Honors Program Theses
The University Honors Program is an intellectually stimulating and socially nurturing community of students of exceptional academic achievement. Every honors student has the opportunity to complete undergraduate research during their time at UNI by writing a thesis. Students work with faculty members in their major or area of interest to develop and conduct a study during either their Junior or Senior year. To go to the Honors Program page, click here.
From this page, you can browse our Honors Program Theses. To filter by department, use the Advanced Search function. Some theses and dissertations are not eligible for open access.
Submissions from 2026
Using Simulations and Machine Learning to Improve Routing Algorithms in Wireless Sensor Networks, Luke Abels, Department of Computer Science, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Importance of Sample Timing and Independence for Typha Species Identification, Sydney Aird, Department of Biology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Characterization of a Unique Mitochondrial Minichromosome in a Chewing Louse, Stachiella octomaculatus, Aubree Blanco, Department of Biology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Remembering Forgotten Harmonies: A Recreation of Emil Kreuz’s Lost Viola Concerto, Caleb Burdine, School of Music, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Bridging Communication Gaps: Aac Designs for Dialectal Spanish Speakers and Communication Partners, Kaela T. Clemen, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Characterizing Glacial Sediments From the Cincinnati, Ohio Area By Analyzing Grain Size Distribution and Elemental Composition, Laura Comstock, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
RNAi-mediated Silencing of Midgut Aminopeptidase N: Developing Tools to Probe Nutrient Availability for Intestinal Microbes in Helicoverpa zea, Julia M. Costello, Department of Biology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Investigation of Magnetic Phase Tuning in CrI3 via Ni Thin-Film Deposition, Connor J. Cunningham, Department of Physics, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Electronic and Magnetic Properties of NiFeMnAl and NiFe1.25Mn0.75Al, Salimatou Diallo, Department of Physics, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Considerations when Designing In Vivo Protocols for Conducting Biomechanical Research of the Shoulder Joint in Hockey Athletes, Kylie Giesler, Department of Biology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis 2026
"The Queen's Grace Heartily Thanks You for the Quails:" Honor Lisle and the Role of Gift-Giving in the Education and Preferment of Her Children, Alexa Renee Gordon, Department of History, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
We Don’t Get Our Voices Heard, We Work: Working-Class Perceptions of Power and Powerlessness in Iowa, Jadin Grieser, Department of Political Science, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Aging Across Cultures: How Cultural Attitudes Shape Senior Care in Japan and the United States, Ella Jane Gunn Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Comparisons of Thin-Film Metallic Growths On MoS2, Haley A. Harms, Department of Physics, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Faith-Based Leadership, McKenna Hohenadel, Department of Management, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Dementia Related Programs: A Case Study of Spousal Care and Mental Health, Candace Hoisington Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Advertising: An Experimental Evaluation of AI Video Generators, Josie Koenigs, Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Growth and Sustainability of Ash Tree Replacements in Twin Lakes, Iowa, Emma Larsen, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Role of Parent Involvement in Enhancing Pediatric Speech and Language Therapy, Katie Lynch, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
“Police Power” or Puppeteer: US Interventions in Latin America and Its Immigration Crisis, Alison Meagher, Department of Political Science, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Assessing the Viability of Speleothem Float Samples From Mammoth Cave National Park for Reconstruction of the Laurentide Ice Sheet Position, Jackson Minton, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Improving French Dependency Parsing via Domain Adaptation with CamemBERT: A Case Study in Administrative French, Kristin Moos, Department of Computer Science, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Times They Are A-Changin’: How Bob Dylan’s Music Helped to Change an Era, Emily Newby, Department of Communication and Media, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Modernizing ROTC Training: Evaluating the Impact of Digital Learning on Tactical Performance, Dominick Olhava, Department of Computer Science, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Sculpting Resilience: Trauma, Transformation, and Empowerment, Madelyn Otdoerfer, Department of Art, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Applying Theoretical Models to Experiments of Curved DNA, Skylar Redford, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Secrets of Scholars: On Becoming a Novelist, Payten Reese, Department of Languages and Literatures, Honors Program Thesis (Electronic Copy Not Available)
Music Education in My Band Room: A Personal Philosophy Statement, Dorothy Roorda, Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Perceptions of Money in Politics: Analyzing the Connection Between Knowledge of Congressional Campaign Fundraising and Political Trust in the United States, Catriona Schmadeke, Department of Political Science, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Harm Reduction Awareness and Perceived Norms Around Cannabis Usage Among College Students, Tiana Selimagic, Department of Psychology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Loud and Clear: How Leader Extraversion Shapes Follower Perception of Leadership Effectiveness, Maggie Sholes, Department of Management, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Predictors of Prejudice Towards People with Tattoos, Jordan Smith, Department of Psychology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Animator Becomes Animated: A Short Film Uniting Animation and Traditional Film as One, Peter Francis Stahr, Department of Art, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Synthesis and Reactivity of Diruthenium-Based Complexes with Polyhydride Ligands, Isabella Steffensmeier, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
“Crimes by the Brave”: Military Installation Impacts on Local Crime, Mara Strader, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
A Literature Review of Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) With Emphasis on Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell and Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) Therapies, Brianna Wickham, Department of Biology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Submissions from 2025
A Case Study of Harmful Revisionist History: An Analysis of Nada Por Lo Que Pedir Perdón by Marcelo Gullo Omodeo, Anna Anderson, Department of Languages and Literatures, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Inked Narratives: Exploring the Motivations Behind Tattoo Culture, Katelyn Bakker Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Attitudes Toward Juvenile Offenders: How Juvenile Justice Personnel Perceive Juvenile Recidivism, Morgan Barnette, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Editing the MGV-1 Gene of Fusarium graminearum Using Homology-Directed Repair, Tatiana Barriga, Department of Biology, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Auditory Perception of Foreign-Accented English in Noise, Carly Bendull, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Culture, Labor Laws, and Foreign Investment: An Analysis on the Impact of Uncertainty Avoidance, Annalee Benisek, Department of Management, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Effect of Tai Chi Intervention on Gait Variability of Step Length and Velocity in Older Adults, Stephen Michael Blom, Department of Kinesiology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Who Owns the Dead: The Unequal Access to Repatriation in US Law, Sydney Blum, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
MorphToGO: A Video Classification Model for Predicting Protein Functions From Conformational Morphs, Dylan William Bock, Department of Computer Science, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Legacy of Redlining: Examining Educational Inequalities in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Emily Brennom, Department of Political Science, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Language Assessment in Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology, Sierra Kay Buscher, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Effect of Seed Mix Design and Planting Time on Floral Resources, Madison Carleton, Department of Biology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
A New Application of the Coimbra Method On Cranial Entheseal Changes, Emily Marie Carlo, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Effect of Mitochondrial Disease on the Eyes and Possible Treatments With an Emphasis on Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, Olivia Chambers, Department of Biology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Female Client Preferences of A Financial Advisor’s Gender, Rachel Ames Clayberg, Department of Finance, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No It’s a Teacher: How Teachers Are Exemplified as Superheroes as a Method of Control, Charis Crozier, Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
How Do Documentaries Depict the Experiences of Juveniles in Correctional Facilities?, Emma Decker, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Evaluating Corporate Advertising: How Deception Leads to Downfall, Madison Duong, Department of Philosophy and World Religions, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Communicating Across Languages: The Complexities of Bilingual and Multilingual AAC for Arabic Speakers, Emma Fagerstrom, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
An Analysis of Commercial Real Estate, Amanda Christine Fowler, Department of Finance, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Relationship between Backgrounds and the Perception of Tones in Mandarin, Abigail Franks, Department of Languages and Literatures, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
One, Two, Unemployment’s Coming for You: How Slasher Films Reflect Societal Fears, Arwen G. Hansen, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Spectroscopic Analysis of Caves: The Influence of Organic Overburden on Karst Speleothems, Jacqueline Heggen, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Field of Speech Language Pathology: A Comparative Literary Review of Language Development, Ana Herrig, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
A Deep Dive into the Alignment of Classroom Management and a Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum, Aliya James, Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Efficacy of Spanish Audio-Supported Second Language Vocabulary Learning in a Single Case Study, Destiny M. Jones, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Open Access Honors Program Thesis 2025 Award
Comparing the Cognitive and Physiological Effects of Traditional and Virtual Reality Exercise in Overweight/Obese Adults, Emma Kelsey, Department of Kinesiology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Influence of Mental Skills and Social Support During the Injury Rehabilitation Process, Paige Kisley, Department of Kinesiology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Phylogeography of Rainbow Darter, Etheostoma caeruleum, using RadSeq Analysis, Lauren Klein, Department of Biology, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Language as Privilege: Socioeconomic Status and the Politics of Foreign Language Learning, Brenda Koumondji, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Outlaws, Lawmen, and the Emergence of Justice on the Western Frontier, Kaci Mae Krier, Department of History, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Analysis of the Relationship Between Health Behaviors and Civic Engagement, Faith Larsen, Department of Political Science, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Philosophy in Filmmaking: Animation vs. Live Action, Veronica J. Larson, Department of Philosophy and World Religions, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Examining the Role of Mental Health in Prisoner Reentry, Ireland Laughlin, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Hireability of Female Hispanic Applicants by Accent/Career Type and Participant First Language, Lauren R. Logue, Department of Psychology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Easter Egg Strategy: An Analysis of Taylor Swift’s Easter Egg Strategy and Swiftie Engagement for the Midnights Album, Kate McAlister, Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Facilitating a Class for All Students - An Extensive Literature Review, Maya Lynn McDaniels, Department of Special Education, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Effects of of Both Parent and Child Technology Use on Developing Literacy Abilities, Ava McMenomy, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Characterization of the mtDNA Minicircles in a Chewing Louse, Neotrichodectes mephitidis, Morgan Mescher, Department of Biology, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
The Effects of Aerobic Exercise Stair ‘Snacks’ on Cognition, Madeline Claire Moran, Department of Kinesiology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Addressing Iowa’s Teacher Shortage: University-Led Strategies and Their Impact, Makenzie Mae Morris, Department of Educational Psychology, Foundations, and Leadership Studies, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Architecture of the Mitochondrial Genome of a Parasitic Louse, Geomydoecus centralis, Grace Phyllis Mraz, Department of Biology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Acoustic Analysis of Vowels in Foreign-Accented English, Hannah Nedder, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Building Better: Lean Construction vs. Traditional Methods, Payton Olson, Department of Applied Engineering and Technical Management, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Redlining and its Consequences: High School Sports Winningness in the Des Moines, IA Independent School District, Grant Lane Pedersen, Department of Political Science, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
No pued/o/ encontrar la/s/ palabra/s/ correcta/s/: An exploration of morphological selections in monolingual Spanish and bilingual English-Spanish AAC systems, Sara Petersen, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Strengthening Social-Emotional Learning for Elementary Students Through Explicit Instruction, Miah Phalen, Department of Special Education, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Addressing the Overemphasis and Impacts of Academic Language in English Language Learner Instruction, Rebecca Pint, Department of Languages and Literatures, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Preliminary Findings for Conversational Synchrony in Early Huntington’s Disease Patients, Samantha Robinson, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Honors Program Thesis (Electronic Copy Not Available)
Connecting the Cedar Valley: The Design and Impact of a Nonprofit News, Morgan Ryerson, Department of Communication and Media, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
The Role of Financial Literacy Education in Shaping Students’ Future Financial Decisions, Arianna Shornock, Department of Accounting, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
DEI Initiatives Through the Eyes of Young Consumers: Analyzing Gen Z and Gen Alpha Brand Perceptions, Rachel Stephany, Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Analysis of the Menstrual Product Initiative at the University of Northern Iowa, Catrina Marie Tounjian Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Art of Accessing Science, Kyle Mark Trunnell, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
A Personal Exploration of the Cultural Impact of Shinto and the Meiji Shrine on Japan, Ashley Uitermarkt, Department of History, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Genetic Diversity of Bluegill in Iowa, Eva van de Mortel, Department of Biology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Florentine Impressions: Artists Abroad, Jaylin Vander Wiel, Department of Art, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Effects of Short-Term, High Dosage Creatine Supplementation on Cognitive Measures Following Mental Fatigue in Healthy Young Adults, Olivia Van Meter, Department of Kinesiology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
Enhancing Math Inclusion for Students With Disabilities in General Education Classrooms, Kimberly Walljasperq, Department of Mathematics, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Inclusive Language: Evolution of Morphophonological Gender Agreement in Spanish and Modern Perceptions of Its Use, Acelia Dianne Watts, Department of Languages and Literatures, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Implementing Peer-Mediated Support Interventions for Children Diagnosed With Autism, Elise Wehr, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
The Music Education Gender Divide at the University of Northern Iowa, Abigail Wendland, School of Music, Open Access Honors Program Thesis 2026 Award
Pools of Reflection: Grappling with Change and the Idea of Self, Haeley Wolter, Department of Art, Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)
Submissions from 2024
The Relationship Between Athletes' Competitive State Anxiety and Self-Confidence and Coaches' Behaviors, Derek Anderson, Department of Kinesiology, Open Access Honors Program Thesis
