This year’s capstone course will run May - June, 2026 (~8 weeks).
The soft deadline for UBC Capstone proposals is Oct 15th. And the hard deadline is Nov 30th. Proposals sent in by Oct 15th will receive feedback (that will hopefully increase their chances of being selected).
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| Call for Capstone proposals opens | August 1, 2025 |
| Deadline to submit proposals for early feedback | October 15, 2025 |
| Final deadline to submit proposals | November 30, 2025 |
| Selection round one: staff | December 15, 2025 |
| Partners submit video presentations | January 23, 2026 |
| Capstone fair | Feb 5, 2026 |
| Selection round two: students | Feb 16, 2026 |
| Partners demonstrate readiness of data and sign legal docs | February 20, 2026 |
| Students are assigned to projects | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Kickoff meetings | April, 2026 |
| Kickoff hackathon | Apr 27 - Apr 29, 2026 |
| Project | Apr 27 - June 25, 2026 |
Proposal revision process
Members of an organization interested in participating as a capstone partner should submit a project proposal.
Proposals received before October 15th will be reviewed by the MDS teams and feedback/suggestions for revisions will be provided to the partner, who can then revise and re-submit their proposal. This revision process aims to maximize the chance of a proposal being selected by students. Proposals received after October 15th will not be provided with feedback.
Selection round one: staff
The MDS leadership team will select proposals based primarily on suitability and student interest. Proposals that are selected in this round will be invited to the next phase of the selection process which is attending a capstone fair for the students to learn more about individual proposals.
Partners submit video presentations
Capstone partners should submit video presentations (5-10 minutes) to provide information additional to the proposals. We are not expecting production-quality videos and we do not want you to spend too much time on this. The main purpose here is to help our students better understand your project(s) before attending the capstone fair so that they are ready to ask you meaningful questions.
Capstone fair
Capstone partners must attend the Capstone Fair to meet with the students and answer any questions they may have. The Capstone Fair takes place at the UBC Robson Square campus in downtown Vancouver. For remote capstone partners, we will organize a virtual fair. Detailed information will be emailed to each capstone partner.
Selection round two: students
After the capstone fair, the students assign a final rating to the projects.
Partners are notified of our decisions
Based on student interest, the MDS leadership team decides which projects will move forward. Student groups are assigned to the projects at the same time.
Partners demonstrate readiness of data and sign legal docs
Before a project is accepted, the partner must provide MDS with a demonstration or written (email) declaration that the data has already been collected and prepared, and exists in its entirety (in the form specified in the proposal), and is ready to be shared with the students. Partners should feel free to ask us for our standard agreement and sign the relevant legal documents before moving forward.
Kickoff meetings
The students will arrange a date and time with their capstone partner and teaching fellow mentor to have an initial meeting to discuss the project. It is common that students sign any required legal documents at this meeting, which means the students should be sent the documents for review well in advance.
Project
The project itself. At the end, partners can expect the students to present at the partner organizations. Partners will also be invited to an end-of-program celebration at UBC.
Hackathon
The Capstone project typically starts with a 3-day hackathon at the UBC main Point Grey campus. Capstone partners are strongly encouraged to attend the afternoon of the 2nd day of the hackathon. In the past, students have found this very valuable, as they were able to ask questions about their dataset and clarify other data science issues with the partner.