The senior thesis is emblematic of the kind of intellectual freedom Bard College at Simon’s Rock’s Upper College students are given. It is a year-long, self-designed scholarly project that is the capstone of a student’s work. It’s required of everyone. The thesis is not just an academic requirement for a Simon’s Rock Bachelor of Arts degree, it is work that adds to the world’s storehouse of knowledge.
At the beginning of the thesis project, a formal proposal must be submitted and approved. This collection includes senior thesis proposals beginning in academic year 1998-1999 as well as theses beginning in 2011.
2025
Infertility—Biological and Psychological Perspectives: Insights from Women in U.S. and Ghana, Jospehine Bonsu
Our Love is Our Salvation: A History of Slavery, the Role of Christianity, and Rethinking a Path to Liberation, Daniel Cabada
Thalidomide-Induced Birth Defects: A Comprehensive Study of its Biological & Psychological Impact, Emilly Faria
Routing Dynamics in Shipping Networks: Theory and Simulation, Kai Friedemann
Under the Cover: The Conceptualization and Realization of an Immersive Dance-Theater Installation, Lydia Helmstadter
A Meditation Untitled: Exploring Identity, Guilt, and Grief, Luchia Hornsby
DSK A Shared Surface, Oskar Hurst
12-Crown-4 and Its Effects on Lithium-Ion Uptake in S. pombe: A Proof of Concept, Sophia Krans
Multi Photon Microscopy Denoising, Yanru Liu
The Era of Neomercantilism: An Analysis of Fascism in the U.S. During Reproletarianization, Parker Mach
Hooked: A Screenplay About a Fish Who Contemplates Suicide, Jayden Mack
Massachusetts Forests are Changing: The threats, new and old, and how they are affecting our forest landscape., Cole Morrison
Within the Gaps of Care: Narratives of Trauma and Agency in Disability and Illness, Tehya Morris
An Algebraic Approach to Mitochondrial Network Dynamics, Raphie Mostov
Wasan and Beyond, Ayaka Nakasuji
Chaim Grade’s Tales of the Silent Minyan: An Annotated Translation, Joseph Ravese
Unfinished Grief, Emelyn Rowan
Lichen Ecophysiology in Montserrat, the West Indies: Exploring Habitat Differentiation in Growth Forms Including a Preliminary Checklist of Lichens in Montserrat, Sophia Salisbury
Being Alive, Joseph Sicotte
Writing the Unsayable: An Exploration of Somatic Poetics in Relationship to Therapeutic Grief and Trauma Work, Zephyr Sisler-Dubetz
Amozon Extraplanetary Colonization Program: The Journey of Developing a New Type of Automation Game, Misha Smirnov
Dari Language News Sentiment Analysis Using Machine Learning and Deep Learning, Sayed Srosh
These Little Things: An Illustrated Storybook in English and Chinese, Sunny Sullivan
A Bite Towards Equity: Cognitive Impacts of China's Free Lunch Program Across Socioeconomic Backgrounds, Aurora Wenters
Zero-Knowledge Proofs, Jenny Yang
2024
The Benefits of Multiple Caregivers: Nurturing Growth In The US and Ghana, Kai Addo
Cots Not Cuffs: An Exploration and Reformation of the American Psychiatric Crisis Field Management System, Jake Vero Aloia
Phase Initiation Mechanism and Evolution Using Surface Evolver, Juan Baek
An Exploration of Numerical Approximation Methods for First-Order Ordinary Differential Equations, Nicholas Barlow
Toddıtmi, Dodjetmi, Dodjamt: (Constructed) Language as (Constructed) Change, Maria Ciobanu
It Takes More Than Lollipops: Improving Medical Interactions with Children, Helen Regina Cohen
Exploring the Impact of Popular Music on Personality, Mood, and Relationships: A Multidimensional Analysis, Charlotte Epstein
Abstract Machines Above Reason, Nur Goldner Cohen Tzedek
IBD and Genomic Medicine: Implementation of Pharmacogenomics and Flow Cytometry in IBD Management, Shaahi Kanumuri
A Walking Robot, William Kim
Essays on Transsexual Embodiment, Indiana Koumrian
Wingspan, Falcon Laina
AI Mental Health ChatBots: Approaches to Creating a Therapeutic Alliance, Ruitong Liu
The Southwest Meets the Huasteca; The Struggle for Mexican Oil, Patrick Madaus
Corsica: History, Nation, Colony, Jack Massee
A Most Unusual Drama: Metatheatricality and the Absurd Actor in Camus’s Caligula, Palma Maya-Johnson
Natural Gravity: A Novella, Quinn Raper
Subnivean: A Short Film, Yonah Sadeh
Predicting Neighborhood Gentrification in New Jersey, Justin Sapun
Predictive Modelling of Tennis Match Outcomes using Markov Chains and Logistic Regression, Eric Shin
The Red Line, Rowan Truman
Mental Health Response In Emergency Services, Messiah Vision
Whose Doctor is it Anyway?: Fandom and Authorship in Doctor Who, Rimon-Hadassah Walker
Unearthing: A Dual Exploration of Art & Science, Hannah Wheeler
Ferality: Abject, Absence, and Abstraction: an Aesthetic and Ontological Activism, Hannah Wilder
Platelet Rich Plasma: A Study on the Clinical Efficacy of PRP for Chronic Foot Pain, Zeda Wolf
Multimodal Deep Learning Approach for Enhanced Molecular Screening in Drug Design, Yilin Ye
Creativity, Learning, and Neuromorphic Design in Generative AI, Alek Zyszkowski
2023
Art on D̶r̶u̶g̶s̶ Medication: An Exploration of the Effects of Psychotropic Medication on the Artist and Their Art, Patience Adamoschek
Dusty and the Corals, Dusty Ammann
Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Drought Patterns in Amhara, Ethiopia, Iman Anwarzai
The Lumenova Project: A Novel and Exploration of Crafting Middle-Grade Fiction, Ashlyn Bagocius
Analyzing COVID-19 with Differential Equation Model, Xiaorui Bao
A Place Within a Place: An Introduction to Virtual Reality Technology and its Usage Within the Workforce, Alexander Baran
Boundary: Painting A Mind Through Song, Amethyst Belrose
Plymouth Hoe in the Rain: Costuming A Steampunk Elizabethan Fantasy, Amanda Bury
A Synthesis and Evaluation of a Novel Drug for the Treatment of Schistosomiasis, Liam Coote
Turtles be Dammed: A Case Study, Literature Review, and Path Forward for Painted Turtles, Olivia Dale
Friends & Footage; The Making of "Treason", A Short Film, Erazmas De Voe
Ni De Aquí, Ni De Allá: An Exploration of the Modern American Dream through Hybrid Identity, Elizabeth Estrada
Eukaryogenesis and the Origins of Life on Earth, Tyler Farnsworth
Trauma-Informed Interrogations: An Argument and Case Analysis, Ghislaine Gardere
Ethnomycology and Pathogenic Fungi, Daeja Gomez
Gender and Humor: A Review of the Literature and A Survey Study, Yutong Emma Guo
Math Communication (or Lack Thereof): An Exploration of the Ways We Communicate About Mathematics, Emma Hasson
Modeling Uncertainty in Neural Decoding: A Density-based Approach to Connect Neural Activity to Behavior, Tianxiao He
Bodies Doing Weird Things On Rock, Luke Iandoli
Traversing Scandinavia: Designing a Web Guide for Sustainable Travel, Asher Kite
Approximately Intelligent: Planning for an Uncertain Future in Computing, June Knauth
Born into the 21st Century: Personal and Social Psychological Reflections, Alejandra León Contreras
Personalized Movie recommendation Based on Collaborative Filtering Model, Chunhui Liou
Hope in a Dangerous Place: The Convergence of Race, Capitalism, and Solidarity at Greece’s Borders, Cedar Lloyd
Investigating IQGAP1: Interactions with Actin Filament Sides, Alexandra Marcin
Lamorian: An English Orthography, Oakley Mclamore
Long After This: The drafting and revision of a novel, Samuel Messmer
Using Conservation Genetics to Address the World’s Amphibian Crisis: A Case Study in Montserrat, Adelaide Mullin
Creating an Improved Catheter Dressing Using Electrospinning, Jordan Popov
Validation of the Alfven Wave Solar atmosphere Model (AWSoM): A Comparative Study with MESSENGER and MAVEN Solar Wind Observations, Rayta Pradata
Notes on the Pathetic and an Index of Editing, A'ssia Rai
Synesthesia and the Human Figure, Nora Rosenberger
The Ecology of Resilience: Towards a Systems Approach to Translational Neuroscience, Blake Rover
Ranks of Outer Automorphism Groups of Right-Angled Coxeter Groups, Ariel Rozen
Ma × Mu: Calculating Composition Technique, Maya Saraya
Design of a Polymer Dispensing Mechanical Device, Jacob Scheer
Ups: Scenes from a Life in Sales, David Segil
Exploring Historical and Contemporary Factors Contributing to Economic Disparities in Mexico and India, Mihir Suraparaju
The SCA Play: a journey of homecoming through theater, Dorissa Tyndall
Large NBA parimutuel betting market and Elo ranking system, Yiming Wang
Emma’s Dance Thesis: A Math Project, Emma Waters
A Table Setting For Six: Horrors and Pleasures of Clay, Natasha Wedd
Alternative Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease Based on Biomedical Similarities, Isabel West
Cyborg Cartographies A Dialectic Exploration and Dynamic Intervention into the Agency of Objects in the Self, Kaspar Wilder