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 2024
Distribution of Shell-Boring Polychaetes at Shellfish Aquaculture Sites Along the Northeast Coast of the US, Samantha Silverbrand
Honors Theses from 2023
The Embodied Performance of Tics and Tourette Syndrome in the Academic Environment, Benjamin Allen
Adjustment and Social Media Use During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic, Alexis Banner
Mutual Aid: A Community-Led Solution to Economic Hardships at the University Of Maine, Tamra Benson
Evaluating eDNA Metabarcoding as a Mic-Roe-Scopic Net to Catch Salmon Pathogens, Noah Burby
Using 2D Animation with Interactive Elements to Create a Culturally Interesting Web Experience, Nhan Chau
The Sociocultural Significance of Maine's Oyster Based on Media Coverage Analysis, Syeira Clark
Stratigraphic Architecture of Pozuelo Mounds as Revealed by Earth Resistivity Tomography, Caeli Connolly
Assessing College Students' Understanding of Geologic Timescales, Ethan Couture
The WPATH Standards of Care: Their History and Importance in Advocating for Transgender Health, Alexander Cross
Behavioral Interactions Between Spotted-Wing Drosophila (Drosophila Suzukii) and It's Parasitoid the Samba Wasp (Ganaspis Brasiliensis), Dominic Crowley
A Study on Scaling Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Geometry and Hydrostatics with Increasing Turbine Size, Samuel Davis
A Historical Comparison of the St. John and St. Matthew Passions of Johann Sebastian Bach, Emily Dunlap
Incel Bonding: Masculinity and Storytelling in Online Misogynist Spaces, Gunnar Eastman
Inclusivity in Combat Amputee Research: An Analysis of Underrepresented Populations, Victoria Eichorn
Coral Restoration: Comparisons in Space, Time, Impacts, and Costs, Allison Fargo
Developing Durable Health Promotion: The Connections Between Exercise Setting and Adherence to Exercise in College-Aged Women, Tara Flubacher
What Makes a Good Stage Manager, Laura Garfein
One Theme, Infinite Interpretations. Exploring Perspective Through Photo Sharing., Avery Gosselin
The Maine Queer-y: An Analysis of a "Gender Queer" Book Challenge in Maine, Antyna Gould
Critical Discourse Analysis: Sexual Violence in Maine Department of Public Safety (DPS) "Crime in Maine" Reports, Emma V. Grous
Maine Monsters: How Indigenous and Non-Indigenous People Perceive Environmental Monstrosity, Cheyenne Hebert
The Ghost of Amritsar, Joe Horne
Polarized by Design: Does the Structure of Congress Eliminate Moderates?, James Hotham
Modeling Franconia Ridge, New Hampshire Using Structure from Motion and Developing New Techniques for Fracture Detection, Dane Johnson
Bike Ride: An Audio/Visual Examination of Liminal Spaces as a Ritual for Personal Growth, Myles Kelley
Home in the Dawnland: Sense of Place and Eco-Cultural Relations in the Penobscot River Valley, Kate Kemper
Analyzing the Use of Social Media to Communicate the Intersection of the Gut Microbiome and Mental Illness, Grace LaFrance
Kinematic Vorticity and Porphyroclast Rotation in Mylonites of the Norumbega Fault System: Implications for Paleoviscometry, Hendrik Lenferink
On the Fly Audio Processing for the Vocal Conditioning Unit, Tim Lester
The Illustrations Of Jay Jackson: A Visual Analysis of the Chicago Defender in the 20th Century, Ruth Lewandowski
Exploring Interfaith Sex Education, Bailey Lewis
Inspiration: The Cogs of Our World, Casey Libuda
The Impacts of COVID-19 on Friendship Reciprocity in Adolescents, Tori Lucia
Lethal and Sublethal Effects of Beauveria Bassiana on Maine Ticks Across Soil pH, Alexander Mahar
Characterization of Manganese-Induced Neurodegenration in C. elegans Treated with Winterberry Leaf Extract, Brendan Moline
Religious Self-Identity and Racism, Alexandria Morgan
Stackpole Bridge: Rebuilding a Connection to the Past, Abigail Morrison-Ouellette
Exploring the Relationship Between Designing and Composing With an Analog Synthesizer, Felix Morrissey
"I Want You the Feel the Fear That I Feel Every Day": An Analysis of How Climate Change Affects Youth Political Participation, Kristina Norbury
Evaluation of an Adaptive Sampling Approach to Characterize Microbes Associated with Pneumonia in White-Tailed Deer, Claire Nowak
Life Experiences of First-Year College Students Who Resided with a Parent Experiencing Depression, Jasmine Olshin
Beagle Music: The Liberating Power of Poetic Constraint, Rachel Ouellette
Expression of the RAG-1 Gene in Larval Yellowtail Kingfish, Gabriella Peluso
A Study of the Current State of Providing Fruits and Vegetables in Maine's Middle Schools, Renee Pickard
Otherworldly Ethics: Trouthe and the Fairy Mistress in the Lays of Lanval, Graelent, Guingamor and Sir Launfal, Abigail Roberts
Everyone's a Waiter: A Data-Driven Queuing Simulation Model of Mike's Clam Shack, Natalie Robinson
Transforming 'International Aid' to 'International Partnerships': An Analysis of the U.S. Voluntourism Industry, Caroline Scott
A Study on the Effect of the #MeToo Movement on State Level Policy Making, Claire Shaw
Directional Tensile Strength of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polylactic Acid in Extrusion Based Additive Manufacturing for Custom Failure Parts, Lucinda Slattery
I Ain't Afraid of No Crab: Intertidal Gastropod Littorina Littorea Behavioral Response to Predation Risk by Carcinus Maenas, Isabelle Erin Smy
Effects of Lobster Shell Meal as a Soil Amendment on Verticillium Wilt and Potato Growth, Ross Sousa
High Automation, Fascism, and Our Social Revolution, Sean C. Staton
Evidence-based Family Strengthening Training in Maine: A Resource Assessment and Proposal to Reduce Barriers and Increase Facilitators, Elaine Thomas
An Examination of the Social and Ecological Risk Factors for Lyme Disease Exposure Amon High School Students in Penobscot County, Maine, Willow Throckmorton-Hansford
Hunting in Maine, Elizabeth Tibbetts
Climate Action at the University of Maine: A Documentary Short Film, Santiago Tijerina
People Eater, Lilas Verrill
Imagining Gender Euphorias, Willow Wind
A Critical Application of Communicative Concepts Concerning Creative (Songwriting) Processes, Alfred J. Wright III
Citizen Perceptions of the Sustainability of Marine Aquaculture, Bruce Wyatt
Simulation and Testing of a High-Temperature Oscillator Circuit, Jude Zanoni
Honors Theses from 2022
Human Cryptosporidiosis: A Review and Staining Method, Amatullah Ahmad
An Examination of the Influence of Sustainability on Business Strategy in the Three-Dimensional Printing Industry, Yvette Alexandrou
How Weather Affects Total Mixed Rations and Why it is Significant to Dairy Cattle, Juliana Baranowski
The Incidence of Staphylococcus aureus Mastitis in Maine Dairy Cattle, Morgan Belvin
From Dialogue to Script: Philosophical Forms ad the Spectacle of Theatre, Connor Bolduc
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Antimicrobial Stewardship Practices and Their Effect on Veterinary Medicine, Erin N. Bradstreet
Pinus Longaeva: Exploring the Intersections of Art and Science Through Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees, Delaney Burns
The Performance Assessment of a Small Lighter-Than-Air Vehicle for Earth Science Remote Sensing Missions, Maxwell F. Burtis
Effects of Religious and Science Identity on Compatibility, Darby C. Casey
Effects of Rumination and Co-Rumination on the Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Depressive Symptoms, Evelyn G. Clement
Quantifying Equine Behavior Utilizing GPS, Vanessa M. Cote
Linkind Deadwood Inhabiting Fungi to Carbon Dioxide Flux of Decomposing Coarse Woody Debris, Elyse Daub
Document Analysis of Behavior Expectations and Disciplinary Action Policies of Public Preschools in Maine, Kristin Davies
Envisioning a Bold Food Waste Policy for Maine: A Mixed-Methods Study into the Context of Landfill Diversion of Food Waste, Dominique Danielle DiSpirito
Mediation of the Religion-Prejudice Link, Aaron R. Dustin
The Impact Of Glycine Betaine Applications On Drought Response In Wild Blueberries, Abigail Fisher
Using Thermography to Determine Mechanisms of Heat Loss in the Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Volans), Colin Flynn
Sisterhood and Survival: An Exploration of Women's Relationships in Feminist Speculative Fiction, Madeleine Gernhard
Perfectionism, Perceived Stress, and Maladaptive Eating Behaviors in High-Achieving and Honors Undergraduate Students at the University of Maine, Jaimie Giguere
Assessing State Communication of Resources and Education Effectiveness for Well Owners in Northern Maine: A Case Study, James Greenwood
Development of a High Throughput, Whole Organism Assay for Studying Metabolic Capacity in Crassostrea virginica, Avuntaura Gulledge
Preparing Future Teachers to Meet the Needs of English Language Learners: A Proposal for Curriculum Reform, Alyson Haley
The Penobscot Nation, the State of Maine, and the River Between Them, Jarred Haynes
The One Way Bridge, Robert Hebert
Implementing Landscape Design Principles to Improve Green Spaces and Promote Ecotherapy on a College Campus, Jessica Hutchinson
Comparing Two Non-Invasive Methods for Assessing Marine Mammal Genetic Diversity: Environmental DNA vs. Fecal DNA, Sydney Jackson
Investigating 3D-Printability of a Maine-Based Bio-Ink, Jordyn Judkins
COVID-19 and Outdoor Recreation in Maine and New Hampshire: Analysis of Trends Using Passive Visitation Data, Andrea Knapp
Efficacy of the FIFA 11+ Injury Prevention Program in Maine High School Soccer, Meg Lander