Each MPSIA student must complete one of the following capstone projects:
- PSIA392 Master’s Essay, which analyzes a particular topic.
- PSIA391 Policy Internship Project, which offers students the opportunity to participate in the functions of a government or non-governmental agency and to write an internship paper.
- PSIA393 Policy Paper, which gives the students an opportunity to conduct a more thorough analysis of a current social or political problem and recommend alternative intervention strategies.
The goals of the capstone project are to provide students with the opportunity to reflect on their learning throughout their studies and contribute to knowledge in their area of interest. The maximum length of the capstone essay is 10,000 words (around 30 pages), excluding bibliography.
Presentations
Students are required to present their research findings from their capstone project in an open forum in mid-late April attended by faculty and students, who give feedback. Guidelines for presentations:
- Presentations should be a maximum of 10 minutes long, plus 5 minutes for questions and discussion from the audience.
- Students may use Power Point slides if they wish (or some other visual aid).
- Briefly introduce research question and/ or hypotheses, or explain internship project.
- Explain how you have answered these questions/ hypotheses, or what you learnt during internship.
- Summarize conclusion.
Faculty and other students will give feedback and then students have a few weeks to finish writing their essays or papers.
Submission
The capstone is to be submitted by the final day of classes of the semester. Students must submit it both in hard copy and electronic copy:
- Two hard copies to be submitted to PSIA administrator (one for the department library, the other for the examiner).
- Electronic copy to be submitted through Turnitin on Moodle. A Moodle page will be created for submission
Grading – capstones are read and graded by the supervisor and one other faculty member. The two come to agreement on final grade by consensus. Second examiner will not be involved with the project prior to grading. Grades submission: all grades will be submitted by the same date of submission of course grades.
Spring 2016
| Student | Title |
| Avetisyan Liana | Distributive Justice in Armenia |
| Hakhinyan Arpine | Women’s Shelters in Armenia |
| Harutyunyan Lilit | Inclusive Education in Armenia |
| Kniazian Egine | Interaction between Ministry of Defense and Public: Comparative Study on Armenia and Georgia |
| Giloyan Nane | Analysis of the Territorialism of National Identity |
| Nersisyan Maria | Gender Stereotypes and Higher Education in Armenia |
| Papyan Greta | Issues of Development in Health Care |
| Shorjian Nayiri | Security Cameras and the Protection of Personal Data |
| Hayrapetyan Albert | Growth, Poverty and the Developmental Programs in the Republic of Armenia |
| Avetisyan Julieta | Mass Media and Social Movements: Electric Yerevan |
| Hakobyan Anna | Coordinating of Civic Initiatives in Armenia: Cases of Teghut, Dem Em and Electric Yerevan |
| Gaboyan Margarita | Inclusive Education in Armenia: Academic or Social Benefits? |
| Hakobyan Andranik | The Role of Natural Gas in Post-Soviet Russian Foreign Policy |
| Kamalyan Arevik | A Constructivist Approach to Ukraine Conflict |
| Ghazaryan Lilit | Russia’s Foreign Policy in Light of the Ukrainian Crisis: Action or Reaction? |
| Manukyan Tatevik | A Conflict of Competing Interests: Stakeholders in Syrian Civil War |
| Minasyan Lusine | The Role of History Education in the Construction of National Identity in Armenia |
| Arakelova Kristine | An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the RA Competition Law |
| Sahakyan, Liana | The Politics of Foreign Development Assistance |
| Stepanyan Gegham | Exploring Repatriation in Armenia |
| Harutyunyan Arpine | Diasporas’ Engagement in the Economic Development of Armenia |
| Zurnachyan Alisa | Opening the Turkish-Armenian Border: Weighting the Economic Implications |
| Avagimyan Amalya | The Role of Oil in the Formation of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Policy |
| Davtyan Ani | The Evolution of Responsibility to Protect Doctrine from 2005-2016 through the UN Security Council Action |
| Mkhitaryan Armine | Central Government’s Expenditures for Local Governments in Armenia |
| Yepremyan Anush | Constitutional Amendments’ Impact on the Budgeting Process in Armenia |
| Harutyunyan Siranush | Globalization and Poverty in Armenia |
Fall 2015
| Student | Title |
| Seyranyan Gohar | Constitutional Changes in Turkey 2002-2012 |
| Artemyan Margarita |
Significance of Rural Non-Farm Activities in Development |
| Ghabulyan Inna | The Impact of Foreign Aid on Institution Building: the Case of Armenia |
| Elliott Raffi | Startup Nations: A Comparative Study of Pro-Technology Startup Policies in Israel and Armenia |
Spring 2015