Capstones
Eligibility Requirement
498RW (4 credit hours)
Fulfills continuing communication and writing GER
𝔻Sci capstone courses offer distinctive collaborations between undergraduate education and the real world. This opportunity is intended for advanced 𝔻Sci majors (i.e., seniors and juniors).
| Industry | Government | Non-profit | Academia |
Partners each bring unique, proprietary challenges to faculty-led teams of student investigators who apply data science skills and substantive expertise to the questions they are presented. The 𝔻Sci capstone is your opportunity to synthesize everything you have learned in your classes and make a real impact.
Students should meet the following requirements:
- Be eligible to enroll in DATASCI 498RW.
- Be prepared to complete the capstone during the Spring semester.
- Priority is given to students who are:
- Closer to graduation.
- Have coursework and experience that closely align with the available capstone projects.
- Complete the Data Science Capstone Application.
- Submit your application by January 5 at 11:59 PM.
Priority consideration is given to applications submitted by October 21. Reviews begin on this date, and students selected during the initial review will receive project notifications beginning October 22.
Applications submitted after October 21 will continue to be reviewed on a rolling basis as project openings remain available.
- Learn the background, business context, and project constraints to define the research problem.
- Collaborate to develop theoretically sound, analytically rigorous, and creative data-driven solutions.
- Meet regularly with project partners, provide progress updates, and incorporate stakeholder feedback.
- Present their final recommendations, findings, models, code, and deliverables to partner organizations and the Emory community.
- Dedicated faculty leads.
- Departmental staff.
- Partner organization liaisons.
- University support units.
- Students selected for a capstone project must enroll in DATASCI 498RW during the Spring semester.
- Capstone courses are offered only in the Spring.
- As of Spring 2024, DATASCI 498RW may count as one upper-level Data Science elective.
- For the Data Science track, DATASCI 498RW fulfills the experiential elective requirement.
- Students may count only one capstone-style course toward the major (except for students in the Data Science track).
- Beginning in Spring 2026, DATASCI 498RW carries the Communication-Intensive designation and may satisfy the Continuing Communication & Writing GER.
Data Science students have partnered with organizations across the nonprofit, government, healthcare, finance, and technology sectors to complete meaningful, real-world capstone projects.
Recent capstone partners include:
- Invest Atlanta
- Science for Georgia
- The Carter Center
- Ballentine Financial
- TechBridge
- DeKalb County District Attorney's Office
Capstone projects vary from year to year based on partner needs and project availability, providing students with opportunities to apply data science skills to real-world challenges while working with external organizations.
Alumni Success Stories
"The research opportunities through QTM were transformative for my career trajectory. Starting with the summer research position with Dr. Shepherd during my junior year, I discovered how much I loved working on real-world data problems. The year-long Capstone project with CareerBuilder, under the guidance of Dr. Glynn and Dr. Montagnes, gave me hands-on experience collaborating with industry partners on meaningful business challenges. This wasn't just academic work - it was the kind of experience that directly translated to my job interviews and my first role at EverQuote..."
"Solving business problems using actual data was a great way to build skills that prepared me for interviews and my career. It gave me experience asking the right questions, finding actionable insights, and presenting to leadership- all which I was able to speak to during interviews and apply to my day-to-day role."
For more information, see our FAQ page.
