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 2009
Eating Disorders: Behind the Scenes, Katie Potts
More than Just Books: Using Fiction to Help Young Girls Relate, Katie Michelle Simmons Laney
Connect the Dots: Coupling Quantum Dots with Water-Soluble Porphyrins, Kenley C. Singleton
Becoming American: Poland, 1928 to Hot Springs, 2009, Sara Ann Terlecki
House of Leaves: Navigating the Labyrinth of the Deconstructed Novel, Molly Throgmorton
Whaling and the Antarctic, Anna Tohlen
Theses from 2008
Resveratrol Modulation of Microglial Activation and Provision for Neuroprotection in Multiple Sclerosis, Joseph L. Green
Cannabinoid Modulation of Microglial Activation in Multiple Sclerosis, Natalie Shea Lemons
Raising the Hatchet or Raising the Glass: Prohibition in Clark County, Arkansas, Katie McCormack
Is Facebook an Accurate Representation of Personality?, Hannah Murdock
Eager to Offset: A Case Study in Carbon Offset Forestry, Jason Smith
Extinct and Extirpated Birds and Mammals of Arkansas, Nora Smith
Stately Halls and Utilitarian Shacks: A History of the Buildings of Ouachita Baptist University, Victoria Utterback
The Starfish Principle: Drawing Purpose From South Africa's AIDS Crisis, Lauren Vickroy
Internal Dialogue: Are You Listening to Me? Positive Internal Dialogue and Narcissism, Corey M. E. Wallis
Theses from 2007
Figured Out, Josh Burk
A Scriptural and Philosophical Evaluation of the Open Model of God as an Ontological Necessity and Its Compatibility with Evangelical Theology, Richard Garrett Ham Jr.
Mime: The Musical, Aaron House and Matt Landers
Is It Possible to Teach as a Christian in Today's Public School Setting?, Rachel Waggener
Theses from 2006
The Story of a Picture Book: A Process Analysis, Christy Evans
The Beaten Path: A Cartographical and Historical Study of the Southwest Trail in Clark County, Arkansas, Clinton R. Pumphrey
A Tale of Two Brighids, Erin Shirl
Mitoxantrone Represses Markers of Microglial Activation and Inflammation, Cameron A. Tull
Theses from 2005
Computational Studies of Melatonin Analogues, Jessica Lynne Baima
Ticket Splitting in Arkansas Elections, Chase Carmichael
Islam "Saint-ified": A Description of Islamic Saint-Worship Practiced by Middle Atlas Berbers, Alaina Cates
Keeping A Town Alive?: The Civil War Re-enactment of the Battle of Pilot Knob, Laura Marie Gentry
Is there a Relationship between Hopelessness and Religious Problem-Solving Skills?, Eroshini Goonesekera
Waiting for Orders: The Civil War Diary of Micajah A. Thomas, Jason Hentschel
Osteoporosis Prevention in Undergraduate College Students at Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University, Bethany Murray
Faith and Learning: A Case Study of the Ouachita Baptist University Student Body, Amy Michelle Packer
Devotedly Yours: The Prison Letters of Captain Joseph Scrivner Ambrose IV, C.S.A., Rebeccah Helen Pedrick
The Truth of English Language Acquisition, Dinah R. Rucker
Two Views of the Projective Plane, Rebecca J. Thomas
Theses from 2004
European Immigration in Argentina from 1880 to 1914, Sabrina Benitez
The Cultural Significance of the Pueblo Indian Flute, Kevin Brewer
A Clock, A Stopwatch, and A Looking Glass. The Timeliness of the FASB's Due Process: Is It Really Meeting Our Needs?, Alison Hamby
A Tale of Two Governors: The 1996 Gubernatorial Succession Crisis, Melissa Miller
Allusions and Historical Models in Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, Joy A. Mills
Piano Pedagogy in Arkansas During the Twentieth Century, Martha L. Smith
Theses from 2003
Assessment of the Nutrition Knowledge and Nutrition Practices of Crisis Pregnancy Center Clients, Sarah Harger
Articulation Testing in Hindi Speech, Vinita J. Rajah
Biblical Archaeology: Past, Present, and Future, John JT Thompson
The Paradox of Presidential Popularity, with an emphasis on Rhetoric, Amanda Wiley
Theses from 2002
Legacies in Brick and Mortar: The Life and Works of Charles Thompson, Tilly Carter
Title IX: The End of Gender Discrimination?, Micah Smith
Theses from 2001
The Cobb House: A Biography of a Place, David Alan Bagley
Folly in the Garden: The Religious Satire of Erasmus and Voltaire, John M. Beller
A History of the Independent Bible Church, Karen Lynn Dearing
Therapeutic Process or Final Product? Views of Artists Compared to Those of Art Therapists, Katy Durler
The International Military Tribunals: An Overview and Assessment, Joshua Daniel Franklin
Snapshot Within a Portrait: The Civil War in Clark County, Arkansas, 1861-1865, Stephanie Harper
The Legitimacy of the Modern Militia, Jonathan Huber
Spiritual Leaders and Political Resisters: The Confessional Church in Nazi Germany, Heidi Johanna Klarhorst
Anxiety Café: A One Act Play, Kerri McKinney
Calcium Metabolism of Bone in Microgravity: An Investigation and Simulation of Bone Demineralization in Space, Benjamin Peacock
Music Enhances Learning, Amanda Richardson
Transitions from Isolation: An Ethnographic Study of a Contemporary Ouachita Mountains Hillman Culture, Reyda L. Taylor
Combating an Elusive Enemy: Understanding Autism, Brandy Ussery
Archaeological Pioneer or Pot Hunter: The Life and Work of Clarence Bloomfield Moore, Sarah Washam
An Assessment of the 2000 Fourth Congressional District Race, Amber E. Wilson
Theses from 2000
MasterPiece: Computer-generated Music through Fractals and Genetic Theory, Amanda Broyles
Christian Artists in a Postmodern Time, Donald "Donnie" Allen Copeland Jr.
Radio's Influence on Music from 1919 to 1926, Aaron Hawley
Parental Perceptions of Their Child's Speech and Language Development, Jana M. Keasler
The Death of King Arthur: The Literary Evolution of a Myth, Heather M. Lyon
Friction of (110) Diamond in the Presence of Small Hydrocarbon Molecule, Catherine Manning
Salvation in Film: The Apostle, Tender Mercies, Amistad, and Sergeant York, Daniel Nipper
"I have lived long and variously in the World": The politics and rhetoric of Edmund Burke, Amy M. Sandidge
Adult Attachment Styles and Their Relation to Personality Characteristics, Mai Friesen Swan
American Streets, Scott Wozniak
Theses from 1999
Death in Children's Literature: A User's Guide, Jennifer M. Collier
Nowhere Land, Andy Davidson
Living Out the Romantic Heroic Ideal: An Interpretive Study of the Life and Work of Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Schumann, John Alexander Dribus
One for the History Books or the Trash? Changes in American Piano Literature, S. Andrew Granade
Bach's Theocentric World View, Jarrell M. Lyles
Cystic Fibrosis: Biological and Ethical Considerations, Sarah Elizabeth Milam
Issues in Automated Distribution of Processes Over the Networks, Alexey Morozov
Naturalistic Speech and Language Remediation in the Preschool Population, Karen L. Nix
Pibun Songkram's Role in Thailand's Entry into the Pacific War, Lukasz Staniczek
Theses from 1998
Historic Celtic Practices in Twentieth-Century American Religion, Ryan Clark Hankins
Theses from 1997
Protecting the Art of Leningrad: The Survival of the Hermitage Museum during the Great Patriotic War, Lane Bailey
Folk Music in the Ouachita Mountains, Shayna Rachel Sessler
Science Learning Museums as an Extension of the Elementary Classroom, Aaron Ward
Pictures of the South: a Novella, Paul Brent Williams
Theses from 1996
Ӕmilia Lanyer's Place in the Literary Canon, Mary Beth Barton
An Examination of the Salvation Teachings of Eastern Orthodoxy and Southern Baptist Protestantism, Pamela K. Blackmon
Theses from 1995
Education Vouchers: Virtue or Vice?, Melody L. Allred
Cameras Go to Court: A Study of Television Cameras in State and Federal Courtrooms, Tonya Rochelle Beavert
Medical Nutrition Therapy in the Management of Preterm and Low Birthweight Infants, Wendy Elizabeth Foster
Dynamic Phase Steepening in Alfven Waves, Stephen R. Granade
Theses from 1994
The Paths to Democracy in the Czech Republic, Allison Allred
Planetary Formation, Stephanie Blackmon
Presidential Popularity and the Linear Model, April Gosser
Speaking and Singing: How Speaking on One's Optimal Pitch Affects the Singing Voice, Cindy Hood
Japanese and American Education: A Comparative Study, Naomi R. Mercer
Identifying Chaos in Human Interactive Decision-Making, Susan E. Rhoads
An Analysis of Success and Failure: The Manhattan Project and German Nuclear Research during the Third Reich, Jon Tate Self
Significant Affinities between James Joyce's Ulysses and Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March, Jeff Smithpeters