Earn Full Certification

The Capstone Project is the culminating milestone of the Community Engagement Professional (CEP) credential program. It's your opportunity to bring together everything you've learned across five CEP microcredential courses and show how you apply it in your own professional context in a format that works for you.

Successful completion of the capstone results in full CEP certification.

The capstone is a substantive, reflective demonstration of your growth as a community engagement professional. Rather than a single prescribed assignment, it's designed to meet you where you are, whether you're a seasoned practitioner with years of work to draw from or someone building toward a new role in the field.

Every capstone includes a Reflective Narrative (800–1,200 words), which serves as the heart of your submission. In it, you'll explore your evolving professional identity, examine how your own background and positionality shape your practice, and connect your learning across the credential program. Beyond the narrative, you'll choose one of seven formats that best fits your professional context and learning style.

You know your work best. That's why the capstone offers seven approved formats, so you can demonstrate your competency in a way that's meaningful and authentic to your practice.

Professional Portfolio
A curated collection of work artifacts such as partnership agreements, training materials, needs assessments, and communication plans with reflective annotations connecting each piece to CEP competencies. 

Community Engagement Project Plan
A full, implementation-ready engagement strategy for a real or realistic initiative. This format foregrounds strategic planning, equity analysis, and stakeholder thinking.

Reflective Case Study
An in-depth written analysis of a specific community engagement effort, applying at least three CEP frameworks to examine what worked, what didn't, and how you would approach it differently. 

Presentation or Scholarly Defense
A 20–25 minute live presentation before an evaluator panel, followed by a 10–15 minute Q&A. This format assesses depth of understanding across all five CEP course areas.

Teaching or Training Module
A complete, ready-to-facilitate workshop or professional development module (60–90 minutes) designed to build community engagement capacity in others.

Video or Multimedia Documentary
An 8–12 minute documentary or multimedia piece that amplifies community voices or illustrates a community engagement process or challenge. This format centers ethical storytelling and authentic representation.

Community-Based Action Research Project
An investigation of a real question in your community engagement practice using community-engaged research methods, culminating in findings and recommendations. 

Capstone projects are reviewed by two field experts using a shared rubric across six competency areas: the Reflective Narrative, Fundamentals of Community Engagement, Partnerships, Critical Commitments, Teaching and Community-Engaged Learning, and Community-Engaged Research.

Each area is scored on a three-level scale:

• Emerging: Beginning awareness, but lacking depth or application
• Proficient: Solid, consistent understanding and application (required for certification)
• Distinguished: Exceptional integration, critical insight, and leadership-level thinking

Candidates must reach Proficient or above in all areas to earn the CEP certification. If any area falls at Emerging, evaluators provide written feedback and candidates have one opportunity to revise and resubmit within 60 days.

The capstone is not a test of perfection, it's an invitation to demonstrate the thinking, reflection, and practice you've been building throughout the program. By the time you reach this stage, you have the knowledge, frameworks, and experience to do this work well. We encourage you to choose a format that genuinely reflects your work and professional context. We look forward to seeing what you create.