The Master’s in Conservation Leadership program invites partnerships with conservation organizations to offer Capstone Projects that students complete as part of the requirements for their degree. Projects should facilitate application of skills and knowledge from a student’s coursework (see below for a list of course topics), as well as provide an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to conservation.
Students participate in on-campus coursework during the Fall and the Spring. During this time students conduct background research about their partner organization and co-develop a plan with the organization of their project. In June, students begin working with their partners as the main focus of the program.
For more information and commonly asked questions, please visit our FAQ document.
Interested in proposing a project? Complete the Capstone Project Proposal Form.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
The Master’s in Conservation Leadership program has seven core learning objectives. Each Capstone Project should address some of the following objectives:
- Analyze conservation issues from multiple disciplines and stakeholder perspectives
- Gain skills to collaborate with diverse stakeholders and individuals
- Utilize systems thinking to examine conservation issues
- Apply interdisciplinary problem-solving approaches to conservation issues
- Apply inquiry tools and methods to address conservation issues
- Effectively communicate conservation via varied media, academic outputs and presentations
- Demonstrate leadership skills to work effectively in group environments
PREFERRED PROJECT CRITERIA
The Master’s in Conservation Leadership program has preferred criteria that organizations should consider when proposing a project.
- Duration: projects that fit within a four month project period (June through September), in which the student is fully immersed in working with the partner organization
- Community-based: work at a community or regional level, including interactions with and/or exposure to local stakeholders
- Cross-cultural: opportunities for students to interact with individuals and/or in a culture vastly different than their own
- Networking: opportunities for students to interact with other conservation professionals
- Thematic relevance: opportunities for students to engage in one or more of our priority themes
- Conservation and Development
- Protected Area Management
- Responding to Climate Change
- Human Dimensions of Wildlife
- Builds on coursework: students can apply skills and knowledge from CLTL coursework in more than one of the following areas:
CLTL student interviewing residents in Belize about lionfish. Photo credit: Phil Krening
- Biodiversity
- Systems thinking
- Governance/Decision-making
- Policy
- Facilitation
- Communication/Outreach
- Ecosystem services
- Collaborative conservation
- Social science research methods
- Multi-level views of conservation
- Leading others
- Participation on teams
DELIVERABLES
Students must prepare a professional-level deliverable that requires significant analysis and effort by the student. Examples include a management plan, technical report, communication materials, series of policy briefs, among many other options. The project deliverable should be useful to the partner organization.
PARTNER SUPPORT
Our aim is for win-win partnerships in which partner organizations benefit from our students’ efforts, and students have a highly rewarding learning experience. We prefer projects in which the organization provides real or in-kind support to students to cover their project expenses, which demonstrates a commitment on the part of the organization while also helping keep costs down for students. In sum, the expenses of the project ideally are not shouldered by students, since the organization is also a beneficiary of the work.
Interested in proposing a project? Complete the Capstone Project Proposal Form.
BENCHMARKS
| Timeframe | Activity |
|---|---|
| May 1, 2024 | Deadline to submit project proposal form |
| May 15, 2024 | Project proposal posted on CLTL website |
| June 2024 – July 2024 | CLTL and partners review and select applicants (In their application students will rank their project preferences. Partners will be asked - though not required - to review applications in which their project is ranked as a top choice by the applicant.) |
| August 2024 – May 2025 | Students complete two semesters of on-campus coursework at CSU |
| June 1, 2025 – September 30, 2025 | Students at project site working on final project |
| November 2025 | Students give final presentation on project |
| December 2025 | Students complete project deliverables |
PROPOSE A PROJECT
If you are interested in proposing a project, please fill out the Capstone Project Proposal Form.