Capstones as Transitional Experiences

Abstract

There is growing appreciation by the Australian legal education sector of the importance of providing students with culminating experiences that cap-off their university education. Despite a long tradition in other disciplines, the integration of final year capstone programs by Australian Law Schools has been slow, although momentum has been gathering in recent years. 1 The move into a new regulatory and quality environment, with its focus on academic standards and the demonstration of student acquisition of program learning outcomes, has generated a shift in the Australian higher education sector which has brought capstone experiences sharply into focus, especially for legal education.2