Select the field title to read a short excerpt from the student’s proposal.
Addiction »
"... I propose to examine the complex causes of addiction, both genetic and environmental, as well as its effects on addicts and those close to them. While addiction is a broad topic, I’m primarily interested in alcoholism, which research has shown shares many causal traits with other addictions."
American Sports and Culture »
"...[I] will examine how attitudes and ideas contained within American sports are representative of American society. I intend to look at sports that have cultural significance for many Americans, such as basketball, football and baseball. My goal is to study the historical and social aspects of these American sports and discover whether any reflect values that are uniquely American."
Animal Welfare »
"...I propose to examine the role of animals in human society, from the inhumane treatment of common domesticated animals, to the protection of endangered species, and illegal but still common activities such as poaching..."
Animals in Biomedical Research »
"In my interdisciplinary field of study, 'Animals in Biomedical Research,' I propose to investigate the physiological similarities that make animals useful in research designed to benefit human health. Essentially, I want to study how their taxonomical equivalence will serve the purpose of understanding the mechanism and pathophysiology of chronic pain through research involving model organisms..."
Animals in Society »
"I’m interested in the evolution of our attitude towards animals, examining its development from self-serving exploitation towards the growing understanding that animals are individuals with rights of their own."
Anthrozoology »
"I am especially interested in the adverse impact on animals globally due to a range of human activities over the last century, including but not limited to factory farming, fisheries, the use of animals in entertainment, animal testing and domestication..."
Art and Influence »
"...I want to learn about how a variety of contexts--personal, cultural, political and economic--come together to shape great art. Unlike those who appreciate art in an objective sense, without consideration of these contexts, I wish to focus on the artist’s time period and place, what the artist is or was trying to convey, and the artist’s psychological state, relevant convictions and beliefs, and personal circumstances..."
Art and Society »
"...I propose to connect art, architecture, and history in order to draw conclusions about connections between art and the society from which it comes, and how the changes in one are reflected in the other..."
Asians in America »
"Asian-Americans are a diverse people who are classified under a panethnic identity by the federal government in census forms and by most of the general public. I hope to better understand the consequences of this generalization, which comes with several assumptions about what all Asians are necessarily like."
Business, Government, and Society »
"...I propose to examine how government can strike an equilibrium between fostering the profitability of businesses and maximizing the social welfare of the nation..."
Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Science »
"I propose to . . . explore the scientific validity of common complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices and discover whether some that are met with skepticism by Western doctors could be used in prevention and treatment alongside allopathic medicine."
Crime in America »
"...Criminology blends together such diverse disciplines as law, social anthropology, psychology, and sociology. The combination of all these disciplines are important in understanding crime. However, I wish to look at crime from a more sociological perspective in hopes of discovering why individuals commit such criminal acts in the first place..."
Culture and the Crusades »
"...I am deeply interested in the lasting impacts of the Crusades on both Europe and the Middle East, and the durable effects of these bloody interactions between Europeans and Arabs...."
Disease and Development in Latin America »
"By studying Disease and Development in Latin America, I would seek to understand health and development issues in a specific region of my interest. A study of these fields individually and their relation to each other would investigate the degree to which economic issues affect health systems and conditions, and would focus on how health issues impact poverty."
Drug Wars in Latin America »
"...I propose to study the history, growth, and consequences of illicit drug trafficking on Latin Americans and their environment for the past 30 years. I’m particularly interested in how governments have fought the drug merchants through an assortment of policies, collectively known as the “War on Drugs,” and the social and environmental costs of these policies..."
The Enlightenment and Modern Society »
"...I plan to take a comparative approach to the topic of the lasting impact of Enlightenment ideals and philosophies. I will view the development of Western culture and society through multiple perspectives: historical, sociological, economical, and philosophical..."
Ethics in Medicine in the U.S. and Mexico »
"...I will examine the thinking processes and the different factors that lead doctors from different cultures to make specific decisions when confronted with difficult ethical scenarios in medical practice..."
Ethics of Digitized Interpersonal Communication »
"...I propose to examine the difference in ethical codes between face-to-face conversations and communication involving texting, instant messaging, and email. I am especially interested in comparing and contrasting the context of deception in these two modes of communication in close relationships—family members, romantic partners, and close friends."
Families in the United States »
"...I propose to study the history of the institution of the family in this country, different conceptions of what 'family' means, the impact of familial structures on individuals, and where the institution is headed in the future."
Forensic Anthropology »
"...I propose to look closely at each of the four areas that comprise forensic anthropology: osteology, archeology, taphonomy, and physical anthropology. I want to study each of these to gain a more thorough understanding of the practices and methods used by forensic anthropologists in order to look specifically at the effects the environment can have on a decomposing body."
Forensic Science »
"In my interdisciplinary field of study, 'Forensic Science,' I propose to examine a wide range of scientific applications in forensics. By definition, forensic science is the application of a broad range of scientific fields to answer questions in a legal setting; however, I plan to focus on the science itself..."
Gender in Contemporary World Religions »
"...I will compare how the doctrines of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism define male and female roles in family, society and culture and examine how these doctrines impact communities and economies in the 21st century."
Healthcare in the Developing World »
"...I am interested in understanding the socioeconomic as well as the political aspects of health care systems in third-world societies and the reasons why public health in these societies continue to lag behind the developed world..."
Healthcare and Mexican-Americans »
"'Healthcare and Mexican-Americans' examines how Mexican-American culture and language barriers affect the quality of care given to patients by healthcare providers. I hope to focus on Mexican-American religion and spirituality, as well as cultural influences that immigrants have carried with them to the states."
Healthcare Communications »
"...I propose to examine the role of data in healthcare within existing communication channels and explore communication inefficiencies in US hospital systems..."
Human Sexuality »
"I am interested in researching the process of sexual maturation: the discovery of sexuality, the role that culture plays in this discovery, and the relationship between biological disposition and cultural norms..."
International Sports Law »
"My interdisciplinary field of study, 'International Sports Law,' will examine the legal activities that play a pertinent role in the professional and amateur sports arena around the world..."
Learning Disabilities Interventions »
"...I hope to explore different techniques to assess a child’s learning ability, the current intervention programs, and the consequences beyond K-12 educational settings from a lack of effective intervention."
Museum Studies »
"Museums serve a diversity of social roles and require a diversity of skill sets, but the broadest purpose of each is to preserve a valued artifact and, in most cases, to share it with the public. This suggests that all museums are essentially conservative. But who decides what is worth saving?"
Neuroaesthetics »
"I define 'neuroaesthetics,' a very recent interdisciplinary field, as the study of art through the lens of neurobiology. My definition differs from the usual one because I give relatively little attention to aesthetics--the philosophical study of beauty--and more to the neuroscience of artistic creativity as well as the biographies of artists, primarily visual..."
Neuroplasticity and Positive Psychology »
"...For my proposed field of study, 'Neuroplasticity and Positive Psychology,' I aim to explore the lasting changes in brain structure that result from engaging in activities and behaviors that fall under the category of positive psychology..."
The Neuroscience of Psychosomatic Disorders »
"In my interdisciplinary field of study, 'The Neuroscience of Psychosomatic Disorders,' I propose to study how the ideas and thoughts present in our minds can elicit physiological responses in our bodies. By 'psychosomatic disorders ' I refer to physical conditions that are caused, or worsened, by mental factors. These are physical diseases that can be made dramatically worse by a mental state..."
Non-normative Consciousness »
"My field will focus on contemporary views of consciousness and the effects of substance abuse and dissociative mental illnesses on the brain, such as depersonalization disorder, dissociative fugue/amnesia, and dissociative identity disorder."
The Philosophy of Science »
"...I propose to evaluate the assumptions, foundations, methodology, implications, and the epistemological value of science."
Promoting Alternative Energies »
"Alternative energy entrepreneurs face many obstacles, including financing, various economic constraints, and the public’s receptivity to unfamiliar and sometimes expensive energy sources. My hope is to find ways to create more attractive development and marketing environments for renewable energy."
Psycho-Multilingualism »
"...I propose to explore the neurobiological and psychological aspects of linguistic reception and production in the multilingual brain..."
Psychology, Environment, and Financial Decisions »
"In my interdisciplinary field of study, 'Psychology, Environment, and Financial Decisions,' I seek to better understand the effect that human fallibility and environmental factors have on quantitative decisions and interpretations in the field of Finance..."
Psychoneuroimmunology »
"Psychoneuroimmunology is a relatively new branch of medicine that studies the mind’s influence on the immune and endocrine body systems..."
Public Education in America »
"In my interdisciplinary field of study, 'Public Education in America,' I aim to examine how institutional policies, funding pressures and decisions, and American culture affect our public schools and student achievement..."
Public Ethics and the Law »
"By 'public ethics,' I include what are normally studied separately as political, public sector, and applied ethics. Political ethics refers to the process of moral judgment in political action. Public sector ethics is a broader field that refers not simply to political action but to the moral considerations that govern the behavior of anyone who works for the government or in the nonprofit sector."
Public Health in Latin America »
"...I propose to examine the health policies and resources available to the public in Latin American countries. By “public health,” I include preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the methodical efforts of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals..."
Religion and Medical Ethics »
"In my interdisciplinary field of study . . . I want to examine how moral beliefs associated with the religious faiths of both health care professionals and their patients play a role in decision-making in a wide variety of medical contexts."
Representations of War »
"War has been chronicled by every literate society in history. It is aggrandized and embellished, and for good reason: war is brutal, ugly, and terrifying."
Resistance and Social Change in Latin America »
"I am particularly interested in studying what brought about revolutions to end European Imperialism and the many governments that have risen and fallen over the past two hundred years..."
The Science and Experience of Disabilities »
"...I propose to investigate how attitudes, policies, and environment affect the physically and mentally disabled and to come closer to understanding the experience of the disability for the disabled. I am particularly interested in discovering the social challenges faced by the disabled that individuals without the disability do not understand."
Sex & Taboo »
"In 1980, sociologist Michael Foucalt argued that 'Sex is treated in Western culture as forbidden and repressed.' Foucalt believed that in the culture of his time, sexual expression by anyone other than heterosexual married white men was taboo. To a remarkable degree this description of social culture is less accurate today than thirty years ago..."
The Sociology of Healthcare »
"...I propose to examine how diverse cultural beliefs and practices shape attitudes and decisions about healthcare. I’m interested not only in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases, illnesses, and injury but also the training and professional status of the people entrusted to diagnose and treat them..."
The Sociology of Public Health »
"...I propose to analyze contemporary healthcare-related decisions of the public in the United States, Europe, and Asia. I plan to compare different socioeconomic groups (low income versus high income families) and their respective acceptance of or resistance to vaccines..."
Teaching Students With Special Needs »
"...I propose to examine how to teach a student with special needs, how to adapt lesson plans, and how a child with special needs, learns..."
Temperament and Identity »
"...I intend to explore how innate traits affect the way one is seen by others and also how one views oneself. I define temperament as those traits which contribute to one’s personality and also are regarded as inborn traits which change little with time. Identity, for my proposal, is defined both as one’s own perception of self, or personal identity, as well as society’s perception of an individual, or social identity..."
Texana Studies »
"With my studies I would like to answer, What gives Texas its peculiar self-importance? What are the ramifications of Texas’s self-important attitude in national and international politics? Is the Texas ideal more prominent in one ethnic group over another, or in one gender over another?"
Virtual Activism »
"...I intend to focus only on social networking platforms such as Tumblr or Twitter, whose main purpose is instant communication and exchange of information. I aim to cover organizations that seek to promote social change using the Internet to advance their organizational goals..."
Social Networking and Human Feelings »
"...I propose to study this unprecedented new tool for human connection, particularly the unexplored impact on the emotional lives of avid users through social networking..."