Global Capstone
Global Capstone is the culminating experience and signature project for Elliott School graduate students from seven masters programs, including International Affairs, Security Policy, Global Communication, Asian Studies, European and Eurasian Studies, International Economic Policy and the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program. Every year, over 300 students in 17 different thematic sections collaborate with client organizations to identify policy solutions to current global challenges. Capstone teams conduct in-depth policy analysis, often involving field-research trips to foreign countries, and present policy recommendations to some of the most prestigious institutions in Washington, DC. Previous Global Capstone clients have included the US Department of State, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), The World Bank Group, and other exceptional private, public, and non-profit organizations.
*International Development Studies, Middle East Studies, and International Science and Technology Policy have program-specific Capstones.
Recent Capstone Projects
- List of Select Recent Capstone Projects
Download the list of projects
Capstone Project Title Capstone Client Year Addressing the Anxiety of Allies: Rebuilding the Trust of the Republic of Korea and Japan in U.S. Deterrence Commitments Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA 2025 Arctic Seabed Mining Governance: Advancing Collaboration Through Information Sharing Norwegian Institute of International Affairs 2025 Assessing Factors in the Success of Religious Extremist Recruitment in Uzbekistan: A Comparative Country Analysis U.S. Department of State 2025 Bahrain's Use of Digital Transnational Repression U.S. Department of State 2025 Beyond Checking Boxes: Experiences of Women Politicians in South Africa Commission on Gender Equality 2025 Bridging the Gap: Mitigating Security Risks Caused by Clan del Golfo Influence on Migration Through the Darién Gap FBI 2025 Building Bridges: Opportunities for cooperation in stabilization and development policy between the United States and Japan, South Korea, and Australia U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operation) 2025 China and Russia: Competition or Cooperation in Central Asia? Carnegie Endowment's Russia and Eurasia Program 2025 Circumventing U.S. and International Export Controls/Financial Sanctions on dual-use battlefield items to Russia U.S. Department of State 2025 Critical Minerals and Renewable Energy Supply Chains in the U.S.-PRC Competition Pamir Consulting 2025 Deepening United States-Canada Defense-Related Critical Mineral Collaboration in a United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Silverado Policy Accelerator 2025 Disrupting the Pacific: Determining Drivers of Instability in Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Vanuatu U.S. Department of State 2025 Evaluating the Efficacy of the Inflation Reduction Act: An Analysis of the South Korean Battery Industry Korea Economic Institute 2025 Human Rights in Kenya: The Role of Policy, Advocacy and Diplomacy in Addressing State-Sponsored Violence Avocats Sans Frontières 2025 Land Titling’s Role in Guatemala’s Malnutrition Problem Former U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala 2025 Local Solutions to Global Issues: A Case Study in Guatemala El Refugio de la Niñez 2025 Mass Deportation Policy – At What Cost? Wilson Center, Mexico Institute 2025 Media Policies for Preventing Russian Interference and Democratic Backsliding in Moldova U.S. Department of State 2025 Nuclear Energy Development in Southeast Asia in the Context of Great Power Competition U.S. Department of State 2025 Preventing Violent Extremism in Uzbekistan: Radicalization Among Diaspora Workers U.S. Department of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs 2025 Program Evaluation of Heavenly Goshen’s Business Empowerment Program for Women Who Have Experienced Gender-Based Violence Heavenly Goshen 2025 Prospects for Enhanced U.S.-ROK Economic Cooperation in the Context of Great Power Competition NBR 2025 Queering Liberalism The Politicization of LGBTQI+ Rights and the Rise of Eastern Europe’s Far Right Háttér Társaság 2025 Securing Consumer IoT Devices FCC 2025 Stock-take and Resiliency Strategies: Gender-Based Violence Resources of Refugee Council USA Coalition Members Refugee Council USA 2025 Strengthening Climate Resilience: Strategies and Considerations for Climate Adaptation and Climate Migration in the Pacific Islands Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) 2025 STRENGTHENING TRILATERAL COOPERATION TO COMBAT NORTH KOREA’S CYBER-ENABLED FINANCIAL CRIMES 38 North 2025 Strengthening U.S. Strategic Interest: The Case for Continued Engagement in the Lobito Corridor GWU 2025 TARGETED FROM AFAR: TEHRAN'S REACH AND WASHINGTON'S RESPONSIBILITY U.S. Department of State, Counterterrorism Bureau 2025 The Media’s Role in Conflict Legacies: Framing Taliban Authority in Post-Withdrawal Afghanistan Institute for Global Communications and Public Diplomacy 2025 The Problem with Centralized Resettlement Policy: An Examination of Integration Challenges for Female North Korean Escapees into South Korean Society Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) 2025 THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN PEACEBUILDING: Expanding Spaces for CSOs in Peacebuilding Efforts in Sudan USIP 2025 Uncharted Waters: Enhancing the Security of NATO Critical Undersea Infrastructure Russia Maritime Studies Institute at the U.S. Naval War College 2025 Wholesale Warfare Bureau of Intelligence and Research- Department of State 2025 Measuring Impact: Weathering Risk Peace Pillar Adelphi 2024 China-US-Middle East Defense Relationship Triangle U.S. Department of State 2024 Synthetic Biology: An Emerging National Security Concern U.S. Department of State 2024 Wagner’s Role in Shaping Russian Foreign Policy in West Africa U.S. Department of State 2024 Guarding the Depths: Countering Hybrid Threats to Undersea Infrastructure in the European Arctic European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats 2024 Truth Finnishes First: Applying Finnish Best Practices in Combatting Disinformation to U.S. Policy German Marshall Fund 2024 Russian Information Operations in Turkey: Landscape, Tactics, Tools, and Procedures Global Engagement Center, U.S. Department of State 2024 Chinese Challenges to U.S. Primacy and Alliances with Taiwan and Japan GW 2024 Trade-Offs in the Wake of Climate Change: Mitigation Strategies and their Impact on Poverty, Gender, and Growth in Colombia IFPRI 2024 Bringing Transnistrian Youth Into Moldovan Universities: Facilitating Reunification and Curbing the Demographic Cliff Initiative4Peace 2024 Local Voices, Global Impact: Case Studies in PSEA Network Development and NGO Engagement across Diverse Humanitarian Contexts International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) 2024 Quantifying the Impact of Climate-Change Awareness on Financial Intermediation and Financial Asset Prices International Monetary Fund 2024 Navigating Korea’s Strategic Engagement with ASEAN Korean Economic Institute of America (KEI) 2024 Refugee Economic Integration in Uganda and Ethiopia: Lessons Learned in Policy, Implementation, and Vulnerable Populations Norwegian Refugee Council 2024 Shielding Democracy: Insights from Taiwan’s 2024 Election Disinformation Strategies for the U.S. RAND Corporation 2024 Analysis of the Gender-based Limitations of Female Refugee Empowerment Programming in Uganda Refugees International 2024 The External Sources of Hezbollah’s Strength U.S. Department of State 2024 The Feasibility of Industrial Microgrids in Vietnam to Assist Green Transition and Grid Modernization Stimson Center 2024 Choppy Waters? How US Policymakers Should Address Competition with the PRC in Melanesia and Pacific Island Countries The Atlantic Council 2024 The Implications of China and Russia’s Partnership on Critical Minerals The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies 2024 Exploring the Feasibility of Electricity Industrial Microgrids in Vietnam The Stimson Center 2024 Russia's Kamikaze Drones in Ukraine: Adaptation, Strategy & Military Effectiveness The Stimson Center 2024 Hezbollah as a Non-State Actor: Probing Early Warning Indicators for Fragility & Governance Challenge in Lebanon The Wilson Center 2024 Rising Giant: China's Semiconductor Sector (And What Washington Can Do About It) U.S. Commerce Department 2024 Arctic Thunder: NATO countering Russia in the High North U.S. Department of State 2024 Darién Gap Migration U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration 2024 Russian Malign Influence in Colombia U.S. Department of State, Global Engagement Center 2024 Empowering Communities: Promoting Sustainable Peacebuilding Initiatives in Sierra Leone United States Institute of Peace 2024 Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission in a Comparative Context: Unraveling Shortcomings in Transitional Justice United States Institute of Peace 2024 Frauds and Front Companies: An Open Source Analysis of North Korea’s Commercial Cyber Enablers US Cyber Command (and National Security Innovation Network) 2024 The Environmental and Security Impacts of IUU Fishing in Costa Rica U.S. Department of State 2024 The Potential for a New Era of Renewable Energy Development in Tunisia U.S. Department of State 2024 Advancing the EV Industry in Vietnam US-ASEAN Business Council 2024 A comparative analysis of Vietnam and Taiwan's semiconductor industry development US-ASEAN Business Council 2024 Beyond the Courts: Public Sentiment of Transitional Justice in Colombia's Peace Accord Implementation USIP 2024 Assessing the Impact of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on Pakistan’s Stability and Development: A Case Study Analysis USIP 2024 Capabilities-Based Assessment of Transnational Criminal Organization Policing Wild Response 2024 Capabilities Based Assessment: International Wildlife Trafficking Policy Wild Response 2024 U.S. Engagement in Deep Sea Mining: Security Implications & Partnership Opportunities Wilson Center 2024 Can Arévalo Beat the Odds? Addressing a History of Corruption and Judicial Weakness in Guatemala WOLA 2024
Learning Outcomes
Capstone projects will employ academic knowledge, original research, and professional skills in a culminating project. Over the duration of the capstone, students will:
- Enhance their knowledge of a policy issue and identify the key actors and dynamics involved
- Design and execute a policy-oriented research project
- Identify and utilize appropriate quantitative and qualitative research methods
- Cultivate effective teamwork and work-related negotiation skills
- Strengthen time-management skills to meet target dates
- Develop project management, formal briefing, and analytic skills
Requirements
The Capstone program is usually completed in the second year of graduate study at the Elliott School.
During the Fall semester, students register for the IAFF 6898 Capstone Workshop; in this course, students form groups, select topics, and develop client partnerships and project proposals.
In the final semester, students register for the IAFF 6899 Capstone Course; in this course, the majority of the policy research is completed. In late April, students present their findings to peers, faculty, and clients in a culminating Global Capstone event.
The Global Capstone Office has also started offering Spring/Fall and Spring/Summer sequencing options, in order to broaden Capstone offerings for students.
Faculty
- Communications and Public Diplomacy
irinak87
gwu [dot] edu (irinak87[at]gwu[dot]edu)- Conflict Resolution
tgreiff
gwu [dot] edu (tgreiff[at]gwu[dot]edu)- Defense Analysis and Policy
rzirkle
gwu [dot] edu (rzirkle[at]gwu[dot]edu)- Humanitarian Assistance and Global Gender Policy
jenniferfox
gwu [dot] edu (jenniferfox[at]gwu[dot]edu)- International Organizations and Cooperation
michael [dot] simsik
gwu [dot] edu (michael[dot]simsik[at]gwu[dot]edu)- International Development and Security
porterrt
gwu [dot] edu (porterrt[at]gwu[dot]edu)- International Economic Policy and Finance
omanzano
gwu [dot] edu (omanzano[at]gwu[dot]edu)- Transnational Security
Katie Donahue
donahuekm
gwu [dot] edu (donahuekm[at]gwu[dot]edu)- Transnational Security: Security and Religion
rollielal
gwu [dot] edu (rollielal[at]gwu[dot]edu)- Transnational Security: Environmental Security
Kurt D. Donnelly
donnellykd
gwu [dot] edu (donnellykd[at]gwu[dot]edu)- U.S. Foreign Policy and Global Interests
Erwan Lagadec - elagadec
gwu [dot] edu (elagadec[at]gwu[dot]edu)Lynne Weil - lynneweil
gwu [dot] edu (lynneweil[at]gwu[dot]edu)- Spring Cycle
Client Information
Working with clients is a fundamental aspect of the Capstone. The principal client deliverable is a report that identifies a clear policy action for the client, an argument for the policy action, or a policy-based deliverable that can be implemented by the client.
Working with an Elliott School Capstone team offers clients:
- Research and analysis on a timely policy issue
- Professional consulting from a team of diverse professionals
- Innovative thinking from graduate students of a world-class international affairs program
Hear From a Student
"Our capstone class was phenomenal. We had Professor George Moose and some members of our group traveled to Sierra Leone, and we got to learn and explore a lot. It was very exciting and really amazing to put together a paper and learn a lot about an interesting topic. That was an awesome experience."
Peter Eggeriding
M.A. International Affairs