This course encourages students to integrate knowledge and skills from across the MPA curriculum to develop a professional portfolio, or a research paper, that demonstrates core competencies. The course is organized as a project-based seminar in which students work individually under the guidance of the professor while sharing feedback and advice with each other. By completing and presenting their capstone projects, students will demonstrate their abilities in the five core competencies of the MPA program: 1) To lead and manage in the public interest; 2) To participate in, and contribute to, the policy process; 3) To analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems, and make evidence-informed decisions in a complex and dynamic environment; 4) To articulate, apply, and advance a public service perspective; and 5) To communicate and interact productively and in culturally responsive ways with a diverse and changing workforce and society at large.