Once you are admitted to the program, you can begin topic discussions with your research advisor. We encourage you to think about a topic early on in your program because you may need to enroll in specific courses to support your research plans. In addition, we recommend that you pursue one of the optional sustainability certificates to focus your studies in a particularly area.  Finally, we recommend, particularly if you are pursuing the independent research capstone, that you select, as one of your electives, Experimental Design and Research Methods. This course we certainly help you craft a quality capstone proposal and an outstanding capstone.

Topics should be firmly grounded in the scholarly literature and be pertinent to the issues and trends of the field.  The topic should be one that you are passionate about, but not so much so that you'll have a difficult time being unbiased. Consider how the project will support your academic and career goals. While it is a requirement for graduation, the project can also propel you toward your next professional step. See Past Capstone Titles for inspiration as well as Literature Reviews.

You are required to register for the Capstone Proposal Tutorial and submit the first draft of your capstone proposal the semester before capstone registration.  For specific deadlines, see Capstone Timeline. It is important to remember that a well-researched and structured proposal sets the stage for a strong capstone, worthy of a Harvard degree, and one that you'll be proud to share with your professional network.  Once you are in the capstone course, doing the research and writing the capstone paper will take one semester.  If your work will involve surveys or interviews, you'll be required to submit your work plan to Harvard’s Committee on the Use of Human Subjects.  If you don't plan well in advance, waiting for approval from the Human Subjects Committee can create a delay in project approval.

You will meet with your research advisor to discuss and choose a topic.  You also work with your research advisor on multiple drafts of the capstone proposal during the tutorial.  During the capstone course, you will work closely with the instructor and your fellow degree candidates. If you pursue the independent research capstone, you will have the option to receive advice from a content expert, either a sustainability instructor or Harvard University professional. For the consulting capstone, the key stakeholder at the organization will provide guidance on project scope and institutional culture.

The tutorial introduces critical precursors to research project design, and it is where you receive one-on-one advice from your research advisor on the capstone proposal. It is a structured, semester-long advising session to ensure that your capstone project is well designed prior to the start of the capstone. You need to begin the capstone course ready to engage in research, not still planning how you'll go about the research. While the tutorial is noncredit, your due diligence throughout the semester is required. If you do not have an approved proposal or a proposal that is close to being approved by the semester’s withdrawal deadline, you’ll need to withdraw from the course, delay capstone registration, and re-take the capstone proposal tutorial again in a future semester.

You register for Capstone Proposal Tutorial the semester before your capstone registration. But you should have had several meetings and discussions with your research advisor about your topic ideas since admission to the program. The first draft of the capstone proposal is due at the beginning of the tutorial. See Crafting the Proposal for details.

Yes! The Dean’s Prize for Outstanding ALM Capstone recognizes work that embodies the highest level of scholarship and is presented at the diploma-awarding ceremony in May.  One prize will be awarded to the best the independent research capstone and one to best consulting capstone.