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College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS)

Culminating Project

You'll complete a capstone project related to your concentration.

Project Overview

The culminating project can take a diversity of forms. Examples include a long paper, a video production, a community engagement project, an educational program, a creative writing, a website, a handbook or a business plan.

Students not completing a research or analytical paper should write a 12-15 page critical introduction to their project, explaining its purpose, your process, its results and implications, and how you’ll build on this work.

You’ll earn three hours of credit for completing the culminating project. And students must present the project before graduation.

Project guidelines

Recent culminating projects

Women in Leadership

Gale McKoy Wilkins, executive director of the NC Council for Women, focused her final project on creating means to develop women and girls with the skills and confidence they need to become leaders, including early exposure to leadership skills and interactions with positive leadership role models.

Criminal Psychology

Jennifer Cowley competed her MALS degree while working full time at the Wake County District Attorney’s office. For her final project, she researched how best to help mentally ill incarcerated offenders transition back into the community successfully, and compiled recommendations that transition programs could implement to help insure that success.

Military Ethics

Cristian Mihai Maris, a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, has held various hospitality management positions. His final research project analyzes the ethical readiness of the Army’s junior officers and proposes a new approach — one that embraces a Kantian theoretical approach derived from Lawrence Kohlberg’s approach to moral education.

Education in the African-American Community

Bria Sledge has worked with children and families at several private schools. Her project highlighted the impact families, teachers and professionals can have on African American children from low-income families.