Practicum is a six-credit capstone course that serves as the culmination of the graduate program, allowing students to integrate, apply, and reflect on their core degree competencies. Designed to bridge academic learning with professional practice, this course requires students to propose, design, and implement an applied project within their field. Prior to the start of the term, students select one of three experiential tracks to format their learning: an Internship/Job Project within a host organization, a Client Project collaborating with a partner organization, or an Independent Research track that employs empirical methods to explore a policy-relevant topic.



Operating under a scaffolded seven-step process, students advance their projects through milestones including defining a research question or project idea, conducting a literature review, and developing a project implementation plan. This process continues with a preliminary draft and a full draft, culminating in public presentations and a final reflection assignment. Students receive regular guidance on these steps from faculty and peer mentors. Final assessment is distributed across three core areas: the completed field or research project deliverables (50%), presentations delivered to both the host organization and the campus community (25%), and participation and a final written reflection (25%).