Client Capstone projects provide McCourt students an opportunity to directly apply their skills, experience and knowledge to real-world policy and program challenges for real-world clients.
What is the Client Capstone Program?
The MPP Client Capstone is a two-semester, team-based applied research project that serves as the culminating experience for students in the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Master of Public Policy (MPP) program.
Working in teams of three to five students and guided by a McCourt faculty advisor, students partner with external client organizations to analyze real-world policy or program challenges. Over the academic year, teams conduct a review of relevant literature, design and carry out policy analysis, and deliver a professional consulting report and presentation tailored to the client’s needs.
Capstone projects emphasize evidence-based decision-making, analytic rigor, and practical relevance, providing value to client organizations while giving students hands-on experience applying their policy training to real problems.
Call for Proposals
The proposal submission period will open from April 24 – June 19, 2026. Check back shortly for information on submitting.
Contact Us
To learn more about the Capstone Program and client projects, we invite you to explore this website or contact us below.
Strong projects pose focused research questions that can be answered through policy analysis and evidence. The questions should be grounded in real decision-making needs — helping your organization choose between policy options, evaluate programs effectiveness, understand a complex policy landscape or inform strategic planning.
Projects work best when they are analytically oriented rather than purely descriptive. For example, rather than “What services do homeless youth need?” a stronger question would be “What is the relationship between housing intervention types and employment outcomes for homeless youth?”
The ideal capstone project can be completed by a team of three to five students over two semesters (approximately August through April). Projects should be substantial enough to warrant sustained analysis but not so broad that they cannot be meaningfully addressed within this timeframe.
We welcome projects focused on local, national or international issues. International projects are particularly strong when they focus on a clearly defined country, region, program or population and can be completed remotely.
One of the most critical factors for project success is access to appropriate data. Strong projects include one of the following data pathways:
Your organization provides an existing dataset. You can share data securely with the student team through an approved environment. This could include program data, administrative records, monitoring and evaluation data, or organizational data relevant to the research question.
The project uses publicly available data. You can identify relevant publicly accessible datasets that students can use to address your research questions. Examples include census data, government administrative data, international databases (e.g., World Bank, UN agencies), publicly released survey data or other open-source datasets.
The project relies on document analysis or secondary sources. Some projects can be completed through analysis of existing reports, policy documents or published researched, combined with targeted document review.
What is not feasible: Capstone teams cannot conduct extensive primary data collection, in-person interviews requiring travel, data entry to create databases from scratch or access restricted-use data files that require lengthy approval processes. A few remote interviews or surveys to supplement existing data sources may be appropriate, but should not constitute the primary data source.
The capstone program emphasizes students’ application of quantitative skills developed throughout the MPP curriculum. Strong projects require students to conduct quantitative analysis or use mixed methods (combining quantitative and qualitative approaches). Projects that consist solely of literature reviews or qualitative case studies are not appropriate for the capstone.
Is My Organization a Good Fit for a Capstone Research Project?
Beyond the research project itself, successful partnerships require organizational capacity to engage with a student team. Organizations that are a good fit typically can:
Designate an engaged point of contact. You can identify one or two staff members who will serve as primary contacts for the student team. These individuals should be knowledgeable about the policy context and able to provide guidance, clarify objectives and respond to questions throughout the project.
Provide context and background. You can share relevant materials — such as program documentation, prior reports, policy memos or strategic plans — to help students understand the organizational and policy context. This information helps students produce work that is responsive to your needs.
Commit to periodic engagement. You can participate in regular check-ins throughout the academic year, including:
A one-hour project kick-off meeting at the start of the fall semester,
Brief meetings (typically three to four per semester) to discuss progress and provide guidance,
Regular email communication (approximately bi-weekly), and
Attendance at one-hour presentations at the end of each semester
Provide timely feedback. You can review and respond to interim deliverables — such as literature reviews and analysis plans — to ensure the team’s work stays aligned with your needs and remains on schedule.
Have organizational approval. You have obtained necessary sign-offs from leadership before submitting a proposal, ensuring your organization can commit to working with a student team if your project is selected.
The capstone is a learning-oriented partnership. Student teams produce professional-quality work under faculty supervision, but this is not a traditional consulting engagement. For most students, this is their first experience working with a real client and conducting team-based applied research.
Successful partnerships recognize that:
Students are developing their professional skills while delivering quality work
Projects follow an academic calendar with defined milestones
Faculty advisors guide the work and ensure academic rigor
The pace is more deliberate than rapid-turnaround consulting
Students benefit from client feedback and engagement throughout the process
The capstone program works with diverse partners, including:
Federal, state and local government agencies
Nonprofit and mission-driven organizations
International NGOs and development organizations
Research institutes and think tanks
Foundations and philanthropic organizations
Universities and academic institutions
Private sector organizations working on public policy issues
Both domestic and international organizations are welcome. Our student cohort includes strong interest in international development and global policy, and we actively encourage well-scoped international project proposals.
A capstone project is likely not the right option if you are seeking:
Very rapid turnaround analysis (completing within a few weeks rather than an academic year)
Primary data collection requiring extensive fieldwork, numerous in-person interviews requiring travel (but a limited number of interviews conducted virtually or in the DC area would likely be feasible)
Projects requiring students to conduct data entry to create datasets from documents
Marketing materials, communications products or advocacy campaigns rather than analytical research
Work that must remain fully confidential without the ability to share findings with faculty or peer student teams. While teams can sign nondisclosure agreements when necessary, the learning process includes peer review across student teams.
A single researcher rather than a team-based approach
Purely descriptive work or literature reviews without data analysis
We’re happy to help! Many strong capstone projects begin as early conversations that help refine the research questions and assess feasibility before proposal submission. We can work with you to:
Clarify and focus your research questions
Think through project scope and timeline
Assess data availability and access
Determine whether the capstone is the right vehicle for your needs
The MPP Client Capstone is a two-semester, team-based applied research project that serves as the culminating experience for students in the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Master of Public Policy (MPP) Program.
Each spring, the McCourt School invites organizations to submit proposals for capstone projects for the next academic year. The call for proposals typically opens in late April.
Organizations interested in becoming capstone clients are encouraged to begin thinking about:
A clear policy or program challenge they would like analyzed
The research questions they hope to answer
The data sources students could use to conduct anaylses
The organizational capacity to engage with a student team over two semesters
We welcome proposals from U.S.-based and international organizations across government, nonprofit, research and mission-driven private sectors. International projects are encouraged when they are feasible to complete remotely and rely on existing data or secondary sources, and we have many students interested in international topics.
If you are unsure whether your idea is a good fit, capstone staff are happy to consult with you before proposal submission to help refine the project scope, assess data feasibility and answer questions. Contact us via email at mccourtcapstone@georgetown.edu
Submitted proposals should have full organizational sign-off prior to submission to ensure the organization is able to move forward with a student team after a project is awarded.
Following the proposal submission period (April 24, 2026 through June 19, 2026), capstone faculty review the submitted proposals based on factors such as:
Clarity and focus of the research questions
Analytic rigor and feasibility
Data availability
Overall fit with the capstone program and student interests
Selected projects are matched with teams of three to five students who have expressed interested in the research project with a faculty advisor.
Capstone projects span the full academic year (August through April) and are structured as a faculty-led course. Each faculty advisor typically oversees three to four student teams working with different organizations. Faculty advisors meet weekly with student teams, as either a full class or with individual teams.
During the fall semester, student teams typically:
Build familiarity with the policy context and organizational setting
Conduct a review of relevant literature and prior work
Refine research questions in consultation with the client
Develop an analysis or evaluation design aligned with the project goals
Present the findings from the literature review and the analysis plan to the client at the end of the fall semester
During the spring semester, teams typically focus on
Implementing the analysis using appropriate methods
Interpreting findings and developing policy-relevant insights
Drafting a professional-quality consulting report
Preparing and delivering a final presentation to the client
Final reports and presentations are delivered in late April/early May
Successful capstone projects are grounded in regular, collaborative engagement between clients and student teams. Clients are expected to:
Designate a primary point of contact or contacts
Participate in periodic meetings (typically no more than three brief check-ins per semester), including a one-hour project kick-off meeting at the start of the fall semester
Be available for regular email communication (approximately bi-weekly)
Provide timely feedback on interim deliverables
Attend a one-hour presentation by students at the end of each semester
Students teams work as project-based research partners under faculty supervision to address defined research questions. This structure allows for thorough analysis and comprehensive deliverables, making the capstone ideal for organizations with analytical needs that align with an academic timeline (months rather than weeks).
The MPP Client Capstone is a two-semester, team-based applied research project that serves as the culminating experience for students in the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Master of Public Policy program.
Working in teams of three to five students and guided by a McCourt faculty advisor, students partner with an external organization to analyze a real-world policy or program challenge. Capstone projects emphasize the application of quantitative, qualitative, and analytical skills drawn from the core MPP curriculum, including microeconomics, quantitative methods, and policy process and management.
Over the academic year, student teams:
Conduct a review of relevant academic and applied literature (typically fall semester)
Develop an analysis and research design plan aligned with the client’s objectives and present to the client (typically fall semester)
Carry out appropriate data analysis or evaluation planning (typically spring semester)
Produce a professional-quality consulting report and present findings and recommendations to the client (typically spring semester)
Final written reports and presentations are delivered in late April/early May.
We welcome proposals from a wide range of organizations engaged in public policy, including:
Federal, state, and local government agencies
Nonprofit and mission-driven organizations
For-profit organizations working on public policy–relevant issues
Research institutions and think tanks
U.S.-based and international organizations
The capstone program has a strong cohort of students interested in international development and global policy, and we actively encourage well-scoped international project proposals.
Selected clients receive a confidential consulting report prepared by the student team under faculty supervision. Reports are customized to the client’s needs and typically include:
A targeted review of relevant research and evidence
Rigorous quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods analysis
Findings that directly address the client’s research questions
Policy or program recommendations and implementation considerations
Suggestions for future data collection or analysis, when appropriate
The final report belongs to the client organization, with the understanding that student authors will be credited if the work is cited or shared.
There is no cost to participate in the capstone program.
Clients are expected to:
Commit to the project for the full academic year (August–May)
Designate a primary point of contact who can periodically engage with the team throughout the project
Participate in periodic meetings (typically three to four per semester)
Be available for regular communication (approximately bi-weekly)
Provide timely feedback on interim deliverables
Submitted proposals should have full organizational sign-off prior to submission to ensure the organization is able to move forward with a student team after a project is awarded.
If you have questions or are unsure whether your project idea is appropriate, we are happy to help! We can work with you to refine a research question, think through scope and data availability, and answer questions prior to proposal submission. Contact us via email at mccourtcapstone@georgetown.edu.
