The successful completion of the Final Capstone Project is required to graduate from the MHI program. It represents a synthesis of MHI course content into the design and implementation of an applied innovation project that demonstrates the leadership of innovation. There are three associated capstone project courses:
- Capstone 1 (3 credits)
- Capstone 2 (3 credits)
- Final Capstone Project (3 credits)
The capstone courses build sequentially upon each other, culminating in the Final Capstone Project. In Capstone 1, activities focus more on basic level application of principles, such as evaluating how innovation, leadership, and culture impact organizational performance in a local work or community setting. In Capstone 2, activities focus on principles of program development, implementation, and evaluation focused on policy, communication, and outcome measurement. The Final Capstone Project course allows students to integrate the concepts applied in the previous courses and learned in the other MHI courses.
The MHI program strongly emphasizes the application of the program concepts via tailored, hand-on experiential learning activities. Each course listed is a practicum course that will be supervised by a primary preceptor in the setting in which the capstone course experiences occur. The student, preceptor, and faculty of record will develop an individualized set of learning objectives and activities within the overall objectives for each capstone course, within a goal of a substantiated immersion and application of the course concepts. Capstone practicum hours will be consistent with the numbers of credits for each course:
- Capstone 1: 112.5 hours
- Capstone 2: 112.5 hours
- Final Capstone Project: 112.5 hours
Students will keep a log of capstone clock hours that will be verified and approved by the faculty of record and capstone preceptor.