College Honors

Studying the situation of refugee women in Mexico and Denmark. Developing a stainless steel clamp to use in surgery. Taking on WYSIWYG to design a program that uses simple mark-up language.

Imagine the possibilities.

Independent research, scholarship, and creative work are supported by our nationally recognized Honors Program, which was cited as one of two model programs in the nation by the federal Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.

Honors may be undertaken as early as junior year, though most projects are conducted during the senior year. Candidates for Honors obtain the endorsement from their department and complete advanced study under the supervision and guidance of an interdisciplinary faculty committee.

At the end of their projects, our students defend their thesis or creative project or have it critiqued before a qualified outside examiner, modeling the dissertation defense of many grad programs. Often, the Honors experience can jump-start a meaningful career or admission into a top-notch graduate program.

2017 Honors Projects

• "Dinuclear Cu(II) Carboxylate Metallomesogens with 2-ethylhexanoate Ligands: Organized Fluid Phases from Ligand Substitution," Alejandro Beltran, Chemistry.
• "The Effects of Approach and Avoidance Motivation on Category Learning," Emily Corwin-Renner, Psychology, Neuroscience.
• "Using Site-Directed Mutagenesis to Enhance the Hydrogel Properties of the GBH1 Bypolymer," Uduak-Obong Ekanem, Biochemistry.
• "The Silencing the Self-Scale: Construct Validity, Gender Differences, and Relationships with Depression," Mia Kosmicki, Psychology.
• "Poor Women are Survivors: Comparative Study on the Lives of Women in the Informal Sector of India," Nashra Mahmood, Gender and Women's Studies.
• "Mat Nowawtau Hetté Mina: Indigenous and Puritan Understandings of Mortality, Violence, and the Human Body," Sarah Pawlicki, History.
• "The Effects of a Traffic Light Labeling Intervention on College Students' Dietary Choices in All-You-Can-Eat Cafeteria," Emily Rosen, Biology.
• "Controlling Naratives: Assessing the Goals of Russian Media in Latvia," Callie Rouse, International Relations.
• "Comparing the Effectiveness of Exercise Intervention Strategies on Body Image Levels," Jeremy Schmidt, Psychology.
• "Preparation, Characterization, and Reactivity Studies of Substituted Alpha-Diimine Ligands and their Iron Dibromide or Dialkyl Precatalysts," Radiandra Soemardi, Chemistry.
• "Differences in Social Decision Making in Men and Women with Boarderline Personality Disorder," Dylan Stahl, Neuroscience.
• "Gestural Control for Expressivity in Music," Dakota Luna Stipp, Computer Science, Music, Performance Technology.
• ""All the World to Nothing': Inferring the World and Character of Richard III," Ian Tully, Theatre and Literature.