Kylie Ledbetter completed the Capstone requirement by presenting work at GHC

Kyran Day completed the Capstone Requirement with a poster presentation at GCHC 2024

To earn an Honors diploma, Georgia Highlands College students must complete the requisite number of honors projects for honors credit (15 at Associate level and 18 at Bachelor level) and also complete a capstone presentation.

A capstone presentation is a formal presentation of completed honors work to a new audience, documented for the Honors Director.

What do those terms mean?

1. Formal – to qualify, the capstone must be formal: prepared, planned, rehearsed, staged, scheduled, or structured, in advance, and delivered with adherence to that format. In other words, impromptu or spontaneous discussion of honors work does not constitute a formal capstone.

2. Presentation – to qualify, a capstone must involve synchronous student presentation of the honors work to an audience and possibility of engagement with that audience. In other words, completed work placed in a display case for people to peruse does not constitute a capstone presentation. The student must present the work, in real-time for an audience, and allow for some feedback/response/questions from the audience. The format can be a poster presentation, paper session, or other forms of presentation, at the discretion of the Honors Director.

3. Completed honors work – to qualify, a capstone must focus on the content created by the student towards an approved and completed honors project. While students are encouraged to use a project from later in their Honors work for the capstone, the capstone need not be based on a late/last honors project – a student could present an early/first project as a capstone. The capstone can be based on content from multiple honors projects or content from a single honors project. For the purposes of participation in a conference or Showcase near the end of the term in which the student is completing the project – nearly complete honors work can also be used as a basis for a capstone presentation.

4. Audience – to qualify, a capstone must be formally presented to a new audience. Separately from whichever audience the project was created for, the student must present the completed work to a new audience – ideally one comprised of students, faculty, staff, and the public. In other words, if an honors contract calls for an essay and a presentation of findings to the class – the students in that class are the original audience, and the work would need to be presented elsewhere, in addition, to count as a capstone.

5. Documented – to qualify, a capstone must be documented for the Honors Director. In addition to evidence that the capstone was scheduled (a conference/convention/Showcase program showing the presentation scheduled), the student must also provide evidence that the capstone was completed, such as a photo of you with your poster talking to attendees, a video of you doing your paper session, or by talking to the Honors Director at the event if they are able to attend.

In general, all GHC Honors students can complete the capstone requirement of earning an Honors diploma by presenting completed honors work at the Georgia Highlands College Academic Showcase or at a state, regional, or national academic conference. Information on many of these opportunities is available here.

A capstone presentation can take lots of other forms, and students should check with the the Honors Director when needed to evaluate an idea other than a conference or research showcase presentation.

Maxwell Davis completed the requirement with a panel presentation at GCHC 2024

Lyzette Schott completed the Capstone requirement by presenting work at GCHC 2023

How will YOU complete the Capstone requirement for your Honors Diploma?