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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.

Communications and Cybersecurity

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

Emergency Management

  • A GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Resilient Industrial Site Selection in the Puget Sound Region (Paulyna Lara Tello, 2025)
  • 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)
  • Preparing for the Next Hurricane: Improving Resiliency and Preparedness for Savannah, GA (2018)

Energy

  • Macroeconomics of Electrical Energy Distribution (Ryan Morrissey, 2025)
  • Balancing Agriculture and Solar Energy Systems: Local Government Strategies for Permitting Agrivoltaics Under Washington’s Growth Management Act (Valerie Smith, 2025)
  • Distributed Generation: Challenges Facing Integration of Energy Resilience (2019)
  • Sub-Saharan Microgrids: An Approach to Addressing Energy Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa (2018)

Finance

  • Africa’s Water Infrastructure and Financing Gaps: Are Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) the leverage needed to close the gaps? (2023)
  • The Pre-Investment Phase of the Infrastructure Project Cycle in Latin America and the Caribbean (2014)

Floodplain Management (Coastal and Riverine)

  • Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Flood Management: The Application of Coastal Development and Land Reclamation as a Resiliency Strategy in Lower Manhattan (2024)
  • The Impacts of Urbanization and Climate Change on Coastal Communities in South Florida (2022)
  • Accounting for Climate Change Impacts on Transnational Rivers Transecting the Netherlands (2019)

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 (2015)

Housing

  • Transportation-Oriented Development Solutions for California’s Housing Shortages (2019)

Natural Resources Management

  • An Assessment of the Local Government’s Capacity to Effectively Manage Alaska’s Harbors (Stephanie Hernandez McGavin, 2025)
  • Is Increasing Tree Canopy Seattle’s Best Solution for Reducing Environmental Inequalities in Low-Resourced Neighborhoods? (2023)

Public Health 

  • 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 (2023)

Social Infrastructure and Community Resilience

  • Art and Design Integration in Infrastructure Projects: A Vehicle to Elevate Physical Infrastructure to Social Infrastructure (Liz Ranieri, 2025)
  • Business Cycles and Infrastructure Impacts: How the Panic of 1893 Influenced Infrastructure Growth in Tacoma, Washington (Guion York Rosenzweig, 2025)
  • An Analysis of Social Infrastructure, Community Resilience and Recovery (2022)

Transportation

  • How Can Public Transit Agencies in the Greater Seattle Area Address Ridership Declines in the Post-COVID Era? (Ken M. Sadahiro, 2025)
  • 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, 2025)