A Sampling of Previous Capstone Topics

Abstracts of Sample Capstone Projects and Thesis by Concentration

Computational Social Science

Energy and Sustainability 

Individualized Studies

Religious Studies 

Social Entrepreneurship 

Social Justice and Human Rights 

War and the Military in Society 

Women and Gender Studies 

Computational Social Science

Project:   

• Modeling the Characteristics of Radical Ideological Growth using an Agent based Model Methodology 
• Evaluating Impacts of Future Development on Commuters: A Model of Transportation and Development for Reston, VA 

Thesis: 

• The Implications Of Investors Considering Their Social Network 
• A Social Network Analysis Of Emergent International Communities: A Global Discussion About The 2013-2014 Ukrainian Crisis 

Energy and Sustainability 

Project:   

• Rural Electrification in Columbia: Rural Microgrids Potential and Policy Alternatives for the their Development

Thesis: 

• Malaysian Energy Outlook
• Addressing Deforestation on the Island of Hispaniola

Individualized Studies 

Project:

• College & university sports media coverage of female athletes (A Director’s Collegiate Broadcasting Guidebook: Focusing On Gender Equity) 
• The international illegal wildlife trade 
• Peer education workshops on well-being (Developing and Implementing Peer-Education Workshops on Well-Being Topics)
• Resilience and well-being in Middle East conflict-zone populations (Building Resilience and Well-Being in Middle East Conflict Zone Populations Through an Evidence-Based Intervention Program)

Thesis:

• Global Environmental Justice
• Identity issues in 19th-century occupational daguerreotypes (Crafting Identity: The Occupational Daguerreotype Portrait)

Religious Studies 

Project:

• Forming "Risky" Friendships: Scriptural Reasoning as a Method of Peacebuilding for High School Students

Thesis:

• A Tantric Understanding of Human Potential: The Bodies of a Buddha, The Path of Attainment, and Their Relevance to Tibetan Self-Immolation

Social Entrepreneurship 

Project: 

• Sustainability Through the Business of Urban Farming
• A Sustainable Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse
• futurENABLED: A research institute, community of practice and social innovation lab addressing the future of work and societal inclusion of people with disabilities

Social Justice and Human Rights 

Project: 

• “You Can't Have All Your Adjectives at Once:" The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Sexual Identity in Queer Justice Activism 
• Ethiopian Jews (of Beta Israel) -- An Exploration of Racism and Discrimination Directed to Ethiopian Jews Under a Unique Identity in Israel: The Stigma of Being Black

Thesis:

• “We Have Nothing to Lose but Our Chains”: Activist Sustainability for Black Women and Gender Non-binary Racial Justice Activists in the Black Lives Matter Movement
• “Are You White?” Racial Identity Formation in Biracial white-Asian Women from the United States

War and the Military in Society 

Thesis:

• Chechenisation: Lessons for U.S. Counterinsurgents

Women and Gender Studies 

Project:

• STEM Recruitment Guide for ChickTech: An Academic Enrichment Program That Seeks to Increase Latina Participation
• The "Voices of Youth" Symposium: How the Identities of Youth Affect Their Opportunities for Employment

Thesis:

• Queer Travel Stories from the Global South: A Study of South to North Queer Tourism
• “Warmth, Sympathy and Understanding May Outweigh the Surgeon’s Knife or the Chemist’s Drug”…Unless They’re Fat.  An Analysis of Fat Patients’ Experiences with Health Care Providers