Core Course and Capstone Paper Requirement

Core Course

As a part of the requirements for the Certificate in the Study of Arts and Sciences Through Primary Texts you must take the core course DAS 420/POLSC 420 (cross-listed): Primary Texts Seminar. This is a team-taught course featuring some of the best professors at K-State teaching their favorite topics. Professors from fields such as Latin Classics, Theatre, Political Science, History and Philosophy come in for two weeks each, and the class is supervised and graded by the program director, Laurie Johnson. The class is taught seminar-style, so students have a chance to converse with the professors and each other! Books and materials are paid for by the program. For the latest syllabus, email Dr Johnson at lauriej@ksu.edu.

Capstone Paper

Before receiving the certificate, students must write a capstone paper. It should be submitted no later than one month before the end the last semester in which they take classes in the 18 hour program of study. The paper should allow students to sum up their experience in the program, demonstrating insights from the primary texts and course discussions they have encountered. The paper should be seven to ten pages long, double spaced, with reasonable margins and a consistent method of citation, if citation is being used. Most students will complete this requirement within the context of the program's core course, the Primary Texts Seminar (POLSC 420/DAS 420). Students taking the course as Freshmen or Sophomores will write a first draft of the capstone and revise and submit it before graduation. Students taking the course as a Junior or Senior can submit the completed capstone paper in the course.

Here is the description for the assignment in the Fall 2025 Primary Texts Seminar syllabus: In consultation with the Primary Texts program director, you should write a 7–10-page essay referring to at least two sources you have read in the Primary Texts seminar and at least two sources from other primary texts classes you have taken during your time at K-State. Your essay should cover a particular theme or question that is important to you. At least half of the essay should be a discussion of what you have learned in your primary texts studies, and how your ideas and opinions may have changed or developed because of your studies. These papers can be submitted to fulfill the capstone paper requirement for the Primary Texts program within the context of this class. MLA style is recommended. Use of AI is not allowed in writing this essay.