Undergraduate Minor: The Environmental Fellows Program

Capstone Project (Junior or Senior year)

The EFP Capstone Experience should provide EFP students with an opportunity to work with a professor on a research project, internship or practicum that will result in a paper or other product examining an environmental issue. The Capstone Experience should be within your field or area of interest and can include lab research projects, library research projects, interviews, surveys, summer internships or any other kind of in depth examination of an environmental topic. Students can also apply for a Special Undergraduate Research on the Environment (SURE) grant to complete the Capstone Experience.  See http://www.environ.uiuc.edu/sure/ for more information on SURE grants.

Before you begin:
Find a professor who is willing to work with you on an independent study project. Selecting a professor from a class you liked or one of the professors from an EFP advanced course is a good place to start.  Lisa Merrifield (lmorrisn@uiuc.edu or 333-0045) can also help you identify good choices based on your interests. You don’t have to have a project in mind when you talk with a professor.  Most professors can help you find something of interest that will meet this requirement.  The Capstone Experience should be taken for 2-3 credits of independent study or internship credit, but how many and from which departments should be determined by you and the professor you are working with.

The Capstone Experience should begin with a written proposal approved by the faculty person you are working with and submitted to the Environmental Council. The proposal should include:

• Your Name
• College
• Capstone Experience Advisor (not necessarily the academic advisor)
• Anticipated project period
• Description of the research problem
• Tasks to be undertaken
• Expected product (i.e. research paper)
• Independent Study Rubric, credit hours

If you are applying for a SURE grant for your Capstone Experience, follow the SURE grant guidelines and indicate in the proposal that this will serve as both a SURE grant and your EFP capstone experience.

After you have finished:
After completing your Capstone Experience, there are three things that must be done in order to receive credit.

1. Submit a final paper or product from your Capstone Experience to the Environmental Council Office for approval.
2. Complete and obtain all necessary signatures on the Capstone Experience Completion form.  A Word version of the form can be obtained from Lisa Merrifield, lmorrisn@uiuc.edu or 333-0045.
3. Submit the Capstone Experience Completion form to your college academic office for final approval.

Questions:
Please contact Stephanie Lage at spauldng@uiuc.edu or 217-333-4178, for assistance with your Capstone Experience.