VII. Culminate With a Capstone Experience

1. Senior seminars or other capstone courses appropriate to the discipline need to be part of every undergraduate program. Ideally the capstone course should bring together faculty members, graduate students, and senior undergraduates in shared or mutually reinforcing projects.

2. The capstone course should prepare undergraduates for the expectations and standards of graduate work and the professional workplace.

3. The course should be the culmination of the inquiry-based learning of earlier course work, broadening, deepening, and integrating the total experience of the major.

4. The major project may well develop from a previous research experience or internship.

5. Whenever possible, capstone courses need to allow for collaborative efforts among the baccalaureate students.

Draft statements of goals for the undergraduate curriculum at the University of Delaware from the General Education Committee of the Faculty Senate.

1. Attain effective skills in oral and written communication, quantitative reasoning, and the use of information technology.

2. Learn to think critically to solve problems.

3. Be able to work and learn both independently and collaboratively.

4. Engage questions of ethics and recognize responsibilities to self, community, and society at large.

• Understand the diverse ways of thinking that underlie the search for knowledge in the arts, humanities, science, and social sciences.
• Develop the intellectual curiosity, confidence, and engagement that will lead to lifelong learning.
• Develop the ability to apply academic knowledge to experiences beyond the classroom.
• Expand understanding and appreciation of human creativity and diverse forms of aesthetic and intellectual expression.
• Understand the foundations of Western society and the significance of diversity within the United Sates.
• Develop an international perspective in order to live and work effectively in an increasingly global society.