what is a capstone project for mba

• What is an MBA Capstone Project?

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An MBA capstone project is the final step in many MBA programs. It’s here that MBA students put all that they’ve learned into practice by analyzing a meaningful and strategic business question. Often, this involves hands-on work within an existing company, but not always: MBA capstone projects can take the form of startup business plans and business simulations, too.

No matter their format or focus, each capstone project will likely be the most intensive and rewarding feature of an MBA candidate’s journey.

A capstone project is not the same as a thesis project, although they do share some qualities. Thesis projects are focused on theory and research and are based on the situations one would face in academia. Often taking the form of a large research paper, thesis projects can last the entire final year of an academic program, and some students may even begin before that, with the ultimate goal of contributing new knowledge to the canon of business research.

MBA capstone projects, by contrast, are more practical and similar to situations one would face in the business world. Here, students work in teams to answer strategic business questions. MBA capstones are hands-on immersions with real-world consequences, and they can have a major impact on an MBA graduate’s program experience and career.

Read on to see some examples of MBA capstone projects and get a walkthrough of the general process.

Stages of an MBA Capstone Project

Most MBA capstone projects occur during a program’s final year and can last anywhere from four weeks to a full semester. They often include some form of instruction (whether through prerequisite courses or scheduled advising) and practical application.

While MBA capstone programs will vary in format from program to program, they generally include the following stages:

• Topic Selection
• Preliminary Research
• Project Execution
• Written Report
• Final Presentation

It’s not necessarily over after the final presentation, either: some capstone projects carry over beyond the MBA program, leading to successful startup businesses, offers of employment, or investment opportunities.

Choosing a Capstone Topic

Many MBA programs provide some structured options for choosing a capstone topic. This can mean students are allowed to select from a list of possible partnership opportunities; it can also mean that faculty advisors will work with students to find a topic that meets the student’s strengths, weaknesses, and goals. But in other programs, MBA students are more free to choose their topic and their partner organization.

In their capstone project, MBA students should select a topic where they can answer a meaningful and strategic business question: one that’s complex enough to warrant significant time and energy, but also realistic enough to be achievable. These are not theoretical questions; each is tailored to a specific real-world business.

Some examples of MBA capstone topics include:

• What are the short-term outcomes of a mutual fund’s impact-investing initiative?
• How do multinational companies’ diversity and inclusion efforts adapt to non-Western office environments?
• What is the market feasibility of a startup’s application in target demographics?
• How can a recently downsized organization recover employee morale while balancing the budget?

The capstone topic must be specifically relevant to the partner company or organization. To this end, MBA students should heavily research the company’s strengths, weaknesses, and objectives before selecting their topic.

Similarly, MBA students should also turn that lens on themselves: what problems do they want to explore in their business careers, what causes do they find interesting, and how can their unique skill set be best put to use?

How an MBA Capstone is Graded

Some programs provide MBA candidates with a rubric for how their capstone will be graded, while others do not. Most capstones are graded through their ability to demonstrate key business skills (theoretical, practical, applied, and reflective) across functional areas (finance, human resources, marketing, and operations).

The final presentation is also a factor, as this is where the candidate demonstrates what they learned, or didn’t, through the course of the capstone.

An MBA candidate will rarely fail their capstone project. After all, they’ve made it through practically an entire MBA program up until then. Even if the project is a failure from a business point of view, an MBA candidate will likely still be able to effectively analyze where and why the project failed, and what lessons can be learned from that failure going forward.

Examples of MBA Capstone Projects

Ucla anderson school of management capstone project.

The MBA program at UCLA Anderson School of Management offers three capstone options: the Global Access Program (GAP), the Business Creation Project (BCP), and Anderson Student Asset Management (ASAM).

In the GAP, students partner with high-growth global companies in a market-entry consulting project. Working in five- to six-person teams, students bid on partnership opportunities, perform five to six months of research, then travel internationally to the partner organization. Combining interviews, meetings, and research, the students develop effective strategic business plans to advance the organization’s growth and present it to the organization’s executives, potential investors, and industry professionals.

Along the way, students are advised by faculty members who have directed, invested in, and provided consulting services to leading companies worldwide. In the last 20 years, over 3,000 students have completed the GAP, impacting 738 companies across 23 countries.

For students with an entrepreneurship focus, the BCP offers them the chance to launch a company. Students will work in teams across two academic quarters after taking two prerequisite courses to prepare their business plans. Through extensive research, development, and implementation, students will put strategies for every aspect of their business into practice. In three years, the BCO has had 47 teams and launched 24 companies.

The ASAM program is for current and aspiring quants who want experience as successful long-term portfolio managers. Guided by a faculty advisor and oversight committee, students in the ASAM program will select an optimal mix of equity, fixed income, and cash investments. Each four-member team manages approximately $200,000. Students will rotate work roles between that of an executive board member, strategy lead, risk manager, and programmer.

Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business Capstone Project

The MBA program at Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business offers students two different forms of capstone program: Strategic Management of the Enterprise and Management Game.

The Strategic Management of the Enterprise capstone is an experiential learning course where students are matched with one of several consulting projects to solve business problems partner companies face. This is a more traditional capstone program, focused on the practical application of business skills learned through the MBA curriculum. Past clients have included Walmart, P&G, and Ameriprise.

Tepper’s Management Game capstone is an applied management experience. Student teams run a computer-simulated multinational manufacturing company for three years, acting as its executive committee. Taking place at the end of the MBA program’s curriculum, the Management Game capstone focuses on the unstructured nature of business problems and prods students to use all the functional skills they’ve learned so far. External-facing exercises include interaction with industry partners and are related to each student’s career choices.

Uniquely, the Management Game capstone is graded by external professionals on the merit of the results students deliver; students can receive direct feedback from corporate partners throughout the process.

University of Dallas Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business Capstone Consulting Experience

The capstone consulting experience in the MBA program at the University of Dallas allows students to solve a strategic problem an organization faces. Since it was launched in 1973 as one of the first student consulting and research programs in the U.S., this capstone consulting experience has prepared graduates to consult with business leaders. MBA students in this capstone consulting experience have completed over 900 projects for over 500 companies including Fortune 1000 firms, entrepreneurial ventures, and nonprofit organizations.

Under the guidance of faculty members, students participate on a team assigned to work with a real organization on a 12-week comprehensive project. Every team will work together to provide actionable recommendations, including a proposal, industry/market research, a presentation, and recommendations in the form of a report.

Matt Zbrog is a writer and researcher from Southern California. Since 2018, he’s written extensively about how new and aspiring business school students can best plan their education and careers. In the Two Views series, he conducts detailed interviews with recent business school alumni, with a particular focus on the choice between in-person, online, and hybrid learning models. His Femme-BA series highlights business schools that not only excel academically but also take unique and robust steps to support a diverse and inclusive learning environment for women.

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What Is A Capstone Course? Everything You Need To Know

Expert Reviewed

Updated: Apr 5, 2024, 12:19pm

College comes with so many requirements, it can be hard to keep track. For instance, if you’re applying to school or are currently in a degree program, you’ve probably heard the term “capstone course.”

Capstone courses are important and often required to complete a degree, especially at the graduate and postgraduate levels. But what is a capstone course? Read on to learn what it’s all about.

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What Is the Difference Between a Capstone Course and a Capstone Project?

A capstone course allows college students to demonstrate expertise in their major or area of study. This course is typically required for graduation. Details can vary depending on the major, program and school. Capstone courses typically last at least a semester and sometimes include internships or volunteering.

A capstone course typically involves a project such as a final paper, a portfolio, a performance, an investigation, a film or a multimedia presentation. Some programs use the term “capstone project” instead of capstone course.

Details regarding your capstone project depend on your major. Journalism majors might complete long-term investigation projects, for example, and architecture students may design a building or bridge.

Is a Capstone Course Required?

Not all colleges require capstone courses, and some might only require capstone courses for certain majors or programs. For instance, The University of California, Los Angeles offers 73 undergraduate majors that include a capstone course or project for most students.

Benefits of a Capstone Course

Here’s how a capstone course can enhance your higher learning experience.

Increases Confidence

Taking on a big, longer-term academic or professional project can be very challenging. So when you complete a capstone project, it can provide a confidence boost by demonstrating to yourself and your peers, professors and future employers what you’re capable of accomplishing in your field of study.

Develops Skills

Since capstone projects are hands-on, they allow you to hone existing skills in your field and develop some new ones. Some capstone projects require you to work in a group, which adds another layer of collaborative soft skills for you to fall back on in your professional and personal life.

Prepares You for Graduation

Learning by doing, as they say, is the best way to find out if something is right for you. Since a capstone project involves using skills from your field to create a product that mimics the professional version of what you’d like to do after school, this prepares you for the workforce in a practical way.

On the other hand, a capstone course can also be a good way to decide that a career isn’t the right fit for you. If you don’t enjoy the process of the capstone project, you might not like the corresponding career after graduation, either.

Builds Your Résumé

Since most capstone courses culminate with a project, you can expect your capstone to give you an example of your work to show to potential employers when you start job hunting. Some capstone courses even distribute awards to the creators of the best capstone projects, which could translate to another accolade to add to your résumé.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Capstone Courses

What does a capstone course consist of.

A capstone course can include lectures and feedback from a professor, plus time to work on a final paper, project, film or performance. A capstone project may be independent or a group project.

Why is it called a capstone course?

The term comes from the final “capstone” used to finish a monument or building. The word has been commonly used in U.S. higher education since post-World War II. As in architecture, a capstone in education can be thought of as the crown jewel of your educational accomplishments.

Can you fail a capstone course?

Yes, you can fail a capstone course. However, failing a capstone course at some universities could disqualify you from graduating from that particular major or program. At other schools, you may not be allowed to submit your capstone project until your department chair or advisor is confident you can achieve a passing grade.

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MBA Capstone Project Ideas | Example & Outline

Bob cardens.

• September 2, 2022
• Essay Topics and Ideas

MBA Capstone Project Ideas and Topics To Write About

Completing an MBA is no small feat. In addition to completing coursework, students must also complete a capstone project in order to graduate. The capstone project is designed to showcase the student’s knowledge and skills learned throughout their MBA program.

If you’re looking for ideas and topics for your MBA capstone project , look no further! This article will provide you with some great ideas that you can use for your project.

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List of Fifty MBA Capstone Project Ideas (MBA Capstone Project Ideas and Topics To Write About)

• Develop a new product or service for your company.
• Create a marketing plan for your company’s product or service.
• Conduct a customer satisfaction survey and analyze the results.
• Develop a social media strategy for your company.
• Write a business plan for a new venture.
• Develop a financial plan for your company.
• Write a human resources policy manual for your company.
• Research and write a report on a current business topic of interest to your company.
• Develop an advertising campaign for your company’s product or service.
• Write a public relations plan for your company.
• Design a new company logo or update an existing one.
• Create a company website or update an existing one.
• Develop a direct marketing campaign for your company’s product or service.
• Write a market research report on a current business topic of interest to your company.
• Plan and execute a special event for your company (e.g., a grand opening, trade show booth, etc.).
• Develop a sales training program for your company’s sales force.
• Write an operations manual for your company.
• Develop a quality control plan for your company’s products or services.
• Create a customer service training program for your company’s customer service representatives.
• Research and write a report on a current industry trend of interest to your company.
• Develop a business continuity plan for your company.
• Develop an environmental health and safety plan for your company.
• Create a corporate giving program for your company.
• Plan and execute a fund-raising event for your favorite charity.
• Develop a social media strategy for promoting your company’s product or service.
• Write a marketing plan for launching a new product or service.
• Conduct customer focus groups to gather feedback on a new product or service concept.
• Write a report on your findings from customer focus groups testing a new product or service concept.
• Develop a promotional campaign for a new product or service launch.
• Plan and execute a trade show booth display to promote your company’s products or services.
• Develop an advertising campaign for a new product or service launch.
• Write a public relations plan for promoting a new product or service launch.
• Create point-of-purchase displays to promote your company’s products in retail stores.
• write an article about your company’sproducts or services for a trade publication.
• Develop a direct mail campaign to promote your company’s products or services.
• Plan and execute a grand opening event for a new retail store location.
• Develop a social media strategy for promoting your company’s grand opening event.
• Write a press release about your company’s grand opening event.
• Create a TV commercial to promote your company’s products or services.
• Produce a radio commercial to promote your company’s products or services.
• Plan and execute a media relations campaign to promote your company in the news.
• Develop an online marketing strategy to promote your company’s products or services online.
• Create banner ads and other online advertising to promote your company’s product or service online.
• Optimize your company’s website for search engine visibility to attract new customers online.
• Write and distribute press releases about your company’s product or service launches, events, etc., online and offline.
• Develop a blog and post regular entries about your company, its products, services, industry, etc.
• Create and maintain active social media accounts for your company (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).
• Plan and execute a direct marketing campaign to promote your company’s products or services.

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What You'll Learn

MBA Capstone Project Topics

Choosing a capstone project for your MBA can be a daunting task. But never fear! We have compiled a list of fifty potential topics and ideas to help get you started.

• Developing a marketing plan for a small business
• Creating a business model for a new startup
• Conducting a feasibility study for a proposed new product or service
• Analyzing the competitive landscape for a particular industry
• Evaluating the financial performance of a publicly-traded company
• assessing the impact of political, economic, or social factors on business operations
• Developing an international expansion strategy for a multinational corporation
• Investigating the root cause of customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction
• designing and implementing a lean manufacturing process
• Streamlining the supply chain for a manufacturing company
• Implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in a manufacturing company
• Creating a human resources plan for a small business
• evaluating the effectiveness of training and development programs in an organization
• designing and conducting employee engagement survey
• Writing a research paper on any business-related topic of your choice
• Develop a new business process for your company.
• Implement a new software system for your company.
• Write a business continuity plan for your company.
• Develop a crisis management plan for your company.
• Create an employee handbook for your company.
• Develop an onboarding program for new employees at your company.
• Write a job description for a new position at your company.
• Conduct a salary survey and write a report on the results.
• Develop a benefits package for employees at your company.
• Write an Employee Code of Conduct for your company.
• Develop a performance management system for your company.
• Write a report on best practices for recruiting and hiring employees.
• Develop a retention strategy for your company.
• Conduct an exit interview with departing employees and write a report on the results.
• Write a paper on the legal aspects of human resources management.
• Develop a plan for managing workplace conflict at your company.
• Write a report on effective communication in the workplace.
• Develop a plan for managing change in the workplace.
• Write a report on employee motivation and morale in the workplace.
• Develop a wellness program for employees at your company.
• Write a report on employee stress and its impact on the workplace.
• Develop a plan for managing work-life balance in the workplace.
• Write a report on the impact of technology on the workplace.
• Develop a social media policy for your company.
• Write a report on effective teambuilding in the workplace.
• Develop a plan for managing remote employees.
• Write a report on cross-cultural communication in the workplace.
• Develop a plan for managing diversity in the workplace.
• Write a report on ethics and compliance in the workplace.
• Choose any other topic related to business management and write a research paper on it.

Current MBA Capstone Project Ideas

MBA students are often required to complete a capstone project as part of their degree program. A capstone project is typically an intensive research project that addresses a real-world problem or challenge faced by businesses or organizations. Students may work on their projects individually or in teams, and they may have the opportunity to present their findings to faculty, peers, and/or industry experts.

The following is a list of thirty ideas for MBA capstone projects:

• Develop a marketing plan for a new product or service launch
• Conduct a customer satisfaction survey and analyze the results
• Develop a social media strategy for a business or organization
• Create a financial plan for a small business
• Analyze the impact of a change in the tax code on businesses
• Study the feasibility of starting a new business in a specific industry
• Research and write a white paper on a hot topic in business or management
• Developa human resources plan fora small business
• Evaluate the effectiveness of a sales training program
• Designa customer loyalty programfora retail company
• Evaluate the risks and rewards of expanding into international markets
• Compare and contrast two differentbusiness models
• Develop a business plan for a new venture
• Write a case study on a successful or unsuccessful business
• Research and write a report on a current trend in business
• Developa social media policyfora company
• Analyze the financial statements of a publicly traded company
• Develop a marketing campaign fora new product or service
• Evaluate the effectiveness of an advertising campaign
• Conduct market research fora new product or service
• Create a brand identity fora new business
• Designa customer retention programfora business
• Develop a sales strategy fora new product or service
• Write a business plan fora new small business
• Evaluate the risks and rewards of starting a franchise
• Research and write a report on sustainable business practices
• Develop an employee handbook fora small business
• Write a case study on an ethical dilemma faced by a business
• Research and write a report on the impact of technology on businesses
• Develop a business continuity plan fora small business

Find out more on  How to write DNP capstone project Methodology Chapter ,  How to write a DNP Capstone Project Literature Review ,  How to write a DNP capstone project chapter 1 – Introduction , and  DNP Capstone project Abstract Examples [Outline & How-to]  (how to write your nursing dissertation pdf)

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How Your MBA Capstone Can Help Land Your Dream Job

• June 3, 2021

In this article, Dean of Admissions/ Military Education Coordinator Amanda Heller speaks with the Dean of Business Dr. Susan Marcus to get all the details about what an MBA Capstone is and why it’s important.

You’ll see what I mean by our BUS 598 Applied Capstone course description : In the capstone course, students identify, examine, and apply the practical connections between the MBA program, their personal and professional lives, organizations, their communities, and the triple bottom line perspective that includes financial, environmental, and social impacts. Using skills and competencies that demonstrate mastery of the MBA program learning outcomes, students identify a project in which to apply their learning. Employing a variety of tools, students demonstrate their ability to synthesize and apply theory to create an implementation plan for improved organizational performance and make a contribution to the literature on sustainable business practices.

This is the outcomes document I was referring to:

BUS 598 Capstone Course Learning Outcomes Matrix

The ACHS MBA program Capstone project is designed to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of course learning outcomes in a context that is relevant to students’ current and future professional goals and interests. As such, you are at liberty to select a project topic and scope, subject to approval by your Capstone course instructor. Once you have selected a project topic, use this matrix in combination with other project proposal assignments to demonstrate how course learning outcomes will be met. Include 1) the aspect or component of your Capstone that will reflect these learning outcomes, and 2) the actual evidence (text, charts and visuals, artifacts within appendices, etc.) within the project itself that demonstrates mastery. 

Amanda: It sounds like your goal for this Capstone experience is for it to be relevant for students, and could even be a project they actually implement. Is that correct?

We actually invite students to begin thinking about their Capstone project from the very first course, Organizational Leadership & Effectiveness . We ask them to reflect on their specific interests, which might include research, structural change to bring about diversity, equity, and inclusion, leadership development, change management related to sustainable practices, or general organizational effectiveness. We ask students in that initial core MBA class to create a portfolio using Google Sites, and begin to think about which of their assignments and projects throughout the program will result in artifacts they will want to refer to in their Capstone, and beyond. This might be the Risk Management Plan they produce in Business Law , a Sustainability Report created in Accounting & Financial Management , a performance dashboard in Business Analytics , or their marketing plan in the Marketing & Communications course. The portfolio becomes an outward-facing resource they can use for professional development purposes.  

The Capstone can be anything from a business plan to a strategic change initiative. It might be a comprehensive Sustainability Plan for an organization, or a Health and Wellness Audit. As long as students have a solid roadmap for demonstrating mastery of the learning outcomes discussed above, we’re good. 

Students receive heavy coaching during the course of their work in the Capstone class, and have reading and discussion assignments in support of their project work. They submit components of the project at certain points in the semester for feedback which can be incorporated into their final version. There is also an opportunity for peer reviews, and students present their projects during the final week of class. There is plenty of celebrating and a few surprise visits that week, too!

If you’re ready to apply to an online MBA program with ACHS, you can start your application here . If you’re interested in starting out with a single business course, start your single course application here .

Still wondering what to expect during the application process? An admissions advisor is happy to speak to you at a time that works for you. Schedule an appointment with an admissions advisor here .

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If you have any questions, please leave us a comment on the blog!

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Navigating Online MBA Capstone Projects: Applications for Professionals

• jaro education
• 13, April 2024

As MBA students near the end of their academic journey, they face a challenging milestone: the capstone project. This marks the culmination of their learning, where they merge theoretical knowledge with real-world business intricacies. Unlike thesis projects that focus on theory, capstone projects dive into practical scenarios, testing students’ strategic thinking and decision-making abilities.

Capstone projects are not just about completing coursework; they provide an immersive experience akin to actual business challenges. Whether analyzing a company’s strategy, creating a startup plan, or simulating business scenarios, students tackle a range of hurdles to offer innovative solutions to real-world problems.

In this blog, you will get a comprehensive understanding of MBA capstone projects, discussing steps, challenges, examples, and their application for professionals.

Understanding MBA Capstone project

An MBA capstone project represents the culminating assignment that students undertake during the final year of their MBA. This project includes various scholarly activities aimed at helping students develop skills in information retrieval, analysis, and effective utilization. Capstone projects can take on diverse formats, such as multimedia presentations, films, performances, or written papers. Often likened to a college thesis, a capstone research project demands a higher level of complexity due to its requirement for critical thinking , in-depth analysis, and proficiency in utilizing different media forms.

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 *ms-biotech.wisc.edu

Applications and Benefits of Capstone Project for Professionals

The primary purpose of capstone projects is to foster students’ critical thinking, problem-solving, oral communication, research, and teamwork skills. Furthermore, these projects increase students’ engagement with their community, making them analyze significant issues, problems, and ideas. Some capstone tasks also involve extracurricular experiences, such as interviews and scientific observations. Some of the significant benefits of a capstone project include:

Preparation for the Working World

• Undertaking a capstone project showcases to employers that you possess more than just basic academic qualifications.
• It demonstrates dedication, impressive skills, work ethic, and practical experience, making you stand out among job applicants.
• Completing a capstone project is a significant achievement that can be highlighted on your resume, emphasizing your communication, research, and project management abilities.

Valuable Practical Experience

• Individuals demonstrate practical experience, which employers highly value.
• A capstone project bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application, proving your competence in both areas.
• The project challenges you to seek reliable information, conduct interviews, and gather field data, significantly enhancing your practical skills.

Development of Highly Valued Skills

• Capstone projects focus on developing specific skills highly sought after by employers.
• They improve critical thinking, decision-making, oral communication, and problem-solving skills through complex and challenging tasks.
• Each project contributes to skill refinement, preparing you for success in your career or further studies.

Overall Student Development

• Capstone projects symbolize the culmination of academic growth, preparing students for the workforce.
• These projects enhance various skills such as public speaking, teamwork, planning, and research, fostering holistic development.
• Students gain practical experience, explore diverse ideas, and utilize a range of learning methods, contributing to their overall growth and readiness for professional life.

MBA capstone projects can be easier if you have a team of like-minded professionals. The Online MBA Programme by Manipal University Jaipur fulfils this need. It equips you with the tools to enhance your industry expertise and connect with peers who share your ambition to lead in the future.

Guide to Perform MBA Capstone Project

Step-by-Step Guide for Capstone Project Success:

Choose Your Topic: Begin by selecting a topic area that interests you. Refer to the “Selecting and Focusing Your Research Topic” section for tips on narrowing down your focus and formulating a clear thesis statement or research question.

Conduct a Literature Review: Explore existing literature related to your topic. The “Literature Review” section provides valuable resources for planning your search and organizing the information you find. Use the “Start Searching” section for effective article database strategies.

Perform Primary Research (if required): Access resources in the “Doing Primary Research” section if your project requires primary research. Here, you’ll find guidance on creating surveys, locating tests, designing studies, and more.

Present Your Findings: Use the “Writing & Citing” resources to craft your paper, cite sources accurately, and avoid plagiarism. Additionally, the “Presentation Skills” section offers tips on creating compelling visual aids and delivering a professional presentation that effectively showcases your results.

Choosing the Right Topic for the Capstone project

Numerous MBA programs offer structured options for choosing a capstone topic. This may entail students selecting from a list of potential partnership opportunities or collaborating with faculty advisors to identify a topic aligning with their strengths, weaknesses, and objectives. Alternatively, some MBA programs grant students more autonomy in choosing both their topic and partner organization.

In their capstone project, MBA students are advised to choose a topic that addresses a meaningful and strategic business question—one that is sufficiently complex to necessitate substantial effort yet feasible to accomplish. These questions are not hypothetical; they are tailored to real-world business scenarios.

Examples of MBA capstone topics include:

Developing a Market Entry Strategy for a Tech Startup

Evaluate the viability of expanding into a new market for a technology startup. Consider aspects such as the target demographic, competitive landscape, and regulatory framework.

Conducting a Financial Performance Assessment for a Retail Chain

Examine a retail chain’s financial stability through an analysis of key financial metrics, profitability indicators, and liquidity ratios. Offer actionable recommendations to enhance performance.

Creating Employee Engagement Programs for a Multinational Corporation

Devise and execute initiatives to boost employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention within a multinational enterprise. Focus on enhancing job satisfaction and fostering a positive work environment.

Implementing Supply Chain Optimization for a Manufacturing Firm

Streamline inventory control, logistics, and production processes to minimize expenses and enhance operational efficiency for a manufacturing company.

The chosen capstone topic should directly relate to the partner company or organization. Therefore, MBA students are encouraged to conduct thorough research on the company’s strengths, weaknesses, and objectives before finalizing their topic.

Moreover, MBA students should introspectively consider the problems they wish to explore in their business careers, the causes that pique their interest, and how they can leverage their unique skill set effectively. This self-reflection ensures that the chosen capstone project aligns with their personal and professional aspirations.

Challenges in MBA Capstone Project

Online MBA capstone projects represent the culmination of an MBA program , blending academic knowledge with real-world business application; however, it is not challenge-free.  Here are some common challenges encountered during these projects:

Virtual Collaboration and Communication

Distance barrier .

Online capstone teams often comprise members from different locations, posing challenges for synchronous collaboration.

Communication Tools Selection 

Choosing suitable communication tools and ensuring consistent interaction can prove challenging.

Project Scope and Focus

Topic selection .

Students need to narrow down relevant and manageable topics within the given timeframe.

Balancing Depth and Breadth 

Striking a balance between in-depth analysis and broad coverage can be tricky.

Time Management

Self-discipline .

Online learners must exhibit strong self-discipline to allocate time for research, analysis, and writing.

Scheduling Challenges

Coordinating team members’ schedules for meetings and collaborative work can be daunting.

Real-World Application

Theory integration.

Transforming theoretical knowledge into practical solutions for real companies can be a complex process.

Adapting to Business Context

Understanding and addressing the unique challenges faced by specific organizations requires adaptability.

Data Collection and Analysis

Data accessibility.

Online students may encounter limitations in accessing primary data or company-specific information.

Analytical Proficiency

Mastering data analysis tools and techniques is crucial for effective project execution.

Faculty Guidance and Feedback

Remote interaction.

Establishing a rapport with faculty members virtually differs from face-to-face interactions.

Timely Feedback

Waiting for feedback on drafts and revisions can affect project timelines and progress.

Balancing Academics and Work Commitments

Professional responsibilities.

Many online MBA students juggle full-time work commitments alongside capstone project demands.

Prioritization Skills

Effectively managing coursework, job duties, and capstone work necessitates efficient time management.

Technology Challenges

Software adaptation.

Students must adapt to various online platforms for research, collaboration, and document sharing.

Technical Issues

Connectivity disruptions or software glitches can hinder teamwork and project continuity.

Domains to choose for MBA capstone project

When considering a project for your MBA program, it’s essential to explore various topical domains that align with your interests and career goals. Here are some popular domains you can delve into for your project:

Marketing Management

Marketing management involves overseeing marketing functions to drive business growth . This domain covers areas such as marketing strategy formulation, digital and print marketing, brand management, consumer behavior, and marketing analysis.

Finance Management

Financial management focuses on optimizing finances in a business to maximize financial output and assets. It includes aspects like banking, investments, stock brokerage, insurance, and financial services.

Human Resource Management

Human resource management deals with managing processes related to human resources in an organization, including recruitment, training, performance appraisal, and grievance redressal.

Operations Management

Operations management aims to enhance organizational processes and performance. Areas of focus include operations strategy, quality management, supply chain management , inventory management, and service operations.

Project Management

Project management involves planning, executing, and evaluating projects to achieve specific goals. It covers project strategy, task allocation, supervision, and quality assurance.

Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship

This domain focuses on strategy formulation for organizations and entrepreneurship success. It includes studying effective entrepreneurship and strategizing for business growth.

Holistic Project Approach

Another approach is to explore management holistically by considering multiple perspectives. This approach is beneficial for conducting comprehensive case studies or understanding management across domains for a particular organization.

Ideas for MBA Capstone Projects

Comparative analysis of investment options in india.

A compelling project in the realm of financial management and investments involves delving into the popularity of various investment options within India. This exploration can offer insights into evolving trends regarding these options. Investment avenues in India encompass diverse choices such as gold purchases, stock investments, mutual funds, cryptocurrencies, and more, all pivotal in the Indian investment landscape.

Some of these options have garnered significant attention in recent times, while others remain traditionally popular. Your project could include a comprehensive analysis that examines year-wise trends in popularity and regional variations in popularity, as well as conducting surveys to understand the perceived advantages and disadvantages of each option.

Advancements in Total Quality Management in the Private Sector

Within the domain of operations management, Total Quality Management (TQM) stands as a pivotal approach to quality assurance within organizations. TQM involves gathering data from various sources, levels, modes, and stages across the production chain to ensure quality. Despite its recognition as an effective quality management method, its full integration into organizational ecosystems, particularly in the private sector, remains incomplete in many cases. Thus, a project exploring TQM adoption in private-sector organizations can shed light on how this approach is evolving. Moreover, with the advent of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), there are new and innovative developments shaping the TQM landscape, making it an intriguing area of exploration for students.

Case Studies of Influential Female Leaders and CEOs in India

One significant area frequently explored in management studies, particularly within domains such as Human Resource Management (HRM) and entrepreneurship, is leadership. Delving into the experiences of female leaders can present an intriguing project opportunity. Through a case study, students can delve into various dimensions such as leadership and management styles, contextual factors influencing leadership effectiveness, the impact of leadership on company success, subordinates’ satisfaction with the leader, decision-making strategies employed by female leaders, and the challenges faced in leadership roles as a woman. This type of case study can serve as a valuable addition to a student’s resume and portfolio, addressing a socially relevant topic within the realm of management.

The capstone project stands out as an innovative alternative to the traditional MBA mini-dissertation, offering a unique skill-building opportunity that directly prepares you for the challenges of the evolving work landscape. Through this activity, you not only enhance your resourcefulness but also sharpen your critical thinking abilities and nurture crucial leadership skills .

Moreover, the capstone project plays a pivotal role in providing clarity regarding your career trajectory. It serves as a roadmap, guiding you toward your desired professional destination and helping you make informed decisions about your future endeavors.

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Conquer the MBA Capstone with these 5 Tips

23 January 2019

The MBA Capstone is the final and crucial project undertaken during The Edinburgh MBA, the outcome of which dictates the award that students will get on their degree. It brings together all the knowledge and experience gained during the year and is considered to be one of the most invaluable experiences of the MBA.

Objectives of the Capstone

The overall objective of the MBA Capstone is to give students the chance to contribute knowledge through their project. This can be done through an in-depth study of topics in which they are particularly interested, and of which they would like to develop their experience, in order to add value to their career.

In addition to attaining a specialisation (Strategy, Entrepreneurship or Finance), MBA Candidates can choose the format they want to adopt for their capstones. The Capstone can be a classical research dissertation, a company-sponsored consultancy project, a business plan for a business they aspire to start after the MBA, or an early stage feasibility study for a company or entrepreneurial startup.

My approach to the capstone was linked to my professional aspirations. After the completion of my MBA I want to take on a strategy or management consultant role, and I planned to use the Capstone to pave the way.

My first step was to choose a specialisation. I opted for the strategy specialisation during the MBA, which aimed to introduce us to various topics, discussions and thought leadership resources to enhance our knowledge and skills.

The strategy specialisation exposes students to real-life issues and provides the opportunity to work on various local and international projects. My second step was to get involved with as many projects as possible. For example, during semester 2a, Simon Harris took us to Colombia to work with a local transportation company as part of the International Business in Context course. In Dr Susan Murphy’s Consultancy Project we worked with a major international consultancy firm to analyse the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the banking sector. And we even worked with an international bank to identify how they could overcome digital disruption impacted by recent legislation passed by the British Parliament, in Julian Rawel’s Strategic Leadership course.

Finally, my third step was to find a client who needed a strategy for their business. Therefore, my Capstone project, combined with the knowledge, experience and skills I gained during the Edinburgh MBA, helped me to conceive a strategy an Edinburgh-based startup could implement to expand their business into other cities across the UK, to achieve profitable and sustainable growth.

Tips for Capstone

Create a rapport with your adviser.

A Capstone Adviser's role is to advise you from proposal through to completion. They will help you to formalise your goals and shape the direction the Capstone is taking. Your adviser will go through and advise on at least one chapter, and will be the driving force on how to conduct your qualitative or quantitative research. My Capstone Adviser was Dr Susan Murphy . I chose her due to her extensive knowledge in strategy, and my experience with her during the core and elective strategy courses.

What Excites You?

Anyone working on their Capstone should ask themselves this question from the get-go. If you get up in the morning and are not looking forward to your day ahead, then maybe you need to reconsider your topic, or at least make it more interesting for yourself. Always speak to your adviser and see what they have to say about the relevance of the topic and where it is headed. Consider a topic that will make an impact, help you in your future career, and grow your skills.

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Joining a top-tier MBA programme at a top business school is an investment that goes a long way. It also indicates to your network that you are willing to take on challenges and step out of your comfort zone. My move from Deloitte Middle East in Dubai to Edinburgh is something of which I am very proud.

At Deloitte, I was already comfortable dealing with clients, their last minute changes to deadlines, and the other challenges that came with the role. But I was not comfortable with the theoretical aspect of the Capstone—extensive qualitative analysis, running online questionnaires for the quantitative research, and examining the comprehensive data collected from nearly 300 people across the country. But the MBA had geared me up to overcome these challenges and allowed me to step out of my comfort zone, roll up my sleeves and do my best. In the end, I was proud of the final product, the feedback, and the impact it has had on my clients business—they have already started their expansion.

Have a Break

It goes without saying that how you manage your time is crucial. Things can get complicated and stressful at any time. Keeping your mental health in check is essential. You can do this by rewarding yourself with a well-deserved break, unwinding in the evening with friends, go to some Fringe shows , or even starting your day by going to the gym (my go-to stress relief). This will help realign your thoughts, generate better ideas, and help you write well.

And please, save your work on the University OneDrive!

Pay it Forward

Last but not least, pay it forward. Your positive and motivational actions will help your friends and colleagues to do their best. It sounds like a cliché, but it isn’t. The idea is simple: if someone helped you by sharing or participating in your survey, editing a section you were struggling with, or even arranging your page numbering, then you can pay it forward by helping others. Not only will this will create a positive environment during the Capstone period and promote positive mental health, but it will also solidify your relationships. Don’t forget to mention them in your acknowledgements!

So there you have it, my top five tips for the unavoidable Capstone period. Good luck!

Saad Fayyaz, MBA 2018

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Everything You Need to Know About the MBA Practicum and Capstone

Graduating with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and entering a management position allows you to command high wages, even fresh out of school. But your starting salary depends on many factors, including how prepared you are to enter the business world. SNU is committed to preparing learners for lucrative and rewarding careers. We believe in graduating students who become exceptional business leaders poised to serve their communities. Our MBA practicum is a key component of this goal. Sometimes called an MBA capstone project, this experiential learning project is fully integrated into your coursework, allowing you to master business management skills as you complete your classes.

When you complete your MBA at SNU , you will be ready to compete for high wages and demanding roles from day one.

What Is a Practicum?

Theory is one thing. Putting it to practice is another. The working world is sometimes messier and less predictable than classroom theories would lead you to believe. That’s why future business leaders must cultivate the skills they need in business well before taking the helm.

A practicum offers fieldwork that allows students to practice the duties they will one day perform in their jobs. An MBA can prepare you for a wide range of careers, from entrepreneurship to a spot in the C-suite. Your practicum is a chance to test out one of these roles and cultivate strategies for managing day-to-day challenges.

The Benefits of an MBA Capstone Project

Today’s businesses face a wide range of challenges and opportunities for growth. Although an MBA can prepare you with business theories and strategies for effective management, no program can equip you with the ability to solve every conceivable business challenge.

This is where an MBA practicum comes in. This is your chance to put theory to practice in a simulated business environment, test out the skills you have learned and master flexible thinking. With this project, you can:

• Put theory into practice. This helps you understand the real-world implications of the ideas you’ve learned about in school.
• Build self-confidence. There is no substitute for actually managing a business. A capstone project gives you the chance to do precisely that, but without any of the risks.
• Test your ideas. SNU’s MBA capstone project uses a simulation to assess how well your theories will work in the real world.
• Graduate ready to work. Your capstone project helps you master the skills you will need for the rest of your career, preparing you to work from day one.

How SNU’s MBA Practicum Prepares You for a Career

At SNU, we understand how valuable a capstone project can be. We also know that students — especially adult learners — are juggling many responsibilities. Adding a capstone on top of it can feel overwhelming. That’s why we integrate the capstone project into the program, making it a part of your coursework so you can build your project as you accumulate knowledge. This paced approach mimics the realities of business life, where projects build slowly and steadily and may face setbacks. Employers understand the value of the SNU MBA capstone. They know we challenge students and graduate experts who are ready to work.

Components of SNU’s Capstone Project

SNU’s capstone project has two components: the project itself and the class. The capstone class is three credit hours and the culmination of the program. Your capstone project — like many businesses — begins with a business plan that you will revise and adapt as you move through the project. The business plan is integrated into your classes, so as you learn more information, you can incorporate it into your plan.

During the class, you will complete two full simulations to test the results of your project ideas. You will also complete an individual simulation and a team simulation. In business, both your individual efforts and the team you work with can greatly influence results.

We use Comp-XM (a Capsim product) to simulate the individual project, testing analytical skills and business ideas to see how they might work in the real world. Comp-XM is nationally normed, enabling students to compare their results to students nationwide. We use Capsim , a Capstone simulation program, to simulate team results. This simulation assessment tool draws on real-world data to assess performance and provide meaningful feedback.

Students will also complete a business plan debrief, which allows them to compare their results to their initial goals. With this process, they can assess how realistic their ideas were, how effective they were in practice and how they could improve their business plan. This gives students the benefit of simulated successes and failures without the real-world risk, preparing them for the realities of running a business. By integrating the capstone project into our SNU MBA curriculum, we afford students the chance to gain valuable business experience without eating into busy schedules or taking on the risk of starting a business. We nurture business acumen and help students weigh how realistic and effective their ideas are in the real world. Graduates tell us the MBA practicum capstone was highly effective at modeling the challenges they experience in their post-MBA careers.

Choosing the Right MBA Program

The MBA program you choose is a predictor of your success. Good schools lead to good jobs. Additionally, your school experience can affect how well you do and whether you finish, especially if you’re an adult learner juggling multiple responsibilities.

Some things to look for in your program include:

• Flexible scheduling options, including online and night classes, so you can fit school into your routine — not the other way around.
• Supportive financial aid so that school doesn’t break your budget.
• Rigorous courses taught by quality instructors.
• No Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) or Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) requirements for admission.
• The right accreditation, so you know your transfer credits will go with you if you move to a different school.
• A commitment to nurturing the whole person and embracing diversity, equity and inclusion.

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Dr. Forman is the founder and director of the Management Communication Program at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. In this capacity, she teaches communication strategy and practices in the full-time and executive MBA programs and trains a staff who teach communications across the curriculum. She has taught corporate communication for the last decade as a faculty advisor for more than a hundred MBA "Living Cases," which are extended international strategic studies for multi-national companies, such as Microsoft, Hughes, Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Disney, and for start-up firms in Austria, Australia, Chile, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, New Zealand, and the United States. The Fully-Employed MBA Program and the Global Access Program (GAP) in which she teaches business planning and investor communications were ranked first in the United States by Business Week in 2008. She was a founding faculty member of the GAP program.

She was named the outstanding researcher in 1995 by the Association for Business Communication. The award is based on her entire publication record and its pivotal role in extending research in her discipline and in educating managers. She is the recipient of numerous awards for research, including fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the Center for International Business Education and Research, the Council of Public Relations Firms, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Her book, The Power of Corporate Communication, written with Professor Paul Argenti of the Tuck School, won the Distinguished Publication Award for 2003 from the Association for Business Communication. Dr. Forman has published three other books, including The Random House Guide to Business Writing, and numerous articles in publications such as The Journal of Business Communication, Technical Communication Quarterly, The Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Corporate Reputation Review, and Strategy & Business. She is a frequent presenter at international research and business forums and in on the editorial board of Business Communication Quarterly.

Dr. Forman is under contract with Stanford University Press for a book on storytelling and organizations, a project partially funded by the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. Her current research focuses on storytelling ("When Stories Create an Organization's Future," Strategy & Business ; "Leaders as Storytellers: Finding Waldo," Business Communication Quarterly) as well as on the related subjects of the role of communication in the implementation of organizational strategy ("The Communication Advantage" in Hatch et al., The Expressive Organization, Oxford University Press, and featured as one of the outstanding articles in management in The Financial Times Book of Management) and the role of storytelling and translation in producing effective strategic communications ("More than Survival: The Discipline of Business Communication and the Uses of Translation," The Journal of Business Communication).

She is the faculty director for the Executive Education Program on Advanced Strategic Management for European-based corporate communication professionals and has consulted to a wide variety of organizations, including Cap Gemini/Ernst & Young, Invesco, Knapp Communications, Colony Capital, the MTA, and BBDO. She has been a visiting professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of California at San Diego's Rady School of Business, and the University of Lugano.

Ph.D. 1980, Rutgers College

Communications

Published Papers

Janis Forman. (Second Quarter 1999). When Stories Create an Organization's Future. Strategy & Business, Issue 15.

Janis Forman and Patricia Katsky. (Fall 1986). The Group Report: A Problem in Small Group or Writing Processes. The Journal of Business Communication

Jonathan G. Lasch, Ph.D., is the Executive Director for the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California (AMI-USC), where he brings more than 25 years of experience in science and technology development and evaluation in the fields of biomedical instruments and systems, biotechnology, chemistry, and materials science. He is a Research Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Viterbi School of Engineering and holds a courtesy appointment as a Professor of Clinical Entrepreneurship in the Greif Center of the Marshall School of Business at USC.

Prior to joining AMI-USC he served as a Managing Director of Convergent Ventures (CV), an early stage life sciences venture investment and development company. He has served as chairman or member of the boards of directors and CEO of several CV portfolio companies. From 2002-2007, he was on the board of directors of Precision Dynamics Corporation, a privately held healthcare products company, and he currently serves on the board of directors of the Southern California Biomedical Council. Dr. Lasch has held leadership positions at Materia, a materials science company spun out of Caltech, where he served as founding President and CEO, and Cyrano Sciences, a Caltech spin- out based on chemical sensor technology. Previously, he served as vice president, technology development for The Scripps Research Institute, the largest not-for-profit biomedical research institute in the United States and was director of research, biotechnology, for PPG Industries.

He is entering his sixth year as a UCLA Anderson FEMBA GAP faculty advisor, and he served two years as the Director of the EMBA Field Study Program.

B.S. Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin

Phone: (310) 825-3564 / Fax: (310) 267-2193

Since 1995, Eric has been a lecturer in accounting and real estate at the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, where he has been voted Teacher of the Year thirteen times by Anderson's MBA students, and has been awarded the Citibank Teaching Award (1998) and the Neidorf Decade Teaching Award (2008), both voted upon by a committee of faculty members. He has also received recognition by Businessweek as one of the Top Ten Most Popular Business School Professors in the country.

He teaches in the areas of cost/managerial accounting, financial accounting (beginning through advanced), financial statement analysis, equity valuation, corporate financial reporting, and real estate investment and finance to undergraduate, graduate, and Executive Education students. He created Insight FSA, an analytical software tool to automatically and critically measure, evaluate, and report upon the financial accounting and corporate reporting risk for all public companies via Edgar On-line.

In addition, he has advised numerous Full-time and Fully Employed MBA field study teams and consulted for large and small firms, nationally and globally, and is a frequent lecturer on varied financial, accounting, and corporate reporting topics. He has led student travel groups to Brazil, China, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi. He has served as an expert witness and consultant for commercial litigation, involving matters of corporate financial reporting and disclosure, audit effectiveness, valuation, real estate due diligence and related practices, and overall damage analyses.

Outside of campus, Mr. Sussman is president of Amber Capital, Inc., Manager of Fountain Management, LLC and Clear Capital, LLC, and Managing Partner of Sequoia Real Estate Partners, and the Pacific Value Opportunities Funds, which have acquired, rehabilitated, developed, and managed over two million square feet of residential and commercial real estate in the past 20 years. The firms' portfolio presently consists of industrial, multi-family residential, single-family residential, and retail properties (approximately 2,200 residential units and some 500,000 square feet of commercial space).

He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Causeway Capital's group of funds (International Value, Emerging Markets, Global Value, and Global Absolute Return Funds, which collectively have in excess of $5.0 billion in assets), sits on the Board of Directors of Pacific Charter School Development, Inc. and Bentley-Forbes, LLC; and was former Chairman of the Presidio Fund and former Audit Committee Chair of Atlantic Inertial Systems, Inc., a producer and manufacturer of electromagnetic sensors. He received his MBA from Stanford, with honors, in 1993, after graduating Summa cum Laude from UCLA in 1987. He is a licensed CPA in the State of California.

Teaching Focus

Issues in Corporate Financial Reporting, Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation, Complex Deals, Cost Measurement and Evaluation, Real Estate Investment and Finance

MBA 1993, Stanford University B.A. Business and Economics, 1987, UCLA

Auditing, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Detection, Personal Finance, Real Estate, Asset Valuation, Shareholder Litigation, Cost Evaluation and Measurement

Recognition

Neidorf 'Decade' Award

[email protected]

UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1985, Peter Cowen has been a technology serial entrepreneur, angel investor, advisor to startups and an investment banker. Today, he is Managing Director at Sutton Capital Partners a middle market technology advisory firm. The focus is on enterprise and Saas software, digital technology and tech- enabled outsourced services. He is currently on the board of 4 venture-backed companies.

Previously, Mr. Cowen co-founded three companies that were sold to strategic investors—one in computer networks (DataVoice Solutions Inc.), another in biometric security (Biometric ID Inc) and the other in logistic fleet optimization (TransDecisions Inc.). After selling his first company he traveled around the world for a year, primarily in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and has visited over 40 countries.

Mr. Cowen has been an angel investor in over 50 early stage companies and VC funds, primarily in digital technology, including Cognition(sold to Nuance NSDQ: NUAN), StyleHaul (sold to Bertelsmann) , Mind Body, Inc. (NSDQ: MB), Pulse (NSDQ: PLSE) and ESalon. He is a foundingmember of Tech Coast Angels, Los Angeles, part of the largest angel network in the country. Before that, he worked in marketing at Unilever and Hewlett Packard, and then worked with the Israeli Export Institute to help Israeli technology companies into the U.S. Mr. Cowen also served on the board of directors of the UCLA Anderson Alumni for over 10 years, and created the “Recurring Revenue Conference” which is the largest conference in Southern California focused on the subscription economy. He has been a GAP advisor for 9 years.

MBA, Finance, UCLA Anderson School of Management

B.A., Psychology, University of Pennsylvania

[email protected]

Daniel Nathanson has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive, investor, consultant and educator, with accom- plishments in building businesses, creating financial value, and helping fellow entrepreneurs achieve success. He is a professor of Business Plan Development and New Venture Initiation at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, a position he has held since 2008. In addition to teaching, Dr. Nathanson serves as a faculty advisor to student teams conducting capstone field study projects. In 2010, he became Managing Director of SJ Investment Company (SJIC), an investment fund providing capital, oversight, and direction to high potential, early stage companies that have demonstrated “proof of concept.” SJIC also finances proven operating companies to facilitate strategic growth opportunities.

Dr. Nathanson began his executive career as the EVP and Chief Corporate Planner in charge of Mergers and Acquisitions at Ver- nitron Corporation, a publicly traded medical equipment and diversified electronics firm. As the Executive Vice President, he was responsible for the overall direction and financial performance of the company. He founded and served as CEO of CRS, a nation- wide turnkey point-of-sale computer company. Developing this state-of-the-art technology company from its inception, he guided CRS to become the leading company in its field.

After selling CRS in 1993, Dr. Nathanson accepted a position as Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, where he taught entrepreneurship and business strategy. While at NYU, he founded S.M.A.R.T. Management Consulting, specializing in helping small to mid-size entrepreneurs successfully grow their businesses. He also served as Chairman of two groups of CEOs for Vistage, an international organization of CEOs with over 14,000 members.

Shortly after founding the Washington Square Capital Fund (WSCF), a formalized angel group that invests in early-stage compa- nies, Dr. Nathanson left the Stern School to focus on investing activities and to take active leadership roles in a number of early stage ventures, including the CEO at Tickmark Solutions. In less than 18 months under his leadership, revenues of this software company rose from $500,000 to almost $4 million. In 2002, he engineered the successful sale of Tickmark.

Dr. Nathanson served as CEO and President of a promotional products firm, followed by an asset management venture. He worked with company founders to develop strategies, build infrastructures, raise capital and establish important strategic relationships in order to achieve successful growth and build sustainable value.

Dr. Nathanson is the co-author of Strategy Implementation: The Role of Structure and Process and author of a number of published articles in the area of strategy implementation. He is also a member of the Tech Coast Angels investment organization. He has been a GAP advisor for 7 years.

Ph.D., Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, MBA, NYU’s Graduate School of Business

B.A., Washington University in St. Louis, MO

Terry Kramer has a 30 year career in telecommunications and technology. For 18 of those 25 years, Mr. Kramer worked for Vodafone Group Plc/ AirTouch Communications in a variety of roles domestically and internationally, including Group Strategy and Business Improvement Officer, Regional President, Vodafone Americas which included oversight of Vodafone's 45% interest in Verizon Wireless and Vodafone's venture capital activities, Group Human Resources Officer & Chief of Staff, President AirTouch Paging and Vice President/GM AirTouch Cellular-Southwest Market. In June 2012, Mr. Kramer received an appointment by President Obama to serve as Ambassador, Head of U.S. Delegation for the World Conference on International Telecommunications which was held in December 2012 in Dubai. In this role, he led a 100+ person delegation of U.S. government, industry, and civil society representatives negotiating a treaty on international telecommunications policy. This delegation formulated and communicated the U.S. policy regarding the criticality of a free and open internet, the criticality of inclusive, multi stakeholder governance, the need to proactively address cybersecurity threats and the need for liberalized, open markets which encourage accelerated broadband access in markets worldwide.

Mr. Kramer is currently a full time Adjunct Professor at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, teaching two courses--the foundational technology management course and a course on the evolution and innovation in the mobile communications industry. He is also a Faculty Advisor in the Global Access Program (GAP) and the Strategic Management Research Program (SMR), advising students working on client assignments involved in new market entry, product development and business strategy. Furthermore, he currently serves as Chair to Thiota. In 2017, he was awarded UCLA Anderson's teaching award from the Fully Employed Executive MBA's. From 2011 to 2013, he was an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Harvard Business School. Mr. Kramer currently sits on the Boards/Advisory Boards of TeleSign, TangoCard, RapidSOS, Textpert, the Harvard Business School California Research Center, UCLA Economics Department Board of Visitors and is the Chairman of Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco.

MBA, Harvard University

Jeffrey Lapin is the immediate past President of Tech Coast Angels in Los Angeles. He has made over 20 startup investments in the past five years, and serves on many company boards and advises several companies.

Mr. Lapin began his career as an attorney with Mitchell, Silberberg and Knupp in Los Angeles. He then served in various executive capacities with Starwood Hotels & Resorts and its predecessors (NYSE: HOT), from January 1995 to June 1996 as President and Chief Operating Officer, and from May 1991 to January 1995 as President and Chief Executive Officer.

In 1996, Mr. Lapin served as President of House of Blues Hospitality, Inc. and Executive Vice President of House of Blues Entertain-ment, Inc.

Two years later, he began serving as Vice Chairman of THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI), a developer and publisher of interactive soft- ware. During his time with THQ, Mr. Lapin also served as Chief Operating Officer and Director of the company.

Mr. Lapin was the Director and Chief Executive Officer of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software (sales of $1.2 billion).

From 2009 to 2010, Mr. Lapin served as the Chief Executive Officer of Atari, S.A., a French public company that develops and pub- lishes online and boxed video games and related applications. Prior, Mr. Lapin served as a Director and Chief Executive Officer and President of RazorGator Interactive Group, an ecommerce company which sells secondary event tickets and related services.

Mr. Lapin has served as a private consultant to several companies, including In-Fusio Group, Riverdeep, Ubisoft, Capcom, and Four Queens. He has served and continues to serve as Director of several for profit and nonprofit entities. He has been a GAP advisor for 4 years.

J.D., Loyola Law School B.A., Economics, University of California, Los Angeles

Todd Senturia is a partner based in Bain & Company’s Los Angeles office. Prior to moving to California, Mr. Senturia spent the first part of his Bain career in the Boston office, and three years working in the Asian and Australian practices. He has led projects ranging from corporate and business-unit strategy to the detailed design and implementation of large-scale transformational restructuring and turnaround programs. He has also supported buyer or seller in several merger & acquisition negotiations.

As one of the global leaders of Bain’s Results Delivery/Change Management capability area, Mr. Senturia has personally supported more than 18 large-scale, multi-year client change and transformation programs. He is also a core member of Bain’s performance improvement, organization, tech/telecom and industrial practices. Since 2010, he has also taken on responsibility for co-leading the firm’s internal Professional Development and Training Environment.

Over his career, Mr. Senturia has worked for Bain clients in North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. He has significant depth of experience in the technology and telecom practices, including semiconductors and computers, wireline and wireless telecommunications, and cable television. Mr. Senturia has also served multiple aerospace and defense, industrial, and automotive clients on issues ranging from growth to cost reduction. His consumer products/retail clients have included branded packaged goods, consumer electronics, consumer imaging, and a wide variety of food categories.

Prior to joining Bain, Mr. Senturia spent almost nine years on the senior management team of a small high technology sensor and instrumentation company, where he served most recently as Vice President of Marketing and Sales, as well as Treasurer. He was also a founding board member of Polychromix, a VC-backed startup in the optical sensing sector that was recently purchased by Thermo-Electron.

Mr. Senturia joined UCLA Anderson as an Executive in Residence for Management Consulting in 2011, and became a GAP faculty advisor in 2012.

His Master’s thesis, “Globalizing the Emerging High Technology Company”, was subsequently published in Industrial Marketing Management. Todd Senturia has been a GAP advisor for 4 years.

M.S., Management, MIT Sloan School of Management B.A., East Asian Studies, Harvard College

Gary Hutchinson has over 30+ years of experience in business and entrepreneurship. He served as a panel judge for the Global Access Program (GAP) at The UCLA Anderson School of Management from 2003-2013. In 2014, he accepted a position as faculty advisor to the program.

Mr. Hutchinson currently serves as the President and CEO of Biothelium, a startup focused on the cardiology market with tech- nology developed in conjunction with the Alfred E. Mann Institute at the University of Southern California (AMI) and U.C. San Francisco. He also serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at AMI, which is a non-profit organization that supports research, develop- ment and commercialization of biomedical devices and other technologies. In addition, Mr. Hutchinson is Executive Chairman of Nelson-Miller Inc, a leading company in electronic human interface solutions serving the healthcare, defense and consumer industry markets.

Mr. Hutchinson began his career as the Chairman, President and CEO of Zymed, a privately held company focused on the research, development, production and marketing, and sales of Holter EKG Ambulatory Monitoring Systems, Event Monitoring, In Patient Telemetry Monitoring Systems and Trans-telephonic Systems. Through extensive technology development and strategic alliances, the company became the industry leader in Ambulatory Monitoring and Arrhythmia Detection Algorithms. The company grew to $25M in sales and $5M in EBITDA.

Following the acquisition of Zymed by Philips Medical Systems, Mr. Hutchinson assumed the VP/GM position of the Cardiology Division. The $200M business unit was responsible for manufacturing, research and development, sales and marketing world-wide for non-invasive cardiology products focused on EKG Carts, Holter / Event Monitoring, EKG Data Storage & Analysis Systems and Transtelephonic EKG monitoring. Offices were also maintained in Shanghai, China.

From 2002 to 2010, Mr. Hutchinson served as President and CEO of Precision Dynamics Corporation (PDC), a privately held company is the leading manufacturer of healthcare and patron management identification solutions. In late 2010 he assumed a directorship and executive advisory role through the sale of the company to Brady Corporation in December 2012. The company grew from $43M to $170M in sales, and from $2M to $30M in EBITDA. It established European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, developed manufacturing operations in Tijuana, Mexico, and partnered with Water Street Healthcare Partners, a Chicago private equity firm. Furthermore, the company acquired the wristband product line from Hollister, Inc., (Libertyville, IL) and TimeMed Labeling Systems, Inc. (Burr Ridge, IL).

Mr. Hutchinson has served on ten boards of directors, and contributed as advisor and consultant to twelve assignments.

B.A. in History from Ohio State University, 1971

Molly Schmid has specific expertise in guiding early stage companies and technology commercialization, stemming from her roles in scientific management, project leadership, and business development in four biotechnology companies. Her career has been about equally split between academia and industry. Currently, she serves primarily as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Alfred Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at USC and as a Senior Counselor for TriTechSBDC.

Dr. Schmid has held senior leadership positions in the biotech industry, where she served as Group Vice President, Life Science at ieCrowd (Riverside, CA), Senior Vice President of Preclinical Programs at Affinium Pharmaceuticals (Toronto, ON), Director of Genomics and Bioinformatics at Genencor International (Palo Alto CA), and Vice President of Research Alliances at Microcide Pharmaceuticals (Mountain View, CA).

In these companies, she was part of executive teams that raised over $200MM in funding through venture capital, corporate partnerships, public markets, and US and Canadian federal research grants. Her experiences with these companies included two IPO’s, two compounds that entered human clinical trials, international, multi-year, multi-million dollar corporate partnerships with a number of companies, including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Daiichi Pharmaceuticals, and building and managing first-rate scientific teams, while satisfying the business needs of the organizations. She has nine issued U.S. patents, and several others pending.

She began her career in academia, where she has had a distinguished career. Most recently, she was Professor and Entrepreneur- in-Residence at Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences in Claremont, CA and formerly an Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. In addition, she has held adjunct professor positions at the University of Southern California (Marshall School of Business), San Diego State University (Biology), and Claremont Graduate University (Drucker School of Management). Dr. Schmid has served on numerous NSF and NIH grant review panels, and served as chair of an NIH SBIR/STTR grant review panel for several years. She is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, a Searle Scholar, and a Damon-Runyon Fellow.

She has embedded herself in the Southern California entrepreneurial community since moving here in 2005. She is a member and past president of the Inland SoCal Tech Coast Angels, a member of the TCA Board of Governors (2011-2014), and a Senior Counselor for TriTech Small Business Development Center. Molly Schmid has been a GAP advisor for 3 years.

Ph.D., Biology University of Utah B.S., Biology, University at Albany - SUNY

Business Creation Capstone

BCC Success Story: Bellanove (Class of 2017)

BellaNove offers a monthly rental service for modern, sophisticated, professional maternity clothing items, aiming to help all women stay sharp and stylish from boardrooms to doctor check-ups with less hassle and fuss.

BellaNove Founder and Wolfen Fellow, Jenny Leung (’17) launched the company October 2017.

BCC Mentors

Anderson Student Asset Management

Subject to minimum liquidity requirements, the Fund may hold the stock of any publicly traded U.S. firm on an approved list of stocks. A portion of the long-term profits of the fund will be donated to the UCLA Anderson School of Management for support in student scholarships and for support of research in finance.

Class meets every Monday evening on campus at 6:30 PM

Each team manages roughly $200k

Background or work experience in finance is not a requirement, but please bring a strong interest in investment strategy, particularly the quantitative approach

Workload fluctuates throughout the course, and each member of each 4-person team will participate in the following roles: Executive Board Member, Strategy Lead, Risk Manager, Programmer

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What is the Capstone Project? (Class of June 2024 and beyond)

The Capstone Project is the culminating project of both the Quantic MBA and Executive MBA programs and consists of both a written plan and a presentation component. Over the final five months of the program, students will have a choice to complete either a business plan or an executive strategy report. Throughout this period, students will conduct research, attend webinars, and have the opportunity to meet with faculty to discuss their projects. Submitting and passing both the written plan (with a score of at least 3) and presentation (with a score of at least 2) is required for graduation.

Students who select the business plan will conduct research and write a comprehensive business plan for a new startup or existing business, including the creation of competitive and market analyses, marketing and operations plans, and financial statements. Additionally, they will present a business pitch to Quantic academic team members either in a live video conference or in a submitted recorded presentation.

Students who select the strategy report will solve a complex, strategic business problem on behalf of a target organization. Students may also opt to solve a strategic problem on behalf of their employer. They will prepare a professional executive report outlining high-value, practicable recommendations, such as organization turnaround strategies, expansion plans, organizational reinvigoration or the creation of new ventures. Additionally, they will present their solutions to Quantic academic team members either in a live video conference or in a submitted recorded presentation.

Students can complete these projects either individually or in a group of up to six students. Important dates—including the Capstone Kickoff, Check-Ins, and submission deadlines for your Capstone project and presentation—can be found in your course schedule. You will receive more information about the project during the Capstone Kickoff week, as per your schedule. 

Business Plan Capstone Learning Outcomes:

• Identify a promising opportunity through researching and analyzing an industry and its market.
• Create a cohesive, detailed plan to capitalize on an opportunity by forming a new business.
• Evaluate the potential risks and rewards of a business opportunity.
• Pitch your business in a lively, engaging, and compelling fashion.
• Develop a visually pleasing and well-organized slide presentation.
• Anticipate and answer likely questions from investors and other stakeholders.

Strategic Plan Capstone Learning Outcomes:

• Scope and diagnose a complex strategic business problem through skillful application of strategic concepts and frameworks and in-depth research
• Propose a comprehensive strategic solution that draws on quantitative and qualitative information and is sensitive to ethics, available resources and business context
• Evaluate the potential risks and feasibility of a strategic solution
• Pitch your strategic solutions in a lively, engaging, and compelling fashion.
• Anticipate and answer likely questions from stakeholders

Still need help? Contact Us Contact Us

Tepper School of Business

MBA Capstone Courses

Capstones are immersive, experiential courses at the end of your Tepper experience. Options include working alongside corporations or participating in a strategic management exercise.

Management Game is offered in the online format; Strategic Management of the Enterprise is available to students who can take classes on campus.

Request Information

Capstones in Tracks

Students who enroll in an mba track complete their capstone course within that track. , "my capstone showed me that as a business community, we need to invest in bringing emerging energy markets to maturity. it’s exciting, because once the economic problems are solved through scale or incentive structure, there's an opportunity to really change the way the world works in 15 or 20 years.", zachary blustein, mba 2022 (he/him).

Management Game

Management Game is an applied strategic and general management exercise. Teams of students operate computer-simulated companies for three years, acting as the executive committee of a multinational manufacturing company.

Explore Management Game

Strategic Management of the Enterprise

Offered in partnership with A.T. Kearney and select sponsoring companies, this capstone is an experiential learning course that sensitizes students to the real-world challenges faced by managers.

Explore Strategic Management of the Enterprise

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The Fast-Track MBA

Designed for busy working professionals, this fully online MBA course is highly flexible and delivered with interactive, bite-sized content and personalised student support.

Fast-Track MBA Specialisations

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Fast-Track MBA Subject

• AIB Online MBA

What you can expect from the subject

As the final subject in your AIB MBA journey, undertaking Project marks a significant milestone on the path to achieving your MBA. In this capstone subject, you will independently research a real-world business issue or opportunity of strategic importance in your chosen organisation or industry using secondary data analysis.   

You will be leveraging the knowledge and skills developed through your MBA, demonstrating specialised knowledge and applied research by creating a real-world business case in the form of the final project report that you can use to drive change within your workplace and organisations.  

While this may sound daunting, you are not alone in this journey! Throughout the subject, you will receive support from an Online Learning Facilitator (OLF) who is a subject matter expert in your chosen discipline area whilst working alongside a cohort of classmates who are on the same journey. The subject features scaffolded assessments to help you build your final Project throughout the term, with live interactive weekly webinars providing regular check-ins with your OLF.  

You will begin your Project journey by developing a project statement supported by a review of theories and frameworks and identifying and analysing secondary data. At the end of the subject, you will complete the project by presenting your findings in a formal report that reflects your efforts across the previous eleven subjects within the AIB MBA.  

Want to know if you’re eligible for the AIB MBA ?

Subject learning outcomes.

On successful completion of Project, you will be able to:

• Critically examine contemporary business theory and practices related to an identified enterprise (or industry) problem or opportunity.
• Demonstrate ability to apply innovative approaches, techniques, ethical perspectives and the use of secondary data, to an identified enterprise (or industry) problem or opportunity.
• Critically evaluate business (or industry) concepts and synthesise existing research, theory and secondary data to advise business stakeholders on business solutions.
• Communicate evidenced-based recommendations to stakeholders clearly, persuasively and credibly.
• Is there a case organisation or industry you would like to focus on?
• Do you have a problem or opportunity in mind within your case organisation or industry?
• What is happening in your external operating environment that could point to an opportunity?
• What polices and/or practices are currently inadequate (resulting in poor performance)?
• Do you have access to secondary data aligned with the problem or opportunity that you could analyse?

Subject Faculty

The AIB academic team hold significant qualifications and experience in their field of expertise. Our academics strive for excellence in teaching, learning, scholarship and research so they can deliver high quality, life-changing experiences for our students.

Dr Uwe Kaufmann

Senior Lecturer and Discipline Leader, Finance Discipline

Dr Carlene Boucher

Lecturer, Human Resource and Management Discipline

Dr Rupesh Goel

Lecturer, Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management Discipline

How you will learn

100% Online MBA Learning

Our innovative Student Learning Portal is your ultimate digital resource for everything you’ll need to successfully complete this subject and your online MBA, with the flexibility to access your learning materials, videos, podcasts and other multimedia on any device. You’ll engage with fellow students and have key concepts explained by your Online Facilitators in webinars and forums.

GET A SNEAK PEEK OF AIB’s LEARNING PORTAL >

In addition to the Student Learning Portal, the myAIB app allows you to download modules and full subjects to view offline to save your cellular data, receive notifications for assessments and webinars, listen to audio versions of modules through Soundcloud and enjoy many other useful features.

The myAIB learning portal app is available on Google play and on the Apple app store .

AIB supports your success

When you study with AIB, you’ll be supported by our skilful team of over 180 academic, student support and professional staff, who will be with you every step of your MBA journey.

Student Learning Portal

• Our innovative Student Learning Portal provides all the resources and support you’ll need to successfully complete your MBA studies
• Highly qualified and experienced academics
• Practice-centric curricula, innovative learning resources and realistic assessment techniques

Study Tools

• Access to tools you’ll need to successfully complete your degree and excel in your career including Office 365, LinkedIn Learning, Scite_, GrammarlyEDU and Endnote

Student Support

• Dedicated student and enrolment teams
• Supporting you with any issues big or small from orientation to graduation

Online Facilitators

• Each class has a dedicated Facilitator (OLF) and a limit of just 50 students to ensure you’ll benefit from high levels of interaction, relationship building and learning

Wellbeing and career support

• Access to a confidential support service providing personal counselling, wellbeing advice and career assistance

Got questions about studying an MBA?

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MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences

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Each student develops a capstone project in their second year of studies that challenges them to perform an in-depth structured scientific and business analysis of a biotechnology opportunity. The capstone requires students to combine lessons from their MBA and MS coursework. Students will receive guidance on their work from faculty mentors and present their work to their classmates and joint-degree program faculty at the conclusion of the course.

As in the real world, conversations take surprising directions.

The presentations are wide-ranging discussions. Like in the case method classroom, the presenter, advisors, and fellow students share their opinions and experiences. It’s a collegial conversation, a debate stage, a celebration of hard work, and a showcase of two years of building the foundation to lead transformative organizations that will advance new drug discoveries and therapeutics with those equally passionate about changing the business of healthcare for the better.

The practicalities of business decisions meet the practicalities of hard science.

Students become adept at delving into startup fundraising strategies and at parsing the complexities of medical research. The capstone lets students demonstrate to their advisors (and to themselves) that they have the foundation to successfully enter any new field of scientific interest – not only as researchers, or only as executives, but as both.

Global experts provide guidance across all student interests.

While Capstone advisors often include leading experts in their fields, students have the ability to choose capstones across any medical and biotechnology specialty. Recent capstone topics have included bioelectricity, brain-computer interfaces, genetic medicine, microbiomes, opioid use disorder, organoid systems for drug development, oncology, psychedelics, women’s health, and many more.

Recent Capstone Projects

iPSC-Derived NK Cells – Changing Cancer’s Fate

Richard Nixon declared a war on cancer in 1971, but oncology treatment still has a long way to go. Genetic engineering is one particularly promising type of therapy, in which patients’ own immune cells are altered to specifically target the cancer. This project described a next-generation approach to make this therapy more efficacious and affordable by genetically engineering a new type of immune cell (natural killer cells), rather than the previously used type (T cells).

Circular RNA – Shifting the Paradigm or Reinventing the Wheel?

The genetic information inside our cells is contained within DNA, and that information is made into proteins (which do lots of things) through an RNA intermediary. The role of RNA has recently been more widely appreciated, and millions are the recipients of a RNA vaccine from Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech for Covid-19. This project described the potential for circular RNA therapeutics, which could greatly stabilize the therapeutic and increase its versatility into applications for other diseases.

TBG – A Promising Non-Hallucinogenic Psychedelic Molecule for Treating Opioid Use Disorder

Some recreational drugs like LSD and PCP are psychedelics that alter the user’s perception of reality. These drugs act on the brain by interfering with normal cellular signaling. Recently, it has been appreciated that these drugs can provide benefits to patients with severe mental health disorders including depression and addiction. This project described an approach to modify these psychedelic compounds to (in some cases) remove their hallucinogenic properties but keep the therapeutic benefit.

Using TREES as an Innovative Approach to Restore Hearing Loss

Hearing loss can arise from a variety of different causes, some genetic and others environmental. Devices like hearing aids or cochlear implants are able to help in some cases, but not others. This project investigated potential genetic technologies like Tissue Regeneration Enhancer Elements (TREEs), which may enable the replacement of damaged or dead sound-sensing inner ear hair cells.

Redefining Female Reproductive Health

Women’s health as a field is only recently beginning to catch up on centuries of de-prioritization. For example, regulations barred women of reproductive age from clinical trials until the 1990s. Organoid systems, which recreate human physiology, make it possible to conduct scientific investigation far more efficiently than in vitro work. This project investigated the potential of a fully human ovarian organoid system for use in toxicology screening studies as well as in further phases of drug development.

M.S. in Business Analytics Capstone

Gain Real-World Experience and Address Business Challenges

In the Capstone Project for Georgetown McDonough’s M.S. in Business Analytics (MSBA) program, you’ll apply the concepts, methods, and tools learned in the program to a challenging business analytics problem with a local, national, or global organization.

Over the course of two semesters, you’ll work with Georgetown’s faculty advisors and a group of other MSBA students to:

• Define an organizational challenge.
• Collect and analyze necessary data.
• Assess possible courses of action.
• Make a recommendation to the organization.
• Present actionable insights to partners and McDonough faculty.

As you move through the Capstone Project, you’ll hone your skills with analytics tools, business functions, computing and technology, and value-based data analytics. Your experience from the Capstone Project will help you to stand out from other applicants as you seek to establish or advance your career.

“Graduates are going to show readiness to use data science in real life. They will be able to add this to their resume, show it to employers, and even use it to start a career. The Capstone Projects will be drawn from real-world problems and may be conducted with both industry and academic partners.” Sudipta Dasmohapatra, MSBA Academic Director and Professor

MSBA Curriculum

The curriculum for Georgetown McDonough’s MSBA program includes a total of 18 courses, and each course lasts seven weeks. Part of the curriculum is a two-course Capstone Project, which will begin mid-residency and end with a final project presentation to a partner company/organization prior to graduation.

Selected Capstone Partner Organizations

We have some great partner organizations for you to work with on your projects. Below are just a few of the groups our students have worked with.

• Capco Consulting
• Dovel Technologies
• Deloitte Consulting
• Gray Associates
• Marriott International
• The Census Bureau
• US Green Building Council
• Virtus Investment Partners

Capstone Project Timeline

Rather than moving toward a prescribed outcome, the Capstone Project and its goals should mimic the workplace by emerging organically from insights based on the data collected. To pace the Capstone Project appropriately, student groups adhere to the following timeline of project milestones.

Project Advisors

The Capstone Project will be overseen by the program leadership including the program manager. Other relevant MSBA and Georgetown faculty experts will serve as project mentors, as needed.

• Faculty Team: Professors Sudipta Dasmohapatra and Gregory Lyon

Professor Sudipta Dasmohapatra

Sudipta Dasmohapatra is the academic director of the M.S. in Business Analytics (MSBA) and professor of the practice at the McDonough School of Business. She has worked with numerous industry partners and government and non-profit organizations on a variety of business analytics projects.

She has over 10 years of experience consulting in analytics and data science and served on the advisory boards of two strategic analytics start-up firms— Vertaeon, Inc. based in Atlanta, and Kloutics, Inc., based in Pune, India. She joined the board of the Statistical and Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI), an NSF-funded math and statistics institute, in July 2018 as the associate director of diversity. She holds a Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University.

Professor Gregory Lyon

Dr. Lyon is the Assistant Director for the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) and Assistant Teaching Professor in Business Analytics at the McDonough School of Business. He has served as a data science consultant for projects ranging from survey research to global workforce development to regulatory compliance and has taught programming, analytics, and data science to students of all levels, including graduate students and working professionals. Dr. Lyon also holds multiple certifications in cloud computing and analytics including AWS cloud architecture (SAA-C02) as well specialized AWS cloud certifications in machine learning (MLS-C01) and data analytics (DAS-C01). Prior to Georgetown, he earned his Ph.D. at Rutgers University and was a postdoctoral researcher in data science and survey research at Tufts University.

Capstone Partnership Opportunities

The McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University is always seeking additional partners for the MSBA Capstone Project. The MSBA program accepts proposals each spring for additional Capstone Project partner organizations.

“These Capstone Projects will be conducted with industry, government, or academic partners in any field you can imagine, from healthcare to retail to financial services to education. The Capstone Project teams will consist of student members who will be carefully selected into their teams based on the needs of the project.” Sudipta Dasmohapatra, MSBA Academic Director and Professor

By becoming a partner for an MSBA Capstone Project, your company can provide a real-world learning experience for Georgetown students while working through data-driven solutions to your unique challenges.

Download a PDF  for more details about the benefits of a Capstone Project partnership.

For more information about how organizations can get involved with Georgetown University, visit  https://msb.georgetown.edu/corporate-partnerships/

Contact Our MSBA Team

[email protected] Call Today:  (202) 729-9995

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Designed for early to mid-career professionals, this programme will develop your full potential and open doors to global career opportunities.

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At a Glance

The capstone course is designed to put theory into practice and integrate the most important core learnings from your MBA year. 

Students will play roles of leaders of a company facing strategic challenges. In their analysis and decision making, they will practice to integrate sustainability into all aspects of management including operations, strategy, accounting, finance and marketing. 

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UQ MBA Impact Academy: fast track your influence

Careers Published 9 Feb, 2024  ·  5-minute read

The world of business is constantly evolving, as leaders face increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous challenges. The UQ MBA encourages future leaders not only to embrace ambiguity but to create value and new opportunities that have both economic and social benefits.

To achieve this goal, our students learn how to solve complex (even ‘wicked’) problems and provide meaningful solutions to the challenges our society and workplaces are facing.

This practical learning experience is unique to the UQ MBA through our suite of Impact Academy courses. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll learn in these courses and why they’re so beneficial.

What is the UQ MBA Impact Academy?

This powerful learning experience provides you the opportunity to learn transferable problem-solving skills and then apply learnings to create products, services or business ideas that unlock value for stakeholders. Complete your choice of 1, 2 or 3 sequential Impact Academy courses to build your knowledge and applied expertise.

Impact Academy 1: Discovering New Solutions for Complex Problems

During this course, you’ll gain an understanding of key innovation and entrepreneurial tools and frameworks to address complex, ‘wicked’ problems. Working in teams, you’ll learn how to interrogate and define problems and the opportunity they present by conducting interviews. Then, you’ll decide on the best strategy to use to solve the problem, unlock value or create a new opportunity. You’ll also decide whether it’s worth progressing and exploring the project further.

This course is mandatory for all UQ MBA students unless you want to pursue a research pathway. Want to see your new entrepreneurial venture or industry partner project through to fruition? You can also complete 2 additional Impact Academy courses as electives.  

Impact Academy 2: Designing Solutions That Create Value

This course allows you to further pursue the project you started in Impact Academy 1 or your own idea or startup venture. Otherwise, you can work with an industry client to co-develop and co-design solutions to a problem. In this course, you’ll apply the skills you developed in Impact Academy 1 to explore questions such as:

• Is this a good idea?
• Is this a valid opportunity?
• Can I create a desirable, feasible or viable business model to execute this idea?

Impact Academy 3: Delivering and Capturing New Value

In the final course in the series, you’ll work on taking your idea to the next stage through execution. You’ll develop a plan and build a strategy with the goal of taking your idea or project to market. Depending on your project, this could involve securing funding or embedding your idea, service or product innovation into an organisation or industry.

What you’ll learn

During these immersive courses, you’ll gain practical and impactful approaches to understanding humans, solving complex problems and creating and delivering value to diverse stakeholders across businesses and sectors.

Practical skills you’ll develop

• High-level stakeholder management
• Client engagement and negotiation
• Working collaboratively with a high-performing team
• Complex business problem solving
• Lean startup and agile tools
• Research discovery
• Formulating strategic recommendations
• Innovation, ideation and creativity
• Pitching to and influencing a senior management team

Examples of previous MBA project partners

• Queensland Police
• SRO Technology
• Brisbane City Winery
• Australian Robotics
• MS Queensland
• Brisbane Arts Theatre
• Children’s Health Queensland
• Workcover Queensland
• Australian Superannuation Funds Association
• Magpie Goose
• Boeing Research and Technology
• Viva Energy
• Queensland AI Hub
• Unity Water

UQ MBA projects were previously called MBA capstone projects.

Our Impact Academy expert

Cameron Turner  is an Entrepreneur in Residence and Industry Professor at UQ Business School. He’s also the coordinator of the UQ MBA Impact Academy. He has over 30 years of experience researching problems, developing solutions and transforming ideas into sustainable competitive advantage. He has also founded 4 startups commercialising world-first innovations.

We believe that the sort of students we get in the UQ MBA have the capacity to really have an impact on the world. The UQ MBA Impact Academy is designed to help people who aren’t interested in following business as usual and the status quo but want to do something that has meaning.

Find out more about the  UQ academics you’ll learn from during the MBA .

MBA project examples

Siobhan coster.

"I really wanted to develop my entrepreneurial skills, because that’s the direction I wanted to go with my career and I had a business idea that I wanted to test. As part of the project course, you learn how to apply entrepreneurial theory to validate, build, grow and scale businesses.

"The team present you with a few different companies you’re able to work with on your project, and at the time, one of these companies was CSIRO. As a result, I put my own idea on the backburner and eagerly threw myself into exploring the opportunity CSIRO presented us with."

"During this MBA project, I worked with CSIRO and 2 other students to investigate how we could identify commercialisation opportunities for this amazing technology CSIRO have called precision fermentation. We came up with a food technology startup, which uses this technology to sustainably make crucial nutrients from yeast, starting with lactoferrin – an immunity-boosting nutrient found in breast milk."

"Since graduating, I have continued to work on the startup with CSIRO as a venture builder and am on a mission to make crucial nutrients, such as lactoferrin, more accessible."

Learn more about Siobhan’s MBA story ​​​​​​

Jan Bodnaruk

"I chose to focus on starting my own engineering company, which had been my goal from the beginning of the program.

"Over 13–14 weeks, I was able to identify what my clients wanted, what problems they wanted to solve, and how I could implement solutions to those problems. I had particularly great mentorship from the professor who was able to guide me through the whole process.

"The course was assessed based on our understanding of what we needed to do to make sure our business would be viable and successful. For the purposes of the assessment, it didn’t matter if the business would be successful in 10 years’ time; it was more about making sure we understood the process of researching whether our idea and ventures were really something the market needs and whether there were clients for it."

"I was able to use all the learnings from the MBA but particularly this MBA capstone project to start my own company, BB Civil, 2 weeks after graduating."

Learn more about Jan’s MBA story

Excited to see where the UQ MBA Impact Academy could take you?

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Capstone Project Ideas : 150+ Topics

Have you ever wondered what the hardest part of framing a non-trivial capstone project is? With a long research path ahead of you, writing a capstone project is fraught with obstacles and pitfalls. However, the process becomes less complicated and more challenging as time passes.

The most challenging part of writing a capstone project is finding a topic that will help you articulate your thoughts in a disciplined way . On the contrary, selecting a tedious capstone topic can significantly impact your grades. Luckily, we have prepared a complete list of captivating project ideas to inspire your writing. Continue reading this blog, and you will see some outstanding topic ideas in psychology , information technology, nursing, marketing, and beyond.

Table of Contents

What is a Capstone Project?

Over the past few years, capstone projects have become a crucial part of the university degree curriculum. This whole project is similar to thesis writing but has a few differences. It is a project that an educational institute conducts to evaluate students’ understanding of their courses on different parameters. Students must write their capstone project by the end of their study programs.

Depending on your specific academic requirements, the context of your capstone project can significantly vary. It includes various structures, including multimedia presentation, film, execution, or paper. While the whole project seems complicated, in some ways, it can be rewarding as well. This project includes different scholarly exercises, including presenting their critical thinking, soft skills, teamwork abilities, communication, and viewpoints regarding their courses. This project helps young students research and analyze crucial data and how to present it proficiently.

Selecting an Engaging Topic for Your Capstone Project

Finding the perfect topic for your capstone project plays a significant role in framing the entire project. Choosing a tedious or monotonous topic can be a fatal mistake for students. With this, you can avoid drafting a monotonous capstone paper, no matter how well it may be written otherwise.

If you need help choosing good capstone topics, we have compiled a few practical suggestions to help you choose the right one.

• Brainstorm several ideas and explore the internet for interesting and engaging capstone project ideas.
• Remember that whatever topic you select will reflect the skills, knowledge, and insights you have gained throughout your semester. A good capstone topic will help you demonstrate those things more creatively and disciplined manner.
• The topic that you will select must be entirely manageable. Thus, consider choosing a specific case instead of a broad capstone topic.
• Make sure that the theme of your topic demonstrates REAL ongoing issues. Your goal should be to build solid arguments and provide genuine and reliable solutions for the mentioned problems.
• Conduct extensive research and check for previous studies on the same topic.
• Based on that research, narrow down the most unique and engaging topics. Choose the best out of all of them. If you need clarification on any topics, consult your professors and supervisors.

150+ Capstone Project Ideas

It is undoubtedly not easy to choose your “perfect” topic. The issue intensifies as every student in the class has to come up with their unique topics. You’re still on here to get some unique and intriguing capstone project ideas for your upcoming project. If so, then you are indeed on the right platform. Below are more than 150+ capstone project ideas that can help you choose an outstanding topic and start your research as early as possible.

Education Capstone Project Ideas

Check out the topics below to gain insight into some special education topics for capstone projects:

• Asthma education for nurses how can schools enhance the mental health of students?
• Determining the imperativeness of computers in education
• The importance of “game-based” learning for small kids
• Evaluating the impact of gender inequality in educational institutions
• The role of students’ motivation factors for scoring high grades in exams
• Be an obedient kid: are we teaching responsibility or obedience?
• Strategies for enhancing the performance of children
• Revisiting flexible learning in a digital age
• Education for children with special needs
• Anxiety attacks among students
• current changes in education models to promote a new way of learning
• Personal development and well-being in elementary schools
• Achieving a positive environment in schools through positive psychology
• Determining challenges and perspectives in the contemporary education system
• Social-emotional learning and developments
• Using intelligent board activities to boost engagement among students
• The student-teacher bond as an interpersonal relationship

Capstone Project Ideas for Nursing Students

Consider these suggestions for capstone project ideas for nursing and ensure the best result possible.

• The nursing shortage and its effect on health: a global problem
• Nurses’intervention to manage intensive care patients better
• nursing care management for asthma
• Patient-focused care
• Stress and burnout in nurse anaesthesia
• Managing and preventing dysfunctional behavioural symptoms in dementia patients
• Conceptual and Evidence-Based Practices for All Nurse Leaders
• Sexually transmitted diseases: implications and preventions
• The global need for extensive emergency care practices
• Point-of-care testing: an overview of the recent advances and trends
• Pain-management practices in healthcare sectors
• Analyzing the role of government in making efficient nursing practices
• The extensive role of the nursing profession in healthcare
• How do government rules and policies affect nursing as a profession?
• What strategies do the nurses follow to treat patients with disabilities?
• What was the role of the healthcare department in controlling the Corona virus?
• The significance of nurses in providing primary care
• Emerging violence towards healthcare departments by patients

Marketing Capstone Project Examples You Can Work On

The following are some captivating marketing ideas for your capstone projects:

• Understanding brand management and the best strategies to boost your brand
• The importance of visuals in your advertising campaigns
• impact of gender on customer purchasing behavior
• The globalization of marketing
• A deep analysis of the marketing strategies of Elon Musk
• Problems associated with e-commerce marketing
• Strategies and principles of international marketing
• Analyzing an effective marketing strategy
• Consumer buying behaviors
• The importance of social media for creating a strong marketing strategy
• B2B and B2C marketing strategies
• Marketing and globalization
• Social media as a marketing avenue
• Marketing strategy of Nike: the concept of footwear customization
• Recent trends in product loyalty
• Marketing strategies to enhance customer engagement
• the efficiency of blogs for optimizing organic traffic
• Strategic content strategy for businesses
• Factors influencing customer retention
• Brand value-building strategies

Computer Science Capstone Project Topics

Are you seeking the top capstone project ideas as a computer science student? So, sit back and unwind because we have compiled some exciting and educational computer science capstone project ideas to help you earn top marks .

• Classification of images
• Emerging threats to cyber security
• Artificial intelligence in healthcare and medicine
• Analyzing the process of image processing
• Internet banking security concerns
• SaaS Technologies of the Modern Time
• Current dynamics in online auction systems
• E-authentication systems
• Android battery-saver mode
• Evolving social media usage
• Digitization of education in the 21st century
• Software quality techniques and best practices
• Understanding security vulnerabilities in OS security
• Game Theory Using Genetic Algorithms
• Use of computer navigation in surgical procedures
• Understanding artificial intelligence as a modern approach

Engineering Capstone Project Ideas

The following is a list of some good capstone topics for engineering students. You can draw inspiration from these topics and use them as they are for your upcoming projects:

• Procedure for making a self-flying robot
• Making a robotic arm
• Animatronic hand
• 3D printers: innovations for education
• IoT-based smart energy meter using GSM
• Brilliant Greenhouse Facilities in Agricultural Engineering
• home automation system
• motorized chain mechanism
• Solar and intelligent energy systems
• Smart Traffic Lighting Control Systems for smart cities
• Building a Suspension Mountain Bike
• Design and implementation of sensor-guided robotics
• Geological Data Collection and Assessment Techniques
• Schedule control systems in construction
• Solar panels control technological systems.
• IoT-based intelligent automation of greenhouses
• Software-defined radio technology
• Off-grid refrigerators
• Car with remote control
• Pedal-powered water purifier

Management Capstone Project Ideas

Business management students use the following management capstone project ideas as inspiration for framing their capstone projects.

• Analyzing customer service in hotels
• Understanding the theories of project management: a complete guide
• The latest news operations management trends for business in 2022
• How does customer service affect sales?
• Joint innovation management across different industries
• Practical strategies to manage overqualified candidates
• Profile evaluation of the project manager
• The importance of technology for driving more sales
• Diversity management in the age of globalization
• Internal promotion vs external hiring
• Integrating business continuity and crisis management
• Free clinic evaluation processes
• Analyzing the principles of supply chain management
• Understanding business conflict management and strategies
• Best 101 Public Relations Techniques
• The art of crafting a systematic supply chain management
• Exploring the impact of globalization on intercultural communication
• How do small businesses respond to a crisis?
• The imperativeness of job satisfaction among both employees and employers
• The necessity of risk management in organizations

Best Ideas for MBA Capstone Project

Have a look at the following MBA capstone project ideas to get started with your capstone project:

• New app market research analysis
• Marketing segmentation, targeting, and positioning
• Exploring and understanding corporate design strategy
• Making a business plan for start-ups: a theoretical perspective
• Stakeholder management systems and environmental competitiveness
• Cost-effective business management practices
• Developing management strategies for businesses in developing countries
• Foundations of social media marketing: techniques and their impact
• Corporate downsizing: a detailed analysis of the survivors
• Managing diversity for organizational efficiency
• Dealing with inner conflicts in large-scale enterprises
• The effect of e-learning on professional certification
• Evaluating the barriers to total quality management
• Principles and practices involved in human resource management
• Cross-cultural management: a global perspective
• Evaluating business ethics principles: The health of leadership
• Flaws or drawbacks of standardized tests
• Business outsourcing and offshoring

Accounting Topics for Capstone Projects

Use one of these great accounting topics for capstone projects as your topic to get inspired and kick-start your capstone accounting project:

• The issues with business approaches and accounting systems
• Proprietorship accounting
• Payroll management systems
• Accounting for sales and income
• Accounting and tax evasion are critical systems.
• Earnings management
• Accounting software: an overview
• Fixed asset accounting systems
• Accounting software
• The top three global recessions
• Accounting Methods for a Proprietorship
• Analyzing the international accounting standards
• Accounting theories for income
• Different types of accounting systems are used in global organizations across the world.
• Accounting theories for leased
• Understanding the imperativeness of paying tax
• The influence of the recession on personal finance
• International and regional accounting standards
• Accounting information system

Good Capstone Topics for Psychology

Nowadays, with the evolving awareness of psychological aspects in our societies, people show more consideration regarding psychological elements. With this, you might find many capstone topics for your projects. Have a look at the below-given list of the top, enticing psychology topics for capstone projects:

• Cultural impact on the psychology of an individual
• Evaluating psychological theories of crime
• The effect of culture on individuals
• Military psychology
• The distinction between long-term and short-term memory
• The influence of the environment on hyperactive children
• The effect of violent media games on children
• Understanding the psychology of a terrorist
• The psychological impact of abortion on mothers
• Understanding the psychological aspects of suicidal behavior
• Social support and psychological factors among the LGBTQ community
• Gender and depression among men
• Gender and depression among women
• Assessing juvenile sexual offenders
• How to cope with depression
• The psychology behind ethical and unethical behaviours
• How does trauma or sexual assault affect kids?

The Bottom Line

This list of topics will assist you in framing an outstanding capstone project for your academic session. Remember that a topic will serve as the basis for your entire paper, which you will draft. Therefore, take this seriously and select an innovative and unique topic from the above list. Furthermore, before jumping straight to the writing business, narrow down a few feasible topics and research each one. This topic will help you with your entire project.

Still confused? Get in touch with Edumagnate.com for any assistance!

By Alex Brown

I'm an ambitious, seasoned, and versatile author. I am experienced in proposing, outlining, and writing engaging assignments. Developing contagious academic work is always my top priority. I have a keen eye for detail and diligence in producing exceptional academic writing work. I work hard daily to help students with their assignments and projects. Experimenting with creative writing styles while maintaining a solid and informative voice is what I enjoy the most.

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Master of Science in Management Capstone Course Creates Expansive Experience

In construction, a capstone completes a building or monument. It is an essential part of the structure — and also an important symbol. Likewise, a capstone class crowns students’ studies symbolically and in practical terms.

This is certainly the case with UNC Charlotte’s 10.5-month fast-track  Master of Science in Management  program, designed for people with non-business undergraduate degrees. The program’s capstone course wraps up students’ experiences in a distinctive way: they learn from immersive studies of real-world ethical dilemmas, guided by a world-class expert in global business ethics.

"Our capstone class integrates managerial studies, legal studies, ethics and leadership into a single package," says  Denis Arnold , who teaches the class. "The leadership component is very significant in terms of what they do in this class. The class members are identifying what constitutes good ethical leadership and what doesn't. In that regard, they develop a set of skills that they wouldn't otherwise have had."

Arnold, the Jule R. and Marguerite Surtman Distinguished Professor in Business Ethics in the  Belk College of Business , draws from his extensive research and experiences to shape the course.

"We're trying to give students the tools to be ethical leaders and community members," he said. "Much of what we do with respect to the research has an impact on the class. And the class is very driven by social science research from the last 20 years that tells us what it looks like to manage an ethics and compliance program in a large organization effectively. We want them to understand the design of an ethical organization and to know how to discern red flags."

Case studies offer real-world learning

Students in the cohort that graduated in May 2024 experienced significant moments of discovery. This was particularly true as they worked as teams on case studies that documented an ethical problem or crisis an organization faced and considered its reputational, legal and financial consequences.

Adam Murray ’23, ’24, a law enforcement professional who previously earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and served in the U.S. Air Force, found himself thinking about his current and future roles through the perspective of the case studies and other experiences in the courses.

"I think about how we can navigate things to make life better for the employee or the officer, as well as being the most efficient officer you can be for the community that you serve," Murray said. "It's still business at the end of the day, and if you view it with that lens, you can make better decisions to be more effective in the long run."

For Bhavisha Naik ’22, ’24, the master’s in management studies gave new context for what she had learned when earning an undergraduate degree in biology and from her other experiences.

"Now that I was in these classes and doing these things, I definitely saw things differently," Naik said. "I've had previous leadership roles, and I'm seeing it from a different perspective. I already was doing some of these practices that we’re learning in class that I didn't know I was doing through innate instinct. But now I know the principles behind it."

Naik was intrigued when she learned about the master’s program. "Hearing it was a business degree for non-business majors stuck in my head," she said. "I thought that having basic business knowledge would be great in anything I decided I wanted to do."

Now, she may explore opening her own physical therapy practice or possibly consulting with people who want to open their own businesses but who lack business knowledge like what she has gained in the master’s program. "The professors really translate the information, and they help you through it," she said. "They really do go step-by-step. All of them have business backgrounds."

In the capstone class, Naik and classmates each interviewed a business owner or leader to gain first-hand insights into ethical business dilemmas and approaches.

"Honestly, I think that was one of my favorite assignments just because I already knew some of the stuff, but it was just nice to hear it from somebody else," Naik said. "I actually interviewed my aunt who owns a travel agency in South Africa. It wasn't just somebody that is in a leadership position, but they also own the business."

She was gratified to learn how her aunt had dealt with issues in an ethical manner and subsequently saw clients reward the ethical behavior. "It goes back to the leadership; it goes back to who's in charge and who's willing to put their foot down when it's something that is ethically wrong," Naik said.

Murray interviewed an entrepreneur with a professional home and office cleaning service.

"I interviewed her because I wanted to know her perspective as a first-generation immigrant, and then also her navigating through being a business owner," he said. "I wanted to see how she makes decisions, how she makes things better for her employees, how she treats her customers, how they make decisions ethically the best that they can be made to serve the community."

Cohort structure yields connections

A cornerstone element of the program is its organization around a cohort structure. Students build a strong bond as they take classes together across the life of their program.

"They have a strong group identity," Arnold said. "I think that's reflected in their interactions in the classroom and with respect to their ability to learn. I think they appreciate the dialogue and the conversation. The case studies that we utilize are a different approach than that of other courses that they're taking. I think they appreciate the ability to have conversations about difficult issues that inform their thinking with respect to managerial leadership. They also have small group exercises that draw out some of the complex subjects that we look at."

Members of the cohort grew close as they encouraged each other and worked in concert to balance their coursework and group projects with family, career and other demands on their time.

At the end, the balancing act and any risk was worth it, at least for him, Murray said.

"Potential is something that you can measure only in retrospect, which basically means that you never know how good you might have become unless you try," he said. "So just try. There's no way to know unless you do it. Life is too short to not know."

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