The 2014 edition of the ACS Guidelines for Bachelor Degree Programs will strongly encourage approved programs to require that their certified chemistry majors participate in a capstone experience. An important aspect of this integrative experience is the opportunity it provides programs to assess their students’ ability to integrate knowledge, use the chemical literature and demonstrate effective communication skills. In this CPT-sponsored symposium, we will explore possible approaches for providing such experiences and for using these experiences in the assessment of certified majors. The symposium will consist of a combination of invited and contributed talks as well as small group discussion among the participants. The ACS Committee on Professional Training expects that a broad range of approaches could be taken to provide students with appropriate capstone experiences. Examples include undergraduate research, an advanced laboratory course, a more traditional skill-focused capstone course, or a mentored teaching experience. The CPT hopes to use this symposium to simulate discussion of how professional development of students could be promoted through such upper-level skill-focused experiences.
