The Honors Thesis is the culmination of the Honors Program, and for many students, the most significant single academic endeavor of their college career. Students complete the four-credit-hour thesis project over at least two semesters, usually their last two semesters before graduation. Students work closely with a thesis committee to plan and conduct the thesis project. The thesis topic and academic credit can be in one’s major or another area of study and must include some original research or scholarly contribution. In addition to allowing students to pursue individual academic interests, the thesis project is excellent preparation for students planning to pursue graduate studies.
Theses from 2016
Sex Trafficking: A Cumulative Study, Annie McMurray
Life is Suffering: Buddhism as a Potential Obstacle to Crisis and Trauma Intervention, Elizabeth Peevy
Sealing Practices: Impressions of the Past and Their Contemporary Significance, Lana Grace Rose
Physical Comedy: From Stage to Screen, Kathleen Suit
Making Meyers Clear: An Exploration of the Chemistry and Art of Ceramic Glazes, Sara Catherine Williams
Theses from 2015
Thrilling Monotony: A Summer of Alzheimer's Research, Baronger Dowell Bieger
Studying the Effects of Theraflu on the Growth of Selenastrum Capricornutum, Hannah Gray Boren
Brands Crossing Borders: Cross-cultural Issues in Brand Localization in and from China, Molly Catherine Bowman
Expression Analysis of a Glucose Oxidase Transgene in Tobacco, Jordan Burt
Bringing BPA to Light: Determination of Bisphenol A in Thermal Receipt Paper Water Samples and Lake Water Samples Using Fluorescence Spectrophotometry, Bailey Chitwood
The Effect of Cannabinoids on Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells, Haley Dahl
Content and Character: Modeling Christian Communication After Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Sophie DeMuth
Effects of Modern History on Welsh Theology Post-1904, Hannah Diaz
Uncovering the Truth About Argentina's Dirty War, Macy Fouse
Dissolving the Conflict: Why the Church Should Be More Open to Evolution, Kyle Hargis
Beauty is Born of the Rain: Walter Inglis Anderson's Art and Isolation, Chloe Evelyn Huff
Toward an Islamic Modernity: Ataturk, Erdogan, & Gulen, Kevin Jackson
The Limbgate Visions: A Novel, Sean Jackson
Natural Language Processing for Foreign Language Learning, Jacob Kausler
Gap Closure to Complete the Genome Assembly for Staphylococcus agnetis, Joseph A. Koon II
Handedness: Does it matter?, Jessie Little
Interaction of Disease, Drugs, and Disposition in Ewing's Sarcoma Patients, Madeline Martin
Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia as a Possible Source for Ajulemic Acid Binding, Brian Christopher Monk
The Cost of being a Summer Camp Counselor, Emily Payne
Story-Based Spiritual Formation for College Students, Anna Sikes
The Efficacy of EMDR: A Meta-analysis of EMDR as Clinical Treatment, Allison Smith
Using Golden Gate Assembly to Rapidly Create Genetic Constructs for Transgenic Plants and Promoter Analysis, Jonathan Smith
In the Flesh: Fiction as an "Incarnational Art", Marissa Thornberry
Identification of Bacterial Species Using Colony PCR, Kaiti Walker
Understanding a Possible Wonder Drug: A Radial Diffusion Assay for the Rapid Evaluation of Antimicrobial Peptides, Dustin Walter
A Comparison of How the United States and England Educators Teach Reading, Katy Wood
Theses from 2014
Intergenerational Worship: Exploring Various Cultural Worship Environments and their Effects on the Church, T.J. Bailey
Protective Effects of Aqueous Extract of Terminalia arjuna bark Against Doxorubicin-induced Cardiotoxicity, Sarah Elizabeth Bishop
Shakespeare: The Mirror of the Human Soul, Sarah Lynnette Davis
Freeflight: Conveying Christian Redemption in Realistic Literature, Anna English
Interwoven, Ellen Eubanks
Ajulemic Acid Induces Cell Death in Retinoblastoma Cells, Emily A. Evans
Women and Watchmen: Opening Alan Moore's Refrigerator, Sally Ferguson
Show Me a Story: The Creative Process of Communicating Truth through a Picture Book, Katie Hopmann
Evolution of Fashion: Clothing of Upper Class American Women from 1865 to 1920, Lacey Johnson
The Effects of Physical Activity and Movement on Learning, Alexandria Lemos
PUREnovation, Inc, Alex Nelson
Faithless Israel, Faithful Gentiles: Ethnic Irony in Jonah and Matthew, Christopher L. Redmon
Caring for Cancer, Jason Monroe Stevenson
The Call of the Sidhe: Poetic and Mythological Influences in Ireland's Struggle for Freedom, Anna Wakeling
The Relationship Between Natural Law and Mosaic Law in Philo: His On Rewards and Punishments as a Case Study, Clark Whitney
Economic Leapovers, William Hunter Wolf
Theses from 2013
Networking and Revolution: How Social Media Has Shaped the Arab Spring, Stacy Beck
Effects of Antidepressant Metabolites on the Fresh Water Algae, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Adam Curlin
"This Frightful World" by Alexander Blok translated by Jason Curlin, Jason Curlin
Neuroplasticity and Speech-Language Pathology: What it Means for Language Development and How to Apply it to Therapy, Kiley Gamble
Using Spheroids and a Bioluminescent Mouse Model to Determine the Effects of Ajulemic Acid on Ewing's Scarcoma, Drake Hardy
Going Mad: A Comprehensive Study of the Mad Scene in Gaetano Donizetti's Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rachel Nicole Harris
Erased, Raley Howard
Psychological Techniques in Jury Consulting, McCrae Jones
The Influence of a Coiled-coil Isoleucine Zipper on the Trimerization and Endosomolytic Activity of the E5-TAT-mCherry Protein, Valerie Nickel
Theses from 2012
Medical Illustration, Dusty Barnette
Function, Fulfillment, and Chaos in the Meta-Narrative of Scripture: A Biblical Theology, Kimberly Carlton
Bailing Out America: An Honors Thesis Addressing the Bailout and Financial Crisis of 2008, Reuben Cash
Computational Docking Simulations of Nitroanisole and Nitrophenol with CYP2E1, Kasa B. Cooper, Martin "Marty" D. Perry Jr., and Grover P. Miller
Understanding the Hurting: A Look Into the Lives of Families Battling Ewing's Sarcoma, Abigail Dekle
Freedom of Speech vs. The Right to Privacy: Problems with the English Super Injunction, Nicci Fillinger
Establishing a Mouse Model for the Study of Podocyte Regeneration after Injury, John A. Gomez
At the Crossroads of Biblical Studies and Linguistics: An Exegesis of Genesis 10:1-11 :9, Trevor Huxham
The Power of Design in Nazi Anti-Bolshevik Propaganda, 1937-1943, Grace Janzen
MalumGhat a Little Joy, Joy Kelly
The Life and Legacy of Judge Richard S. Arnold, John Jacob Lively
Stop and Serve, Nathan J. Peace
The Year of Jubilee is at Hand: A Call for Social Justice, Jesse Pruett
The Making of a War Memoir, Mary Smethers
Against All Odds, Britta Stamps
Battle for Control: How Venture Capitalists Affect the Development of Businesses, Jeffery Neil Wacaster
The Effects of Ajulemic Acid on the Metatastic Potential of Ewing's Sarcoma, Nolan J. West
Theses from 2011
Christian Zionism: Prophecy of God or Prophecy Self-Fulfilled?, Brooke Baker
Secularization in Orleans, France: A Case Study Utilizing Mark Chaves' 'New Differentiation Theory', Stephanie J. Beck
Body of Lies, Ananda Boardman
Not Growin' Up: Poetry for Children, Lindsay Chastain
Jeely Beely: Rolling into the Russian Fairy Tale, Sarah Greeson
Public Opinions of Schizophrenia, Amy Guiomard
Know Truth, Believe Truth, Live Truth: How Walking with Jesus Should Change Your World, Casie R. Neal
"I Was Speaking of Visions": Gilead Through the Lens of Flannery O'Connor, Liz Richardson
Mooncakes and Marshmallows, Jessica Schleiff
British Perspective on the Colonial Rebellion, Kayla Smith
From the Middle Ages to Modernity: The Intersecting Supernatural Worlds of Melusine and Today's Popular Culture, Sarah Stark
Theses from 2010
The Nuance of Character Acting, Heather Baker
Equipping Short-Term Missionaries for Effective Service and Smooth Re-Entry, Haley Michelle Barron
Making the Student Film, Rance Collins
CommunitySpot, Daniel Graham, Ryne Dubach, and Chris Norcross
Dreams and Visions as Divine Revelation, Sarah Horton
Approaching Autism: A Documentary, Kathryn Merrill and J L. West
Parity Periodicity: An Eliminative Approach to the Collatz Conjecture, Austin J. Phillips
Simple Respect, Adam Wheat
Theses from 2009
Then & Now: The Relevance of Tennessee Williams for the 21st- Century Actress, Marcie Danae Bealer
Achieving Emmetropia through Astigmatic Keratotomy, Abby Kauffman Brumley
Piano Performance Injuries and Preventions, Kristin N. Cordell
Faith and Literature: A Look at Book Censorship, Laura Cox
Into the Hands of Christian Princes, Will Darr