The Honors College at the University of Maine is a community of nearly 800 students who, along with nearly 100 faculty members, are committed to taking intellectual risks through exploring questions both within and outside their academic disciplines in the course of a four-year curriculum. The College is committed to both broadening and deepening the academic experience of its students, providing them with the resources and skills needed to critically engage important questions and issues.
For those students who graduate from the Honors College, their journey ends with the writing of their Honors thesis. Over the course of the senior year, they work with a faculty mentor completing independent research or a creative project in their discipline. At the end of the two-semester experience, they present the thesis to their thesis committee of five faculty members and professionals in their field. For these students, this is the culmination of their work at the University of Maine and a springboard to future opportunities and achievements.
“The intense supervision of my Honors thesis was the most important academic experience of my life. My advisor’s personal guidance and insistence that I couple precise research with creative and original thought has served as a benchmark for me for over thirty years.” – James E. Tierney ’69, Attorney General of Maine (1980-1990)
The first four theses were written in 1937, in recent years the number has approached 100. We plan to populate this digital archive with many of the over 1300 theses that have been written in those over seventy-five years.
For more information, contact the Honors College at honors@maine.edu or 207-581-3263.
Honors Theses from 2013
Bayesian Analysis of Data on Nest Success for Marsh Birds, Sean Hardy
A Study of Cooking and Varietal Effects on Potato in Vitro Bile Acid Binding Capacity, Emily Hinkle
Assessment of Sea Lice Infestations on Wild Fishes of Cobscook Bay, Alexander Jensen
Taking the War to the Water: The American Revolution At Sea, 1775-1776, Sarah Kent
Investigating the Controls on Surface Snow δ18O Values in the Coastal Northeast Pacific: Implications for Paleoclimate Interpretations, Matthew C. Koehler
State-Level Government: An Evaluation of Maine's Conflict of Interest Laws and Amendments to Improve Transparency Through Financial Disclosure, Shelbe K. Lane
Perceptions of a Dating Couple Conflict Resolution Interaction and Relationship Quality as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms in a College Student Sample, Annie M. Ledoux
Testing the Effect of Grapefruit Seed Extract (GFSE) on the Mastitsis-Causing Alga, Prototheca, Kendra Janelle MacDonald
A Novel Mechanism for Mechanosensing by Endothelial Cells, Jennifer MacDowell
The Effect of Cataract Surgery on Depression and Vision-Related Quality of Life in an Elderly Population, Paige Martin
Staking Out Gender: A Poststructuralist Analysis of Gender Roles and Identity in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Patrick Pittis
Safe to Drive? Police Powers of Search and Seizure in the Vehicular Context, Mark Rucci
Slow Food: From Farm to Healthy Body, Hannah L. Ruhl
Fishers of Men, Matthew Tieszen
Evaluating Wetland Restoration Performance Through a Case Study on the University of Maine Campus, Andrew L. Tomes
Inequality and Health: Stress Mediates the Relationship Between Subjective SES and Wellbeing, Elizabeth L. Tull
Effects of Arsenic Responsive P21 on Innate Immunity and Apoptosis in Zebrafish, Gabriel O. Vachon
Investigation of the Mechanism Underlying Arsenic Disruption of Mast Cell Degranulation, Alejandro Velez
Where I Tread, Sarah Watts
Foraging Behavior of Eastern Gray Squirrels on the University of Maine Campus, Aimee Young
Honors Theses from 2012
A History of the Use of Swedish Language in New Sweden, Maine, Kaitlyn Anderson
Transdiagnostic Factors: The Mediating Role of Rumination in Health Anxiety and Premenstrual Distress, Kristina S. Anderson
Why are Comedy Films so Critically Underrated?, Michael Arell
The Haptotactic Motility of Angiogenic Endothelial Cells, Breana E. Bennett
Imagine a Better World: Two Studies of Imagined Intergroup Contact, Charles J. Bergeron
Assessing the Controversy: Female Genital Mutilation or Legitimate Rite of Passage?, Morgan Haley Brockington
Exploring the Alcohol Deprivation Effect in Withdrawal-Seizure Prone and Withdrawal-Seizure Resistant Mice, Peter Brooks
Salinity Tolerance of the Oyster Mudworm Polydora websteri, Shannon W. Brown
Characterization of Nrk2b Overexpression in a Transgenic Zebrafish Congenital Muscular Dystrophy Model, Anna Burgess
The Hydrological and Geochemical Role of the C Horizon in a Glacial Till Mantled Headwater Catchment, Margaret A. Burns
Development of Porous Polymeric Implants for Use In Orthopedic Research and Development Applications, Alexander Caddell
From Not So Simple a Beginning: The Voyage of the Beagle to the Voyage of the Endeavour Retracing the Steps of Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands, Kathleen Carroll
The Space Explorer, Rachel A. Carter
Identification of Internal Parasites of Sheep and Goats, Amanda Chaney
The Effects of White Noise Disturbance on Zebra Finch Behavior; Does Disturbance Predictability Matter?, Kathryn Chenard
Development of Pesticide Sensing Polyaniline Electrode Through Detection of Alachlor By Cyclic Voltammetry, Todd M. Conner
A Study of the Effect of the Economy on the Outcome of Presidential Reelections: 1992 and 2004 Examined, John F. Cox
Optimization of a Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization Protocol in the Chloroplast Hosting Mollusc Elysia chlorotica, Geoffry Austin Davis
The Impact of Private Public Utility Tax-Exempt Bond Issuance, Jacob Day
Substrate Stiffness and Adhesivity Influence Neuron Axonal Growth, Eben Grant Estell
A Creative Writing Honors Thesis: Guardians of Alyataus, Kelsey K. Flynn
A Study of the Coping Mechanisms Adopted by Work Groups to Deal with Project Structure, Katie R. Foster
Coping and Gender Differences in Seasonality and Seasonal Affective Disorder, Alisha S. Gagnon
The Democratization of the Democratic Party: An Analysis of Democratic Party Reform 1972 - 2008, Benjamin D. Goodman
A Study of Childhood and Late Adolescent Fear: The Role of Fear in Socioemotional Functioning, Stephanie M. Guillemette
Effect of Combined Drug Therapy and Genetic Modifiers on Hepatosteatosis and Fibrosis in a Mouse Model for Alström Syndrome, Ryan Hanusek
Unmasking Candidiasis: A Mechanistic Model for Innate Immune-Fungal Cell Wall Dynamics, Erica Hidu
‘Skins’: A Contemporary Moral Panic, Jenna L. Hoops
Environmental Factors Linked to Harmful Algal Bloom Induced Shellfish Toxicity in Cobscook Bay, Maine, Hannah M. Horecka
The Economics of Offshore Wind Energy, Caitlin M. Howland
How Does Context Shape Comedy as a Successful Social Criticism as Demonstrated by Eddie Murphy’s SNL Sketch “White Like Me?”, Abigail Jones
The Worst Angels of our Nature: Has Violence Declined?, Redyn Keller
Objecting to Objectivity, Elizabeth R. Kevit
Endoscopic Evaluation of the Response to Intrauterine Irrigation with 3.3% N-Acetylcysteine in Mares, Christine T. Kissinger
A Cultural Exploration Via the Mediums of Music and Poetry, Colin S. Kolmar
Nameless, Inscrutable, Unearthly: An Examination of Obsession in Moby Dick, Sarah K. Lingo
A Study of Corruption in the Bulgarian Legal System, Stephanie A. Littlehale
Concussion Management, Education and Diagnosis in Eastern Maine High School Football, Sarah K. Lockhart
The Role of Caveolin in the Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) Signaling Pathway, Richard H. Luc
Heterogeneous Deformation of Gabbroic Rocks, Calvin Mako
The Role of Traf2 in Zebrafish, Bradie N. Manion
Transformation of Realism: Narrator’s Function and the Blending of Dialogue and Stream of Consciousness in To the Lighthouse and Between the Acts, Alyssa M. McCluskey
Optimization of Microwave Accelerated Extraction of Resveratrol from Tree Bark, Dustin Niedt
Analysis Modeling and Optimization of a Smart Sulky, Nicholas C. Noble
The Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Autophagy Activation During Candida albicans Infection, Ashley E. Norum
The Effects of Suggestion on Dream Recall Frequency, Jack Obery
Electioneering Across the Ages: Examining the Application and Implication of Media-Based Mobilization in American Presidential Campaigns Post-Radio, Cameron C. O'Brien
Prolific Playwrights: Clifford Odets and Lillian Hellman Expose the Thirties, Samantha L. Paradis
The Case for Instrumental Music Education: The Academic, Physical, and Social Benefits for Students, Kayla M. Peard
Characterization of Genes in the CFTR-Mediated Innate Immune Response, Eric Peterman
At What Cost?: A Study of the American Highway System and the Maine East-West Highway Proposal, Brian Philbrook
Business Meetings: A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Audio and Video Conferencing in Dispersed Teams, Rachel Porter
Occupy Horror: An Analysis of Gothic Motifs and Malefic Technological Prostheses in Contemporary American Horror Films, Alexis L. Priestley
Improving Assistive Technology Through Phenomenology: A Comparative Analysis of Research Methods, Rafael M. Ramos IV
Characteristics of Young Children's Longest Utterances, Alise R. Ranalli
Data Logging Radiation Detector, Joseph P. Record
Classroom Realities: Teaching Students with Disabilities as a Traditionally or Alternatively Certified Secondary Science Teacher in Maine, Haley A. Richardson
Between “Student” and “Athlete”: The Academic Institution’s Role in the Self Identification of Division I Student-Athletes, Helaina Sacco
Development of Oxidizer Flow Control for use in Hybrid Rocket Motors of the Scientific Sounding Rocket Scale, Luke Saindon
Resistance of Abomasal Parasites to Common Anthelmintics in Small Ruminants in the Northeast, Alexandra M. Settele
The Use of Mass Communication in Animal Rights Fundraising Campaigns, Jaime E.R. Shorter
Health Impacts at the Advent of Agriculture, Erin L. Snape
Modeling the Spread of Biologically-Inspired Internet Worms, Emma Strubell
Sentencing and Treatment of Juvenile Offenders: A Review and Critique, Jessica R. Talbot
Gender Differences and Cognitive Constructs in Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Olivia Anna Teer
A Growing Town: Developing a Local Food System in Orono, Maine, Gregory Viens
Hybrid Healing: Reiki and the Integration of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Into Biomedicine, Heather M. White
The Implications of Snyder v. Phelps, Meghan White
A Case Study of How Systems for Innovation can Impact Municipal Economic Development, Nathaniel Wildes
The Framing of Animal Cruelty by Animal Advocacy Organizations, Cary Williams
An Adaptive Reuse and Restoration of a Maine Barn, Sarah Elizabeth Williams
War of the Words: Political Talk Radio, the Fairness Doctrine, and Political Polarization in America, Jackson R. Witherill
Honors Theses from 2011
Comfort Levels When Presented with Interpersonal Stressors as a Function of Sibling Status, Emma R. Atherton
Characterization of the Microbial Associates of Nematodes Pathogenic to Myrmica rubra, Jonathan E. Dumont
The Grand Derangement in the Context of the Eighteenth - Century British Empire, Derek A. Jones
Honors Theses from 2010
“Well, He Just Lost Man Points In My Book:” The Absence of Volunteerism Among First-Year College Men, Joshua Bernstein
Divided Ownership, Wild Speculation: An Investigation of the Connections between Thomas Hutchinson and Land Speculation in Eighteenth Century Maine, Cory Michael Davis