The Honor Scholar Program is open to DePauw students of any major who show unusual promise and commitment to the development of the life of the mind. Each year a small number of carefully selected first-year students are invited to participate in the program and the special opportunities it presents. During their final year at DePauw, Honor Scholars pursue independent work under the direction of a faculty thesis advisor and a committee of two or more additional faculty members, culminating in an Honors thesis.
Theses/Dissertations from 2021
COVID-19 Connections: An Existential View of a Pandemic, Jacqueline Ebel 21
Custody Battles: Reimagining Persephone's Plight, Maggie Ephraim 21
Picking the Brain: Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease, Hannah Hutchison 21
Medical Veracity and the Erosion of the American Physician-Patient Trust Relationship, Jonah Jerabek 21
USWNT and Twitter: Resistance and Activism in the Equal Pay Campaign, Mia Manney 21
A Closer Look into American Humanitarian Intervention: How Understanding Humanity Tells Who and When We Help, Katie Noble 21
dilemma: A Magazine About Sexual Assault ft. Me, Emma Rees 21
The Power of Inclusion: Deconstructing “Normality” in Primary Education, Madison Smith 21
Theses/Dissertations from 2020
Contemporary Challenges Facing Small, Family Farms in America: The Grant Family and Their Maraschino Cherry Farm, Haley Allaben 20
Friend or Foe: Chaucer’s Depiction of Women in Troilus and Criseyde, Vanessa Balis 20
The Second Wave in Secondary Schools: Textbooks and Standards on the Feminist Movement, Melissa Browning 20
Caught in the Middle: Existentialism in a Contemporary Fantasy, Hannah DePauw 20
Multi-Ethnic Chronicles: Interrogating My Imposter Syndrome, Maria Flores 20
The Domestic and Global Implications of Considering Non-US Origin a Risk Factor for Tuberculosis in the United States, Emma Gile 20
The Narrative of Courtship: Literary and Biological Constructions and their Impact on Women, Drew Harris 20
Reflections from a Pre-Service Teacher: Finding Equity, Accessibility, and Compassion in Our Schools, Emma Houston 20
The Era of Commercialized Genetics: Examining the Intersection of DNA, Identity, and Personal Origin, Joanna Hutchins 20
A Revisionist History of Disagreeableness, Jasmeet Kaur 20
An Evaluation of Family Planning Initiatives in Developing Nations, Lauren Kaylor 20
Project-Based Learning in an Ever-Changing World: Experiential Revelations from the Field, Sarah Kelly 20
The Politics of Sports, Sydney Kopp 20
From Michigan With Love, Emma Krug 20
Spiritual Reclamation: Learning From Frida Kahlo and Entering My Personal Healing Journey, Sandra Laserna Cowal 20
Religious Identity and Religious Belief: The Subconscious Religiosity of Chinese University Students, Margot Leiner 20
The One Child Policy: A Moral Analysis of China’s Most Extreme Population Policy, Allison C. Lund 20
Fort Ancient and Woodland Pottery from the Hahn Site, Hamilton County, Ohio: A Petrographic Analysis of Chronological Changes in Ceramic Temper, Shelby C. Lutz 20
Going Beyond Abstinence Only: A Bioethical Analysis on Educating Adolescents on Birth Control and Other Contraceptives, Sam McCarty 20
Understanding Abu Ghraib: Accountability, the United States, and the Continuation of Torture, Julia Michaels 20
Virtual Reality of Underwater Nessebar, Caleb O'Brien 20
Cyber Security in the Healthcare Industry, Giovanni Ordonez 20
Housework for Revolutionaries: Between Theory and Experience, Megha Summer Pappachen 20
It’s Not Cuul to JUUL: Nicotine Addiction, the Rise of e-Cigarette Usage, and How Zebrafish Can Help, Anna Pearson 20
Experimental Archaeology and Brewing Beer: a Modern Reproduction of the "Hymn to Ninkasi", Mahayla Roscoe 20
Birtherism, Benghazi and QAnon: Why Conspiracy Theories Pose a Threat to American Democracy, Emily Schabes 20
Murder Upon Murder, Patricia Rose McKown Schuelke '20
Become What You Are: The Student Handbook to Fighting Nihilism, Jules Shinkle 20
Legitimizing the Laboratory: How Science Has Depended on Policing in Glacier Bay National Park, Cecilia R. Slane 20
White, Female Cellist: One (Very Average) Musician’s Exploration of Identity Through Jazz Pedagogy, Amelia Smerz 20
Holy Ground: A Website Project on the History of Indiana’s United Methodist Camps, Sheraya Smith 20
Children’s Autonomy and Medical Decision Making, Haley Thompson 20
Over-Medicalization and Criminalization of Birth In the United States: Exploring the Outcomes, Meg Wallace 20
Theses/Dissertations from 2019
The Progression of the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement in the United States: The Human Rights Campaign, Tabitha Adams 19
The Ethics of Cookies: Exploring the Collection of Big Data and Its Ramifications, Sarah Biely 19
What to Expect When You are Not Expecting: the Biological, Psychological, and Cultural Setbacks Following Infertility, Lauren Butler 19
Goals, Outcomes, and Efficacy of Music Programming in Prisons, Liam Byrnes 18
The Ethics of Single-Use Plastics, Kiara Goodwine '19
Is Breastfeeding Truly Best? Evolutionary, Physiological, & Cultural Factors That Shape Breastfeeding Practices, Emily J. Green 19
The Search for Peace Education in Spain's National Curriculum: Questioning the Presence of Race, Immigration, and Othering, Anne Grujanac 19
The Socialization Process of Masculinity, and Its Manifestation at DePauw University: How Race, Media, and Gender Contribute to the Malleability of Masculinity, Gabriella Hagedorn 19