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Online Master of Infrastructure Planning & Management

Capstone Project

All students in the online Master of Infrastructure Planning & Management program complete a capstone project. This two-quarter project allows you to synthesize the knowledge you’ve gained by conducting research and applying it to a real-world infrastructure problem.

Planning and Execution

Students are encouraged to start contemplating a capstone topic as soon as they enter the program. All program instructors, your program adviser, employer and fellow students are all potential sources of input, ideas and feedback on your topic selection.

Capstones can be a traditional research project or set up as an experiential learning experience. For experiential learning, we can help you identify a partner organization to work with for the duration of the project. It’s important that you notify the capstone instructors at the start of your second year in the program if you want to do an experiential project.

In winter quarter of your second year, you’ll finalize your topic and outline a timetable for the research required to complete the project by the end of spring quarter. You’ll carry out the majority of the research and the writing of the project in spring quarter. Although capstones are individual projects, the work is semi-collaborative and students will give and receive feedback throughout the process.

Capstone Project Examples

Final capstone topics can vary tremendously. Below is a list of recent capstone projects by infrastructure field related topics. After you apply to our program, if you have an interest in seeing a sample capstone project, please email a request to mipm@uw.edu. The following list is provided as a way to understand the variety of topics that the program can support through the capstone experience.

Coastal and River Management

  • Evaluating the Post-2026 Colorado River Operational Guidelines: The Benefits and Risks to Southern California Water Suppliers (Jamie Medlin, 2026)
  • Planning Resilient Coasts: Local Government Lessons from Nature-Based Shoreline Projects (Kaydee Mittleider, 2026)
  • Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Flood Management: The Application of Coastal Development and Land Reclamation as a Resiliency Strategy in Lower Manhattan (Eric Platt, 2024)  
  • Climate Change Impacts on Transnational Rivers Transecting the Netherlands (Cay Vandervelde, 2019)

Communications and Cybersecurity

  • Municipal Broadband Planning Implications (James Daniel Hypes, 2025)
  • Public Sector Preparedness for Use and Governance of Artificial Intelligence (Eleonor Bounds, 2024)

Emergency Management

  • Power, Planning, and Wildfire Risk: How Land Use and Electric Infrastructure Decisions Contribute to Disaster in California (Evan Carey, 2026)
  • Implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act in FEMA (Puja Panchal, 2025)
  • Assessing Vulnerability and Disaster Impacts on Spatial Accessibility in the FAST Transportation System (Kevin F. Remy, 2025)
  • Stadium Security Failures: An Analysis of Crowd Management at International Soccer Events (Mario Zeppetelli, 2025)
  • Preparing for the Next Hurricane: Improving Resiliency and Preparedness for Savannah, GA (2018)

Energy

  • When Do EVs Break the Transformer? Diagnosing Distribution Transformer Overload Risk Under Home-Charging Growth (Josh Fider, 2026)
  • Missing Linkages: Community Choice Aggregation and Closing the Equity Performance Gap in the Regulated Markets of the California Energy Sector (Vincent Rogers, 2026)
  • Balancing Agriculture and Solar Energy Systems: Local Government Strategies for Permitting Agrivoltaics Under Washington’s Growth Management Act (Valerie Smith, 2025)
  • Sub-Saharan Microgrids: An Approach to Addressing Energy Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa (Edward Tollemache, 2018)

Finance

  • Africa’s Water Infrastructure and Financing Gaps: Are Public-Private Partnerships the Leverage Needed to Close the Gaps? (Matthew Martin, 2023)
  • The Pre-Investment Phase of the Infrastructure Project Cycle in Latin America and the Caribbean (Juan Alberti, 2014)

Food Systems

  • Examining the Roles of Cooperative Grocery Stores as a Tool for Local Food System Planning (2018)
  • Resilience as a Function of the Relationship Between Emergency Management and the Food System (Stacey Smith, 2015)

Green Infrastructure

  • Increasing Green Infrastructure Implementation in North Texas Cities (Raquel Helton, 2026)
  • Governance and Finance as Determinants of Adaptive Capacity in Distributed Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Evidence from Seattle Within Washington State’s Regulatory and Funding System (Kevin Kunz, 2026)
  • Is Increasing Tree Canopy Seattle's Best Solution for Reducing Environmental Inequalities in Low-Resourced Neighborhoods? (Brooke Sanders, 2023)

Housing

  • Seattle Social Housing Developer: Opportunities and Considerations for the Systematic Development of Affordable Housing Projects in the City of Seattle (Chris Wilhelm, 2026)
  • Transportation-Oriented Development Solutions for California’s Housing Shortages (Dolores Velasquez, 2019)

Planning

  • Aligning Ecosystem Services in Comprehensive Planning Through a Cascade-Based Matrix (Ann Bustamante, 2026)
  • An Assessment of the Local Government's Capacity to Effectively Manage Alaska's Harbors (Stephanie Hernandez McGavin, 2025)

Project Delivery

  • Regulatory and Cultural Barriers to Progressive Design-Build: Assessing the United States Navy’s Capacity for Procurement Innovation in Military Construction (Hayley Blaser, 2026)
  • Infrastructure Delay as a Public Outcome: Impacts on Safety, Accessibility, and Equity in Seattle (Afroz Hasan, 2026)
  • Improving Efficiency of Obtaining Environmental Permits While Maintaining Flexibility in Transportation Modes: A Multiple United States Army Corps of Engineers Case Study (Marie A. Adams, 2024)

Public Health 

  • Designing a Community Health Needs Assessment: Analyzing the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Model for the Downtown Emergency Service Center in Seattle, Washington (Brandon Lehnerz, 2026)
  • The Impact of LED Lighting Within Modern Transportation Systems: Implications for Infrastructure and Public Health (Taylor-Ann Kacatin, 2025)
  • Public Health, Transportation, and Climate Implications of Removing New York City’s FDR Highway Viaduct (Ethan Kraft, 2023)

Social Infrastructure and Community Resilience

  • Cross-System Governance and the Incorporation of Equity Into Community Resilience Planning: A Case Study of Seattle City Light, the Office of Emergency Management, and the Department of Neighborhoods (Leyla Church, 2026)
  • Governing by Numbers: Evaluating and Redesigning Performance Frameworks in Homeless Service Infrastructure Decision-Making (Jace Denton, 2026)
  • People’s Wellbeing and Development Through Intentional Infrastructure Investments for Freedom, Resilience, and Peace (Gabriel Navarro, 2026)
  • Art and Design Integration in Infrastructure Projects: A Vehicle to Elevate Physical Infrastructure to Social Infrastructure (Liz Ranieri, 2025)

Transportation

  • Implementing Battery Electric Bus Fleet Transitions: A Climate and Equity-Centered Framework for Transit Agencies (Nate Stevens, 2026)
  • How Can Public Transit Agencies in the Greater Seattle Area Address Ridership Declines in the Post-COVID Era? (Ken M. Sadahiro, 2025)

Wastewater

  • The True Costs of Infrastructure: A Framework for Understanding the Full Cost of Minnesota’s Wastewater Needs (Peter Gilbert Douglas, 2026)
  • From Theory to Practice: Using Soft Systems Methodology to Address Complex Challenges in Wastewater Infrastructure Planning (Ehsan Shirkhani, 2024)