Capstone Project

It’s in the spirit of the water utility community to share knowledge. The quick dispersal of best practices and technologies across utilities can create great gains for public health! In the MS in Water Utility Management, students are prepared to utilize their new business skills and utility management competencies to create new knowledge through their Capstone Project.

• In WMGT 690: Capstone 0, students are introduced to the scientific method and research techniques in the context of business. How might companies use research to improve? This training course is taken simultaneously with WMGT 550: Business Analytics, in which students learn skills to process and extract truths from data. Also in Capstone 0, students begin the process of sketching out research ideas.
• In WMGT 691: Capstone 1 students finalize their capstone project topic, conduct background research, and begin collecting data relevant to a real-world issue in water utility management. Students may choose a problem pertinent to their employer, choose a research question of broader interest to the water utility community, or partner with a third-party “client”. Emphasis is placed on utilizing lessons learned across coursework offered in the program, including data analytics and management, ethics, and best practices in business.
• In WMGT 692: Capstone 2 students analyze their literature and data, drawing conclusions on their research question. They will turn in a written report and present their findings at the Capstone Residency. An award will be given to the best Capstone Thesis in each cohort.