Graduate Student Theses & Projects

Students have the opportunity to work with award-winning faculty on theses and professional projects that examine a variety of subjects.


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Claude Akins website homepage

Claude Akins (’23 M.A.)

Arizona's Incarcerated Workers

Claude Akins ('23 M.A.) produced a website and podcast aimed at exploring the experiences of incarcerated workers in Arizona's prisons. (Professional Project)

 


 

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Bryan Savic's professional project 2023

Bryan Savic (’23 M.A.)

The United States of Soccer

Savic's multimedia project includes a website and podcast aimed at providing diverse perspectives and insights on the variables that may be significantly contributing to the disinterest levels many Americans have for soccer. (Professional Project)

 


Emily Ellis (’23 M.A.)

Open Range on the River

Ellis produced a podcast and website that dives into how over 130 trespass cattle complaints have been filed with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) by the Center for Biological Diversity in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA) . Watch her defense on Youtube here. (Professional Project)


Denise Meeks (’23 M.A.)

WATER: A website about our precious resource

Meeks coded this website from the ground up. WATER is a library of everything there is to know about water. (Professional Project)


Luke Wink Moran (’23 M.A.)

The Wrong Doors

Moran's magazine article investigates the rise of #booktok and its affect on the book publishing industry.


Vanessa Lucero (’23 M.A.)

Ecuadorians en Nueva York: Keeping La Cultura Viva

Lucero is a bilingual journalism program graduate. Her multimedia project covers the Ecuadorian community in New York City. (Professional Project)


Jake O'Rourke (’23 M.A.)

PFAS: The Subsurface Contaminators

O'Rourke created a multimedia project about the scientific and bodily impact of PFAS contamination in Tucson, AZ. Find his documentary at the link above. (Professional Project)


Shawn Burrage (’23 M.A.)

CRITICAL RACE THEORY IN IOWA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DES MOINES REGISTER'S COVERAGE.

Watch Burrage's thesis defense on Youtube by clicking the play button on the right.


Ashley Morales (’23 M.A.)

Changing the Script

"The main objective of this final project is to inform others on mental health illness based on my psychology background, experience of being a behavioral technician, and a journalism student," according to Morales' website. (Professional Project)


Mar Ruiz Barraza (’23 M.A.)

LA FRONTERA Y SUS OJAZOS NEGROS: Una Mirada Hacia la Vida y Cultura Fronteriza

Barraza is a bilingual journalism program graduate. She said her project was meant to highlight the positive aspects of life at the US/Mexico border through touch, site, smell, taste and hearing.


Paula Diaz (’23 M.A.)

Migrantes Desaparecidos/Missing Migrants

Diaz is a bilingual journalism program graduate. Diaz's website is a guide for families who have a loved one missing at the US/Mexico border. (Professional project)


Andrea Morabito (’23 M.A.)

LICENSING OF JOURNALISTS: ‘L’ORDINE DEI GIORNALISTI ITALIANO’, A HISTORICAL REVIEW AND COMPARISON

Watch Andrea's thesis defense by clicking the YouTube play button on the right. (Thesis)


Kynzie Watahomigie (’22 M.A.)

#ilovemydog: the versatility of social media in the online dog community

A collection of essays about the versatility of social media in the online dog community. Watahomigie's essays cover rescue organizations, dog influencers and the communities that develop around the topic of dogs on social media. (Thesis)


Emma Brocato (’22 M.A.)

A Different Burn: a collection of stories about the fire regimes of Southern Arizona

A collection of three long form stories about the Southern Arizona fire regimes (Professional project). Her work was published in the AZ Luminaria. Read her article here.


Peiyu Lin (’21 M.A.)

International Front: Hong Kong 2020

A documentary on how overseas Hong Kong activists in Taipei, Houston and Seattle promoted the democracy of Hong Kong. (Professional project)


Alexandra Pere (’21 M.A.)

The Psychedelic Renaissance

A podcast series that looks into the psychedelic revival movement in Southern Arizona. (Professional project)


Sofia Revilak (’21 M.A.)

¿Quiénes Son?

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Media Coverage of the 2018 Central American Migrant Caravans by US and Mexican News Media Outlets. (Thesis)


Conor Villines (’21 M.A.)

News Media and Mineral King

Framing Californian Development, Environmentalism and Recreation, 1965-1978. (Thesis)


Samantha Bishop (’20 M.A.)

Heroines: Stories of Tucson Female Entrepreneurs

In 2019, Tucson's percentage of women-owned businesses was 38.6, higher than the national average. (Professional project)


Katelyn Caldwell (’20 M.A.)

Reporting on Mass Shootings

An Analysis of Journalists’ Perceptions of Mass Shooting Coverage and the Impact it has on their Professional Work and Personal Lives. (Thesis)


Nick Smallwood (’20 M.A.)

Saving the Last of the Mount Graham Red Squirrels

Smallwood captured rare footage of the squirrel for his documentary film. (Professional project)


Alisa Ivanitskaya (’20 M.A.)

Food and the Desert

A project about food security in Arizona. (Professional project)

Alisa Ivanitskaya's project web page


Nina Kolodij (’20 M.A.)

Speaking Science-ese

Science communication from every angle. (Professional project)

Nina Kolidj's website photo


Meridith O'Neil (’20 M.A.)

A Handful of Spice

A podcast that looks at belonging and nostalgia through food. (Professional project)

Meredith O'Neil's project website photo


Justin Wylie (’20 M.A.)

Just a Kid & a Ball

A podcast that focuses on the local and global challenges African-American student-athletes face in society. (Professional project)

Justin Wylie's M.A. project website home page


Justin Sayers (’19 M.A.)

Redistricting Arizona in 2020

Could an increasingly politically diverse Arizona remain a Republican stronghold? (Professional project)

Screen shot of website


Lauren Trench (’19 M.A.)

Ironwood Forest National Monument

Named for its dense population of ironwood trees, the monument is home to more than 674 diverse species, including the last indigenous population of bighorn sheep in southern Arizona. However, the monument faces threats. (Professional project)

Ironwood Forest project by Lauren Trench


Jasmine Demers (’19 M.A.)

42 Repeats

A family’s multigenerational battle with Huntington’s Disease.” (Professional project)

Mikayla Mace M.A. defense


Natalia Navarro (’18 M.A.)

Why America? A Citizenship Podcast

A collection of immigration and citizenship stories from new and soon-to-be U.S. citizens. (Professional project)

Why America: A Citizen podcast


Mikayla Mace (’17 M.A.)

Newspaper Coverage of Mars in the United States and the United Kingdom 2011-2016

From the Apollo moon shots to human exploration of Mars, each successive era of spaceflight has been framed in a logical progression from concept to completion that resonates with the values of the times. (Thesis)

Mikayla Mace gives M.A. defense