All undergraduate geography majors must complete a capstone experience as required by West Virginia University.
The capstone experience must occur in the junior or senior year depending upon the option selected.
Ideally, the capstone experience is taken after completing all other required geography core courses.
The Geography capstone requirement is fulfilled by taking the Geography 496, Senior Thesis, course offered every
fall semester. However, an internship or independent study can fulfill the capstone requirement in exceptional cases
with the written permission of the Director of the Undergraduate Program.
- Geography 496 - Senior Thesis. Geography 496 is scheduled every fall semester. It is a 3 hour field-based research seminar taken by geography seniors in the fall semester immediately before graduation. The Geography 496 course usually consists of 10-15 students who work together on a joint research project.
- Geography 491 - Professional Field Experience. Geography 491 is scheduled every semester. This is an off- campus internship experience in a local, county, state, federal or international government agency, non-profit organization or private business. Capstone internships consist of at least 10 hours per week and at least 3 credit hours. To earn capstone credit, students registering for Geography 491 must have achieved junior status (59 credit hours). Capstone internships must be approved before registering for the course by the undergraduate internship director, the student's undergraduate advisor and the Geography Undergraduate Committee. In addition to the hours of service, an 8-10 page paper and oral report approved by the advisor and undergraduate internship director are required. Students must have a 3.5 grade point average or above to apply the internship as the capstone credit.
- Geography 495 - Independent Study. Geography 495 is scheduled every semester. Independent Study is a reading, research, service learning, international experience, or other academic experience or project supervised by a geography faculty member with one or more undergraduate students. To earn capstone credit, students registering for Geography 495 must have achieved junior status (59 credit hours) and must register for at least 3 credit hours. Capstone independent study must be approved before registering for the course by the supervising faculty, the student's undergraduate advisor and the Geography Undergraduate Committee. The independent study capstone includes an 8-10 page paper or similar project and oral report approved by the supervising faculty. Students must have a 3.5 grade point average or above to apply the independent study as the capstone credit.
- Geography 499 - Honors Thesis. Geography 499 is scheduled every semester. In most cases it involves the proposal, research, writing and oral defense of an undergraduate paper or project by an individual undergraduate student under the supervision of a geography faculty member. Honors thesis must be at least at least a 3 hour credit course and is open to any senior (89 credit hours) geography major with a grade point average of 3.5 or above. Honors 496 may be substituted for Geography 499. Capstone honors thesis must be approved before registering for the course by the supervising faculty, the student's undergraduate advisor and the Geography Undergraduate Committee.
Capstone Requirement Completion Information
_____ Geography 496 - Senior Thesis.
Semester Completed - Fall _____
_____ Geography 491 - Professional Field Experience (Internship).
Semester Completed ________ Internship Location _____________________________
Undergraduate advisor approval _________________________________ Date __________
Undergraduate internship director approval _________________________ Date __________
Director of the Undergraduate Program approval _____________________ Date __________
_____ Geography 495 - Independent Study.
Semester Completed ________ Project Title _____________________________________
Supervising geography faculty approval __________________________ Date ___________
Undergraduate advisor approval _______________________________ Date ___________
Director of the Undergraduate Program approval ___________________ Date __________
_____ Geography 499 - Honors Thesis.
Semester Completed ________ Thesis Title ___________________________________
Supervising geography faculty approval __________________________ Date ___________
Undergraduate advisor approval _______________________________ Date ___________
Director of the Undergraduate Program approval ___________________ Date __________ |