2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The 2025 Capstone Survey: Unpacking the Open-Ended Responses

Presented at Design in Engineering Education Division (DEED) Technical Session 4: Programmatic Structures and Professional Transitions in Capstone

Capstone courses offer engineering and engineering technology (ET) students a culminating design experience, but the structure, logistics, and implementation of capstone courses varies widely. The 2025 Capstone Survey, conducted in spring 2025, continued the decennial census of capstone experiences to catalog current practices, identify emerging trends, and provide historical comparison. The survey reprised many of the questions from its 1994, 2005, and 2015 predecessors, augmented with additional questions on related topics. The survey was completed by 512 respondents representing 498 distinct departments at 301 institutions. This paper focuses specifically on a subset of five open-ended questions from the 2025 Capstone Survey, including longitudinal comparison with the responses to the same questions in 2015. Responses reflected a broad diversity of logistical and pedagogical practices across capstone experiences, while respondents consistently emphasized authenticity, relationship-building, and student ownership. Persistent challenges included time/workload, student engagement, and project/industry sourcing, with 2025 respondents placing greater emphasis on process over product and using a wide range of strategies to secure projects. These qualitative data serve as a useful window into capstone practices through the experiences of those who teach and coordinate it, raising issues and highlighting current practices in engineering capstone education to guide further development in the field.

Authors

Prof. Susannah Howe Smith College [biography]

Susannah Howe, Ph.D. is the Design Clinic Director in the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, where she coordinates and teaches the capstone engineering design course. Her current research focuses on innovations in engineering design education, particularly at the capstone level. She is invested in building the capstone design community and she is a leader in the biannual Capstone Design Conferences. Her background is in civil engineering with a focus on structural materials. She holds a B.S.E. degree from Princeton, and M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell.
Dr. Rustin Webster Purdue University, New Albany [biography]

Dr. Rustin Webster is an associate professor in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute at Purdue University and specializes in mechanical engineering and computer graphics technology. Prior to academia, he worked for an aerospace and engineering company as a mechanical engineer, product development lead, and researcher. Dr Webster designed various solutions for multiple branches of the Armed Forces, the Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He holds a B.S. in Engineering Graphics and Design and a M.S. in Management of Technology from Murray State University, and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Webster is a certified GD&T-Technologist, SOLIDWORKS Expert, and Six Sigma Green Belt. For his teaching and mentoring of students he has been awarded the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Engineering Technology (ET) National Teaching Award, Purdue University Teaching Academy Fellowship, School of Engineering Technology Outstanding Faculty in Teaching and Learning Award (twice), Purdue Teaching for Tomorrow Fellowship, Purdue Teaching Academy Pandemic Teaching Award, ASEE Engineering Graphics and Design Rising Educator Award, and SME Distinguished Faculty Advisor Award (twice). Dr Webster’s research interests include ET design education with focus areas in computer-aided design (CAD) and pedagogy.
Dr. Matthew Turner Purdue University - Purdue Polytechnic Institute – West Lafayette [biography]

Dr. Matthew Turner is an Associate Professor of ECET at Purdue University New Albany where he teaches courses in power systems and controls. Prior to joining the faculty at Purdue, Professor Turner worked as a researcher at the Conn Center for Renewable

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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