imperfect—sometimes, reviewers recommend for publication studies that contain serious
methodological flaws or misinterpretations.
Good reviews may be organized in a variety of ways. Some are chronological, following
the development of an idea over time. Others are topical, bringing together disparate
ideas in meaningful ways. All lead the reader through a thicket of information and arrive at
conclusions that are logical and supported by reliable evidence. A good review is
coherent, evaluative, and forward-looking.
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Conceptual framework. A good conceptual framework is a lens through which
the various aspects of the inquiry are brought into focus and relationship. If a capstone
project examines the implementation of a middle school mathematics program, for
instance, the narrative might explain that the program is based on a conceptual model of
how learning occurs: by scaffolding student learning through repeated formative
assessments. The problem may be that students are not learning what they need to
know. The research might then focus on how teacher behaviors conform to that model
and on the results they obtain. Once the student has provided a picture of how the
program is currently implemented and analyzed its results based on the data collected,
action recommendations follow.
Methodology. The research design, whether qualitative or quantitative or both,
should be appropriate to the question(s) being asked. The required research courses
should have enabled the student to know the difference between designs that are
appropriate and those that are not, between strong and weak data analyses, and between
justifiable and unjustifiable conclusions.
An adequate research design for a capstone project allows students proposing research
to:
 specify the problem being addressed;
 explain why solving it is important for practice;
 explain why this research strategy—informed by field experience, the
conceptual framework, and knowledge from the literature review—is the best
way to collect the data that will inform the recommendations;
 identify any ethical concerns in applying the methodology;
 explain the data-collection procedures and why they are workable; and
 explain how they will analyze the data.
Final Project
Capstone project findings are presented at the defense through the following written
components. They describe how the problem was identified, investigated, and analyzed,
as well as how it can be solved.
Study description. The study description reworks the material from the proposal
in light of the subsequent execution of the study. This includes the problem description,
the relevant scholarly literature, the conceptual framework, and the data-collection
procedures and tools (quantitative or qualitative), all aligned with the question(s) under
investigation. All data-collection tools (interviews, instruments, observation guides) are
included as an appendix to this component of the capstone.
Position paper. In the second component, the student presents and analyzes the
data collected, argues the relative merits of possible solutions, recommends and justifies
which actions to take, and notes the implications of those recommendations for the set of
action communications.
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Action communications. The third component consists of a set of action
communications, whose format, style, and content will vary according to the analysis of
the problem and the nature of the recommended actions. The student explains, for each
action communication, its audience(s), intended purpose(s), and relationship to the
recommended actions. The action communications should be accompanied by an
explanation of how they should be deployed and/or guidance for their presentation. This
completes the capstone project’s cycle of inquiry into the selected problem of practice.
Executive summary. The executive summary provides an overview of the
project’s purposes and results.
Capstone Quality Indicators
The committee uses the capstone quality indicator checklist to evaluate both the
capstone proposal and final project. The focus at the proposal defense is on the study
description; at the final project defense, the committee considers the study description as
well as the position paper, action communications, and executive summary.
Students need to be sure they understand the indicators before they begin drafting the
proposal. The indicators are presented in an order that reflects the general format of most
capstone projects; thus students should attend particularly to the initial quality indicators
when developing a proposal. Obviously, all the indicators are important as the full
capstone project is drafted.
Rating Levels for the Indicators
Each member of the capstone committee evaluates the presentation and written
document according to the following rating levels:
Acceptable. A designation of acceptable means that a given aspect of the
capstone proposal or project requires no further revision. In the case of capstone
proposals, this means that the project may proceed as proposed. In the case of final
projects, faculty members are strongly encouraged to elaborate on this rating for
high-quality projects in the comments sections that follow each category.
Minor revision necessary. This designation means that although this aspect of
the proposal or completed project needs some correction, elaboration, or other
improvement, it does meet a minimal standard of quality. At the proposal stage, this
indicates that the student must make improvements, but the project may proceed. The
chair of the committee, in consultation with the other committee members, decides on a
deadline for the written changes. At a final defense, this rating means that although some
revision of the project manuscript is necessary, the project passes. The chair of the
committee, in consultation with other committee members, decides on a deadline for the
written changes.
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Major revision necessary. Any aspect of the project that receives a rating of
major revision necessary does not meet a minimal standard of quality and must be
corrected. At the proposal stage, the project cannot proceed until the student addresses
the concerns. At the final project defense, this rating means that the issue must be
corrected before the student passes.
Capstone Quality Indicators Checklist
PROPOSAL AND FINAL CAPSTONE PROJECT
1. WRITING
THE STUDENT HAS
written the capstone project in a professional
manner.
committed few or no grammatical, spelling, or
typographical errors.
structured the study in accordance with Curry
guidelines.
given attribution when using or citing the work of
others and followed the APA or another
acceptable reference format.
Comments:
2. PRESENTATION
THE STUDENT HAS
been clear and concise in the oral presentation.
created handouts or multimedia presentations
that enhance, rather than detract from, this
clarity.
demonstrated a clear understanding of the topic,
the relevant literature, and all aspects of the
capstone project in the presentation and
interaction with committee members (and/or the
audience).
presented the capstone project in a professional
manner.
Comments:
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Acceptable
Minor Revision
Necessary
Major Revision
Necessary
PROPOSAL AND FINAL CAPSTONE PROJECT
3. PROBLEM(S) OF PRACTICE
THE STUDENT HAS
clearly described the problem and defined
important and relevant concepts.
made a convincing case for the importance of the
problem to practitioners.
examined the problem in light of contextual
concerns.
given a convincing rationale for addressing the
problem.
shown that there is a reasonable likelihood that
the problem has been or could be addressed
successfully.
Comments:
4. LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK
THE STUDENT HAS
focused on the important research on a
well-defined topic.
clearly explained what is and is not known about
the issue represented by this particular problem
of practice.
guided the inquiry according to a coherent and
relevant conceptual framework.
Comments:
4. FORMAT AND METHODOLOGY
THE STUDENT HAS
9
Acceptable
Minor Revision
Necessary
Major Revision
Necessary
PROPOSAL AND FINAL CAPSTONE PROJECT
Acceptable
Minor Revision
Necessary
Major Revision
Necessary
Acceptable
Minor
Revision
Necessary
Major
Revision
Necessary
chosen a format for inquiry that is appropriate to
the question(s) posed.
described in detail workable procedures for data
collection.
chosen appropriate data-collection tools (e.g.,
instruments, interview or observation guides) and
described them in detail.
considered any ethical concerns and/or possible
negative consequences of applying the
methodology.
Comments:
FINAL CAPSTONE PROJECT ONLY
6. POSITION PAPER
THE STUDENT HAS
summarized the results clearly and shown how
the analysis informs the recommendations.
built a rigorous, informed, and evidence-based
argument regarding the solution(s).
made recommendations that are appropriate to
the particular practice context.
spelled out the implications of the findings for
further action and/or research.
acknowledged what might impede
implementation of the recommendations
Comments:
7. ACTION COMMUNICATIONS
THE STUDENT HAS
addressed the relevant audiences in ways that
help them understand the problem and its
proposed solution(s).
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FINAL CAPSTONE PROJECT ONLY
Acceptable
Minor
Revision
Necessary
Major
Revision
Necessary
included a coherent narrative about how they
should be deployed and presented.
Comments:
8. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
THE STUDENT HAS
presented the overall project clearly and
succinctly.
Comments:
Using the Indicators
These indicators can be used as a guide for students as they develop and write their
capstone projects, as a feedback mechanism for faculty as they work with students, and
as a means of structuring questions and discussion at proposal and project defenses.
Potential uses are delineated for each participant at different stages in the process.
Students. Doctoral students should read and understand the quality indicators
used to evaluate a capstone project before they begin drafting their proposals. If any
indicators are unclear, they should consult with their committee chairs.
Capstone project committee chairs. Chairs should make certain that students
are familiar with the Curry Capstone Project Manual and the capstone project quality
indicators early in their programs. As the process proceeds, the student and chair need a
common understanding of the quality indicators and their application.
Any capstone project proposal or project manuscript will go through revisions. The
indicators provide a feedback loop between students and faculty. As the student drafts a
proposal and a final capstone project, the chair may use the quality indicators to provide
concrete feedback on the documents’ strengths and weaknesses. When the chair thinks
that the proposal (or final project) is of acceptable quality, the student’s proposal or
project is ready for distribution to the entire committee.
The capstone committee chair may also use the quality indicators checklist to frame
questions for the student during a defense and as a way to structure the discussion that
occurs among committee members as they deliberate on the outcome of a defense.
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Capstone project committee members. Capstone project committee members
take on varying roles and have varying levels of involvement with students’
capstone-project research and writing. Having worked with a student on collaborative
research projects, independent study, or coursework, some committee members other
than the chair may play an active role in the capstone project process. They may use the
indicators just as the chair does, holding preliminary discussions with the student about
specific areas or providing feedback on drafts of the proposal and project manuscripts.
Other committee members may be only tangentially involved in the capstone-project
study and may be called upon to read the proposal or final manuscript only after it has
been drafted and revised. These members can use the quality indicators checklist as a
review form to provide feedback to the student at a proposal or final defense.
Writing Style
All good writing has three characteristics:

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It is grammatically correct.
It is clear. When in doubt, choose clarity over elegance.
It is as simple and succinct as the meaning allows.
Good writers do several things:

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They reread what they have written, questioning themselves about grammar
and clarity and editing their own work.
They are keen observers of others’ writing styles and imitate the best.
They read or consult manuals on grammar and style, as well as lexicons, and
correct their work accordingly.
They use headings, summaries, and organization to help readers follow their
line of argument.
They weigh editorial feedback graciously and carefully, making all suggested
changes that increase clarity or improve grammar and rejecting only those that
obscure meaning or introduce grammatical errors.
The capstone project advisor and committee members serve as editors of the capstone
proposal and product. But many other resources are also available to help writers hone
their style. Searching any bookseller’s shelves or online listings will turn up many valuable
volumes on punctuation, grammar, and style. None covers every topic of interest, so
several may be needed.
Frequently recommended books include the following:
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American
th
Psychological Association (6 ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Cochrane, J. (2004). Between you and I: A little book of bad English. Naperville, IL:
Sourcebooks.
12
Gordon, K. E. (1993). The new well-tempered sentence: A punctuation handbook for
the innocent, the eager, and the doomed (expanded and revised). Boston:
Houghton Mifflin.
Hacker, D. (2011) Rules for writers (7th edition). Boston: St. Martin’s.
Stilman, A. (2004). Grammatically correct: An essential guide to punctuation, style,
usage & more. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest.
Strunk, W., & White, E. B. (2000). The elements of style (4th ed.). Boston: Longman.
Truss, L. (2003). Eats, shoots & leaves: The zero tolerance approach to punctuation.
New York: Gotham.
A particularly helpful guide for writing capstone projects (but, again, only one of many) is:
Glatthorn, A. A., & Joyner, R. L. (2005). Writing the winning thesis or capstone project:
A step-by-step guide (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks CA: Sage.
Reference Style
The student and the capstone project advisor together decide on the reference style.
Most students use the publication manual of the American Psychological Association
(APA); visit www.apastyle.org for the latest information. It not only gives writers guidance
on style but also specifies how to cite references in the text and how to present them in a
reference list. Some students (for example, those in the history of education) may use an
alternative style manual (such as the Chicago Manual of Style); those in athletic training
and sports medicine use the American Medical Association Style Guide. The most
important consideration in reference style is consistency.
Logistical and Administrative Details for the Capstone Project
Protection of Human Subjects and the Institutional Review Board Process
The University of Virginia’s Institutional Review Board for Social and Behavioral Sciences
(IRB-SBS) or Institutional Review Board for Health Sciences (IRB-HRS) must give written
approval for any research involving human subjects done under the auspices of UVA
(http://www.virginia.edu/vpr/irb/). Students may not begin collecting data for their study
without the written approval of the IRB if human participants are involved. Designated
Curry School faculty members can advise students about submitting proposed research
to the IRB. The composition of the IRB is available on the IRB website.
The capstone project proposal should specify the approval to be sought from the IRB, and
the student’s schedule for capstone project activities should include time needed to obtain
IRB approval.
Any changes in the research method require the approval of the student’s advisor and
may also require resubmission to the IRB. Also, if the capstone project is not defended
during the timeframe approved by the IRB, the student must file an IRB extension and get
it approved.
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Relationships with Schools and Other Agencies that Provide Data
Obtaining the cooperation of schools and other agencies in research projects may be
difficult if these organizations feel they have been taken advantage of in prior experiences
with UVA researchers. Researchers need to treat all personnel in a school or other
participating office or institution with respect, cordiality, and openness. But too often,
organizations have experienced one or more of the following:
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


being asked to do more than they had agreed to do,
being asked to give the project an inordinate amount of time,
contributing to research but not receiving any useful information from it,
being identified in research reports in unflattering ways, and
being treated in ways that they consider disrespectful of their institution or their
personnel.
Some institutions have their own research-review procedures that the student must follow
in addition to those of the university. Study participants must know exactly what will and
will not be expected of them and that they will receive all the information they want from
the study in a timely manner.
Like the rule for respecting the natural environment, the rule for every research
environment is this: Leave it as you found it, if not better. Think not only of the participants
in the proposed research but also of researchers who hope to work later in the same
place.
Schedule of Tasks and Accomplishments
As soon as a student has obtained the agreement of a faculty member to direct his or her
capstone project, the two need to agree on a tentative schedule for completing the
various tasks leading to the proposal and project defenses. This includes anticipated
dates for the following:
 submission of drafts of the proposal to the advisor;
 feedback from the advisor regarding the drafts;
 with the advisor’s consent, submission of the proposal to committee members;
 proposal defense;
 IRB approval;
 data collection;
 data analysis;
 submission of drafts of project chapters to the advisor;
 feedback from the advisor regarding the drafts;
 submission of the project to committee members; and
 defense of the capstone project.
Anticipated dates may need to be revised along the way. The student must maintain a
realistic schedule that allows sufficient time for each step in the process, including the
14
project chair’s reading of, and feedback on, drafts of the proposal and project and the
committee members’ reading of those documents.
When developing a timeline, students need to recognize that most faculty members are
on nine-month contracts and may not be available during the summer months. The time
allowed for reading and feedback on drafts submitted by the student to the chair is a
matter of negotiation between them. Students and capstone project chairs should
recognize that committee members need at least two weeks to read the proposal and
project. So they should not schedule proposal and project defenses less than two weeks
subsequent to the committee members’ receipt of the manuscripts.
Students and capstone project chairs must keep in mind deadlines for capstone project
defenses for particular graduation dates. Students wanting to march in graduation
exercises in the spring of a given year must successfully defend their capstone projects
no later than April 1 of that year, those graduating in the summer must defend no later
than July 1, and those graduating at the end of the fall term must defend no later than
November 15. Since these dates may change from one year to the next, the student
needs to check that they are current.
Capstone Committee
The capstone committee is put together by the student and the committee chair; the
student then invites the members to serve. A minimum of three people comprises the
committee. The chair or co-chair, as well as two of the three members, must be Curry
faculty from the student’s home program area. The chair or co-chair is the first line of
communication between the student and the other committee members and may also
provide content or methodological expertise. The second member may also provide
content expertise for the student’s area of inquiry or methodological expertise consistent
with the problem(s) under investigation and inquiry approach. A third member may be a
University of Virginia faculty member from any area.
If deemed appropriate by the student and the student’s advisor, a fourth, non-voting
member—a practitioner in the field that the student is studying, who does not need to
have a terminal degree—may serve on the committee, primarily to provide perspective on
the adequacy of the proposal and project relative to the inquiry context and to help judge
the adequacy and appropriateness of the action communications. The chair, in
consultation with the student, selects and invites this fourth member.
Presenting Drafts to Committee Members
Technology has made the presentation of electronic copies of documents feasible, but
some committee members may prefer hard copies of the drafts on which they are to
comment. Students should not make assumptions about the form in which their
committee members want to receive documents; instead, they should ask them which
they prefer and give them the drafts in that form.
15
Regardless of whether documents are presented electronically or on paper, some
presentations predictably drive committee members to distraction and should be avoided:
 electronic copies that the recipient cannot open or that lose their format;
 unnumbered pages or pages not numbered consecutively, so that readers
have difficulty finding a particular page;
 paper documents that do not lie flat on a table due to the binding;
 paper documents that are not reasonably secured and are in imminent danger
of chaotic reorganization; and
 paper documents with hand-written corrections or documents that are difficult
to read due to odd fonts or poor copy quality.
Making committee members struggle with the physical management of a document puts
the student at an immediate disadvantage. The general rule: Avoid presenting those who
read and edit with needless frustration.
Students’, Capstone Project Chairs’, and Committee Members’
Responsibilities
Students are responsible for choosing a topic, submitting proofread drafts of materials to
the advisor, and scheduling meetings for the defense of the proposal and project.
Students are expected to maintain contact with the chair and methodologist throughout
the process to confirm that the research and writing is following the agreed-upon plan.
The project is the student’s responsibility and not that of the chair, but the student should
keep the chair informed of problems and progress.
All members of the student’s committee have a shared responsibility for ensuring
high-quality scholarship. Chairs are responsible for reading drafts of students’ proposals
and projects according to the agreed-upon schedule, giving editorial and substantive
feedback, and working with their advisees until the work is likely to be found acceptable
by the committee members. Prior to convening the proposal or project defenses, the chair
will contact all committee members to ask if they foresee a major problem with the
proposal or project; committee members will share such concerns with the chair and/or
student, as appropriate, prior to the defense.
Committee members are responsible for reading proposals and projects within the
agreed-upon time frame, suggesting editorial or substantive changes, and explaining why
they do or do not believe the document is acceptable. Committee members who perceive
major flaws that are likely to result in a student’s unsuccessful defense should inform the
capstone project chair or student immediately. No good purpose is served by allowing a
student to proceed with the defense of a proposal or capstone project that results in
predictable failure.
Students are not expected to provide food or drink for committee members or for others
who may attend any defense. Some candidates choose to bring refreshments, but these
should be kept to a minimum to avoid the appearance of attempting to influence the
committee’s decision.
16
Following a successful defense, the student should check with each member of the
committee to find out if he or she would like a copy of the capstone project once it is
bound. If any do, the candidate must provide copies to those members. The University’s
Copy Center binds the document after it is approved. (See Part III for the final preparation
of capstone projects.)
All UVa capstone projects are sent to UMI Dissertations Publishing and included as full
text in Proquest’s Digital Dissertation Database (
http://www.proquest.com), the official digital dissertations archive for the Library of
Congress and the database of record for graduate research. It includes 2.7 million
searchable citations to dissertations/capstones and theses from around the world from
1861 to the present day, together with 1.2 million full-text dissertations for download in
PDF format. Over 2.1 million titles are available for purchase as printed copies. The
database offers full text for most of the materials added since 1997 and strong
retrospective full-text coverage for older graduate works.
The citation and abstract will appear in the index of Dissertation Abstracts unless the
author opts out of this arrangement. Interested readers may access Proquest’s digital
dissertations and theses database, as well as University of Virginia capstone projects,
through the University’s online catalog, VIRGO.
Attendance at and Participation in Proposal and Project Defenses
All proposal and capstone project defenses are publicly announced two weeks in
advance. All committee members must be present physically or electronically. But
anyone--including other students, other faculty members, and any interested
persons--may attend any meeting at which a student defends a proposal or project.
Persons who are not members of the committee are there as observers and may not
interject questions or comments unless they are explicitly invited to participate by the
chair, who leads this meeting and may ask individuals to leave during particular lines of
questioning.
At defenses of the proposal and project, all individuals who are not members of the
committee must leave the room during the committee’s deliberation. Only the student
defending a proposal or capstone project is to return to the examining room for feedback
from the chair and committee.
Archiving
Once the student defends his or her capstone project and the committee officially
approves it, a print copy should be deposited in the University library in order to preserve
a record of the project and provide access to it.
17
Capstones and Publication
Occasionally, an aspect of the capstone is submitted for publication. Any chair or
committee member who works with the student in condensing and revising elements of
the capstone project for submission may be considered a co-author, but the student
whose work is featured should be the first author listed on the manuscript. Appropriate
credit should be given to any individual who provided significant assistance but is not a
co-author.
For APA recommendations regarding the conversion of capstone projects into journal
articles, see http://apa.org/journals/authors/guide.html#capstone project. According to
Proquest, most journals do not consider submissions to Proquest or institutional
repositories to constitute “prior publication that disqualifies the author from submitting a
journal article or monograph on the same subject matter for publication”
(http://www.proquest.com/assets/downloads/services/disspub_prior_pubstate.pdf).
Additional Resources
Some students hire editors for their capstone projects. This is acceptable, as long as the
editor does not draft the document. Some students receive help from the University’s
Writing Center. In all cases, the student has the final responsibility for the document,
including its clarity, style, and reference format.
Instructions for preparing a capstone project so that it will be acceptable to University
Microfilms and be ready to bind and file are included in Part III of this document,
“Guidelines for Capstone Project Manuscript Preparation.”
The Education Library Services in the Ruffner Hall CLIC has many useful resources and
services for doctoral candidates, including one-on-one consultations, access to
databases (including Education Full Text, PsycInfo, Medline, Digital Capstone Projects,
and Sport Discus) from off-Grounds, and short courses such as the ones for bibliographic
software. Library staff can offer advice about writing the capstone project's title and
abstract, preparing reference lists, and more.
Exceptions to Capstone Project Guidelines and Regulations
Exceptions to the procedures outlined in this document can be made with written approval
from the Director of Doctoral Studies.
18
PART II
Answers to Common Questions
1. When should I start thinking about my capstone project?
Although you must complete your coursework and comprehensive exams before
proposing a capstone project, and although you should take your doctoral program one
step at a time and not worry if you enter the program not knowing what you are going to do
for your capstone project, start thinking about possible topics and projects as soon as you
can. You will be working on this topic intensively for a prolonged period, so it must not be
something in which you have only a passing interest.
2. What should I do to prepare for my capstone?
First, complete all the other program requirements, including accumulating the required
credits. The required sequence of courses in research methodology will equip you with
the knowledge of research questions, research methods, and data analysis that will allow
you to conduct a study independently. Second, choose a topic and have a plan of
research for your capstone project. Third, choose an advisor or co-advisors for your
capstone project and an advisory committee, following the requirements for the number of
members and program/school representation. Neither your advisor nor your committee
need be the same for your capstone project as for your program of studies.
Understanding what is already known about your topic requires reading the existing
research literature on the topic; such reading should begin as soon as possible. See p. 3
for suggestions about the literature review.
3. Who should be my capstone project chair?
Do not assume that the person who has been your advisor through your program of study
(i.e., for your coursework and exams) must continue as your capstone project chair. Your
chair should be someone who is knowledgeable about your topic and research
methodology, is willing to direct your research, and is someone with whom you can have
a good working relationship. Do not choose a person with whom you know you will have
serious conflict personally or conceptually. Since this is the person to whom you will take
drafts for feedback and editorial suggestions, your chair should also be someone who can
and will help you shape a good capstone project and do better research and writing than
you can do without his or her advice.
Sometimes having a co-chair is a good idea. The nature of your topic may be such that no
single faculty member has the expertise to advise you. Sometimes a junior faculty
member and a senior faculty member will make a good team. If you consider having
19
co-advisors, be certain that they know they will be working together and that they have no
major conflicts of opinion about the topic or the methodology. Also, one of the co-advisors
must agree to take the lead and be the primary person with whom you will work. The
secondary chair must agree to play a supporting role.
Finally, communicate clearly with your capstone project chair(s):
 Explain to your program advisor that you want him or her to be your capstone
project chair or, alternatively, that you want to choose someone else to advise
your capstone project. Explain the reasons for your choice. No one should be
left with questions about why you chose the person you did.
 If you are going to ask someone other than your program advisor to direct your
capstone project, make an appointment with that person to make your request.
Do not expect or demand an immediate reply. Negotiate a timeline for receiving
an answer if you do not get one immediately. Accept the faculty member’s
decision graciously.
4. Who should be on my capstone project committee?
Besides your capstone project chairs, you must have a minimum of two additional
members for a capstone project committee. You may have a fourth member. Choose your
capstone project committee with the advice and consent of your advisor. See pp. 13-14
for further details on committee makeup.
5. What are the elements of a good capstone project proposal?
A good proposal clearly tells anyone who reads it why the problem you want to address is
important, what research will help you address the problem, how you are going to conduct
that research, and how you are going to analyze what you find and make
recommendations for action. See the capstone project quality indicators for the elements
of a good proposal.
In essence, an approved proposal is like a contract: Fulfill it, and you’ll have a fully
legitimate claim to success; violate its terms, and you will have failed. For this reason, all
the terms must be written clearly. Vague or incomplete proposals, like vague or
incomplete contracts, are invitations to trouble. Rely on your advisor’s guidance for the
length and level of detail in your proposal.
6. How can I find good examples to follow for my proposal and capstone
project?
Ask your capstone project chair for examples of well-prepared, well-written proposals and
projects. Your chair may give you examples of the work of previous students or refer you
to proposals or projects chosen as exemplars by program, department, or school
committees. Remember, though, that no work is perfect.
20
7. Are the proposal and capstone project proposal defenses open to the
public?
All proposal and capstone project defenses are publicly announced two weeks in
advance. Anyone, including other students, other faculty members, and any interested
persons may attend any meeting in which the student defends a proposal or capstone
project. Audience members who are not on the committee are there as observers and
may not interject questions or comments unless they are explicitly invited to participate by
the chair. The chair may ask individuals to leave the defense during particular lines of
questioning and will do so during the coimmittee’s deliberations.
You are encouraged to attend proposal and capstone project defenses to familiarize
yourself with the process.
8. What are the expectations for a capstone project proposal defense?
First, you and your capstone project chair must agree on a date and time, and you must
make sure that all your committee members can meet then. You need to reserve a room
for the defense (using the Source Reservation System www.virginia.edu/source),
allowing two hours for the event. Be sure to reserve any audio-visual equipment with the
Curry School’s Educational Technologies Office through its on-line equipment reservation
system and test the equipment prior to the defense. Submit an announcement to the
Curry School of Education’s Admissions and Student Affairs Office at least two weeks
prior to the date of your proposal defense (send it to sgs9w@virginia.edu and include
your name, the title of the dissertation, committee members’ names, date, place, and
time).
Your capstone project chair will ask you to make a brief presentation (approximately
15-25 min.) in which you summarize
 the problem(s) you propose to address,
 why it is important to practitioners,
 the key points you have extracted from the literature on the topic
 your conceptual framework
 exactly how you intend to measure or assess the problem, and
 how you propose to analyze and interpret your data or evidence.
Rehearse this presentation. Make sure it is coherent and complete but as succinct as
possible.
After your presentation, each member of the committee will be given the opportunity to
ask you questions intended to probe your understanding of the proposal and obtain
clarification of points you have made. Committee members may also suggest changes in
any aspect of your proposal. Remember that opinions may differ; your chair will provide
guidance in this event. You must weigh carefully but immediately the advisability of
arguing for your point of view or accepting the suggestions of your committee.
21
The proposal defense requires that you demonstrate two things:
 first, you and your capstone project chair have thought deeply and carefully about
what you propose to do, so that the big picture of your proposal is defensible;
 second, you are able to weigh the suggestions of your committee and accept those
that will strengthen your study.
After all committee members have had opportunities to ask questions and make
suggestions or comments, your chair will ask you and any observers to leave the room
while the committee deliberates. Then the chair will recall you to the examining room and
explain the committee’s decision (whether your proposal has been successfully defended
or not) to you.
Bring your Record of Progress to the defense so that if your proposal is approved, your
chair and the committee members can sign it. An approved capstone project proposal is,
in essence, a contract stating that, if you carry out the project as described in the
proposal, the committee cannot find your capstone project defense unacceptable based
on your research plan.
9. What should I do if I have not successfully defended my capstone project
proposal?
If you have not successfully defended your proposal, immediately following the meeting
the chair will summarize the specific reasons for the outcome, reflecting all committee
members’ input. You will then prepare a revised proposal based on the committee’s
feedback and convene another defense meeting within a time frame agreed upon by the
committee and established at the time of the proposal defense. Data collection may not
begin until the proposal has been successfully defended. Neither resubmitting the same
proposal with minor changes nor changing the composition of your doctoral committee is
a recommended strategy.
10. What should I do if my capstone project proposal is accepted with minor
revisions?
For successfully defended capstone project proposals, the capstone project advisor will
prepare a revision request that will describe all changes to the proposal that the
committee requests. As soon as you have made all of the required changes, submit the
revised proposal with a cover letter detailing the revisions within the time frame agreed
upon by the committee. Once all committee members agree that the revisions are
acceptable, the chair will sign and date the Record of Progress.
From the time you are officially admitted to a doctoral program until you have defended
your capstone project proposal successfully, you are referred to as a doctoral student.
After you defend your proposal successfully, you are officially a candidate for the Ed.D.
and may call yourself a doctoral candidate.
22
11. What is expected of me before, during, and after data collection?
Before you begin collecting data, you must have the approval of the IRB, as mentioned
earlier. You must also have laid the groundwork for collecting your data from schools or
other participating institutions. During data collection, you must maintain good
relationships with your participants and manage data collection in ways that minimize
intrusion into people’s lives and maximize protections against possible harm to the
participants. You alone are responsible for the security and safety of your data.
You need to keep your chair informed of your progress in collecting data. You also must
make sure that you have all of your data in a back-up file. Back up your data frequently as
you obtain them.
After you have all of your data, analyze them. Depending on the nature of your project and
the expectations you and your chair have set for feedback to your participants, you may
present your findings to specified individuals immediately or wait until your capstone
project has been written and approved.
12. What if I must modify my research?
You and your chair must document and alert all committee members to any minor
changes (e.g. modifying study measures) that were made in the capstone project
research in the course of conducting the study or analyzing data. More substantial
changes (e.g., the study design, study hypotheses, or source of the sample) require the
approval of the entire committee.
13. What are my responsibilities in writing the capstone project?
You are responsible for submitting proofread drafts of your chapters to your capstone
project chair and for preparing the final draft with editorial feedback from the chair. You
are also responsible for constructing any tables and figures that may be required, for
writing as crisply and clearly as you can, for maintaining the integrity of the reference form
you and your chair have agreed is most appropriate, for integrating any new literature on
your topic that may have appeared or that you may have found since your proposal
defense, and for doing all of these in a timely fashion. You should give a copy of the final
draft to each member of your committee at least two weeks before your capstone project
defense.
14. What should my capstone project chair and committee do regarding my
manuscript?
Your chair is responsible for reading your draft(s), giving you editorial suggestions, and
approving the error-free draft you give to your committee members. Remember that the
draft you give your committee members is “final” only in the sense that it contains no flaws
that you or your capstone project chair have found. Committee members may have
editorial suggestions that you will need to incorporate before you file the truly final
capstone project.
23
Members of your committee other than your chair need to do nothing but wait for you to
give them the final draft. Then they must read your capstone project before your defense,
and you must make sure that you give them adequate time to do so (at least two weeks).
15. What else should I expect of my capstone project chair and committee?
Your capstone project chair should be available at reasonable times for consultation and
should give you explicit feedback on drafts of materials you give to him or her within a
reasonable time. “Reasonable” is difficult to define, but if you find it impossible to
schedule time with your capstone project chair, receive only vague feedback on your
drafts, or must wait much longer than the time agreed to by your chair for feedback, then
you are not being well advised and may want to consider changing your chair. You may
contact the department chair or the Director of Doctoral Studies to discuss your situation
and possible solutions.
Your committee members should be reasonably available for meetings with you and with
other committee members and should have read the documents you have given them
within the agreed-upon time frame. If a member of your committee is unwilling or unable
to fulfill these expectations, then you may want to discuss a replacement with your chair.
Keep in mind that faculty members may be even busier than you are and that neither your
chair nor your committee members can be expected to give your work top priority.
Remember also that your chair and committee members may experience unexpected or
emergency events in their lives that prevent them from accomplishing on schedule
particular tasks related to your capstone project.
The capstone project process demands accommodation on your part as well as on the
part of faculty. You should expect demands for high-quality work; they are not a reason to
change chairs or committee members.
16. What should my capstone project chair and committee expect of me?
Your capstone project chair and committee members should expect high-quality work,
meticulous attention to detail, and the timely presentation of documents. They will expect
you to have proofread your work carefully before submitting it to them and that you will
carry out the project as described in your proposal unless they explicitly approve any
substantive changes. They also should expect you to communicate with them about your
progress. Regular communication with your chair at all stages of the process, including
the interval between approval of your proposal and your defense of the capstone project,
is critically important.
17. What should I expect at my capstone project defense?
As was the case for your proposal defense, you must schedule your defense with your
chair at a time acceptable to each member of the committee. You must reserve a room
using the Source Reservation system (www.virginia.edu/source), allowing two hours for
the defense. Announce your defense to the Office of Admissions at least two weeks prior
24
to the defense date. Include your name, the title of the capstone project, committee
members’ names, the date, the place, and the time. Again, your capstone project chair
will be in charge of the meeting. To plan your presentation, see the answers to question 8;
however, the focus at this defense should be on your recommendations and with whom
and how you propose to communicate them.
After your presentation, each committee member will be given the opportunity to ask
questions or make comments. Your chair, as moderator of the meeting, may intervene if
he or she considers any questions out of order.
Remember that the defense of your capstone project should not be about the
acceptability of your proposal – what you did and why you did it. That was settled in your
proposal defense. This is a defense of how you interpret your findings. Your examining
committee will be interested in why you reached the conclusions and recommendations
you did, alternative suggestions that someone might offer, and what you see as next
logical steps in both examining and solving the problem(s).
After all committee members have had the opportunity to ask questions or make
comments, your chair will ask you and anyone present other than committee members to
leave the room while the committee deliberates (this can take. as long as 30 minutes).
After the committee’s deliberation, the chair will recall you to the room and convey to you
the committee’s decision.
The committee will arrive at one of the following decisions:




Your project defense was not acceptable.
Your defense was acceptable, with specified changes in the document that
must be seen by each committee member before they are willing to sign the
Record of Progress and the signature page.
Your defense was acceptable, with specified changes in the final document to
be made as noted by your capstone project chair.
Your defense was accepted, and no changes need to be made in the final
document.
Bring your Record of Progress and signature (approval) pages to the defense so that if
your project is approved, your chair and the committee members can sign all the
necessary documents at that time. Approval of the capstone project is the last step in your
program, other than filing the document in the Curry School. At that point, you will have
earned the Ed.D. and can use the title after your name. Your final step is to take your
approved capstone project to the Alderman Copy Center for printing by May 1 for May
graduation, August 1 for August graduation, and December 1 for December graduation.
Then celebrate! But also be sure to register your capstone project with University
Microfilms at the University of Virginia’s Printing Services (you can find the details at
http://www.virginia.edu/uvaprint/copy_dissertations.html), file the capstone project with
25
the University as instructed, and order bound copies of the capstone project for each
member of your committee who wants one.
No reward is due your capstone project chair or committee for their service, other than
your thanks. However, if you wish to present your chair or committee members with a
celebration or other gift or to warmly acknowledge their contributions to your work, do so –
and make mention of such – only after you have defended your capstone project
successfully.
18. What should I do if I do not defend my capstone project successfully?
If the committee judges that you have not defended your capstone project successfully,
immediately following the meeting the chair will summarize the specific reasons for the
outcome, reflecting all committee members’ input. If you did what you proposed to do and
your proposal was judged acceptable, then the decision must be based on your
presentation, your writing, or your responses to questions.
Given careful analysis of the reasons for your failure, you should attempt to correct your
presentation, writing, or responses to questions and reschedule the defense. If you need
to make changes in the capstone project based on flaws in the written document, provide
your committee with a redrafted document, approved by your capstone project chair, at
least two weeks prior to the rescheduled defense.
19. When may I participate in a graduation?
See p. 13 for particular graduation dates’ deadlines. You may participate in any
graduation ceremony subsequent to the one for which you meet the deadline. You are not
required to participate in a graduation ceremony; the degree is earned as soon as you
have completed all requirements for it.
The deadlines listed apply to successfully completed defenses. That is, if the defense is
judged “conditional,” in that certain changes are required before committee members will
sign the Record of Progress and the capstone project signature page, then the changes
must be made and the signatures obtained by the deadline.
26
PART III
Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation
The purpose of these guidelines is to assist you with the formatting, preparation, and
submission of your capstone project. They are based on the APA style but modified for
capstone projects and theses in the Curry School. Please note that other formats may be
used with your committee’s approval. It is important to be consistent in style, notation,
form, etc.
Formatting
A standard font of 10 or 12 points is acceptable. Standard fonts include Arial, Courier,
Times New Roman, etc. – the requirement is "good, clear copy." The same typeface
should be used throughout, with the exception of tables. You may neatly letter by hand
with black drawing ink any symbols that are not available on the computer. There is also
special software for certain symbols available for purchase.
Your capstone project must have the following uniform margins, which apply to all charts,
graphs, tables, and figures. You may need to reduce the size of graphs, table, charts, etc.
to meet this requirement.
Top:
Bottom:
Left:
Right:
2” for the first page of each chapter; 1” for all other pages
1”
1 ½”
1”
Double space the text. Single space the footnotes or endnotes and extended direct
quotations (of more than 40 words); the latter should also be indented a minimum of five
spaces.
Pagination
Number preliminary pages with lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, etc.) at the bottom
and center of each page, 1” from the bottom edge. Count the title page, copyright page, or
signature page; however, the number should not appear on that page. If you have a
copyright page, put lower-case Roman numeral iv on the dedication page. See below for
a complete list of how each page should be numbered.
Begin numbering the text with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) at the start of the first page of
the text, 1” from the top right of the page. Some prefer to number the first page of each
chapter by placing the number, centered, 1” from the bottom of the page.
27
Footnotes/Endnotes
See the APA manual for guidance.
References
See the APA manual for guidance.
Capstone Project Pages – Order and Numbering Sequence
Title page
Number assigned but NOT typed
Copyright page
Number assigned but NOT typed
Abstract
Number NOT assigned or typed
Signature page
Number assigned but NOT typed
Dedication page
Roman numeral, numbered consecutively
Beginning with “iv”
Acknowledgement page
Small Roman numeral, numbered consecutively
Table of Contents
Small Roman numeral, numbered consecutively
List of Tables
Small Roman numeral, numbered consecutively
List of Figures
Small Roman numeral, numbered consecutively
Text (Chapter I)
Arabic numeral, numbered consecutively
Beginning with “1”
Body of capstone project
Arabic numeral, numbered consecutively
Bibliography/References
Arabic numeral, numbered consecutively
Appendix/Appendices
Arabic numeral, numbered consecutively
28
2”
[Example of title page]
TITLE
_______________________________
A Capstone Project
Presented to
The Faculty of the Curry School of Education
1 ½“
University of Virginia
_________________________________
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Education
_________________________________
by
Name, degrees
Month and year degree will be conferred
1”
29
1”
[Example of copyright page]
1”
© Copyright by
Your Name
All Rights Reserved
Month & Year of Graduation
30
2”
[Example of signature page]
Name of Department
Curry School of Education
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
APPROVAL OF THE CAPSTONE PROJECT
This capstone project, (“title”), has been approved by the Graduate Faculty of the Curry
School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Education.
___________________________________
Name of Chair (insert name)
1 ½“
___________________________________
Committee Member Name (insert name)
1”
___________________________________
Committee Member Name (insert name)
___________________________________
Committee Member Name (insert name)
______________________Date
1”
31
2”
[Example of table of contents]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION .............................................................................................................. iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. v
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ vi
LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... vii
ELEMENTS
I.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................. 1
II. STUDY DESCRIPTION............................................................................... 4
III. POSITION PAPER .................................................................................... 25
IV. ACTION COMMUNICATIONS .................................................................. 65
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 90
APPENDICES .......................................................................................................... 100
1”
1 ½“
1”
32
2”
[Example of list of tables]
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE
Page
1.
Periodic Table of Elements ............................................................................. 12
2.
Descriptive and Exercise Training Characteristics........................................... 25
3.
Maximum Ventilation During Maximal Exercise ............................................... 78
1”
1 ½“
1”
33
1”
[Example of Executive Summary Pages]
Executive Summary
Name of Advisor
1 ½“
Double space the executive summary, which must be 700 words or less
(approximately 2-3 pages). Do not type page numbers on the abstract.
1”
34
1”
2”
[Example of margins, headings, etc.]
STUDY DESCRIPTION
Methods Used (level 1)
The purpose of this chapter was to present a review of the literature and to outline
the need for a study on the status of the recertification of school district superintendents.
Many sources were used to develop a comprehensive review of the literature.
Recommendations Included in the Reform Reports (level 2)
It has been said that a school administrator can be compared to the leader of a
symphony orchestra. The person who holds the title of conductor is responsible for the
effective operation of the orchestra and is looked to for direction and leadership.
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Overview of needs identified for recertification programs for
superintendents (level 3). The superintendent of schools occupies one of the most
important positions in the community and more than any other individual influences the
direction of public education. The responsibilities inherent in the job of a public school
superintendent demand and require a basic knowledge of all areas of school
administration (Educational Policies Commission, 1965).
.
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1”
(page number)
Definitions of key terms (level 4). Within the context of this study, the following
definitions were used:
AASA. (level 5) The American Association of School Administrators, commonly
abbreviated as AASA, refers to the national organization of professionals from the field of
educational administration.
Certification. The term certification means that the profession pronounces the
certificate holder fully competent to perform at a high professional standard.
Educational administrator. The term educational administrator refers to a person
employed in an official administrative leadership position such as a superintendency.
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1”
Example of a vertical table
Table 1
Descriptive and Exercise Training Characteristics of Nonrunning Control (CONTL) Group
and Eumenorrheic (EUMNE), Oligomenorrheic (OLIGO), and Amenorrheic (AMENO)
Runner Groups
Variable
CONTL
(n=10-11)
EUMEN
(n=21)
OLIGO
(n=6-8)
AMENO
(n=9=10)
Age
29.3±6.3
30.7±6.8
23.5±4.5
23.1±4.4
Height
163.3±8.0
164.6±5.3
166.0±2.8
171.5±7.7
Weight
61.0±7.9
57.2±5.2
57.6±5.0
59.2±8.2
% Body Fat
28.4±5.5
20.4±3.9
23.0±3.7
21.4±3.9
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1 ½“
1”
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1 ½”
Example of a horizontal table
Table 1
Descriptive and Exercise Training Characteristics of Nonrunning Control (CONTL) Group and Eumenorrheic (EUMNE),
Oligomenorrheic (OLIGO), and Amenorrheic (AMENO) Runner Groups
Variable
CONTL
(n=10-11)
EUMEN
(n=21)
OLIGO
(n=6-8)
AMENO
(n=9=10)
OLIGO
(n=6-8)
AMENO
(n=9=10)
Age
29.3±6.3
30.7±6.8
23.5±4.5
23.1±4.4
23.5±4.5
23.1±4.4
Height
163.3±8.0
164.6±5.3
166.0±2.8
171.5±7.7
166.0±2.8
171.5±7.7
Weight
61.0±7.9
57.2±5.2
57.6±5.0
59.2±8.2
57.6±5.0
59.2±8.2
% Body Fat
28.4±5.5
20.4±3.9
23.0±3.7
21.4±3.9
23.0±3.7
21.4±3.9
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1”
Page
Number
1”
2”
Example of a references page
REFERENCES
Allison, L., Bryant, L., & Hourigan, M. (Eds.). (1997). Grading in the postprocess classroom: From theory to practice. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.
American Psychological Association. (1992). Ethical principles of
psychologists and code of conduct. American Psychologist, 47, 1597-1611.
American Psychological Association, American Educational Research
Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education. (1995). Standards
for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
Ball, A. (1997). Expanding the dialogue on culture as a critical component
when assessing writing. Assessing Writing, 4(2), 169-202.
1”
1 ½“
1”
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PART IV
Post-Capstone Project Defense Checklist
Submit the final copy of the capstone project with all approval signatures to the
Admissions Office, Curry School of Education before the specified deadline for doctoral
capstone projects (at the time of this writing, May 1 for May graduation, August 1 for
August graduation, and December 1 for December graduation).
Paper Submission
Submit the following materials to the Admissions Office:






Two copies of the final capstone project for inspection on 20-pound weight,
white acid-free paper with at least 25 percent cotton rag content (with a
watermark) OR one copy on regular paper that can be taken to Alderman
Library and copied on the required paper.
One copy of the title page and abstract (type your capstone project
advisor’s name on one or both pages)
A completed Record of Progress form
A copy of the IRB approval letter (if applicable)
The microfilm agreement form
The Survey of Earned Doctorates form
OR Digital Submission
Submit the following materials to the Curry Admissions Office:



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
Two CDs in jewel cases with the final capstone project in PDF format. Scan
the signature page into the capstone project file, and label each CD with
your name (e.g., Smith, John.pdf);
A completed Record of Progress form;
A copy of the IRB approval letter (if applicable);
The microfilm agreement form (available in the Admissions Office); and
The Survey of Earned Doctorates form (available in the Admissions Office)
Copy and Printing Services has specific guidelines for digital submission. You should
check their website (http://www.virginia.edu/uvaprint/copy_dissertations.html) to make
sure you have met all their requirements.
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Both Forms of Submission
Upon approval by the Admissions Office, take the capstone project to the Photography
Division of Printing Services, 1st Floor, Alderman Library. Check their web page for
instructions (http://www.virginia.edu/uvaprint/copy_dissertations.html). At that page you
can also find a complete list of fees.
As noted there, you must meet the requirements on the dissertation/capstone checklist
(http://www.virginia.edu/uvaprint/disserchecklist.pdf), as well as complete and submit the
checklist. Any further or changed requirements will be noted on that form, but at the time
of this writing, Printing Services requires the following:



In the case of a paper submission, your approved capstone project in
manila envelopes, inspected by the Admissions Office. In the case of a
digital submission, two CDs in jewel cases, both labeled with your name,
the title, the degree date, the degree, and the school. Please remember to
label both the CD and the jewel case.
A manila envelope large enough to hold your capstone project with the
following information typed on a label outside of each envelope:
(1) your full name.
(2) a short title composed of 36 letters and spaces or fewer. This is what
will be printed on the spine of the bound copy.
(3) the date of graduation (month and year).
(4) the degree and school (Ed.D., Curry School of Education).
A printed copy of the abstract and title page should accompany the
completed Microfilm Agreement form.
If you decide to register your capstone project for copyright, you must have a page in the
beginning of your capstone project stating that it is copyrighted. See the Proquest
Website (http://www.proquest.com) for the advantages of doing so.
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