Course Overview

The Capstone for MTS-Franciscan Theology is completed during the 14-week course MTS 599 Finding Your Voice in the Franciscan Tradition, which is the final course of the degree. Students are encouraged to think about possible projects or themes during the course of their degree work. Throughout all the courses, students are reminded and encouraged to retain copies of their most engaging course work that could feed into their Capstone so that when the student enters MTS 599, they will already have at least nascent thoughts about the subject matter or themes to address.

An MTS Capstone demonstrates each student’s ability to develop a coherent theological argument on a topic about which they feel passionately. The Capstone may contain an experiential component integrating personal, professional, and pastoral concerns and will demonstrate skill in developing a theological framework to situate the topic within the commitment of faith. The student works with peers and the instructor of MTS 599 (Finding Your Voice in the Franciscan Tradition) in the creation and implementation of their project.

Faculty Mentor: each student will select a faculty mentor from a list of available FST Faculty and Instructors in the semester in which the student enrolls in MTS 599 Capstone. In consultation with the course instructor and the MTS-FT Academic Director, students choose a FST faculty mentor whose subject matter expertise aligns with the student’s project or who can offer sufficient guidance with regard to methodology and bibliography. Selection requires approval of the MTS-FT Academic Director prior to the student asking any faculty member. The procedures for selecting, contacting, and working with the faculty mentor are mapped out in the early modules of MTS 599. Students should wait until they are in MTS 599 before contacting any FST faculty about their Capstone. The student is to consult with this faculty mentor only after conducting preliminary groundwork for the project provided in MTS 599. This consultation is scheduled as part of Module 6 of MTS 599.

Availability of Faculty Mentors: Each term a list of faculty mentors with their subject matter expertise, availability for the given term, and contact information will be provided. The availability of faculty varies; not all faculty will be available each term. But adequate academic expertise will be provided. Consultation with the designated faculty mentor will usually be limited to 1-2 hours across the 14 weeks of MTS 599. Meetings between students and mentors are tied to assignments scheduled during week 6 of the course; an optional second meeting is tied to an optional assignment during week 12 of the course. The Academic Director will communicate these dates to faculty who are chosen as mentors, but you can also access the calendar for the online degree. (https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/masters-theological-studies/) You can also contact the Academic Director of the degree if needed.

Capstone projects: Students may choose between these options:

a.) A traditional thesis of c. 50-60 pages developing an argument grounded in a traditional theological discipline (or interdisciplinary approach) across three chapters with an Introduction, Conclusion, footnotes, and bibliography.

b.) Series of short articles amounting to 30 pages of text prepared for identified publications (such as, America, St. Anthony Messenger, Franciscan  Connections, The Way) with an analytical introduction of 15-20 pages explaining the purpose of the collection, research method, sources used to prepare the articles.

c.) Creation of a ministerial event such as a Retreat, Adult Education Lecture Series, or Workshop with detailed presentations scripted or outlined in detail; audio/visual components including PowerPoint slides; schedule of presentations, experiential exercises; “learning outcomes;” logistical and practical  elements including location, budget, environment set up, materials needed;  identification of target audience; promotion plan, etc. amounting to 30 pages of text. Analytical Introduction of 15-20 pages explaining the purpose of the event, the research method used to prepare materials, and the sources used to prepare the presentations for the event.

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