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 2025
Blue Chairs and Broken Minds: The Troubled Teen Industry’s Legacy of Abuse, Macie Barker '25
How It Will End: Physical and Philosophical Implications of the Fate of Our Universe, Alex Bittle '26
Tiny Creatures, Big Lessons: Using Music Education and Ecoliteracy to Impact Young Learners' Perspectives on Bugs and Nature, Paige Burgess '25
Queering the Mean Girl: Spectating The Post-Feminist Melodrama, Anne Gregg '25
LOZ, a feature-length Screenplay by Audrey Ickes & The Midwest’s Playground: An Autoethnography of “the Lake” in Accompaniment to the Screenplay LOZ, Audrey M. Ickes '25
Democracy in Discourse: Presidential Addresses and the Public's Understanding of Governance in the 21st Century, Knole Ihle '25
Rewriting the Rules: Impact of Covid-19 on Norms in Science, the International Order, and China, Jacob Kissling '25
Who Defines the Refugee?: Analyzing the Limitations and Relevance of the 1951 UN Convention on Global Refugee Protection, Sarah Locke '25
No Vaccine? Why Not: Causes of Vaccine Hesitancy and How Governments Can Stop It, Alexander (Alec) McCarty '25
Risk, Vulnerability, and Resilience in “Natural” Disasters: A Hurricane Katrina Case Study, Scarlett Oaks '25
Ethics of End-of-Life Care: Alzheimer's and Assisted Dying, Callan Plant '25
What’s Behind a Number? An Analysis of Maternal Healthcare in Cuba and the Impact of Policy on Women’s Autonomy, Brynn Urban '25
Genocide Education: What is it, and Why is it Important?, Allison Weiner '25
Theses/Dissertations from 2024
Something Underneath: Modernism(s), the Arts, and the Dance of the Critical I, Harry Burgan '24
The Display of Egyptian and Egyptianizing Antiquities in the Vatican Museums: the Papacy and the Public Perception of Classical Antiquity, Andrew Conarty '24
Unraveling the Neural Mysteries of Music's Impact on the Mind, Lily Fuchs '24
Beyond the Matrix: Navigating the Implications of Nick Bostrom's Simulation Hypothesis on Reality and Existence, Michell-Lee Graham '24
The Truth of the American Immigration System: Family Separation, Tegwyn Hollenbach '24
Greening the Green: Examining the Resource Use of Golf Courses with Suggestions on How to Improve their Sustainability, Kaelan Addison Lestock '24
Babel: what we lose when hierarchical thinking and systems of power replicate themselves in linguistics, Abigail McArthur-Self '24
Innocent Until Proven Guilty? Why Is This the Wrong Approach?, Jacqueline Munoz '24
(No) Women On Track: An exploration of women’s experiences in motorsports through poetry, Cole Pedro '24
Curating Community: Inclusive Art Access, Maggie Perry '24
"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made": The Reconciliation of the LGBTQIA+ Community to American Christianity, Madalyn G. Sailors '24
A Chemical and Historical Analysis of Beer: Discovering Brewing Styles and Beer Stages, Alexander Taylor '24
Love vs Duty?: Resisting the Idealized Woman and Subverting The Perennial Choice for Women in Opera, Lindsay Uhrich '24
The Failed Promise of Gun Legislation: The Assault Weapons Ban and Sandy Hook, Matigan Williams '24
From Stone to Silicone: Interdisciplinary Insights into the Co-evolution of Humans, Tools and Technologies, Mahnoor Zahid '24
Theses/Dissertations from 2023
Globalizing Sikhism: Modern-day Representation of Sikhs, Rubina Cheema '23
Women Who Kill: Providing and Justifying Alternative Legal Pathways to the Use of Battered Women Syndrome as Self-Defense, Sara Das '23
Dissecting the Musical Body: Analyzing the Influence of Body Norms on Musical Discourse, Lauren del Rosario '23
Petro Pasts and Solar Futures: An Exploration of Critical, Creative, and Activist Solarpunk Discourse, Emma Gilliam '23
Methodical Madness: How ADHD Affects Daily Life, Samuel Gonzalez '23
“Inheritor” and “Originator”: Jane Austen’s Feminist Voice as Bridge Between Mary Wollstonecraft and Virginia Woolf, Stephanie Hyta '23
Visual Literacy and Reading Motivation Understanding the Impact of Illustrations and Images on an Individual’s Engagement with Text, Anna McCuaig '23
The Negative Influence of External Stressors on Patient Outcomes: Why Physicians Should Consider More than Outwardly Presenting Symptom(s), Gianna Meckler '23
Ethics and Us: A Review of the Moral Psychology Field, Jillian Meyer '23
The Emotions Behind the Screen, Eli Gray Nations '23
The Bard’s Precursors to Psychology: Exposing Dark Sides of Human Nature, Rebecca Parsons '23
Synthetic or Not: Implications of Hormonal Birth Control on Women’s Hormones and the Cortisol Stress Response, Maddie Perry '23
How to Burn the American Flag: Subversions of the Flag Code Amid the Black Arts Movement, Abigail (Claire) Porfilio '23
Music and Literature: Reciprocal Tools for Analysis, Creation, Performance, and Education, Lily Rutledge '23
Power, Pleasure, and Privilege: defining DePauw’s hookup culture and its mental health implications, Reanna Stiehler '23
Resilience in Girlhood: An Analysis of the Social Determinants of Anxiety Disorders for Adolescent Girls, Maggie Sullivan '23
An Examination of Parental Transmission on Young Voters’ Political Party Affiliation, Parenting Style Mediations, Kelly J. Truax '23
Riot, Revolution, and Remembrance: Modern Memory of the Haymarket Affair, Maggie Westover '23
The Process and Me: Creating a Film About Archaeology, Jack Woods '23
Theses/Dissertations from 2022
In a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Deconstructing Binaries in Star Wars, Joanna Berry '22
School Garden Programs, Food Pathways, and Environmental Justice: Modeling Ethical Frameworks to Reclaim the Value of Care Work Through Education, Charlotte Borland '22
In Our Shoes, Mahogany Brim '22