An Honors Senior Project is required for graduation through the WWU Honors College. The Senior Project serves as a “capstone” experience, synthesizing what students have done in their entire education, including but not limited to their work in the major and in Honors.
The term, Senior Project, is vague, and for a reason. The term “Senior Thesis” is easily available, but it is one the WWU Honors College deliberately has avoided. While the project must be “product oriented,” i.e., there must be something tangible at the end of the process, it may be a long paper, that is a thesis, but it may also take several other forms, e.g., a recital, a painting, an album, a bound book, all of which have been quite successful senior projects.
2012
Learning to Protect and Restore: Interning at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sarah Idczak
/ɡizəskɪfi/ (Give Me a Clue) - Linguistic Features of Scottish Accents and Dialects, Sarah Knudsen
Environmental Education Plan for the Valdivian Coastal Reserve, Hillary Landers
Magmatic Origins of Plutonic Rocks of the Cooke City Area, Montana, Skyler Mavor
Lummi Youth Riparian Education Program, Kirsten Moore
The Four Color Theorem, Patrick Turner
Rhetorical Strategies for Audience-Specific Science Communication: Professional Writing Portfolio, Michelle Wallace
2009
Culturing Our Community: A Memoir of Life Experiences in Costa Rica, Jennifer Beckmeyer
Sense and Sensibility: Recognition of Female Power Through the Divided Self, Chelsea Elise Brandon
Shifting Baselines in the Fishing Industry of the Lummi Nation: A Study of Declining Expectations, Alyssa A. Cudmore
European Union Integration Theories: Historical Significance and Future Development, Bradley Pederson
Environmental Citizenship and Carbon Intensity; Evaluating the Carbon Masters Educational Program, Andrea Jean Thomas
2008
Funding Higher Education: Preventing the Marginalization of Students in an Under-Funded and Extremely Competitive World, Paul Edgeman
Puritanism in America: Image versus Reality, Kaitlin C. Gratton
Smart Stimulation: Zoo Conservation for 21st Century Zoos, Lauren Retallack
2007
Academics and Outdoor Skills: Integrating Outdoor Skills and Academic Content in Classroom and Small Group Settings, Melissa Boyer
The Effects of Added Nutrients on the Growth and Consumption of Ulvoid Algae by Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, Alexandra M. Nicely
The Effect of Sculpin Presence on Benthic Macroinvertebrate Abundances in Chuckanut Creek, Washington, Sam Stoner
The Effects of Watching Television on Students who do not Primarily Speak English at Home, Jordan Storey
Central Auditory Processing Disorders: An Overview, Amberly Thiemens
2006
Finding My Breathing Space, Laurie Ann Ballew
Response of Coleoptera Communities to Mammalian Pest Eradication at Maungataurari, New Zealand, Tracy H. Durnell
Ornamental Education and its Relationship to Marriage: The Connections Between Women and Slaves, Megan Farwell
Encouraging the Returner: Maximizing Benefits from Training Investments in High Turnover Industry, Karl R. Geisler
The Failure to Move: The Role of Participant Beliefs in Social Movement Success, Mimi Gentry
Direct Democracy: Actually Democratic? An Evaluation of Initiatives Based on the Fundamental Principles of Democracy, Darcey Julia Goelz
Oracy to Literacy: How can speech-language pathologists in the schools collaborate with teachers regarding literacy?, Victoria L. (Victoria Louise) Goodall
Oracy to Literacy: How Can Speech-Language Pathologists in the Schools Collaborate with Teachers Regarding Literacy?, Victoria L. (Victoria Louise) Goodall
Bones N' Things (a short book of poetry), Tristan D. Hanson
The Chinese Government’s Role in Controlling the Yellow River during the 19th Century, Eri Higashi
Evolution and Intelligent Design in Biology Curricula: Secular Science in a Multicultural Public Education System, Morgan Leona Hopson
The Impact of Digitization on Research and Libraries’ Roles, Kristin N. Kohles
Democracy in Senegal: A Case Study of Democratic Success in Africa, Rachael Lambert
Jane Austen and Marianne Dashwood: Learning Sensibility, Unlearning Tradition, Johanna Landis
Illegal Immigration in the United States: An Economic, Social and Political Overview of the Current Debate, Robin Colleen Ledbetter
Survival First: The Role of Switzerland in the Second World War, Tommy Lingbloom
MoneySense, Angela Martin
A DFT Study of Iron-Oxide Nanoparticle Ground-State Geometries, Danielle McDermott
Sticks and Stones Can Break My Bones, but Words Can Mold My Society: How metaphors influence the immigration debate in Spain, Nicole Miller
Environmental Injustice in Ecuador: Endangered Indigenous Populations and Environmental Degradation, Clover AnnEire Muters
Misspent Youth: An Analysis of the Youth Vote in America, Stacy Pederson
Life as an Intern: Working at the Juvenile Public Defenders Office, Kelly Szymborski
A New Vision of Art Education, Sharon Naomi Wherland
My Experiences with Obstinate Autoanalyzers while doing Water Quality Analysis, Deborah Wilson
Characterization of Sputtered Fe Thin Films, Cedar S. Wolf
Why are the Homeless without Homes?, Nathaniel V. C. Young
2005
Odes Book IV & Carmen Saeculare Quintus Horatius Flaccus: Translated, Rachel Fisher
Income Distribution and Economic Growth, Mike Freimuth
Stasis and Change in Federal Policy, Regional Texts, and Curriculum: Moving Forward, Annie Loranger
‘Unassimilable to Orthodoxy’: Mapping Bulgakov’s Anti-Soviet Allegory, Jack Meischen
Environmental Policy in Australia: A Photojournal, Bridgette Portman
The Complicated Art Of Successful Grant-Writing, Kate Seabury
2004
Sur la rue qui mene chez Musa, Lauren Beven
A Reanalysis of Double Object Constructions: Varying Approaches with Varying Results, Adam Bollen
Characterization of sine oculis, eyes absent and dachshund Mutant Phenotypes and the Search for Novel Regulators, Loralyn Cozy
The Structure of Coordination, Laurel G. (Laurel G.) Evans
Race, Deindustrialization, and Homicide: Exploring the Relationship between Deindustrialization and Racial Homicide Victimization, Nicholas R. (Nicholas Ryan) Filer
Asian and Asian American Representations in American Film, Laura (Laura Renee) Johnson
Combating Violence in Juarez, Mexico: Political Opportunities for Women to Resist Gender. Class, and Labor Oppression, Dana (Dana Marie) Kelly
Effects of Relative Abundance on Sexual Isolation and Hybridization Risk in a Naturally Occurring Hybrid Zone of Chrysochus Leaf Beetles, Jessica Mendoza and Jabin Green
Rethinking the Electoral College: Processes, Historical Foundations, and Current Debates, Jocelyn Redel
Implications of the Fast Food Lawsuits: A Test of Implicit and Explicit Attitudes toward Obese People, H. Eileen (Heather Eileen) Rosman
The Realism of James Joyce: Autobiography, Intertextuality, and Genius, Andrew Shanafelt
Viking Union Marketing Internship, Rebekah Short
Science by Accident: Poems Inspired by Science, Ambert Stover
2003
An Investigation of Variables that Affect Foraging In the Leaf-Cutting Ant, Atta cephalotes (Formicidae), Kati Buckingham
Urban Hydrologic Design: Water Balance Analysis, Conservation Techniques, and Feasibility Study of Rainwater Harvesting at Boundary Bay Brewery, Bellingham, Washington, Kerri Cook and Alasia Heinritz
Aquatic and Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program, Johanna Gillham
Graphic Design as Environmental Advocate: A Project on Graphic Design and Electronic Waste, Kelsi Giswold
700 Inches on the Media, Leanne Josephson
Banking Services for Low-Income Consumers: Is Everyone Receiving their Fair Share?, Cristin Koegen
Suicidal Weasel.com: A Website Redesign, Darren Kovalchik
Increasing Expression Yields of Circularly-Permuted Myoglobins, Casey Kulla
Photojournalism Portfolio: Featuring images from Klipsun, The Planet and more!, Katie Kulla
Motives and the Psychological Contract: Relationships with Job Satisfaction and Self-Esteem, Trista J. (Trista Jean) Sandberg
Taking a Stand: Criticisms to British Policy by European Dissidents and the Settler Responses in Kenya during the Mau Mau Crisis, Courtney Scheskie
The Work of the People: A Liturgy for the Church, Taylor Swedberg
2002
What Now?: Students' Reactions to the Attacks of September 11, 2001, Lara Banjanin and Marc Eaton
What Happened to All the Affordable Housing?, Renee Barut
"Especiallly the Mulato Ones Like to Dance” Cuban Films and Discourses of Ethnic Difference, Shannon N. (Shannon Nicole) Budelman
Freie Meinungsäußerung und Rechtsextremisten in Deutschland, Carol Ebbert
On Police Use of Deadly Force and the Southwest Phenomenon, Zach Hays
A Pilot Study on Job Satisfaction and Conflict Resolution of Female Employees Working for Female Employers, Keanan B. (Keanan Breanne) Jacobson
Congress’s Goal of the Protection of Civil Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Facing the Challenge of a Narrowing Supreme Court, Amy M. (Amy Michelle) Kalman
America’s Public Diplomacy: An Experience at U.S. Embassy Moscow, Kendra Killmer
Geologic Modeling of Magnetic Data for Cypress Island, Washington, Ian Mynatt
Applications in Landscape Ecology: A Simple Rule-Based Simulation Approach to Modeling Windthrow Disturbance in Forests of the Western Cascades in Oregon, Brendan C. (Brendan Charles) Ward
2001
Sediment Analysis of Two Archaeological Sites in the Deception Pass Area, Fidalgo Island, Washington: A Geoarchaeological Approach, Shelby Anderson
A Strategy for Improved Expression of Permuted Myoglobins, Anna Buser
Life Through My Eyes, Heather Nicole Casler
A Study of Japanese-English Translation, Anne Cisney
Undocumented Migration from Mexico: Economic Incentives and the Effects of NAFTA, Annika Dahl
Maximization of Return on Capital Under the Life Insurance Risk-Based Capital Model, Brett Durbin
Ecosystem Factors Influencing the Success of Riparian Restoration in Whatcom County, Crystal Elliot
Women and Support Groups: Successful Approaches to Facilitation, Jennifer K. (Jennifer Karlisa) Grods
Topics in Extremal Graph Theory: Ramsey Numbers and the Turan Function, Damon J. (Damon John) Gulczynski
School Reform and the Metaphor of Redemption, Hollie R. Johnson
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Large Systems, Patrick B. (Patrick Brian) Kohl and David L. Patrick
Senior Project Internship: Inside a Public Television Documentary, Nate Lepley
Creating a High School European History Class, Brien McGuire