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Capstone Options

The Business, Organizations and Society (BOS) Capstone is a culminating opportunity for students to utilize and demonstrate the knowledge and skills developed through the BOS major. Capstones are a two-course sequence consisting of a Capstone Seminar in the Fall, and a Capstone Project in the Spring. Capstones are under the direction of a faculty member, who serves as primary advisor for Capstone students. The Capstone Seminars provide students with a platform to explore and examine the diverse, multidisciplinary questions and methods that have captured the interests of scholars of business and management. Students will refine their Capstone project ideas, design their projects, and formulate an implementation strategy during the Capstone Seminar. Students are expected to produce a project proposal by the end of the Capstone Seminar. The Capstone Project is designed to provide the opportunity for students to implement their proposed project by conducting independent research, and writing an in-depth report (e.g., research paper, case study, or business plan for venture creation, etc.). Students can opt for one of two tracks, upon completion of the prerequisites for the BOS Capstone.

Management Sequence1

The Management Capstone sequence is designed for students planning to work in traditional organizations (e.g., consulting firms), expecting to pursue graduate school, and/or interested in applied and theoretical research. Students' research or practical questions (i.e., strategic organizational problems) for inquiry may span topics in business, including the intersection of business and technology/innovation; management theory and strategy; organizational design, behavior, and operations. Students enrolled in this Capstone sequence will produce applied and theoretical projects on topics of their choosing. Students will be expected to design a Capstone Project that identifies and addresses an organizational-level problem, by applying research skills and methods learned during the Capstone Seminar, and other coursework. Working individually or in small teams, students will research, collect data, analyze, report results, and develop recommendations to address the questions or issues at the center of their project. Students interested in this Capstone sequence must complete Business Research Methods (BUSOR-UH 1016) prior to the Capstone Seminar.2, 4

The Management Capstone Project may take two main forms:

  • Students may undertake a research project on a general management topic of their choice. Students will review the identify and define a research question(s), review the relevant peer-reviewed literature, generate hypotheses, address the topic using qualitative or quantitative primary or secondary research data, analyze the data, report results, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
  • Students may engage with organizations (e.g., government, NGOs, startups, etc.) and businesses (e.g., private, public) to identify organizational-level problems of interest. Students taking this approach (e.g., case study; action research) will identify and define questions/problems, review the relevant peer-reviewed or gray literature, conduct an analysis of the problems, collect data, analyze the data, and use their findings to develop data-driven recommendations that efficiently and effectively address the problems and improve performance.

Entrepreneurship Sequence

This pioneering Entrepreneurship Capstone sequence will take students through the essential elements of entrepreneurship and venture creation (including design thinking, idea generation, project finance, property rights protection, and prototyping). Students who complete the entrepreneurship Capstone Seminar may finish with a significantly advanced entrepreneurial endeavor that can be further developed during the Capstone Project. Students interested in this Capstone sequence must first complete Introduction to Entrepreneurship (BUSOR-UH 1007), and are strongly encouraged to take other entrepreneurship-relevant courses (such as “Entrepreneurial Finance”3) prior to the Capstone Seminar.4

The Entrepreneurship Capstone Project may take two main forms:

  • Students may further develop the venture idea created in the Capstone Seminar as a team and validate it with regard to customer development, market sizing, competition, pricing, distribution, funding and real-world testing. This option is intended for students interested in venture creation (including non-profit entities) and/or the commercialization of products.
  • Students who are interested in entrepreneurship more generally (not necessarily in venture creation) or have proposed projects related to start-ups, family businesses, or smaller firms can pursue individual projects, such as writing a business plan.  

1The management capstone sequence will be the default route for off-cycle students.

2Substitute courses include, but not limited to: Research Design & Causality in Social Science (SOCSC-UH 2212); Research Methods in Psychology (PSYCH-UH 1002EQ).

3Substitute courses include, but are not limited to: Impact Investing (BUSOR-UH 1302); FinTech Innovation: Finance, Technology, Regulation (ECON-UH 2512).

4For the management capstone sequence, students who matriculate before academic year 2023-2024 are exempt from the prerequisite requirement. For the entrepreneurship Capstone sequence, the prerequisite applies to all students regardless of the year of matriculation.