Study On The Capstone Courses For Undergraduates Of American Universitles

In the United States, capstone course is designed to help undergraduate students integrate and consolidate knowledge before completion of undergraduate studies. Students can get overall improvement and capstone experience through this ultimate course. Capstone course, with emphasis on comprehensive knowledge and practical training, offer students opportunities to solve conceptual and real-world problems in order to consolidate and integrate their knowledge in different areas, and to develop their practical skills for future careers.In addition, by getting involved in different types of tasks, students can have a chance to work with professors and other students, so that they can benefit from each other through better communication and teamwork.The capstone courses in the U.S. have historical, theoretical, and practical background. They were risen in 1980s and 1990s with a hallmark of Boyer Commission’s report of "Reinventing Undergraduate Education:A Blueprint for American’s Research Universities" in 1998. Capstone courses have been regarded as a valuable tool for innovating undergraduate education and training talented students in American colleges. Nowadays, they become more and more important in higher education of the U.S and show the unique educational value and practical significance.This thesis has five chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction of the thesis. I illustrate the background and the significance of this study, gives a general review of the related literature, demonstrate the research ideas and the methods of this study. Chapter 2 gives an overview of the historical, theoretical, and practical background of capstone courses. Chapter 3 elaborates on capstone courses’goals, classifications, modes, and evaluations. Chapter 4 illustrates the characteristics by two case studies of Portland State University and Truman State University in the U.S. In chapter 5, I discuss the implication of capstone courses to higher education in Mainland China. I analyze the development of capstone courses in China. I also compare the undergraduate theses (projects) in Mainland China with the capstone courses in the U.S. I point out the weakness of the undergraduate education in Mainland China and I further suggest potential ways that China can benefit from capstone courses, which include increasing students’ creativity in the undergraduate theses (projects).In sum, this thesis argues that undergraduate education in Mainland China should take advantage of capstone courses especially because of its reduced quality in recent years. In particular, I suggest that the undergraduate education in Mainland China focus on integration of knowledge and practical application in order to train more innovative students and increase its overall quality.