PAI 996 Exec Master’s Project Syllabusspring2025
January 15 Policy Analysis PresentationSpring2025
Course Description
In this course, students will have an opportunity to complete a project for their respective organizations of employment. This project serves as an opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from participation in the Maxwell School Executive MPA program to each student’s professional setting. The capstone project students will be completing reflect students’ ability to effectively integrate ideas, concepts, and skills presented in the MPA curriculum with their professional experience.
Most students complete the master’s paper project as an individual. If you would like to work in a group, please talk to the instructor about that option. In any case, the instructors will purposely create opportunities for student interaction to facilitate experience sharing across the student cohort and to create opportunities to learn from others.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Integrate concepts and skills learned from the EMPA curriculum to a real-world policy or organizational issue.
- Design an evidence-based master’s paper project that brings new perspectives about their project of study; and,
- Effectively communicate learning from the project to academic and professional colleagues.
Capstone Project Assignments
The major task for this course is the completion of a capstone project. Students will have several deliverables relating to their project, which will be submitted throughout the semester. Each of these deliverables is listed below. Due dates for each of these deliverables are listed in the course schedule.
| Deliverable | Description | Points | Due | |
| Project Topic Ideation | In the initial project planning phase, students will provide 2 short paragraphs on 2 topics that they are considering for their capstone project. | 5 pts. | 1/22 | |
| Agency Mission | Students should describe the mission and who is served by the agency they will focus on in their capstone project | 10 pts. | 1/29 | |
| Problem Statement | What is / are the problems that your agency is designed to solve? | 10 pts. | 2/5 | |
| Project Proposal | Students will submit a detailed project proposal, including the following types of information: problem statement, evaluative criteria, alternatives that will be considered, and audience for analysis. | 10 pts. | 3/5 | |
| Project Proposal Presentation | Students will present their project proposals to the instructor and fellow students summarizing the main components of the proposals. Presentations should be 10-12 minutes in length and conducted using some type of visual presentation platform (ex. Power point, Prezi, etc.) | 10 pts. | 3/5 | |
| Project Progress Report | Students will provide a one-page written progress report to the instructor indicating progress toward project completion and obstacles encountered. | 10 pts. | 3/19 | |
| Final Report Presentation | Students will give a formal presentation to the instructor and fellow students summarizing major components of their final report. Presentations should be between 15-20 minutes in length and conducted using some type of visual presentation platform (ex. Power Point, Prezi, etc.) | 10 pts. | 4/16 4/23 | |
| Final Report | Students will submit a comprehensive project report detailing their project scope, approach, and findings. | 35 pts. | 5/2 | |