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.

2018 Honors Projects 

• "A Lion of the Law: Associate Justice Antonin Scalia's Thoughts on Originalism, Textualism and Tradition," Neil Banerji, Political Science.
• "Live Terrains: Cultivating Empathy by Moving Bodies,"  Jayel Lynette Gant, Interdisciplinary Studies.
• "Progress Towards the Synthesis and Characterization of Liquid Crystals Based on μ4-Oxo-Copper(II)Tetramers," Aimee Marie Iradukunda, Chemistry. 
• The Trumpeters, Andrea Rae Jindracek, Creative Writing. 
• "Utilizing Copper(II) Dimers to Explore Liquid Crystalline Properties: Axial Adducts of Caprolactam, Heteroleptic Substitution, and Heterobimetallic Carboxylates," Rebecca Julia Katz, Chemistry.
• "Imperfect Machines: Einstein on the Beach and Its Use of the Body in the Context of Minimalism," Mara Peters Lane, Art History and Music.
• Torvald: The Musical (A Sequel to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House), Aidan G. Murphy, Creative Writing and Theatre.
• "Navigating the Encyclopedic: Infinite Jest and the Information Age," Nicholas Aloys Nurre, English Literature.
• "A Comparative Investigation of Evolutionary History Versus Dietary Niche in Shaping Pharyngeal Jaw Skeletal Structure in Cyprinid Fishes," Kelsie Marie Pos, Biology.
• "Deletion Mutational Analysis of the GBH1 protein Hydrogel Biopolymer," Muhammad Muneeb Rehman, Biochemistry.
• "Impairment of Glutamate Clearance Prevents Acute Long Term Potentiation in Hippocampal Neurons," Theodore William Ruffins, Neuroscience.
• "Drought Effects on Riparian Vegetation in the Santa Clara River Basin Using Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy," Elizabeth Claire Schmidt, Earth Science and Biology.
• "The Impact of Worker Cooperative Characteristics on Institutional Activism: Enabling Coops to be Agents of Social Change," Sofia Tagkaloglou, Economics.
• "Learning to Use WhatsApp in India: An Ethnographic Study of lnstant Messaging in Pune," Soumitra Prakash Thorat, Anthropology and Sociology.
• "For Women, By Men, About Time: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Abe's Womenomics," Monica Teagan Weller, Political Science.

2017 Honors Projects

• "Heteroleptic Metallomesogens Based on Copper(II) 2-EthylHexanoate," Alejandro Beltran, Chemistry.
• "The effect of approach versus avoidance motivation on declarative learning," Emily Corwin-Renner, Psychology, Neuroscience.
• "Characterization and Study of a Modified Variant of the GBH1 Hydrogel Biopolymer," Uduak-Obong Ekanem, Biochemistry.
• "Sex Differences in Self-Silencing," Mia Kosmicki, Psychology.
• "Comparative Study on the Lives of Women in the Informal Sector of the Economy in India," Nashra Mahmood, Gender and Women's Studies.
• "Conceptions of Mortality as Manifested in the Metacom-English War," Sarah Pawlicki, History.
• "Improving Eating Habits in a College Cafeteria with Traffic Light Labeling," Emily Rosen, Biology.
• "Impacts of Politicization of the Russian Minority in Latvia and Lithuania," Callie Rouse, International Relations.
• "Comparing the Effectiveness of Exercise Intervention Strategies on Negative Body Image," Jeremy Schmidt, Psychology.
• "Preparation, Characterization, and Reactivity Studies of Substituted a-Diimine Ligands and their Iron Precatalysts," Radiandra Soemardi, Chemistry.
• "Rejection and Social Decision Making in Borderline Personality Disorder," Dylan Stahl, Neuroscience.
• "Gestural Music Control and Expressivity," Dakota Luna Stipp, Computer Science, Music, Performance Technology.
• "Richard Loves Richard," Ian Tully, Theatre and Literature.