MPH Integrative Learning Experience Instructions

Capstone_Instructions_August 1, 2020 1 | Page

MPH Integrative Learning Experience Instructions – Capstone*

*NOTE: (1) Students who been enrolled in the MPH Program BEFORE August 1, 2019 must take

PH8096/8097-Capstone I/II. (2) Those students who begin their MPH Program AFTER August 1, 2019 must

take PH9020-Integrated Learning Experience. The instructions remain the same only the course number

changed!

PH8096/8097: 6 Credits (Students before August 1, 2019)

PH9020: 3 Credit hours (Students after August 1, 2019)

Course Objective: This course is designed for MPH students to complete their Culminating Experience (CE)

for integrative learning. The goal of the Capstone is to demonstrate your ability to synthesize and integrate

your knowledge of the MPH foundational core and concentration competencies. Students in consultation with

faculty will select foundational core and concentration-specific competencies appropriate to your educational

and professional goals. The Capstone integrative learning experience may take many forms, such as a

practice-based or research-based project.

Final Product: Regardless of form, students are required to produce a high-quality written product that is

appropriate for your educational and professional objectives. Written products may include the following:

research paper/manuscript, program evaluation report, grant proposal, training manual, policy statement,

legislative testimony with accompanying supporting research, etc. Ideally, the written product is developed

and delivered in a manner that is useful to external stakeholders.

Course Registration: Students are eligible to register for the Capstone CE course after (a) completing 50%

(21 credit hours) of MPH coursework, (b) completing 20 hours of approved public health-related volunteer

service, (c) attend every MPH seminar each semester, and (d) attend the final presentation seminar of their

fellow peers’ practicum, capstone, and thesis projects at the end of the semester.

Students completing a Capstone will demonstrate their ability to understand a problem, articulate solutions,

think critically about public health issues, and demonstrate learning in both written form and oral

presentation.

Key steps to complete your Capstone:

(1) Ensure Fulfillment of All Prerequisites – Verify that you have completed all requirements for

practicum registration. Fulfillment of all prerequisites will be confirmed based on MPH records of

attendance. Failure to meet any prerequisite will prevent capstone registration.

(2) Capstone Project – Meet with MPH faculty or other researchers/practitioners to discuss your plans

and identify a Capstone project.

(3) Capstone Committee – Identify and contact faculty to serve on your Capstone Committee as a chair

or a member(s).

(4) Capstone Registration – Turn in the permission to register for PH8096/8097 or PH9020 form to

Professor Doarn, which details your capstone project, objectives, deliverables as well as your

members of your committee. Identification of CE readers, committee chair, and primary advisor is

required. Meet with Professor Doarn if you need further clarification of capstone requirements.

(5) Capstone Form & Proposal – Submit capstone form & proposal to Canvas by the designated due

date, indicate if any changes have been made to your capstone project.

(6) Capstone Presentation – Present on your Capstone at the end of the semester and submit your

PowerPoint slides to Canvas.

Capstone_Instructions_August 1, 2020 2 | Page

(7) Capstone Paper – Submit your Capstone paper to Canvas and a signed hard copy to the MPH

Program Director’s office at the end of the semester. If the course will be completed over 2 semesters,

then students must submit an interim report.

(8) Capstone Committee Evaluation – Submit your Capstone Committee’s Evaluation of your

Capstone paper to Canvas at the end of the semester.

Capstone Committee:

Students completing a Capstone will form a committee with at least 2 members to guide the preparation,

conduct, and completion of their project. The committee should consist of:

• One Committee Chair, must be faculty from the MPH Program in your concentration

• At least one Committee Member, may be faculty from UC, an affiliate, or a community partner

• Additional Committee Members are not required but allowed as appropriate (e.g., local agency

partner, health department employees, in-country partner, etc.)

Primary Advisor - Among the Committee Members, one must serve as the student’s Primary Advisor. This

may be the Committee Chair or a Member more directly overseeing the student’s Capstone project. The

Primary Advisor is will work closely with the student to complete the project.

Evaluation – All students will be evaluated by two committee members (CE Reader #1 and #2). The

Committee Chair (CE Reader #1) and the Primary Advisor (CE Reader #2) will evaluate the Capstone paper

and student performance using a standardized rubric to determine the final course grade. If the Committee

Chair and the Primary Advisor are the same person, the second Committee Member will complete the

evaluation.

Timeline:

*Due dates for required documents and assignments will be posted on Canvas

MPH required dates for Capstone Submission:

Step 1 Beginning of semester Submit Capstone form and proposal.

Step 2 4 weeks before classes end Student must submit first draft to Committee for review.

Step 3 2 weeks before classes end Committee returns to student for final revisions

Step 4 1 week before classes end Student must submit final documents and grading rubric to

Primary Advisor and Committee Chair for final evaluation and

grading

Step 5 Oral Presentation** Student must attend the seminar, give a Capstone presentation and

submit an e-copy of slides, final Capstone paper, and completed

grading rubric with signature to Canvas. The signed Capstone

rubric indicates to the Program that all requirements have been

met.

Step 6 Last day of semester Student must submit a signed and bound hard copy of Capstone

with signature page to the Capstone Director, Professor Doarn).

**always on last day of classes prior to exam week

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS and ASSIGNMENTS

Capstone Proposal Form:

At the beginning of the semester, students should meet with their committee to discuss and create a proposal

and timeline for the Capstone project and final document. Students must enter the details of their Capstone

Capstone_Instructions_August 1, 2020 3 | Page

project including their project title, Committee members, and MPH competencies in the proposal form. This

form must be uploaded to Canvas with the REQUIRED signature of the primary advisor. We additionally

require that you fill out the online submission of the capstone proposal via the link provided on Canvas.

Capstone Interim Report:

If the student plans to complete the Capstone over two semesters, an interim report needs to be submitted

using the template on Canvas.

• The report should be typed using 1.5-2.0 spacing and left margin justification, be a minimum of 5

pages (excluding cover page, table of contents, graphs, figures, tables, and references), and include a

minimum of 5 references.

• Report should be reviewed and approved by the committee at the end of the first semester.

• Students will submit the report to Canvas (Committee signatures are not required).

• See TEMPLATE on Canvas.

Capstone Paper:

The final product of the Capstone is the final high-quality written document that is appropriate for your

educational and professional objectives.

The final product must contain a Conclusion that includes an assessment of how the student integrated at

least 3 MPH core competencies and 5 concentration competencies.

Written products may include the following: research paper/manuscript, program evaluation report, grant

proposal, training manual, policy statement, legislative testimony with accompanying supporting research,

etc. Ideally, the written product should be developed and delivered in a manner that is useful to your Capstone

Committee and external stakeholders.

ALL Capstone (Non-Research) Papers should contain the following:

(1) Title page with project title, committee names, student’s name, and paper submission date,

(2) Acknowledgement section (optional),

(3) Table of contents,

(4) Abstract/Summary,

(5) Introduction with literature review and/or background,

(6) Main body – other sections as determined by the Capstone Committee,

(7) Discussion and public health implications,

(8) Conclusion including assessment of MPH competencies,

(9) References.

A Capstone Research Paper should contain the following:

(1) Title page with project title, committee names, student’s name, and paper submission date,

(2) Acknowledgement section,

(3) Table of contents,

(4) Abstract,

(5) Introduction with literature review and background,

(6) Materials and methods including the analytical plan,

(7) Results,

(8) Discussion and public health implications,

(9) Conclusion including assessment of MPH competencies,

(10) References.

Capstone_Instructions_August 1, 2020 4 | Page

A Capstone Grant Proposal Paper should contain the following:

Submission of the grant proposal is NOT required. Students are advised to follow the PHS398 grant template

and instructions (see Canvas). In particular, students must follow Sections of 5.5.2 and 5.5.3 in preparing the

grant proposal. The proposal must contain:

(1) Title page with project title, committee names, student’s name, and paper submission date,

(2) Acknowledgement section,

(3) Table of contents,

(4) Grant application face page,

(5) Abstract/project summary,

(6) Key personnel page,

(7) Budget page,

(8) Resource page,

(9) Specific aims,

(10) Justification of the significance of the proposal (intro, literature review, project significance),

(11) Justification of innovation of the proposal,

(12) Detailed approach including plans for study design, methods and analysis,

(13) References,

(14) NIH biosketch of the PI (student),

(15) Conclusion including assessment of MPH competencies.

The Capstone committee may suggest a modified format in order to fit the specific needs of the research

project and presentation. Students are advised to review sample Capstone/Thesis papers that are available in

the MPH director’s office.

Capstone Paper Formatting:

• Final paper should be typed using 1.5-2.0 spacing and left margin justification.

• Page numbers must be added in bottom right.

• Final paper should be a minimum 15 pages (excluding cover page, table of contents, graphs, figures,

tables, and references). Exact length to be approved by Committee Chair.

• References should follow the APA style. Reference list should be typed using single spacing. Include

only references cited in your paper. Include at least 10 references, but the exact number is to be

approved by the Committee Chair.

Submission:

The Capstone paper must be submitted after approval of the committee. Students must submit 2 copies: 1

copy as a PDF file to Canvas and 1 copy as a signed and bound hard copy for the MPH Library (MPH

Program Office suite). Traditionally, students may have multiple hard copies printed to give to the

committee chair, members and family members.

Culminating Experience Committee Evaluation:

Two Capstone Committee Members must evaluate students’ final documents (Interim Report or Capstone

Paper) using the Culminating Experience Committee Evaluation Form during each semester that they are

registered for the Capstone course. Students are required to submit a PDF of their Committee’s Evaluation on

Canvas.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure completion, return and submission of the Culminating

Experience Committee Evaluation Form. FAILURE TO SUBMIT THIS FORM WILL RESULT IN AN

INCOMPLETE FINAL GRADE.

Capstone_Instructions_August 1, 2020 5 | Page

Students are required to provide their Committee with a copy of the MPH Concentration Competencies for

their selected MPH Concentration to complete the Culminating Experience Committee Evaluation Form.

A list of MPH Concentration Competencies for all concentrations can be found on Canvas.

PowerPoint Presentation:

Students are required to summarize their Capstone experience in a PowerPoint presentation at the end of the

semester. If the student plans to complete the Capstone in two semesters, then a presentation will be required

in each semester.

Content - Students should send their presentation materials to their committee at least one week before

the presentation to review and approve. Students should invite their committee members to attend the

presentation seminar and inform them of the date, time, and location of the seminar. It is up to the

committee chair and member(s) to decide if they will attend the presentation.

Delivery - Students should practice their presentation to optimize their delivery, communication, and

performance. Students should NOT read from their slides or directly from note cards (though note cards are

permitted if desired as a prop). See presentation grading rubric for more information. *Students should bring

PowerPoint files to the seminar loaded on a flash drive.

The presentation slides should contain the following key information:

• Presentations should be 15 minutes long and no longer to allow time for Q&A

• Title of the Capstone

• Brief background on the public health issue addressed in the Capstone

• Overview of projects/studies/activities that the student was involved in through the Capstone

• Results of student’s contributions in Capstone projects/studies/activities

• Public health implications of the Capstone projects/studies/activities

• Evidence-based justification of how projects/studies/activities helped develop, integrate and

synthesize MPH competencies*

• One acknowledgement slide to thank the Capstone committee memebers

*See examples on Canvas. It is not sufficient to simply list competencies. We want to know specific

activities/roles/contributions in which you applied the competencies in the context of your project.

Capstone Grade:

A letter grade (A-F) will be provided for the Capstone course. The exact breakdown of the grade distribution

may be found in the syllabus for the semester. Your grade will be determined by:

(1) Recommendation of the Capstone Committee Chair/Primary Advisor.

(2) Submission of the Capstone Committee’s Evaluation Form on Canvas.

(3) Submission of all documents on Canvas: Capstone Form & Proposal, final Capstone Paper or Interim

Report.

(4) Submission of hard copy of Capstone Paper (if final semester of course).

(5) Presentation and submission of presentation slides on Canvas.

(6) Professionalism and performance.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure return and submission of the Culminating Experience

Committee Evaluation via Canvas. Students are held to the UC Code of Student Conduct in submitting the

Culminating Experience Committee Evaluation without alteration of the Committee’s final evaluation.