HSOC Senior Honors Thesis

The information on this page applies to all HSOC majors in the class of 2025 and beyond.

A senior honors thesis in the Health & Societies major is a substantial independent research project completed over the course of a year (or two consecutive semesters).  The honors thesis is an analytical research essay of 12,500-20,000 words, plus bibliography, that is researched and written under supervision of an advisor, during the fall or spring of the senior year after completion of an HSOC capstone course. Students who successfully complete all the requirements will earn the distinction of “honors” upon graduating from Penn.

For information on eligibility, application requirements, and the honors thesis process, please read the information on this page in full.

  

Health & Societies (HSOC) Senior Honors Thesis


Overview

A senior honors thesis in the Health and Societies (HSOC) major is a substantial independent research project completed over the course of a year (or two consecutive semesters) – during the fall or spring of the senior year, after completion of an HSOC capstone course. This thesis, or analytical research essay, must be researched and written under supervision of an advisor and should be 12,500 to 20,000 words, plus bibliography. An appropriate thesis will be historically grounded and may use historical, anthropological, and/or sociological methods and approaches. For this reason, students must have an advisor in the HSSC department but may also have a co-advisor in another department*. Students who successfully complete all the requirements will earn the distinction of “honors” upon graduating from Penn.

All students who wish to write an honors thesis must first complete a capstone research paper. This introduction to a research project helps students figure out if they like doing this kind of work. It also helps students learn their strengths, weaknesses, and interests as researchers. Students accepted into the honors program enroll in an independent study with an HSOC faculty advisor that need not have been the capstone instructor.* During the independent study, students are required to meet with their faculty advisor, to submit assignments and drafts, and to meet regularly (once or twice per month) with peers in the HSOC honors program. The exact final form that the honors thesis takes is ultimately up to students to work out with their advisors, but the norm in HSOC has been for students to write a thesis in the form of three substantive chapters that total ~80 pages (or approximately 20,000 words). This style of thesis has been successful for our program, with many of our students going on to win prestigious awards for their thesis work and getting pieces of their research published in both popular and scholarly outlets. 

*If no one on the HSOC faculty has the expertise you need to help you with your project, you may request a co-advisor. Please reach out to the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies for more information on how co-advising can work.
 

Application Information 


Deadlines

Fall completion. Applications from students in the spring of their junior year are due by no later than 11:59 p.m. on the date of Penn’s Commencement (May 20, 2024). Students will be notified by early June about their status.

Spring completion. Applications from students in the fall of their senior year are due by no later than 11:59 p.m. on the last day of the fall semester (Dec. 19, 2024). Students will be notified about their status in early January, after the capstone final grade has been submitted.
 

Eligibility and Application Requirements

  •  Students must have at least a 3.6 GPA in the HSOC major and a 3.3 GPA overall.
  •  Students are eligible to apply only in the spring of their junior year or the fall of their senior year.
  • Students must earn an “A” or higher in their HSOC capstone course completed during the spring of their junior year or the fall of their senior year.
  • Students must obtain written letters of support from their capstone instructor AND an approved HSOC faculty advisor (they do not need to be the same person, but they can be). If a student plans to have a co-advisor outside of the History and Sociology of Science department, then they will also need them to submit a letter of support.
  • Students must submit a five-page thesis proposal along with a completed capstone paper. The proposal should include: (1) the project title (2) project description (3) a discussion of how the work relates to the capstone paper (i.e. Will it expand on the capstone? Head in a different direction? Etc.) (4) a timeline and plan for completing the research and writing of the thesis and (5) a two- to three-page bibliography that includes the key primary and secondary sources.
     

Application materials

  • A one-page letter of interest that explains why you want to do an honors project. Please include your GPA and grade requirements in this letter.
  • Your thesis proposal.
  • Your capstone paper.
  • Your letters of support from your capstone instructor and your advisor(s) (if this is the same person, you will only need one letter). Recommenders email these letters directly to the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies.
     

Selection process

All applications will be reviewed by a departmental committee. Acceptance into the honors program will be based on the following criteria:

  • Applicants meet all eligibility requirements.
  • Applications are completed as per the instructions outlined here and submitted by the deadline. (No late applications will be considered)
  • The project described is carefully planned and fits within the goals and parameters of the HSOC major, and the applicant demonstrates a convincing ability to complete it successfully in the time available.
  • The applicant has the enthusiastic support of their capstone instructor and advisor.
  • If funding or other outside research support is required (i.e. the project requires travel, IRB approval, or participant enrollment), the applicant can provide evidence that this support has been—or will most likely be—secured.
     

Additional considerations

Please note that, while it is possible to complete an honors project during the fall and spring of your senior year, it may be more challenging because you will not have the summer months to work on it. There are only a few short weeks between the end of the fall semester and the beginning of the spring semester. For this reason, the selection committee will need to be convinced beyond all doubt that fall applicants are well-positioned to complete their project in the time available.

We advise students to take no more than three courses in addition to the thesis independent study. Previous HSOC thesis writers have also advised against courses that require substantial in-class time each week and classes in which there is a heavy research/writing commitment at the end of the semester. 

Completing an honors thesis can be a wonderful experience. However, please note that in addition to our eligibility and application review guidelines outlined above, acceptance into the honors program will necessarily be limited by the resources of our small department. Although HSOC is one of the largest undergraduate majors in the College of Arts and Sciences, we have a relatively small faculty and program staff. Please keep this in mind as you begin your application process.
 

Senior Thesis Writing Project


Overview

A student will receive honors after completion of a successful and high-quality written thesis and participation in Senior Research Symposium (typically scheduled in late April or early May, during or near the spring term Reading Days). Your thesis can build on material from your capstone, but you cannot simply submit a revised draft of your capstone paper. Your capstone might turn into a chapter of your thesis, for example, or you might decide to break your capstone paper into smaller topics which you then research and delve into more thoroughly, turning one paper into a more extensive and fully developed, three-chapter thesis. Alternatively, you may decide that your honors thesis takes you in a new direction altogether and has relatively little overlap with your capstone. Any of these options are fine, as long as you are able to complete the thesis in the time that is available to you, it is original, and it shows substantial and significant work that distinguishes it from your capstone paper.

It takes two consecutive semesters to complete an honors thesis in HSOC. In your first semester, you enroll in and complete a capstone seminar. Towards the end of your capstone course, you will decide if you want to expand or build upon what you learned through your capstone research and write an honors thesis. If you are accepted into the honors program, then the following semester you will enroll in an independent study directed by your thesis supervisor. During your independent study semester, you will be expected to meet at least once/month with your thesis advisor for regular check-ins. You will also be expected to meet once/month with your cohort to discuss your progress, trouble-shoot, and provide feedback on drafts. Along the way, there are deadlines for specific deliverables that MUST be adhered to. Failure to meet deadlines during your independent study semester will negatively affect your ability to successfully complete the honors program.

Students who apply to the program in the spring of their junior year are also expected to utilize the summer for research, idea development, and planning. Students who apply to the program in the fall of their senior year must begin research over the comparatively shorter winter break and do not have the benefit of these additional summer months.
 

Honors Determination

Honors will be determined both by the grade given by your advisor and through a review by the senior thesis committee. Generally, a thesis needs to earn a grade of A- or above to be considered for honors.
 

Timeline and deliverables

You must meet at least three times with your advisor and at least three times with your cohort during the semester of your independent study.
 

September (after Labor Day) / January (within the first 10 days of the semester).

(by no later than Sept. 10, 2024 or Jan. 29, 2025)

(1)  first advisor meeting

(2)  first cohort meeting

Make sure you meet with your advisor first, prior to your cohort meeting, so you can discuss these questions with them and obtain their signature.

(1)  A one- to two-page write-up that answers the following questions:

  • What research have you completed?
  • Is there any research you still need to complete?
  • What writing have you completed?
  • What is your timeline for completion?

(2)  During your first meeting with your advisor, develop a list of appointment times for the semester and a calendar for completion as a contract signed by your advisor. Bring this to the cohort meeting.
 

October (after Fall break) / February (last week of the month)

(by no later than Oct. 11, 2024 or Feb. 28, 2025)

(1)  advisor meeting

(2)  cohort meeting

Make sure you meet with your advisor before your cohort meeting to discuss the following materials and obtain your advisor’s approval:

(1)  A one- to two-page document that includes

  • A thesis statement
  • A brief outline of thesis chapters
  • One paragraph stating what has been completed, what remains to be done, and dates for completing those chapters, signed by your advisor.

 

November (before Thanksgiving) / April (first full week)

(by no later than Nov. 22, 2024 or April 11, 2025)

(1)  advisor meeting

(2)  cohort meeting
 

Please make sure you have done the following at least one full week before your meetings:

(by no later than Nov. 15, 2024 or April 4, 2025)

• Submit a full draft (introduction, all chapters, conclusion) of your thesis to your advisor

 

December / May

A copy of the final draft of the thesis and of your original capstone paper are due by email to your advisor and to the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies by 11:59 p.m. on the last day of the semester (Dec. 19, 2024 or May 13, 2025). There are NO extensions and NO incompletes. Failure to turn in these materials by this deadline means you will not be eligible to receive honors.

The final, polished, formatted, printed version (one bound copy each for you, for your advisor, and for the HSSC department) is due to your advisor and to the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 1 or June 1.

Dhivya Arasappan, Enacting Climate Medicine: How Physicians Prescribe Non-Reductive Approaches to Climate Change 

Sophie BorensteinAdventures in Birth Control: Adolescent Experiences with Contraception and Sexual Autonomy in the 21st Century 

Ahmed Elwasila, Medical Remittances: A Case Study of the Sudanese Diaspora's Efforts in Mitigating the Health Consequences of the 2023 Armed Conflict

Simran Rajpal, Log Kya Kahenge: An Ethnography of Genetic Testing & Breast Cancer in the South Asian Diaspora 

Pallavi Rao, Constructing the Ab/Normal: The Cross-Cultural Contexts of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Tools 

Hertha Torre Gallego, A Partial Revolution: Engaging with Realities of Abortion Reform in Argentina

Shreya Suneja, "We Didn't Expect Miracles:" Perspectives of Parents of Profoundly Autistic Adults on the Challenges their Children Face and Necessary Changes to the Current System

2022

Michele Anzabi, The Revitalization of the U.S. Menstrual Movement 

Natalie DoppeltThe Unsustainability of Hospital Waste: How Disposable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has Become Normalized Despite its Environmental Impact 

Sarah Finkelstein, Reframing Caregiving and Medical Professionalization: Using the History of Modern Doula Care to Recognize the Value in Viewing Care Work and Professionalized Technomedicine along a Continuum 

Mae Mouritsen, #Invisible: Identity and Community Construction Among Women with Invisible Illnesses and Disabilities on Visual Social Media Platforms 

Daryn Smith, The Intersection of Mental Health and Gun Violence: How Discourse Surrounding it Perpetuates and Reinforces Racial Hierarchies 

Noelle Kristen Smith, Unpacking “the American:” Opposing Neoliberal and Consumerist Ideologies in Characterizations of the Clinton Administration’s Health Security Act (1993-1994)

Nicholas Thomas-Lewis, Recovery of the Self…from Addiction, Adolescence, and Neuromedicalization 

Nikita Zinzuwadia, Criminal Justice, Mass Incarceration, and COVID-19: Understanding Prison Health and Prison Health Activism in the United States

2020

Catherine Campbell, “But if you could see the difference the library and a woman has made in that place!”: Taking Care of Men and Books in World War I" (Adviser: Dr. Meghan Crnic)

Merobi Degefa, "Redefining Dignified Maternity Care in Ethiopia" (Adviser: Dr. Adam Mohr)

John Ortega, "Nun Left: The Changing Identity of Catholic Sisters and Catholic Hospitals" (Advisers: Dr. Meghan Crnic, Dr. David Grossman, Dr. Walter Licht)

Samantha Stein, "When All Is Experimental: Marshalling Ethics Aesthetics Through Autonomy Formulations In Urban U.S. Emergency Medicine Research" (Adviser: Dr. Justin Clapp)
 

2019

Lea Eisenstein, "From Icon to Bygone: The Rise and Fall of the Diaphragm in Twentieth-Century America" 
(Advisers: Dr. Beth Linker and Dr. Meghan Crnic)

Lara Jung, "Reimagining the Country: A Landscape of Children's Health and Well-being, 1875-1975" 
(Adviser: Dr. Meghan Crnic)

Folasade Lapite, "TSS (Tampax's Side Story): The Influence of Menstrual Product Manufacturers on Menstrual Education and Its Perception" (Adviser: Dr. Stephanie Dick)

Phoebe Ruggles, "Livestock Over Labor: The Prioritization of Non-Human Animals in the National Organic Program" 
(Adviser: Dr. Ann Greene)

Leah Sprague, "The Government's Role as a Nutrition Expert in the United States, 1945-1980" 
(Adviser: Dr. Kathy Peiss)
 

2018

Rive Cadwallader, 'Medicine in the "Athens of America": Physicians and the Neoclassical Movement in late eighteenth century Philadelphia' (Adviser: Dr. David Barnes)

Alisa Feldman, "Be Fruitful and Medicalize: IVF Risk Communication and the Politics of Assisted Reproduction in Israel". (Advisers: Dr. Adam Mohr and Dr. Frances Barg)

Isabel Griffith, "Obstetric Violence: A Subtext of Voiced Experiences of Childbirth and Maternity Care in Costa Rica's Public Healthcare System" (Adviser: Dr. Ramah McKay)

Joshua A. Jordan, "A War on Two Fronts: Race, Citizenship and the Segregation of the Blood Supply during World War II" (Adviser: Dr. David Barnes)

Madeline Leonard, 'Securing "Infectious Poverty": Analyzing the 2016 Olympics-Based Zika Response in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil' (Adviser: Dr. Andria Johnson)

Lauren Murski, "The System Will See You Now: Redefining Quality Care in the Era of the Electronic Health Record" (Adviser: Dr. Stephanie A. Dick)
 

2017

Mary Cerulli
, “Go Ask the Midwife: Professional Identity in Cape Town, South Africa”
(Adviser: Dr. Kimberly Trout)

Hannah Fagen, 
“The Happiest Place in the Hospital: Newborn Nurseries in American Hospitals, A History”  (Adviser: Dr. Meghan Crnic)


Cassidy Golden, 
“The Mother in the NICU” 
(Adviser: Dr. Renee Fox)

Alexandra Kimmel,  
“Medicalizing Meditation: The Incorporation of Buddhist Practice into the American Clinic, 1960-2000” 
(Adviser: Dr. Beth Linker)

Will Schupmann, 
“Public Schools as a Loci for Human Experimentation” 
(Adviser: Dr. Jonathan Moreno)

Katherine Senter, 
“The Life Cycles of Health Ministries” 
(Adviser: Dr. Rosemary Frasso)

Randa Som
, "Re-Imaging Transgender Health Care: Affirming and Promoting Optimal Evidence-Based Transgender Health Care" 
(Adviser: Dr. Lance Wahlert)

Andrea Maria Vargas Guerra, 
‘“Latinos Don’t Look After Each Other”: The Social Cohesion of Latin American Immigrants in North Carolina’ 
(Adviser: Dr. David Barnes)

Olivia Webb, “Voiceless: The Construction of Homelessness Policies, 1980-2016” (Adviser: Dr. Andria Johnson)
 

2016

Joia Brosco, “A Tale Of Two Theories: How The Methods Of Scientific Evaluation Are Still Not Helping Our Children, As We Turn Theories Of Child Uplift Into Practice” (Adviser: Chris Feudtner)

Lucia Calthorpe, “Implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010: A Case Study of Philadelphia and Two Neighboring Suburban Districts” (Adviser: Mary Summers)

Emma Chessen,“Following Doctors’ Orders: The Medical Community’s Shift and Influence on U.S. Abortion Policy, 1955-1973” (Adviser: Beth Linker)

Imran Cronk, “From a Land Down Under: Improving U.S. Diabetes Care Through Cross-National Learning” (Adviser: Patricia Danzon)

Chloe Getrajdman,“Triage: Historical Legacies and Contemporary Perspectives in Global Health” (Adviser: Adam Mohr)

Perry Goffner, “Medical Power: W.W. Keen (1837-1932) and the Defense of Vivisection” (Adviser: Beth Linker)

Kurt Koehler,“Stress, Agency and Hypertension: Perspective Among Hypertensive African Americans in Philadelphia” (Adviser: Lisa Lewis)

Jenny Markell, “The Long Road to the Establishment of the Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning Amendments of 1963” (Adviser: Cynthia Connolly)

Ruchita Pendse, “The Experience of Medical Debt Among the Under-Insured” (Adviser: Peter Reese)

Eileen Wang, “Choice, Control and Childbirth: Cesarean Deliveries on Maternal Request in Shanghai, China” (Adviser: Adriana Petryna)
 

2015

Jacquelyn Andrews, “Exploring Potential Health Disparities in Urban Low-Income School Food Environments” (Adviser: Mary Summers)

Bakizada, Zayna, “Getting a Word in Edgewise: The Role of Medical Journals in the Malpractice Discussion”  (Adviser: Robert Aronowitz)

Biegacki, Emma, “Creating the Disaster Space: Social Mapping as a Novel Tool for Aid Delivery” (Advisor: Alison Buttenheim)

Emmanuel Cordova, “Interfacing Immigration and Health: Undocumented Latino Males, Health Status, and Perceptions of Health Care”  (Adviser: Emilio Parrado)

Caroline Kee, “Borrowing from Biomedicine, Trading with Traditional: How Medical Providers in the Kumaon region of the Indian Himalayas Defy Medical Pluralism Paradigms with a System of Specialized Care” (Adviser: Projit Mukharji)

Kim, Eun Kyung Ellen, “Exercising Towards A Cure: The Gymnasium of the Friends Asylum, 1889-1893”  (Adviser: Aaron Wunsch)

Gabriella Meltzer, “A Manufactured Global Health Crisis: Electronic Waste in Accra, Ghana”  (Adviser: Adam Mohr)

Danielle Mohabir, "Provider Perspectives on College Mental Health: Evaluating Structural Barriers to Care from the Inside" (Adviser: Jason Schnittker)

Katherine Sgarro, ‘The Social Construction Of Celiac Disease: How Biomedical Definitions Of “Diagnosis” And “Treatment” Affect Low-Income Americans With Celiac Disease’ (Adviser: Herbert Smith)
 

2014

Kathryn Barth, “Weighing On Energy-Dense Food Taxes: How Food Preferences Relate To Obesity” (Advisor: Catherine Maclean)

Janan Dave, “Having A Daughter Is Like Watering Your Neighbor's Garden": Migration's Effect On Gender Ideologies Of South Asian Americans In Philadelphia” (Advisor: Deborah Thomas)

Mia Garuccio, “Organ Transplants And HIV: A Historical Comparison And Policy Review”  (Advisor: Andria Johnson)

Victoria Goldman, “Intersexuality: How Cultural Expectations, Medical Innovations And Language Created The Perception Of Variant Genitalia As A Disorder” (Advisor: Ann Greene)

Monica Kang, “Inappropriate Consumers: The Construction Of Gender Through Eating Behavior In Children's Literature”  (Advisor: Jason Schnittker)

Megan McCarthy-Alfano, “Driving Without A Roadmap: Parents' Treatment Decisions In Autism Care”  (Advisor: Fran Barg)

Gina Orlando, “The Road To Water Filtration In Philadelphia” (Advisor: David Barnes)

Katherine Peck, “The Social Life Of Millennium Development Goal 5: Local Interpretations Of A Global Paradigm”  (Advisor: Fran Barg and Andria Johnson)

Maxwell Presser, “A Matter Of Lives And Deaths: The Transition Of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation From Physician To The Public” (Advisor: Benjamin Abella)

Sarah Schulte, “Why Are Hispanic Americans Getting Bigger? Understanding The Link Between Greater Acculturation And Higher BMI” (Advisor: Jason Schnittker)

Stephen Smilowitz, “Safe Spaces And Perilous Places: The Environmental Origins Of Fear Of Crime In Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala”  (Advisor: David Barnes)

Gabrielle Stoller, “Evolving Access To HIV Medications Under Medicare And Medicaid”(Advisor: Jalpa Doshi)

Abigail Worthen, “'Trust In God, But Tie Up Your Camel': Perceptions Of Cervical Cancer Screening Among African American Muslim Women In Philadelphia"  (Advisor: Jonathan Moreno)

Christina Wu, “Comparing “Culturally Specific” Conceptions Of Barriers-To-Care: Eye Care Among Chinese Immigrant And African American Elderly Populations In Philadelphia” (Advisor: Giang Nguyen)
 

2013

Charlotte Ezratty, “Bulimia: Multi-Causal Perspectives and a Look to the Future”

Courtney Ng, “Womanhood and Maternal Health-Seeking Behaviors in Periphery China: A Hani Perspective”

Pallavi Podapati,  “Invisible Coalfields and the Politics of Knowledge: The Struggle to Ensure the Health and Safety of Coal Miners”

Line Stenland, “Feast on Fat to Look Fab: The Scandinavian LCHF Diet Phenomenon and Its Implications for Food Beliefs and Health in Norway”
 

2012

Maria Bellantoni, “Factors Affecting Age-of-Entry into Long-Term Care” (Adviser: Jason Schnittker)

Erica Catalano, “The Social Perceptions of Infant Feeding Practices: A Study of Penn Undergraduates" (Adviser: Claudia Valeggia)

Andrea Cheung, “Accounting for the Low Usage of Drug Addiction Treatment Services by Aboriginals Living in British Columbia, Canada” (Adviser: James McKay)

Reni Ellis, “Comfortable, Safe, Supported and Cared For: Exploring Conceptual Definitions of Child-Friendliness in Children’s Advocacy Centers” (Adviser: Carolyn Cannuscio)

Alina Kim, “South Korean and U.S. American International Health Volunteers: The Nature of the Relationship between Country of Origin and Volunteer Variables” (Adviser: Kent Bream)

Regina Lam, “Dissecting the Trust in Acupuncturist-Patient Relationships: Experiences of  Breast Cancer Survivors”  (Adviser: Jun Mao)

Aileen Palmer, “Possible Effects of Observing Kashrut on the Conceptualization of Food, Dieting and Body Image in Jewish American Women” (Adviser: Jane Kauer)

Lora Rosenblum, “Obesity, Public Health Legislation and the Role of Industry: A Closer Look at the Calorie Labeling Mandate and the Soda Tax” (Adviser: Mary Summers)
 

2011

Matt Amalfitano, “For Better or For Worse: Coverage of Sexual Assault on a college campus and reporting of sexual assault” (Advisor, Susan Sorenson)

Andrea Frantz, “Understanding Oral Health from A Caregiver's Perspective” (Adviser, Fran Barg)

Melissa Gradilla, “Comparing Childbirth Practices: Connections, variations, and conflicts in traditional and biomedical obstetric care in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala"(Adviser, Claudia Valeggia)

Pavithra Jaisankar,  “Anandibai Joshee at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania: Negotiating Representations of Birth” (Adviser, David Barnes)

Masha Jones, “The Community Navigator Experience: A Case Study of the Community-Based Navigator Program for Cancer Control” (Adviser, Fran Barg)

Alexandra Lipschultz, “Euthanasia in Disguise?: An Interview Study of Hospice Families’ Experiences with Pallative Sedation” (Adviser, Autumn Fiester)

Emer Lucey, “Autism in the News, 1943-1983”  (Adviser, Michael Yudell)

Brian Mertens, “The Crusade for Pure Milk Has Begun: Science, Politics, and Municipal Milk,Regulation in Philadelphia, 1889-1914”  (Adviser, David Barnes)
 

2010

Elena Blebea, “The Latin American Diet Pyramid: Serving the Latino Population?”(Advisor, Fran Barg)

Anup Das, “Obesity: Attitudes and Beliefs of Indian Physicians”  (Advisor, Robert Aronowitz)

Shayleigh Dickson, “”The Experience of Latina Mothers of Children Diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder” (Advisor, Ellen Giarelli)

Andrew Gaffney, “ Abortion in the Case of Anencephaly: How Brazilian Bioethics is Affecting the Debate   “ (Advisor, Jonathan Moreno)

George Karandinos, ‘”You Ridin’?”: The Moral Economy of Violence in North Philadelphia’ (Advisor, Philippe Bourgeois)

Sheyla Medina, “The Relationship between Parental Educational Attainment and Perceived Racial Discrimination among African-American Female Adolescents.” (Advisor, Susmita Pati)

Clara Ng, “Opportunity Amid Crisis: Development of Social Enterprise as a Response to Diabetes in Mali” (Advisor, Adriana Petryna)

Alix Pruzansky, “How Pre-operative Depressive Symptoms and Aberrant Eating in Adolescents Affect Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery”  (Advisor, David Sarwer)

Alix Winter, “Adolescents’ Perceptions of Their Futures and Cigarette Smoking”(Advisor, Jason Schnittker)

Fan Zhou, “The Effect of the 2007 Recession on Health Behaviors” (Advisor, Arnold Rosoff)
 

2009

Janene Brown, “Human Interaction in the Asthma Clinic of the Children's Hospital of
     Philadelphia."                       
Rachel Crystal, “Food-Insecurity, Coping Strategies, and Health in Las Vegas
     Consumers During the Current Economic Crisis.”            
Daniel Eisenberg, "The Impact of Select Characteristics of Government on Life
     Expectancy at Different Levels of Economic Development."           
Christina Eklund, “HIV Testing: A Qualitative Study on the Perspectives of Philadelphia
     Health Care Providers.”           
Sara Flanagan, "Examining Funding and Need in Humanitarian Action: The 2004  
     South-Asian Tsunami Response."           
Markley Foreman, "The TRIPS Agreement and Developing Countries: India's 
     Experience With Patent Law and Public Health."
Lena Gottesman, “Transplant Access and Success in a Pediatric Renal Unit: An Ethical 
     Perspective on Social Support.”           
Jessica Ho, "The Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on Population Health: An 
     Aggregate Analysis."           
Ashley LeMaire, “Student Motivations for Binge-Drinking at the University of 
     Pennsylvania.”           
Lavanya Madhusudan, “A Mixed-Methods Study of Child Nutritional Status in the Urban 
     Slums of Bangalore, India.”