Between the Colors and the Numbers

This paper is an analysis of Western Washington University's Honors Capstone Project, an open-ended project designed to be student-led that all students in WWU's Honors College are expected to complete at the end of their college career. Data was collected through an analysis of every capstone presented between fall 2019 and fall 2023, and interviews conducted amongst students working on their capstones and alumni who had completed a capstone with the intention to answer the question, “How do people think about and approach the Honors Capstone project?” Results showed that most people did a project within their major, but frequently connected something seemingly unrelated to their major in the project. This data is used to argue that the Capstone Project is an important part of WWU's Honors Program. The paper ends with discussion of how the Honors Capstone Project can be used to create other educational projects and advice given for Honors students starting their Capstone. (The data set for the project is included as a supplementary file on this page.)