{"id":4158,"date":"2016-04-04T11:00:19","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T16:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/?p=4158"},"modified":"2016-10-27T13:51:22","modified_gmt":"2016-10-27T18:51:22","slug":"difference-between-a-dissertation-and-doctoral-capstone-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/difference-between-a-dissertation-and-doctoral-capstone-project\/","title":{"rendered":"The Difference Between Dissertations and Doctoral Capstone Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve been researching doctoral degrees, you may notice that virtually all PhD programs require a dissertation, while professional doctorates may require a doctoral project, much like Capella University\u2019s Doctoral Capstone Experience.<\/p>\n<p>While dissertations are fairly common, what is a doctoral capstone, and what\u2019s the difference between the two?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Dissertation and Doctoral Capstone\u2014Commonalities<\/h4>\n<p>All doctoral programs prepare students to apply research skills in the workplace and community.<\/p>\n<p>Completing either a dissertation or a professional capstone requires intense preparation and a strong foundation in research. Both culminate in a final document that\u2019s publication ready and demonstrates academic rigor.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><em>Learn more about the differences between a <a href=\"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/phd-vs-doctorate-differences\/\">PhD and a professional doctorate<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Dissertation and Doctoral Capstone\u2014Differences<\/h4>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/what-is-a-dissertation\/\">dissertation<\/a> always results in the traditional five-chapter written document.<\/p>\n<p>The doctoral capstone is presented in two parts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A deliverable, which could be a portfolio, a paper of publishable length, or a product such as a change management plan, policy manual, software, or curriculum.<\/li>\n<li>A final report, which describes the creation of the deliverable and the learning that supports it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the focus for each is different.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A <strong>dissertation<\/strong> is an original contribution to the body of academic literature and theory in the field. It addresses a research problem, or a gap in existing research, that will contribute to the knowledge base of the discipline. At Capella, a PhD dissertation involves a quest for new knowledge that is intended to solve a real world problem and be relevant to the field.<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>doctoral capstone <\/strong>is intended to extend or apply research to immediately deliver a solution to an issue within a real world setting. That\u2019s why, unlike the dissertation, the doctoral capstone deliverable can take on so many different forms. It may be the writing of software to solve a specific technical problem, or a curriculum designed to solve a specific educational problem.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4>Time Frame to Completion<\/h4>\n<p>Time frames vary in both types of projects, but in general, a dissertation can take anywhere from 1-2.5 years or more, while a doctoral capstone can take anywhere from 6 months to a year or more, depending on your program.<\/p>\n<p>However, the reduced time frame doesn\u2019t mean the capstone is less rigorous; it\u2019s a different type of project, a different undertaking, but it will be as demanding as a dissertation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Capella\u2019s Dissertation and Doctoral Capstone Experience<\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2016\/04\/Chart_DifferenceBetweenDissertationCapstone.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4399\" src=\"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2016\/04\/Chart_DifferenceBetweenDissertationCapstone.jpg\" alt=\"Chart_DifferenceBetweenDissertationCapstone\" width=\"660\" height=\"760\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2016\/04\/Chart_DifferenceBetweenDissertationCapstone.jpg 660w, https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2016\/04\/Chart_DifferenceBetweenDissertationCapstone-261x300.jpg 261w, https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2016\/04\/Chart_DifferenceBetweenDissertationCapstone-399x460.jpg 399w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 98vw, (max-width: 1199px) 64vw, 660px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<p><em>Capella University offers PhD and professional doctorate degree programs ranging from business to education and health to technology. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Learn more about Capella\u2019s <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.capella.edu\/online-phd-programs\/\"><em>online doctoral programs<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Virtually all PhD and many professional doctorate programs require a dissertation; some professional doctorate programs require a doctoral capstone. Learn the differences (and similarities) between them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":4181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[61,7,261],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4158"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5249,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158\/revisions\/5249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}