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Health Professions Advisory Committee
(HPAC)
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Senior Presentation (Capstone Requirement)
The Senior Presentation is the Department’s capstone
requirement for majors. To satisfy this requirement, a student must
complete a multiple-draft (at least three drafts) paper written over an
extended period of time, normally at least a semester, and present a 15-minute
seminar on the topic of the paper.
A primary
goal of this requirement is for students to be able to demonstrate to
themselves the high quality work that can be achieved when a writing project is
conducted over a period of several months with considerable feedback and time
for reflection. The expected length of
the paper is not exceptional, normally somewhere between 17 and 25 pages, but
the papers are expected to be very well documented and of very high quality. The presentations are given to the entire
department, with most of the audience consisting of students enrolled in Spring
Biology classes. Thus, new majors, as well as students
considering majoring in Biology, get to see what the type of work done by the
graduating seniors.
Students
are not expected to start from scratch with their Senior Presentation. It is hoped that each student will have done
something as a major on which they can build.
For example, this could be an independent project conducted at
Macalester or on a study abroad program, an internship, or a paper written for
an earlier class. We also encourage
inter-or multi-disciplinary oriented papers, such as papers taking a more
history of science or philosophy of science approach, assuming the students
have a background in the related field.
We strongly urge students to just take three courses during their final
semester so that they have time to work on their Senior Presentation. For students that need the credits for the
fourth course, we recommend that they register for an independent (with a
pass-fail grading option) to work on their Senior Presentation.
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