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CAPSTONES: ACTION FOR YOU, LEARNING FOR US


At Heinz College, we believe experiential learning is more than a buzz term. The application of coursework to real-world scenarios, the "Capstone Project" experience, is central to our students’ education. For you, as a capstone sponsor, it means a team of very bright graduate students addressing your business problem with a technology solution, contributing to your mission and your success.


What's a Capstone Project?

  • Project team of 4 - 6 talented masters' students from the #Top-ranked institution in the country for Information Systems and Analytics Education.
  • Led by a Heinz College faculty member with subject matter expertise
  • Projects last 15 weeks (Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters)
  • No Fee—Scholarship Gift instead. We invite our capstone sponsors to make a philanthropic gift in support of the Heinz College Sponsors Fellowship fund; gifts of $10,000 or more qualify your organization for recognition through Heinz Corporate Partners program
  • See what our industry partners are saying, below.



Student presents her capstone project

How does a capstone help my organization?

  • Share use cases and data with the capstone team to create a customized technology solution
  • Receive a license to use the team’s work product in your organization; solutions are designed on your platforms
  • Create a talent pipeline through student engagement
  • Collaborate with a Heinz College faculty expert leading the project
  • Build your brand across Heinz College and CMU
  • Potential to advance your project to phase two (Capstone+)

Take Action


Capstone projects are designed to bring innovative, out-of-the-box thinking to technology problems. We're here to help you determine which path is the best fit for your organization.

Do you have a capstone idea you'd like to discuss? Are you ready to take action? Not sure where to start? We want to help! Click the appropriate link to the right to get started.

Timeline and Deadlines

  • Summer Semester: Proposals due April 30
  • Fall Semester: Proposals due July 1
  • Spring Semester: Proposals due November 1

Learn More and Submit a Project Proposal


Client Testimonials

Check out what some of our project partners have to say about working with CMU graduate students on a capstone project:

I was extremely pleased with the outcomes from the capstone project my company worked on with Heinz College students. They were energetic, bright, and driven and were able to achieve results over and above what was outlined in the initial scope through their dedication and outside-the-box thinking. NATHAN PETERSON, GLOBAL INVENTORY, FORECASTING & CEP MGR., KOMATSU
  • Student wearing a headscarf presents her capstone report findings.
  • Two students present their capstone report findings.

Get Concrete Results


Over a 15-week period, our client partners get more than a thousand hours of dedicated, focused work by a team of talented master’s students who are led by a faculty expert advisor.

I think the topics themselves are definitely things that are very relevant today and even more tomorrow, and it was refreshing to see that the students actually went and looked at the pain points of what makes these topics so interesting. Marcus Perez Cervantes, Senior Manager - User Experience, Google

MAKE IT HOME SAFE, LLC


Founder and CEO Carlton Vreen talks about the impact of working with Heinz College graduate students on the Make It Home Safe capstone project.

  • Cancer Alley Capstone Team
  • Head Start Capstone Team
  • Make It Home Safe Capstone Team
  • Confirmed LLC Capstone Team

EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS


Capstone sponsors work with a team of talented graduate students and faculty advisor to address a business problem with a technology solution, contributing to the client's mission and success.

The students brought a combination of both qualitative and quantitative analysis. They brought a lot of energy and also the ability to listen and to try to sort of create policy almost from scratch. Anthony F. Pipa, Senior Fellow, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
A student with arms raised presents his capstone findings.

SOLVING COMPLEX PROBLEMS


Our graduate students bring both quantitative and qualitative analysis skills to complex, systemic problems.

I was impressed with the student’s interest to learn our business and the skills they brought into the project. They were dedicated, listened, understood the problem statement and had a clear understanding of the solution. They presented their work and the progress in a timely manner. JEBA JOTHIMONI, PRINCIPAL SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT, AIRES