Topic Exploration and Examples

Finding a thesis topic

Most things a student does while they are at ASU and Barrett can be something that piques their curiosity and forms the basis for their honors thesis. We encourage students to think early on in their college career about exploring these options with intention and focus. One of the first things a student might want to do is to think about what type of honors thesis they would like to do. Barrett has five honors thesis pillars that highlight the types of projects people complete.

Honors thesis pillars

Barrett encourages students to respond to the challenges of the world through independent and collaborative scholarly activities which culminates in the honors thesis. Students complete projects that are grounded in our mission, vision, and values, centering on research; creative activities; community enrichment and service; transformative travel and global experiences; and personal and professional development. These five pillars represent the variety of outcomes students achieve with their honors thesis. In many cases, students combine several of these outcomes.

Research

Outcome focuses on original research

Creative Project

Outcome is original creative work

Community Enrichment and Service

Outcome benefits the community through service

Global Engagement

Outcome develops global awareness and engagement

Personal and Professional Development

Outcome focuses on skills for career preparation

Search the Honors Thesis Collection

Barrett proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing a collection of past projects exclusively with the ASU community in the thesis repository. You can search for particular types of projects using the Barrett Thesis Pillar key terms: research; creative project; community service; community engagement; travel; global engagement; personal and professional development.

View these projects online

Take a thesis topic exploration class

Courses, programs, and hands-on learning opportunities such as research projects and internships that provide students with a foundational sense of a topic and its possibilities for a future thesis development.

Course	Number	Term	Location	Instructor
Humanities Lab: Justice through School Gardens	Various	Fall 2025	Tempe	Early, Zuiker
Humanities Lab: Growing BioDiverse Cultures	Various	Fall 2025	Tempe	Cruz-Torres, Vitullo
Humanities Lab: Re-Envisioning Food Systems	Various	Fall 2025	Tempe	Anand, Foulger
Humanities Lab: Educating for Democracy	Various	Fall 2025	Tempe	Bartlett, Schugurensky
HON 394: Myth and Mysteries of the Tarot	67273	Fall 2025	Tempe	Giner
HON 394: Myths and Movies: American Multicultural Film	72648	Fall 2025	Tempe	Giner
HON 394: GlobalResolve	75190	Fall 2025	Tempe	Briggs
HON 394: Natural Disasters: Environmental and Global Resilience	77592	Fall 2025	Tempe, Hybrid	Adams
HON 394: Global Leader Practicum	77616	Fall 2025	Tempe	Briggs
HON 394: Food & Culture: The Mediterranean Lifestyle in Italy	80265	Fall 2025	Tempe, Hybrid	Tabuso-Marcyan
HON 394: Korean Film Directors	80498	Fall 2025	Tempe	Jeong
HON 394: Poetry and Medicine	80834	Fall 2025	Tempe	Dombrowski
HON 394: The Art of Peace and Conflict Negotiation	87371	Fall 2025	Tempe	Briggs
HON 394: Rethinking 'Islam' in/through the Novel	87379	Fall 2025	ASU Sync	Iqbal
HON 394: Global Cold War	87380	Fall 2025	ASU Sync	Niebuhr
HON 394: Global Cold War	87439	Fall 2025	Online	Niebuhr
HON 394: Towards Re-Enchantment: From Space to Place in Latin American and Japanese Art and Literature	87381	Fall 2025	Tempe	Takada
HON 394: The Shape of Solitude: Loneliness in Literature, Writing from Our Loneliness Description	87440	Fall 2025	Tempe	Hopwood
HON 394: Animal Ethics and Sustainability	87471	Fall 2025	Tempe	Barca
HON 394: Gendering Transhuman Futures in Sci Fi Cinema	87511	Fall 2025	Tempe	Miller
HON 394: Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Career Management	87590	Fall 2025	ASU Sync	Sturgess
HON 394: Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Career Management	87591	Fall 2025	ASU Online	Sturgess
HON 394: Self-Awareness, Leadership, and Career Management	87602	Fall 2025	Tempe	Kappes
HON 394: Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise	87593	Fall 2025	ASU Sync	Martin
HON 394: Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise	87594	Fall 2025	ASU Online	Martin
HON 394: Success, Purpose, and Happiness	87603	Fall 2025	ASU Sync	Kappes
HON 394: Success, Purpose, and Happiness	87604	Fall 2025	ASU Online	Kappes
HON 394: Veteran Oral History: Leadership Lessons	87891	Fall 2025	Tempe	O;Neill
HON 494: Posthumanism and the Ends of Man	77598	Fall 2025	Tempe	Lozinski-Veach
HON 494: Body, Technology, Ecosphere: East and West	81501	Fall 2025	Tempe	Olenina
HON 494: Reading, Looking, and Walking with Walter Benjamin	84451	Fall 2025	Tempe	Johnson
HOn 494: Chekhov and Russian Drama	87572	Fall 2025	Tempe	Hoogenboom
HON 498: Data-Based Decision Making	82697	Fall 2025	ASU Sync	Serrato
HON 498: Data-Based Decision Making	82943	Fall 2025	ASU Online	Serrato
HON 498: Health Research	87607	Fall 2025	ASU Sync	Wade
EXW 494: Health Neuroscience	74716	Fall 2025	Tempe	YiYuan Tang
MAE 394: Honors Research Methods	63853	Fall 2025	Tempe	Staff
SOS 296: Exploring Sustainability Research	75127	Fall 2025	iCourse	Larson
SOS 296: Exploring Sustainability Research	75558	Fall 2025	ASU Online	Larson

This list is not exhaustive! If you like the work you did in any class, ask the instructor what it would take to expand that work into an honors thesis. Perhaps an honors contract can turn into a more sustained thesis project with the instructor’s approval. You could also do a thesis pathway.

Additional opportunities

Humanities Lab

The Humanities Lab provides students with the opportunity to engage in hands-on research on compelling social challenges while working with others who are also invested in making a difference.

Honors credit is automatically awarded for all Humanities Lab courses, and with permission from at least one of the instructors, Barrett students may use their experience as the foundation for their honors thesis

Attend a thesis defense

Honors thesis defenses are open to the ASU community. Attending a defense is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of fellow Barrett students and to observe the process firsthand. Visit the Barrett Defense Calendar to view upcoming defenses.

Visit the Celebrating Honors Thesis Symposium

The Celebrating Honors Thesis Symposium is a Barrett signature event that highlights the many exceptional presentations designed by students to exhibit their honors theses. The displays include posters, video projects, built objects, art work, and presentations.