Recognition for Capstone Design Based on the Majors of College Students

This study assesses the recognition and needs of university students regarding capstone design classes based on their majors. The overall score regarding recognition of capstone design was 3.26 points, which implied that students understood the significance of capstone design classes but had a weak understanding of capstone design. Students in science and engineering also showed higher recognition than those in other fields. The need for capstone design classes was strongest among students in the science and engineering fields but was relatively weak among students in the humanities and social sciences fields. This study is significant in that it can be used as basic data for designing the direction of capstone design courses and developing teacher-student programs that fit the consumer.


Introduction
The definition of capstone design differs between scholars, but it is generally defined as an education program with a comprehensive design for planning, designing, and producing so that students can develop their ability to solve issues they may encounter in the actual world alongside other students, teachers, and a field expert, to train creative and talented individuals to adapt to their field and meet the needs of businesses [1][2] [3]. While the engineering field has been relatively active in conducting creative design education programs, such as capstone design classes, the humanities and social sciences, health, and art fields have not provided their students with many opportunities to experience various creative convergence class activities that could strengthen their ability to handle problems they may encounter in society after graduation or practical field competence.
Several recent studies proved that capstone design classes improve the creative problemsolving skills of students and increase academic achievement and satisfaction [4][5][6] [7]. However, regardless of how brilliant an education program maybe, if the students are unable to properly understand the intention and content of the course, it will not only fail to increase student participation in class but will also face difficulty in instituting efficient learning [8]. 1 Therefore, this study will assess the recognition of and need for capstone design classes among university students according to their majors, so that it can be used as basic data for designing the direction of capstone design courses.

Research subjects
This study presents a descriptive survey on the recognition and needs of university students regarding capstone design classes according to their major field. A structured, self-report survey was conducted from November 30, 2017 to December 14, 2017. A total of 341 surveys were used in the final analysis.

Recognition of capstone design classes
The part of the survey on the subject's recognition of capstone design classes included five questions. Each question was measured on a five-point Likert scale, and higher scores implied that the subject had a higher recognition of capstone design classes.

The need for capstone design classes
The part of the survey on the need for capstone design classes included 10 questions. Higher scores implied that the subject showed a stronger need for capstone design classes.

Analysis method
The collected data were analyzed using SPSS WIN/PC 19.0. The average and standard deviation were calculated for the recognition of and need for capstone design classes. The difference between each variable according to subject characteristics was analyzed using a ttest and ANOVA, while the Scheffe test was performed for the post-test. Statistical significance levels were set to p<0.05.

General characteristics of the research subjects
A total of 45.5% of the subjects in this study were male students and 54.5% were female. In terms of year, 47.8% were third-year students and 52.5% were in their fourth year. Concerning the subjects' majors, 30.2% were in the health field, 29.0% in the science and engineering field, 23.5% in the humanities and social science field, and 17.3% in the art field [ Table 1].

Experience with capstone design classes according to general characteristics
When it came to experience with capstone design classes according to general characteristics, there were significant differences in gender, year and major. Male students had more experience with capstone design classes than females, and fourth-year students had more experience than third-year ones. Based on majors, the proportion of non-engineering majors with experience with capstone design classes was extremely low [ Table 2].

Degree of recognition of capstone design classes according to the general characteristics of the research subjects
The degree of recognition of capstone design classes was higher among male students than female students, and among fourth-year students than third-year students. Students in science and engineering also showed higher recognition than those from other fields [ Table 3].

Degree of need for capstone design classes according to the general characteristics of the research subjects
The degree of need for capstone design classes was higher among male students than female students, and among fourth-year students than third-year students. Based on major, the degree of need was highest among students in the science and engineering field but was relatively low among students in the humanities and social sciences field [ Table 4].

Discussion and conclusion
The overall score regarding recognition of capstone design was 3.26 points, which implied that students understood the significance of capstone design classes but had a weak understanding of capstone design. Students in science and engineering also showed higher recognition than those in other fields. The need for capstone design classes was strongest among students in the science and engineering fields but was relatively weak among students in the humanities and social sciences fields. The results of this study cannot be generalized since it focused on students from only some universities, but the study still holds significance in that it assessed the recognition of and need for capstone design classes targeting students from various majors.