iSchool Capstone – Professional Experience Project (PEP)
iSchool Capstone
In their final semester, students in the Master of Science in Information Studies (MSIS) program must complete a capstone project, or “capping” experience, that is to be a culminating experience that synthesizes a variety of skills, knowledge, and expertise gained during their graduate studies. One capstone option that MSIS students can choose is the Professional Experience Project (PEP). The PEP requires students to complete a project relevant to their skills and career interests with a company or organization. This is the most popular capstone experience MSIS student choose to complete, so we are always looking for PEP opportunities to offer to our students.
This is where you come in! If you (or your organization) have a project that you have wanted to complete but haven’t had the time, bandwidth, or expertise, we encourage you to consider offering the task as a PEP opportunity. Through the PEP, you can bring on a MSIS student to your team for a semester-long project, and have them complete your project that can help advance pursuits towards your company’s goals.
PEP Timeline
Capstones take place every fall, spring, and summer semester. You are welcome host a capstone PEP during any or all semesters based on your needs. Students must have their PEP confirmed by the last class day of the semester prior to the semester they intend to complete capstone (ex: Student must confirm their capstone by the last day of the fall semester if they intend to complete their capstone in the spring semester). Therefore, we recommend you to post your capstone position in HireUTexas (Handshake) 3 – 6 months before the semester you are interesting in hosting the capstone PEP.
Create a PEP Opportunity
To create a PEP opportunity, here are a few things to consider:
-
There must be significant deliverables or outcomes. The PEP is not the same as an internship. In internships, you may have students go through specific trainings, or have them complete regular duties. In contrast, the PEP is meant to be a specific project a student completes or makes progress on that addresses issues or challenges that your company faces.
-
This is a one semester project. Students’ PEP takes place over the course of one semester. If you have a project you think will take longer than one semester that is okay! You will just need to consider if this project is appropriate to take on new people each semester, and whether or not there can be mid-project outcomes or deliverables students can meet each semester.
-
Student must have an individual or specific role on your team. The capstone experience is meant to be an individual project for MSIS students. However, if you are wanting to bring on a student as a part of a team that is okay as long as there are specific outcomes or deliverables the individual student can meet in their PEP.
-
There must a field supervisor. For a student to complete a PEP project, there must be someone from the organization participating who will serve as the student’s field supervisor. The field supervisor is someone the student can report to in their work and who will evaluate the students work on the project throughout.
-
Special considerations. Before posting your PEP, think about any special conditions or restrictions that may apply to your project. This can include team size, public display of project or company information, work authorization, intellectual property, etc.
Types of PEP Opportunities
iSchool students develop a variety of interdisciplinary skills during their graduate studies, including training in the following areas:
-
archival science, curation, and preservation
-
data science and analytics
-
data engineering
-
machine learning
-
library science and librarianship
-
UX/UI design or research and human computer interaction
We welcome PEP opportunities in any of these areas! To see examples of PEP opportunities, please visit the Capstone Archives page. Under the “Capstone Type” column, see the project with the label, “Professional Experience Projects”.
Post your PEP Opportunity
Like posting an internship or full-time position, we encourage you to post your PEP opportunity on HireUTexas. You can follow the same instructions for posting a position (specifically the Posting Capstone Projects section on page 4) to get your PEP opportunity on HireUTexas.
Note: As this platform is accessed by all students, please specify iSchool + Capstone Project + Semester + Project Focus in the title, for example: iSchool Capstone Project –Spring 2023 (Data Visualization) We also suggest you clearly state at the beginning of the job description: This capstone opportunity is for School of Information students only.
Market Your PEP Opportunity
Once you post your PEP opportunity, we want to help you find the best student for your project. To market your project, please be sure to email your capstone project to careers@ischool.utexas.edu and the Career Development office will circulate it with iSchool students. Thank you for supporting our students!
PEP Timeline
Capstones take place every fall, spring, and summer semester. You are welcome host a capstone PEP during any or all semesters based on your needs. Students must have their PEP confirmed by the last class day of the semester prior to the semester they intend to complete capstone (ex: Student must confirm their capstone by the last day of the fall semester if they intend to complete their capstone in the spring semester). Therefore, we recommend you to post your capstone position in HireUTexas (Handshake) 3 – 6 months before the semester you are interesting in hosting the capstone PEP.
Create a PEP Opportunity
To create a PEP opportunity, here are a few things to consider:
-
There must be significant deliverables or outcomes. The PEP is not the same as an internship. In internships, you may have students go through specific trainings, or have them complete regular duties. In contrast, the PEP is meant to be a specific project a student completes or makes progress on that addresses issues or challenges that your company faces.
-
This is a one semester project. Students’ PEP takes place over the course of one semester. If you have a project you think will take longer than one semester that is okay! You will just need to consider if this project is appropriate to take on new people each semester, and whether or not there can be mid-project outcomes or deliverables students can meet each semester.
-
Student must have an individual or specific role on your team. The capstone experience is meant to be an individual project for MSIS students. However, if you are wanting to bring on a student as a part of a team that is okay as long as there are specific outcomes or deliverables the individual student can meet in their PEP.
-
There must a field supervisor. For a student to complete a PEP project, there must be someone from the organization participating who will serve as the student’s field supervisor. The field supervisor is someone the student can report to in their work and who will evaluate the students work on the project throughout.
-
Special considerations. Before posting your PEP, think about any special conditions or restrictions that may apply to your project. This can include team size, public display of project or company information, work authorization, intellectual property, etc.
Unsure if your project is a good fit? Please contact careers@ischool.utexas.edu to discuss your project further. You can also look through the Capstone Archives page to see projects from previous years.
Types of PEP Opportunities
iSchool students develop a variety of interdisciplinary skills during their graduate studies, including training in the following areas:
-
archival science, curation, and preservation
-
data science and analytics
-
data engineering
-
machine learning
-
library science and librarianship
-
UX/UI design or research and human computer interaction
We welcome PEP opportunities in any of these areas! To see examples of PEP opportunities, please visit the Capstone Archives page. Under the “Capstone Type” column, see the project with the label, “Professional Experience Projects”.
Post your PEP Opportunity
Like posting an internship or full-time position, we encourage you to post your PEP opportunity on HireUTexas. You can follow the same instructions for posting a position (specifically the Posting Capstone Projects section on page 4) to get your PEP opportunity on HireUTexas.
Note: As this platform is accessed by all students, please specify iSchool + Capstone Project + Semester + Project Focus in the title, for example: iSchool Capstone Project –Spring 2023 (Data Visualization) We also suggest you clearly state at the beginning of the job description: This capstone opportunity is for School of Information students only.
Market Your PEP Opportunity
Once you post your PEP opportunity, we want to help you find the best student for your project. To market your project, please be sure to email your capstone project to careers@ischool.utexas.edu and the Career Development office will circulate it with iSchool students. Thank you for supporting our students!