MPS AEM Capstone Projects
Where learning comes together
Showcase the culmination of your graduate education through this signature learning experience of the MPS in Applied Economics & Management (MPS AEM) program.
The Capstone Project gives students the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills developed throughout the program to solve real-world business challenges for partner organizations. Working through a behavioral, quantitative, or qualitative lens, students analyze complex issues and develop actionable recommendations.
The experience culminates in a comprehensive final report and presentation delivered to clients, faculty, and external stakeholders each May. As the program’s defining academic experience, the capstone provides a powerful introduction to how the tools, frameworks, and methodologies learned in the MPS AEM program can be applied throughout your future career.
Goals of the capstone experience
The overarching objective is to help students approach problem-solving projects critically by drawing on the principles of social sciences to assess the integrity of research and judge the validity of findings.
The remaining primary outcomes for the course can be expressed as four main abilities:
Teamwork
The ability to work effectively in small groups with equitable allocation of work among group members.
Problem focus
The ability to select and define a project problem demonstrating relevant knowledge and articulating its significance.
Project design and workplan
The ability to develop and execute a methodologically rigorous research design and identify and carry out key project tasks and outputs.
Presentation of progress
The ability to write about, present, and discuss the project in class with analytical rigor.
Featured projects
Recent capstone projects from MPS AEM students and graduates that demonstrate the application of advanced analytics, strategic problem-solving, and evidence-based decision-making to real-world organizational challenges.
Circular Economy: Food Surplus in Consumer Grocery Shopping Decisions
Examines how consumer education shapes buying habits and connects everyday choices to environmental and economic impacts and how it relates to the general public.
Telehealth Adoption
Explores technology’s role in healthcare delivery, capturing consumer sentiment, and addressing a global issue at a local level while working with a real-life project sponsor.
Effect of Monetary Rewards and Data Privacy Levels on Gen Z’s Willingness to Share Data
Examines fintech and the rise in concern over internet privacy in partnership with FreedomPay, focusing on demographics and consumer behavior.
The Impacts of Chongqing Land Quota System: A Comparison Study
Investigates how research can impact policy in relationship to agribusiness and international development as it relates to economic growth. It highlights the challenges of urbanization on rural farmers and illustrates how students can use existing data resources to pursue comparative research.
The Effect Of COVID-19 On Movie Distribution Within The U.S.
Analyzes how an industry responds in real-time to a global pandemic. A good example of how economics relates to everyday consumer decisions.
Currency Neglect and Its Effect on International Consumers’ Purchase Patterns
Studies consulting and consumer packaged goods (and retail in general) and focuses on using consumer behavior to inform global pricing strategies.
Ready to learn more?
Gain the skills to solve complex business challenges and drive organizational change. Learn more about the MPS AEM program and how its hands-on experiences, like the capstone project, prepare you to make an immediate impact in your career.