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: Nariyo Kono
CRN: 44044
Grant Writing for Indigenous Sustainability In the online Capstone course Indigenous Grant Writing, students work collaboratively in teams to research and write grants, and to understand the issues of Indigenous communities. Students gain an understanding of collaborative work and the importance of equal participation from every team member. Students examine the role of non-profit organizations in addressing social, ethical, and political issues. They also consider the role of funding and...
Fall 2019Fall 2020Fall 2021Spring 2021Winter 2020Winter 2023
Sustainability Grantwriting Global Perspectives Online or Hybrid Courses Hybrid or Fully online
Instructor Name: Rick Hugo
CRN: 63758
Your course project will be to create a Virtual Field Environment (VFE) which will be used by K-12 classroom teachers and community educators to "visit" local field sites with their students. You can find a list of our VFEs here. Our challenge is to take a VFE beyond the typical virtual tour and create a rich, engaging learning environment that facilitates student-centered inquiry. You must also strive to engage learners from different cultural backgrounds and with different learning...
Fall 2019Fall 2020Fall 2021Fall 2022Spring 2020Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023
Education-Youth Science Outdoors Ecology Sustainability Education
Instructor Name: Robert Bremmer
CRN: 63811, 63812
Community issues and needs are addressed by developing online media. Students form teams, developing web pages, videos and other digital media to assist community partners achieve their goals, and to address community needs.
We are fully online, students may be remote anywhere in the world with good internet connection. Expect considerable communication between students in groups; the course is split between group work and individual work You must communicate and work as part of a...
Fall 2020Fall 2021Fall 2022Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023Summer 2020Summer 2021Summer 2022Winter 2021Winter 2022Winter 2023
Online Course Business-Engineering-Technology-Visual Design Sustainability Community Health Social Inequity Solutions
Instructor Name: Catherine Howells
CRN: 63786
Portland's Water: History and Challenges. This course is designed to give students an opportunity to learn about tap water and create community outreach products for the Portland Water Bureau. Our community partner for this class is the Portland Water Bureau. This class will focus on the Bull Run watershed (the source of Portland's drinking water) and the work of the Portland Water Bureau -- how they deliver our water to our taps. We will learn about the history of the water system, the...
Fall 2019Fall 2020Fall 2021Fall 2022Spring 2020Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023Summer 2019Summer 2020Summer 2021Summer 2022Winter 2020Winter 2021Winter 2022Winter 2023
Sustainability Research Community Health Business-Engineering-Technology
Instructor Name: Amy Steel
CRN: 64565
This class typically facilitates a Creative Reuse S.U.N. after school art class at Vestal Elementary School for Social Justice. During Covid 19 remote instruction this class will operate slightly differently. We will have scheduled remote meetings on Thursday from 2-450 with up to 3 hours a week of homework a week due on Wednesday nights before class. We will work with SCRAP (School and Community Reuse Action Project) to develop creative reuse video lessons for elementary students for...
Spring 2021
Sustainability Education-Youth Arts
Instructor Name: Lisa Jo Frech
CRN: 63805
Environmentalism is a philosophy and social movement (some call it a revolution) involving both protection and improvement of the health of our natural environment. Environmentalism is an attempt to achieve sustainability so that both humans and the Earth thrive without compromising future generations. The movement in this country is credited as starting with Rachel Carson and her extremely popular book Silent Spring published in 1962, when it fact it was spawned in 1945 with the return of...
Fall 2020Fall 2021Fall 2022Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023Summer 2021Summer 2022Winter 2021Winter 2022
Grantwriting Ecology Online or Hybrid Courses Sustainability Ecology or Sustainability Advocacy Hybrid or Fully online
Instructor Name: David Osborn
CRN: 63777
Celilo Falls: Decolonization, Dams and Salmon in the Pacific NW
The Columbia river flows through our region in physical and metaphorical ways. Present in the story of the river and the salmon that navigate it are social issues, history and conflict that continue to impact NW communities. Through a place-based, experiential approach we will engage this content. Over the course of the term we will spend the majority of our class time outside of the classroom near the river and at sites of...
Fall 2019Fall 2020Fall 2021Fall 2022Spring 2018Spring 2019Spring 2020Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023Summer 2018Summer 2019Summer 2020Summer 2021Summer 2022
social movements environmental justice Northwest history colonization social change Sustainability Ecology Activism
Instructor Name: Megan Kupko
CRN: 63762
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 2019Fall 2020Fall 2021Fall 2022Spring 2020Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023Summer 2019Summer 2020Summer 2021Summer 2022Winter 2021Winter 2022Winter 2023
Education-Youth Sustainability Community Health Science
Instructor Name: Deborah Burke
CRN: 63807
This Capstone will partner with the Learning Gardens Laboratory (LGL), a 12-acre garden education site on Portland’s southeast side. Students work collaboratively to gather stories of community gardeners, teachers, and community partners who regularly gather at LGL to learn and farm. Capstone students will gain skills in interviewing, storytelling, and using narrative as a means for social change, in addition to learning about sustainable food systems and the impact of learning gardens.
Spring 2020Spring 2021Spring 2022Spring 2023
Community Health Sustainability Education social justice Ecology Garden-based learning food
Instructor Name: Deborah Rutt
CRN: 81278
This course will explore the concepts of sustainability, growing food, and personal connection to land/nature through community engagement with the PSU Learning Gardens Lab (LGL). This course focuses on community building, group discussion, and personal reflection and will involve working on projects that support the mission of LGL. LGL is located in SE Portland at 6745 SE 60th Ave, Portland, OR 97206.
Spring 2021Summer 2022
Garden-based learning Learning Gardens Learning Garden Sustainability community engagement