Capstone consulting services

Become our client

The capstone provides studentsas they approach the end of their studieswith an opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge they acquired in the master of urban planning program at Wayne State University, to address the needs of a real-world client.

The course organizes students into a planning consulting firm. The client and the capstone firm will agree on a scope of services for the capstone firm to prepare. This "firm" produces a terms of reference based on the predetermined outcomes and deadlines of the client. Capstones are performed during the summer semester, which is fourteen weeks long. It is a four-credit class. The typical number of students is around fifteen, giving an equivalent of 2,500 free consulting hours to a client (15 students each working 12 hours per week for 14 weeks).

The Department of Urban Studies and Planning expects the client to visit with our students at Wayne State (or on-site or the client's office if the client desires) at the beginning of the semester and during the remainder of the semester as is warranted. Regular and frequent exchanges of intermediate inputs with the client will lead to a better product.

We prefer meetings at the client's facilities or in the neighborhood where the project is located. This permits more rapid orientation for students and better keeps them connected with the project. We also expect the client to make themselves and colleagues available for a presentation of the results.

Past clients

• Focus: HOPE
• City of Dearborn
• City Detroit

Capstone Research Consultancy Request For Proposals (RFP)