Capstone Festival
The Capstone Festival is an annual showcase of the best senior projects, honors theses, and special research projects completed by undergraduate Mary Baldwin University students during the preceding academic year.
Save the Date
Capstone Presentations and Award Ceremony
April 22, 2025
Grafton Library on the Staunton campus
Presentations: 12:30-2:30 pm
Award Ceremony: 3:00 pm
Graduate Showcase
April 21, 2025
Francis Auditorium in Pearce Science Center on the Staunton campus
11:00 am
About
The first annual Capstone Festival took place on May 3, 2006, as a revival of a Commencement tradition from the earliest days of the Augusta Female Seminary, when “All final examinations were held in public and members of the board of trustees and the townspeople attended to view students parse sentences, do intricate math problems, and recite soliloquies,” writes Professor Emerita of History Patricia H. Menk in her book To Live in Time; The Sesquicentennial History of Mary Baldwin University 1842-1992.
Participation
Student participants are nominated for their senior projects, honors projects, or special sponsored projects (such as VFIC Summer Science Award, Russell Scholar). Students who have done exemplary High-Impact Practice (HIP) projects (such as study abroad experiences or internships) are also nominated by faculty to participate in the Capstone Festival. All nominations must be made by Mary Baldwin faculty. The annual nomination deadline is in March.
Students, faculty members, friends, and family are able to attend presentations and the awards ceremony in Grafton Library. Family and friends of Capstone participants and other members of the MBU community, who are not able to attend in person will be able to join virtually.
Capstone Website – FAQs
The Festival is an annual showcase of the best senior projects, honors theses, and special research projects completed by undergraduate Mary Baldwin University students during the preceding academic year. The inaugural Capstone Festival was held in 2006 and revives a tradition from the early years of Augusta Female Seminary, when “commencement” involved public oral presentations and contests.
The Festival provides an opportunity for students, faculty members, families, and members of the community to learn about original work done in all disciplines. For nominees, it is a chance to celebrate their achievement and communicate their results to a broader audience.
The Festival is held during May Term and includes presentations, speakers, and an award ceremony. This year’s Capstone Festival will take place on April 22nd, 2024.
The Festival provides an opportunity for students, faculty members, families, and members of the community to learn about original work done in all disciplines. For nominees, it is a chance to celebrate their achievement and communicate their results to a broader audience.
Nominations must be made by Mary Baldwin University faculty members. Some departments decide collectively on which majors to nominate and others leave it up to individual faculty. After a faculty member notifies you that you are being nominated, you should work with them to make sure that you submit the completed nomination form by the specified deadline (your faculty nominator will have information about the nomination process and deadline).
Participation is entirely voluntary, but only nominees who participate will have the chance to earn special awards and recognitions.
The hybrid-format festival allows for participants’ friends and family to attend the in-person or virtual award ceremony on the afternoon of April 22nd, 2025 .
Faculty members are generally very supportive of Capstone presenters. Some instructors cancel classes on Festival day so that all of their students may attend. Although they are not required to do so, instructors have been requested to give Capstone presenters an excused absence for the day and give them an opportunity to complete any missed work. Please talk to your May Term professor as soon as possible to confirm your arrangements.
You must select one project to present; however, abstracts for all nominated projects may be included in the Festival program.
Your nominator will recommend a presentation category that he or she thinks will fit your project, but you are free to choose any appropriate category. The presentation categories are:
Paper (with video presentation; all students who submit a paper will be required to film a presentation)
Poster (students who submit a poster will present their project IN-PERSON in Grafton Library)
Musical, theatrical, or other artistic performance (students who submit an artistic work will present their project IN-PERSON in Grafton Library)
High Impact Practice Project (students who submit a High-Impact Practice Experience Project will present their project IN-PERSON in Grafton Library)
Participants will turn in their projects, which will be judged by MBU faculty and staff. During Capstone week, a separate category will be highlighted on the Capstone website and through social media Tuesday, April 15th through Monday, April 22nd. On Tuesday, April 22nd, the in-person session will be held and awards will be announced.
A team of judges will evaluate each session. A number of special awards will be made at the concluding ceremony on Friday of Capstone Week, but you should remember that it is a significant achievement to be nominated for and participate in the Festival. Presenters will be judged on the overall merit of the project as well as how well they condense and communicate their key concepts to a lay audience. This is an interdisciplinary festival, and while projects should conform to a style consistent with the main presentation format in a particular discipline, they should also be accessible to an educated audience with little or no specific background in the discipline. The judging team will include people who are not knowledgeable about your particular field, and you will be evaluated on how well you are able to make your project understandable to this type of educated non-specialist audience.