ASU symposium celebrates undergraduate research
A student presents her thesis research at the Barrett Honors College Celebrating Honors Symposium in 2023. Photo courtesy Barrett, The Honors College/ASU
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University will host its 23rd annual Celebrating Honors Thesis Symposium on April 10.
This year’s event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at the Great Court at Barrett, The Honors College on ASU’s Tempe campus. It will feature the undergraduate research of more than 90 students in many fields, including engineering, business, health and wellness, the humanities, science, technology, politics, policy, and the arts.
Barrett students are required to complete an undergraduate research thesis or creative project in order to graduate ASU with honors.
Eighty-five projects guided by 108 faculty thesis directors will be on display in the form of posters, videos, built objects, PowerPoint presentations and more. Barrett students in colleges throughout all four ASU campuses and online are participating in the symposium.
Among the projects are:
- "Parental Perceptions on In-person and Telehealth Home Visitation."
- "Enhancing Youth Agency through Environmental Justice Workshops."
- "Supporting Students with ADHD in Higher Education."
- "Probable Perils: An Analysis of ChatGPT’s Workings and Social Impact."
Sally Morton, ASU Knowledge Enterprise executive vice president, will be this year’s keynote speaker. Other speakers are Sarah Graff, Honors Faculty Fellow and teaching professor at Barrett, and Kallee Schwan, who graduated ASU with honors from Barrett in 2023.
The first Celebrating Honors Symposium was held in 2001 in the Irish Hall Center Complex courtyard to honor students whose research directors had nominated them for their excellent projects, or "theses of distinction."
Barrett Honors College Celebrating Honors Symposium
Date: Wednesday, April 10
Time: 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Location: Great Court in the Barrett Honors College complex, Tempe
Free and open to the public
For several years after that, the symposium was in the Carson Ballroom at Old Main and, as it expanded to reflect the growth of the honors college, was moved to the Tempe Barrett complex in 2009.
“The Celebrating Honors Symposium celebrates our graduating students’ academic excellence, innovation and creativity fostered by faculty mentors and thesis directors who have guided them throughout their work,” said Barrett Dean Tara Williams, adding that many students use their research as a springboard to graduate school, internships and jobs, nationally and internationally competed fellowships and scholarships, and other opportunities.
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