ECE Department Capstone Project Program
Frequent Questions
How is Capstone different from an internship or co-op program?
The Capstone project is required for graduation while an internship or co-op program is optional. While an intern or co-op student may participate in a team project while on the job, the team design project is the essential part of the capstone experience. Students request assignment to specific capstone projects on the basis of their interests and backgrounds and capstone teams are formed on that basis. By contrast, individual students apply for and are interviewed and selected for co-op programs.
Is there a fee to participate?
There is no fee or payment from the community partner. However, depending upon the project, the community partner may need to budget and pay for components, printed circuit board fabrication, equipment, software required by the project.
Are the students paid?
Students are not paid. They receive course credit for their project work.
What about intellectual property?
Unless other arrangements are made, the community partner owns any intellectual property created during the project. Students and faculty advisors are familiar with NDAs and assignments of IP rights and the sponsor may make them a requirement for participation in the project.
One of our employees is a PSU senior. Can she work on a capstone project with us?
Yes, provided that it’s a team design project which other PSU seniors can be assigned to, meets our requirements (e.g. design methodology and documentation), and fits the timeframe for project proposal, selection, and completion.
How many hours are the students available to work on the project?
Students should spend an average of 8-10 hours per week on the project over the winter and spring quarters.
How long do the projects last?
Students typically meet with their community partners in December prior to the winter break. They are expected to begin research during break and begin work in earnest in early January. Projects are to be complete by June 1st with final project presentations during the first week of June.
What kinds of projects are suitable?
The ideal project is a design project requiring a team of approximately four students that can be completed in 6 months with each student contribution 8-10 hours per week. In addition to design projects, past projects have included feasibility studies, creation of detailed examples for electronic design tools, and evaluation of different approaches to design problems. The essential ingredient is some design component. The PSU ECE Department Capstone web site lists capstone projects from prior years.
Finally, keep in mind that while students are expected to complete their projects (and their grade depends in part upon the success of the project), they are students. So, “mission-critical” projects are probably not good candidates for capstone projects. As with any project, we cannot guarantee success.
What are my responsibilities as a sponsor?
You’ll need to have a technical advisor for the project who can answer questions, review progress, and meet with the student team as necessary. Many sponsors provide badges and cubicle space for the student team if they are required to work on site. Some sponsors have put the teams through the entire new-hire process to help get them used to the company products, rules, culture, etc.
If space at the company is not possible, we do have very strong windows XP and Unix based computer resources at PSU, as well as state-of-the-art electronic hardware labs. Also, we have a small Capstone Project workshop with test equipment, soldering stations, etc. This workshop is keyed and is reasonably secure, but it is usually shared by a couple of teams, so we cannot completely guarantee confidentiality.
You'll also provide input to the faculty advisor on the students’ grades.
What do we get?
Aside from the satisfaction of playing an integral role providing a quality project experience as part of the engineering education of our students, you’ll most likely see the completion of a meaningful project for your organization that you might not otherwise be able to undertake due to time, resource, or budget constraints. You’ll also get an up-close look at 3-5 of our students over an extended project experience. Finally, if our past sponsors are to be believed, you’ll have fun and enjoy interacting with our students.
Who do I contact to propose a project or to learn more about the program
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Portland State University
FAB 160-16
1900 SW Fourth Avenue
Portland, Oregon, 97201
email: faustm@ece.pdx.edu
phone: 503-725-5412