Senior Honors Thesis

Writing a senior thesis is an excellent way for students to build upon their economics coursework and pursue research that is meaningful and interesting to them. It also allows students to hone the skills they鈥檝e developed and apply frameworks and knowledge in a way that develops an even greater analytical perspective.

Writing a senior thesis requires organization, planning, and focus. Students interested in writing a senior thesis should consult the Senior Honors Thesis Guidelines. The guidelines document describes the philosophy behind the senior thesis and walks you through the process of selecting a topic, engaging a faculty adviser, and registering for the two-semester senior honors thesis seminar.

Past thesis students have found this experience richly rewarding. Read the testimonials below to learn how the opportunity to work closely with a faculty adviser and to think critically and deeply about a significant intellectual problem of their own selection helped these 糖心vlog直播平台 alumni grow as researchers, analysts, writers and critical thinkers. While a thesis is arguably essential for students who intend to pursue graduate work in economics, it is also incredibly valuable for the majority of thesis students who follow other paths.

Students who are interested in writing a senior thesis should begin the process in the spring of their junior year (identifying a faculty adviser and developing a research idea in late March or early April).聽

Thesis Program Co-Directors

Resources

  • Senior Honors Thesis
  • Senior Honors Thesis (Due April 30 Junior Year)
  • Senior Honors Thesis guide to
  • To see samples of past theses by economics students, please visit the eScholarship page on the .
  • Current and past years鈥 thesis topics

Student Testimonials

Current and Past Years鈥 Senior Honors Thesis Topics

Presentations will be in O'Neill 257.聽 We will meet from 8:30-10:15 a.m.聽 Advisers are invited to attend.聽 Each presentation should be about 15-20 minutes in length with some additional time for questions.聽聽

March 26

Braden Kramer: 鈥淎ssessing Initial Impacts of the Great American Outdoors Act on Gateway Community聽Demographics鈥 (Murphy)

Grace Naugle: 鈥淪upply and Demand Shocks as Drivers of Output and Unemployment:聽 A Structural VAR Approach鈥 (Murphy)

Matthew Bower: 鈥淎 New Era of Major League Baseball: How the 2023 MLB Rule Changes are Impacting Player Performance and Team Strategy鈥 (Murphy)

Yuecheng Su: 鈥淚mpact of Climate Change on Financial Markets鈥 (Xiao)

April 2
Brock Daylor: 鈥淓xpect The Unexpected: The Impact Of Natural Resource Price Volatility On Governance and Corruption鈥澛(Sanzenbacher)

Adalyn Schommer: 鈥淭he Impact of Test-Optional Admissions Policies for Catholic Colleges and Universities鈥 (Sanzenbacher)聽

Liuying Huang: 鈥淭he Impact of CEO鈥檚 Involvement in the Media Industry on Financial Markets: a Case Study on Elon Musk鈥檚 Twitter Activity on Asset Prices鈥澛(Cox)

Ansel Kufta: 鈥淐an Vitamin D and UV-Exposure Explain Opioid Use鈥澛(Cox)
April 4Tyler Smith: 鈥淧ost-Pandemic Inflation: An Analysis of the Causes of the Wide Variety in Inflation Across Countries Following the Covid-19 Pandemic鈥澛(Ireland)

Rona Sun: 鈥淲hat is the impact of the banking crisis on society's trust in the banking system?鈥澛(Ireland)

Sky Lyu: 鈥淯nveiling the Veil of Growth: The Hidden Impact of Neoliberal Economic Reformation on Labor Productivity in Chile from 1973 to 1982鈥澛(Guerron)

Ian Leissner: 鈥淗ow Occupational Exposure to Automation Impacts Wages鈥澛(Cichello)
April 9Esther An: 鈥淗as increased聽working mobility post-Covid changed companys' hiring preferences of new grads in Tech, Finance, and Healthcare industries?鈥澛(Rutledge)

Cooper Mae Cavallo: 鈥淪uccess or Failure:聽 Effect of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" on Eighth Grade Reading and Mathematics鈥澛(Rutledge)

Christian DiBiase: 鈥淗ealthcare on the Front Lines: Economic Realities for Nurses Pre, During, and Post COVID-19 in the U.S.鈥澛(Rutledge)

Garrett Domaratzky: 鈥淎 difference-in-difference estimate on the effects of ACA medicaid expansion on ER visits for individuals with poor mental health鈥澛(Rutledge)
April 11Yixiao Sun: 鈥淗ow did the entry of Japanese cars in the U.S. market change the U.S. automobiles design and consumer welfare from the 1970s to the 1990s?鈥澛(Murry)

Yanting Wang: 鈥淭he Green Initiative: California's success in reducing GHG emissions鈥澛(Baum)

Yuhao Wang:聽鈥淧ost-COVID Changes in Means鈥澛(McHugh)

Jack Sui:聽鈥淎ssessing the variation in SNAP Participation and Food Insecurity Across States鈥澛(Anderson)
April 18Catherine Bennett: 鈥淓mergency: RN Staffing Levels, Vacancies, and Work Satisfaction鈥澛(Sanzenbacher)

Emily Howell: 鈥淪tudent Loans and Financial Literacy: Set-backs or Tools for Success?鈥澛(Sanzenbacher)

Zhichen Zhou: 鈥淎I fever and technology companies鈥 financial performance鈥澛(Sanzenbacher)

Duncan Wang: 鈥淗ow social capital affects the overdose death rates in different races/ ethnic groups鈥澛(Heyman)
April 23Kevin Lee: 鈥淔ootball coach discount rates and draft pick trading鈥澛(Grubb)

Aditya Rao: 鈥淯sing Green Bond Spreads to Quantify How United States Clean Energy Expansion Policy Shifts Investment in the European Union: A Difference-in-Difference Approach鈥澛(Grubb)

Nick Traver: 鈥淟earning and Memory Given Most Information is Already Known鈥澛(Coffman)

Eamon O'Malley: 鈥淐harging Ahead: Exploring the Impact of State Incentives on Electric Vehicle Adoption and Emission Reduction Targets鈥澛(Pideret)
April 25Thomas Esterbrook: 鈥淏eyond the Debate: A Meta-Analysis on Minimum Wage Effects on Employment鈥 (Quinn)

Laura Lu: 鈥淭he聽impact of global conflicts on the ESG performance of companies鈥 (Maxwell)

Ben Ragland: 鈥淥verworked and Underloved: Exploring the聽Relationship聽Between聽Overtime聽Work and聽Marital聽Stability鈥 (Venator)

Matthew Sher: 鈥淭he Impact of Human-Capital Active Labor Market Policies on Unemployment during the 2020 Coronavirus Recession鈥 (Venator)