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 2026
Unequal Recovery: Climate Gentrification and the Marginalization of Southern Urban Communities in Disaster Relief, Ryan Simone Anderson '26
A Curious Companion: Care, Curiosity, and Companion Species in The Complete Adventures of Curious George, Charlotte Brooks '26
Playing Hard to Get: Limerence and the Psychology of the Amator in Latin Love Elegy, Carson Carpenter '26
Wired Youth: How Technology Shapes Adolescent Minds and Behavior, Kimario Davis '26
Navigating the Ethical Landscape of AI Created Responsibility Gaps in Healthcare, Kelsey Dwyer '26
Not Just Static: Evolutionary Throughlines in the Female Voice, Maria Hand '26
Building Better Schools: Evaluating Canadian Restorative Justice Programs for U.S. Implementation, Courtney Marsh '26
La Dolce Vita or The American Way: A Comparative Study into the Italian and American Healthcare Systems Through an Analysis of Total Knee Replacements, James (Jim) McMurray '26
Cowpox and Counterpublics: A Rhetorical Analysis of Anti-COVID Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Social Media, Cole Melton '26
Knightly Arts for Modern Audiences: Faithfully Portraying Historical European Martial Arts in Contemporary Media, Justus (Isaiah) Morgan '26
The Wandering Role: A Rhetorical Analysis of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ethan Nichter '26
Bridging the Justice Gap: A Comparative Analysis of Legal Aid Access in Putnam County and Beyond, Hailey Nowak '26
Plastics, Microplastics, and the Gut Microbiome: Restoring Scientific Communication to Fight for Public Health, Benjamin Sanders '26
Puppy Love: Intimacy in Omegaverse Fanfiction, Emma Shober '26
The Life and Legacy of Sherwood Fiske Brown: A Case Study in the Evolution of American Higher Education, Alden Small '26
Roll Me a History Check: Role-Playing Games in Education, Andrew Thede '26
Divide and Conquer: Polarization, Power, and Conspiracy Theories, Lilly VanHouten '26
Total Resistance: The conditions for Non-State Actors in colonial states, Devin Walker '26
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