Capstone Projects
Capstone Projects
The capstone project is the cornerstone activity of the MSBA-BA program. It is essential to the learning that takes place during the intensive year-long curriculum.
The capstone experience is spread over 9 months and involves at least two on-site visits and numerous other interactions with corporate sponsors. At the end of the project, students prepare a professional consulting report and formal presentation that summarizes and supports their findings and builds a business case for their recommendations. The capstone projects allow students to work closely with corporate and faculty mentors, creates an exceptional experiential learning opportunity, and connects the classroom to real-world problems and decision-makers.
Previous Capstone Projects Include:
2022 Leidos Intelligence
The team's goal was to research the semiconductor industry and develop a model identifying and quantifying strategic insecurities in the supply chain. Geographic concentration, number of suppliers, and political risk were among the factors. Their model advised Leidos and the U.S. government on the $147B potential impacts of supply chain disruption.
MSBA-BA Team:
Lucas Carlisle
Khal Clary
Dave Patel
James Shaffer
2021 Smithfield
The team's goal was to develop a tool that enables Smithfield Foods to track facility status. Facility status is identified by tracking key performance indicators, including finances, downtime, and preventative maintenance compliance. Their model reduced the time it takes to identify a facility's status by 96.67% as compared to the previous tool.
MSBA-BA Team:
Mitch Harper
Madison Harris
Drew Nguyen-Phan
Matt Salmon
2021 Carter Machinery
The team's goal was to identify and validate the areas of greatest market share opportunity for Carter Machinery. They developed and rigorously tested a model that predicted a consumer's probability to purchase. Their best-performing model identified $3.5 million in potential sales for Carter.
MSBA-BA Team:
Andrew Calandra
Mckenzie Collins
Lucas Orjales
Nicole Thomas
2019 Norfolk Southern
The team was tasked with determining the optimal locations for wayside detectors to achieve maximum coverage with least diminishing returns. Wayside detectors are used to detect axle and signal problems in passing trains. Their strategy achieved 92% coverage and saved NS nearly $1 million in capital expenditures.
MSBA-BA Team:
Brandon Carey
Brett Hugel
Prateeksha Mazumder
Ali Roghani
Shumeng Zhang
Please note: some capstone projects, especially those for government contractors, have a requirement that all student capstone team members are U.S. citizens or citizens of countries with strong diplomatic ties to the U.S. If you are a potential or current MSBA-BA student that is concerned about this requirement, we encourage you to reach out to us.