Flipping the Capstone: Can Doing It Wrong Be Right?

In the architecture and construction world, a capstone is the final stone placed at the apex of a stone arch. In undergraduate engineering education, a capstone is a culminating major design experience that requires the engineering student to synthesize and apply knowledge and skills gained in previous curricula to solve a significant technical challenge. Engineering education uses the architecture and construction imagery to imply that the capstone design experience is the final building block in the student’s undergraduate engineering education. This paper inverts this model by suggesting that it may be advantageous for undergraduate engineering students to commence with a major design experience at the outset of their engineering curricula rather than waiting to complete their capstone experience during their final undergraduate academic year.