Search Courses
You may search for a Senior Capstone course by selecting a THEME or TERM from the menu at the left. You may also search by entering a part of the title or the instructors name in the box below. For concise listings of all 2021-2022 Capstone offerings, review our Capstone Capsule. If you need assistance, contact the Capstone Office/University Studies at 503.725.5890.
Please refer to the PSU Class Schedule regarding the days, hours, and meeting location. For information about when the new class schedule is available or when you can register for the new term, follow this link: When to Register.
NOTE: Due to the intensive nature of Capstones, students must receive permission from the course instructor prior to the first day of class if they are going to miss the first class session. For on-line Capstones, students must demonstrate active participation during the first week of the term. All Capstone courses factor in student attendance and participation into the final grade which is deeply impacted by missing the first week of the term.
NOTE: "Sustainability" tagged courses will NOT automatically count toward the Sustainability Minor. Students must seek approval from Joseph Maser, Ph.D. in the Environmental Science & Management department to count any Capstone toward that specific minor.
SEARCH BY Title or Instructor: Enter a single word from the title of a Capstone, "gardens", "justice", "literacy", etc., the Course Registration Number (CRN), or a professor's first or last name in the box below.
Instructor Name: George Haley
CRN: 44472, 63527
According to Communities of Color in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile, “In total, people of color in 2008 (by traditional Census Bureau counts) comprise 26.3% of the population of the county. When we add the Slavic community to these data, […] the size of the community totals over 200,000 residents." A large number of these residents are immigrants and refugees. The Coalition report finds that these communities face sharp disparities compared to whites in education, income, poverty, and...
Fall 2021Fall 2022Fall 2023Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2024Winter 2021Winter 2022Winter 2023Winter 2024
Immigration Refugees
Instructor Name: Megan Kupko
CRN: 63495, 80913
The time is ripe to be part of the growing sustainable food movement! This class addresses the current food issues that face urban citizens by holistically engaging students in the many layers of Portland's local food and farm culture. Students will critically analyze the state of our current food systems while being engaged in positive solutions to agricultural-related issues. The community partner and classroom is the Learning Gardens Lab, where students will gain hands-on farming...
Fall 2021Fall 2022Fall 2023Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023Spring 2024Summer 2021Summer 2022Summer 2023Summer 2024Winter 2021Winter 2022Winter 2023Winter 2024
Education-Youth Sustainability Community Health Science
Instructor Name: Deborah Rutt
CRN: 63531, 80910
Drawing on personal narratives, political theory, sociological texts, and film, this course will offer an introduction to the experience of incarceration for women, and engage students in collaborative work in support of PSU’s Higher Education in Prison Program and Project Rebound
Fall 2021Fall 2022Fall 2023Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023Spring 2024Summer 2021Summer 2022Summer 2023Summer 2024Winter 2021Winter 2022Winter 2023Winter 2024
Criminal & Juvenile Justice
Instructor Name: Julie Boyles
CRN: 14669, 14670
While the term "food insecurity" has become known and understood, the implications and wide-ranging aspects of it have not. There are physical, emotional, psychological, cultural, health-related, as well as other manifestations that we explore. We look at how food insecurity impacts college students while struggling to remain enrolled; we look at the Portland area and Oregon as a whole; and we look at the national picture of food security in our country. We not only look at the challenges that...
Fall 2021Fall 2022Spring 2021Spring 2022Summer 2021Summer 2022Winter 2021Winter 2022
food; food insecurity; hunger; sustainability; food justice; food equity
Instructor Name: Zapoura Newton-Calvert
CRN: 80902
The Black Lives Matter at School week of action and call to anti-racist curriculum year round was initiated by Seattle educators in 2016 in response to bomb threats by white supremacists toward students and teachers wearing Black Lives Matter/We Stand Together t-shirts at John Muir Elementary School. Inequity in curriculum, curricular violence, bias in textbooks, lack of access to diverse authors and representation in school libraries all contribute to the “achievement gaps” that both federal...
Fall 2022Fall 2023Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023Summer 2024Winter 2021Winter 2022Winter 2024
Instructor Name: Deborah Burke
This Capstone course introduces oral history as a method for documenting, preserving, and amplifying the diverse histories and voices of Portland’s LGBTQ+ communities. Our community partner for this course is the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest (GLAPN).
Through listening to interviews with queer elders and exploring related primary source materials, we will learn about local queer history. Topics will include political activism of the 1970s, the anti-gay backlash and ballot...
Fall 2021Fall 2022Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023Summer 2021Summer 2022Summer 2023Summer 2024Winter 2021Winter 2022Winter 2023
LGBTQ
Instructor Name: Amie Riley, Mercedes Elizalde
CRN: 63496
Is our region’s homelessness crisis getting worse or getting better? In this Capstone you will dive into the complex challenges of affordable housing and homelessness, confronting our country, city, and campus community. Students will engage directly with community activists and experts to problem solve and advocate for holistic solutions within our political, economic, and health systems. Course assignments and Capstone student projects will work to change narratives, implement creative...
Fall 2021Fall 2022Fall 2023Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2024Winter 2022
Hunger Homelessness Food security; Food insecurity; University students; College campus;