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.
2016
Why English? A Defense of the Humanities in the Midst of STEM Promotion, Madison Elmenhurst
Honors Senior Project: Painted Portraits, Justice Fox-Hille
Altruism and You: Demographic Predictors and Practical Application, Margaret E. Herbert
Sehome Hill Arboretum Trail Decommissioning Follow Up, Calvin Heslop
Spanish News Framing of the Syrian Refugee Crisis, Ariana Hoyer
Curriculum Development, Courtney Knox
Effects of Microfinance Penetration Rates on Education Participation, Samuel W. Martinez
Nickel Phosphide on Boron-Doped Alumina: New Catalysts for Heteroatom Removal Reactions, Catherine E. Miles
Reworking the Structure of Sexual Education Sessions at Western Washington University, Isabella Ramos Miller
Malignant Gliomas: A Case Study, Bonnie R. Sullivan
HNRS 400: Implementing a Capstone Research Course for the Western Washington University Honors Program, Courtney Telloian
Limbic Entrainment for Normalizing Gait in Individuals with a Recent History of Ankle Injury, Shawna Troupe
Summer Climate and Western Spruce Budworm Outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest, Melinda Vickers
2015
Fiberglass Composite Repairs Presentation, Brad Fenbert and Ian Saksa
Attunement in the Estuary, Ian Ferris
The effect of ribosomal protein inhibition on lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster, Ella Lamont
A Theory of Luck or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Make My Own Career, Cole Paramore
The World Before Calculus: Historical Approaches to the Tangent Line Problem, Lindsay Skinner
Cochlear Implants: A Multi-perspective Look at a Powerful Controversy, Ruth Tag
Music and Medicine, Thomas Zink
2014
Jodie Dallas Has Left the Closet: Television’s First Regularly Occurring Gay Male Character and What He Had to Say About His Time, Brittnie Bigelow
The Gender Wage Gap and Child Poverty: A Statistical Analysis, Kristine Farwell
A Political History of the Kingdom of Jerusalem 1099 to 1187 C.E., Tobias Osterhaug
Toe Running: The Good, The Fad, and The Ugly, Molly Quinn-Shea
A Comparison of Two Statistical Tests for Interaction in Genetic Data, Clair Smith
Stuttering Therapy Via Telepractice in Kenya: An Overview, Michaela D. Stevenson
Mechanical Testing of Artificial Muscles, Maggie Walsh
The World As Seen Through Award-Winning Photos: How Photojournalism Contests Contribute to Geographical Stereotypes, Brooke Warren
2013
Student Attitude Toward Mathematics At the Middle and High School Level, Anna Berglund
Economic Simulus: Online Economies, Virtual Currencies, and Their Relevancy to the Real World, Eli Greenfield
Teaching Students "At-Risk", Elie Hartman
Off-Campus Student Life Survey, Heather Rees
Toxicity of Herbicide Mixtures: Atrazine and Roundup® Toxicity to Daphnia Magna, Jennifer A. Stiles
A Novel Depletion Technique for Studying the Role of Protein L12 in the Activation of Ribosome-Dependent GTPases, Michelle E. Wuerth
2012
Rapid Molecular Species Identification of a Morphologically Cryptic Apple Pest., Emily Green
Event Marketing in Bellingham, Lauren Hager
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