Selection Criteria for Cornerstone and Capstone Design Projects

While many engineering programs have long offered capstone design courses, more are beginning tooffer a cornerstone introductory project-based course as well. At Harvey Mudd College, this hasbeen the accepted practice for almost 40 years. This paper presents the considerations used inselecting projects for both the introductory course and the capstone Clinic Program, and notes thekey differences and similarities in selecting projects. Both programs use actual clients from outsidethe college, and both expect the students to learn aspects of professional practice beyondintellectual techniques and skills. In both cases, the key to selecting successful projects is tofocus on the ability of the students to perform the project, and the relationship of the project to`real-world' engineering.