The Doctoral Capstone Experience (DCE) is an immersive process designed to develop occupational therapy leaders, researchers, educators, and community advocates who deliver sustainable, high-impact outcomes for the populations they serve. During the DCE sequence, students engage in high-level analysis, synthesis, and integration to design and implement a project that represents the student’s unique skillset and perspective.
Turn your passion into sustainable, real-world impact. At Shenandoah University, our Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Doctoral Capstone Experience (DCE) goes beyond standard academic projects. Through our innovative Pathway Model and Longitudinal Capstone Initiatives, you will gain advanced skills as an occupational therapy leader, researcher, educator, or advocate, delivering meaningful outcomes for the communities and populations that need them most.
Why SU’s Doctoral Capstone Model Stands Out
When comparing OTD programs, the capstone experience is often where programs differ most. At Shenandoah, we take the stress out of project development while maximizing your professional growth:
- No Cold-Calling or Searching Alone
All capstone initiatives are directly sourced from real, pre-identified needs of partnering healthcare systems, community organizations, and faculty initiatives.
- Guaranteed Alignment
Our matching curation process ensures you are paired with a project aligned with your professional goals, leadership style, and clinical interests.
- Built for Sustainable Community Impact
Every project is structured for long-term sustainability, equipping host sites with usable manuals, training toolkits, and resources so your work continues to make a difference long after you graduate.
- Mentorship
You are backed by dedicated academic, clinical, and administrative mentors every step of the way.
Choose Your Focus: The Three Capstone Pathways
- Community & Clinical Initiatives
- Focus: Program development, clinical practice expansion, quality improvement, health promotion, and advocacy.
- What You’ll Do: Partner with healthcare networks, non-profits, or community agencies to establish, expand, or evaluate evidence-based occupational therapy services.
- Research
- Focus: Contributing to occupational therapy scholarship through empirical inquiry, data analysis, and translational science.
- What You’ll Do: Work alongside faculty mentors on clinical, academic, or community research questions, leading methodology design, data collection, and scholarly dissemination.
- Education & Leadership
- Focus: Academic teaching, clinical education, policy advocacy, staff development, or organizational administration.
- What You’ll Do: Design higher-education curricula, lead educational campaigns, build professional frameworks, or spearhead administrative and leadership initiatives within healthcare or academic organizations.
The Capstone Curriculum Sequence
The OTD capstone sequence is seamlessly integrated across the 3-year curriculum. Students learn and develop relevant skills in each of the core courses, with dedicated capstone development starting in fall term of the second year:
Fall (Year 2) | OT 746: Capstone Introduction (2 credits)
Focus: Professional identity, population needs & project matching
Spring (Year 2) | OT 847: Capstone Design (3 credits)
Focus: Literature review, methods & IRB
Summer & Fall (Year 3) – Level II Fieldwork Rotations
Spring (Year 3) | OT 858: Capstone Experience (8 Credits) & OT 859: Capstone Dissemination (3 credits)
Focus: 14-week implementation, outcome evaluation, and dissemination
The 14-Week Doctoral Capstone Experience: Real-World Execution
The final step of the doctoral journey takes place in the Spring of Year 3 during OT 858 (Capstone Experience) and OT 859 (Capstone Dissemination). This is where preparation transforms into high-impact clinical, educational, or community practice.
- 14-Week Full-Time Immersion: Students complete a minimum of 32 hours per week on-site/in-field (in-person, virtual, or hybrid), totaling at least 448 immersive hours dedicated to the capstone project.
- Hands-On Project Execution: Under direct mentorship, students put their evidence-based plan into practice—delivering direct interventions, running pilot programs, implementing curricula, or gathering clinical data.
- Outcome Evaluation & Data Analysis: Students actively collect, analyze, and interpret real-world outcome data to measure the impact of the intervention on the target population or host organization.
- Scholarly Dissemination: The experience culminates in a final doctoral paper and formal presentation, sharing results and sustainable recommendations directly with the host site, stakeholders, and the Division of Occupational Therapy.