Anthropology
Anthropology Department Contacts
Scott Branting
Graduate Director
Gio Scheraldi
Graduate Support Staff
Graduate Program Contact Email: anthrograduate@ucf.edu
Anthropology Graduate Degrees & Certificates
Recent Anthropology Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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Architectures of Flooding: History, Power, and the Production of Flood Risk in Miami-Dade County
by Nilver Tovar Ospina on August 27, 2026
This dissertation examines flooding in Miami-Dade County, Florida, as a historically produced and chronically experienced socio-environmental condition rather than a purely natural or climate-driven hazard. It argues that […]
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Homoplasy of Maxillary Orthognathism In Derived Homo
by Jared Jordan on August 26, 2026
The evolution of the orthognathic condition in the genus Homo represents a monumental transition toward the facial morphology of modern humans from that of earlier hominins, but the phylogenetic positioning of this […]
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Non-Destructive HHXRF Archaeometry For Grouping Individuals Via Trace Element Analysis Of Dental Remains
by Griffon G. Binkowski on August 25, 2026
Handheld X-ray fluorescence (HHXRF) spectrometry has been validated as an accurate, non-destructive method for analyzing archaeological osseous materials. This study utilizes HHXRF to address key bioarchaeological questions, […]
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Forest Island Reforestation in the Llanos de Moxos, Bolivia
by Ethan Tam on May 29, 2026
Within the Llanos de Moxos of Bolivia thousands of forest islands dot the landscape. These forest islands have been shown to have been integral aspects of the pre-Contact indigenous cultures which existed there for thousands […]
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Old Maps of the New World & New Theories on the European Encounter with La Florida: An Historical Archaeological and Four Field Anthropological Approach to Peter Apian's Cosmographia (1575)
by Emerson S F Richards on May 29, 2026
This thesis examines the 1575 Spanish edition of the Cosmographia, a geographic textbook initially authored by Peter Apian and expanded by Gemma Frisius, as a source for anthropological inquiry into early European […]
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Regional Standardization, Community Idiosyncrasy: Comparative Analysis of Ritual Deposits in the Lower Río Verde Valley, Oaxaca, During the Terminal Formative Period
by Grace Bonnett on May 28, 2026
Archaeological excavations in the lower Río Verde valley in Oaxaca, Mexico, have uncovered a rich history of ritual practices in the region. A key element to these practices was the public and restricted interment of ritual […]
Biology
Biology Department Contacts
Laurence von Kalm
Graduate Director
Juana Pasco
Graduate Support Staff
Graduate Program Contact Email: juana.pasco@ucf.edu
Biology Graduate Degrees & Certificates
Recent Biology Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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Multi-Scale Drivers of Beetle Biodiversity in a Rapidly Urbanizing Region
by Alessandra Pandolfi on August 26, 2026
As cities continue to expand, designing urban landscapes that balance ecological resilience with biodiversity conservation has emerged as a pressing challenge. This dissertation examines urban ecosystems as complex and […]
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Two Views of a Coupled Natural-Human System: Florida's Fisheries as Seen through the Lens of Habitat and People
by Christopher Crowder on August 25, 2026
Florida’s fisheries represent a complex coupled natural–human system in which ecological processes, fish populations, habitats, and human communities are interconnected through reciprocal feedbacks. As the “Fishing […]
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Ecological and Evolutionary Responses to Environmental Change in Two Large North American Mammals
by George Zaragoza on May 29, 2026
Climate change and urbanization are resulting in rapid shifts in ecosystems. The effects of these changes are complex, and understanding how species respond is critical for predicting their impacts on genetic diversity and […]
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Site Use and Demographic Changes in a Northwest Atlantic Sea Turtle Foraging Ground
by Ryan C. Welsh on May 29, 2026
and site fidelity, making mortality difficult to distinguish from redistribution. We developed a behaviorally explicit framework to separate true mortality from changes in availability caused by movement and redistribution. […]
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Unmasking Pentastomes: Generating Genomic Resources For Enigmatic Parasites
by Stephanie Lyn Villella on May 29, 2026
The introduction of invasive species can disrupt ecosystems not only through competition and predation but also by introducing novel pathogens to naïve host populations. In the southeastern United States, the invasive […]
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Monitoring Shifts in Estuarine Microbial Communities: A DNA-Metabarcoding Approach
by Ashley M. Reaume on May 29, 2026
Estuarine microbial communities, including plankton, algae, and bacteria, play important roles in nutrient cycling and food web structure. They are sensitive to changes in abiotic conditions, and shifts in community […]
Chemistry
Chemistry Department Contacts
Fernando Uribe-Romo
Graduate Director – Chemistry
Candice Bridge
Graduate Director – Forensic Science Tracks
Davalda Bellot
Graduate Support Staff
Graduate Program Contact Email: chemgrad@ucf.edu
Chemistry Graduate Degrees & Certificates
Recent Chemistry Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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Elucidating the active site and role of the heme cofactor in the protein N-Nitroglycine Lyase A
by Kara Ann Strickland on August 27, 2026
Nitramines are N-N-bond-containing compounds that are often high-energy materials. More specifically, nitramines are compounds that contain a nitro group bound to an amine group. The family of compounds is split into two […]
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Surface-Localized Reactivity In Functional Nanomaterials: Polydopamine-Mediated Metal Deposition And Copper-Loaded Cellulose Antimicrobials
by Bhanu Sharma on August 27, 2026
Conventional approaches to nanomaterial synthesis often struggle to achieve precise control over surface composition, structure, and function, limiting both the reproducibility of nanoparticle fabrication and the performance […]
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The Biosynthesis of the Natural Product N-Nitroglycine
by Gabriel Padilla on August 26, 2026
N-Nitroglycine (NNG) is a nitramine [R(R′)N–NO2; R′=H or alkyl] natural product (NP) produced by certain actinomycetes, such as Streptomyces noursei. At the beginning of this project, the biosynthesis of this NP was […]
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Approaching Renewable Energy-Conversion Technologies from the Bottom-Up
by Thomas Egan on August 26, 2026
The development of renewable energy-conversion materials is a necessary step in the transition away from fossil fuels towards sustainable energy sources. Plasmonic Au nanobipyramids (NBPs) show promise as light-sensitizing […]
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Professional Identity Development in STEM Undergraduate Students: A study of Influences and Student Perceptions of their Impact
by Cameron R. Bechard on August 25, 2026
The concept of professional identity is a constantly revised process that involves an individual’s perception of inclusion within a work-related social group. The formation of a strong professional identity has been […]
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Investigating the Dissolution, Redox Chemistry, and Incorporation Capacity of Uranium Dioxide and Uranyl Peroxide in the Context of Nuclear Waste Management
by Zachary J. Murphy on August 12, 2026
The chemically diverse nature of nuclear waste creates a complex system that requires study from multiple fronts to effectively address storage strategies, contamination risks, and remediation efforts. The U.S. has a […]
Nicholson School of Communication & Media (NSCM)
NSCM Contacts
Jennifer Sandoval
Interim Graduate Coordinator – Strategic Communication PhD, Communication MA
Zachary Beckler
Graduate Coordinator – Film MFA
Sercan Sengun
Graduate Coordinator – Digital Media
Graduate Program Contact Email: nicholsongrad@ucf.edu
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) Contacts
Richard Grula
Graduate Director
Kenneth Koloski
Graduate Support Staff
Graduate Program Contact Email: kenneth.koloski@ucf.edu
NSCM Graduate Degrees & Certificates
- Communication MA
- Corporate Communication Graduate Certificate
- Digital Media MA
- Feature Film Production MFA
- Interactive Entertainment MS
- Strategic Communication PhD
Recent NSCM Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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Applying the 5D Model of Country Image for International Public Relations: Analyzing Cultural Perceptions of Qatar’s International Events "Expo 2023"
by Taleb Al-Adbah on January 7, 2026
Studying country image in public relations has become essential to developing practices for countries engaging with international audiences. Hosting international events highlights the need for international public […]
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Effectively Communicating Uncertainty in Tropical Cyclone Intensity Forecasts
by Robert W. Eicher on January 6, 2026
This body of research investigated methods for effectively communicating the inherent, technical uncertainty in tropical cyclone intensity forecasts through three separate studies. The first investigation uses Hurricane […]
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Pride or Prejudice: An Examination of Queer Content in Florida High Schools
by Niamh L. Harrop on August 21, 2025
This thesis explores how queer individuals reflect on the presence—or more often, the absence—of queer content in their high school education. Despite increasing visibility of LGBTQ+ people in popular culture and legal […]
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The Persistence of an Idiot: A Film Student's Journey Through the Feature Film Format
by Austin R. LeMaster on June 2, 2025
The Sweet Idiot is a microbudget comedy feature written, produced and directed by Austin LeMaster. The film aims to make a case for reinstating novelty and singularity to the cinema-going experience. The film uses basic […]
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Assessing the accuracy of emotion classification of whisper v3: comparing performance on speech emotion datasets for both English and Arabic
by Oumaima khalfi on June 2, 2025
This thesis investigates the application of Whisper V3 which is a state-of-the-art, multilingual automatic speech recognition model to Arabic Speech Emotion Recognition (SER). Building on the foundational work of Muhammad […]
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Leading the Newsroom: Exploring the Development of Management and Leadership Skills in College Journalism Students
by Guilherme Hiray Leal on June 2, 2025
The purpose of this study is to examine the management and leadership skills that are developed in college journalism and how that experience and training prepares students for the challenges of reporting for, managing, and […]
Physics
Physics Department Contacts
William Kaden
Graduate Director – Physics
Yan Fernandez
Graduate Director – Planetary & Space Sciences
Esperanza Soto
Graduate Support Staff
Graduate Program Contact Email: soto@ucf.edu
Physics Graduate Degrees & Certificates
Recent Physics Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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Deciphering ultrafast photoinduced and photocatalytic reaction dynamics on oxide surfaces: direct detection of radical intermediates, fragment trapping, and carbon–carbon, carbon–oxygen, and carbon–hydrogen bond formation pathways
by Aakash Gupta on August 26, 2026
Understanding photoinduced reactions at solid interfaces is essential for advancing heterogeneous photocatalysis, surface photochemistry, and energy conversion technologies. This dissertation investigates the ultrafast […]
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Actin Cytoskeleton Dynamics, Mechanics and Structures Modulated by Gelsolin, Intracellular Environmental Factors, and Nanomaterials
by Taylor V. Douglas on August 26, 2026
Actin cytoskeleton dynamics and mechanics are central to many important cellular processes, including cell morphology and motility. Gelsolin is a calcium-regulated actin binding protein involved in filament severing and […]
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Charge Transport Modeling of Multifunctional Molecular Transistors
by Romena Akter on August 25, 2026
Distinguishing between the current–voltage characteristic curves associated with different transport mechanisms in a molecular electronic device and an artifact arising from device-level disorder is a central challenge in […]
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Bowtie Antenna-Coupled Bi₂Te₃–Sb₂Te₃ Thermoelectric Detector for Millimeter-Wave Radiation
by Rumana Zahir on May 29, 2026
We explore the development of antenna-coupled thermoelectric detectors for long-wavelength radiation using sputtered bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) thin films. Detection in the infrared, […]
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A Theoretical Study Of Molecular Photoionization: Applications To Molecules Of Astrophysical And Atmospheric Interest
by Conner Penson on May 29, 2026
This thesis is devoted to the development of the model for total molecular photoionization spectra which is general to diatomic molecules and the application of this model to two benchmark systems, CH and N2, for […]
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Computational Regolith Mechanics and Instrumentation Development for Lunar Exploration and Resource Utilization
by Jared M. Long-Fox on May 29, 2026
Sustained exploration of the Moon requires quantitative understanding of lunar regolith properties to support scientific investigation, in situ resource utilization, excavation, and infrastructure development. This […]
Psychology
Psychology Department Contacts
Industrial & Organizational Ph.D.
Graduate Program Contact Email: danielle.draper@ucf.edu
Industrial & Organizational Psychology M.S.
Michael Chetta
Graduate Director
Dani Draper
Graduate Support Staff
Graduate Program Contact Email: danielle.draper@ucf.edu
Clinical Psychology Ph.D.
Jeffrey Bedwell
Graduate Director
Amy Newins
Associate Director
Dakota Fisher
Graduate Support Staff
Graduate Program Contact Email: dakota.fisher@ucf.edu
Human Factors & Cognitive Psychology
Graduate Program Contact Email: elizabeth.tummons@ucf.edu
Clinical Psychology M.A.
Graduate Program Contact Email: eun.park@ucf.edu
Psychology Graduate Degrees & Certificates
- Clinical Psychology MA
- Clinical Psychology PhD
- Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology MS
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology PhD
Recent Psychology Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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Exploring Fake News Detection: Unpacking Polarization, Ambiguity, and Associated Neural Mechanisms
by Shayna R. Soares on January 7, 2026
A pertinent next step in investigating fake news, is exploring the inherent ambiguity of news headlines through the lens of uncertain decision-making theories. Few studies have done so while investigating the established […]
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Firefighter Syndrome: Improving the Identification and Classification of Firefighters in Need
by Michael A. Schlenk on January 7, 2026
Firefighters (FFs) exhibit a multitude of behavioral and physical health concerns as well as fluctuating social support due to their occupation. Despite the fire service enacting preventative approaches to health and […]
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Confirming the Factor Structure of the Police Officer Stigma Scale
by Daniel R. Horning on January 7, 2026
First responders routinely face exposure to critical incidents within the line of duty, resulting in higher prevalence of psychopathological conditions compared to the general population. However, a growing body of research […]
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An Involuntary Motive of Voluntary Behavior: An Investigation of the Causes and the Consequences of Citizenship Pressure
by Junyoung Hong on January 7, 2026
This dissertation investigates citizenship pressure, defined as an individual’s perception of pressure to perform organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), by examining its conceptual boundaries, antecedents, behavioral […]
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Digital Biomarkers of Usability
by Steven Ford on January 7, 2026
Usability, the extent to which a product can be used with satisfaction and efficiency, is critical for its success, yet traditional assessment methods are often subjective or resource-intensive. This dissertation adapts the […]
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Identity Impacts of Crafting in Multiple Life Domains Among Employees With Chronic Mental and Physical Illnesses: A Mixed-Method Study
by Kenzie Dye on January 7, 2026
This dissertation examined the impact of job, home, and leisure crafting on perceptions of five markers of positive work identity among employees with chronic mental and physical illnesses. It was hypothesized that all forms […]
School of Data, Mathematical, and Statistical Sciences (SDMSS)
SDMSS Contacts
Mathematics
Robert Jenkins
Graduate Director
TBD
Graduate Support Staff
Graduate Program Contact Email: mathgrad@ucf.edu
Statistics & Data Science
Edgard Maboudou
Graduate Director
TBD
Graduate Support Staff
Graduate Program Contact Email: edgard.maboudou@ucf.edu
Mathematics Graduate Degrees & Certificates
- Financial Mathematics Graduate Certificate
- Mathematical Science Graduate Certificate
- Mathematical Science MS
- Mathematics PhD
Statistics & Data Science Degrees & Certificates
- Big Data Analytics PhD
- Data Modeling Graduate Certificate
- SAS Data Mining Graduate Certificate
- Statistics and Data Science MS
Recent Mathematics Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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Revolution in the age of social media: A mathematical model for information, dissent, and stability
by Killian Muollo on May 29, 2026
Revolutions, defined by Skocpol as rapid transformations in class, state, and/or social structures, are important world events that can cause civil wars, spark international trends, and result in transitions toward […]
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The Nested Dirichlet Process And Applications To Nonparametric Bayesian Inference
by Evan C. Donald on January 7, 2026
This body of research focuses on Bayesian nonparametric inference, in regards to an array of S-valued random variables. These random variables are assumed to take values in a complete and separable metric space and further […]
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Carleman Linearization of Dynamical Systems, and Graph Inverse and Wiener Filtering
by Cong Zheng on August 22, 2025
Carleman linearization is a mainstream approach for transforming finite-dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems into infinite-dimensional linear systems. It provides accurate approximations of the original nonlinear system […]
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Analysis of Numerical Methods for SPDEs, and Applications of Free Boundary Problems in Financial Mathematics
by Corey A. Prachniak on August 22, 2025
This dissertation studies the key properties of a fully discrete finite element method for a class of stochastic moving boundary problems. Then, free boundary problems and their applications in finance are explored. The […]
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The Hilbert Series of Paths, Cycles, and Related Graphs
by Tiffany Nielander on August 22, 2025
The Hilbert Series of a finitely-generated graded R-module, M, is a series which is often given in the form a rational function in the variable, t. This series encodes a great many invariant properties of the module M. In […]
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Phase Retrieval and Fidelity Preserving Quantum Channels
by Kai Liu on August 22, 2025
This thesis investigates the preservation of fundamental quantum properties under noisy quantum processes. Motivated by the challenges of maintaining coherence and information integrity in realistic quantum systems, we study […]
View Full Mathematics Thesis & Dissertation List
Recent Statistics & Data Science Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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Learning Weibull Loss Severity Models From Truncated And Censored Data
by Majed Alkhasha on August 25, 2026
In modern actuarial science and risk management, due to various loss control mechanisms, observed severity losses are typically left-truncated at the deductible, right-censored at the policy limit, and scaled by a […]
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Repeatability And Reproducibility Of Likelihood Ratio Estimation For Forensics Using Machine Learning: An Application To In-Silico Fire Debris Data
by Cameron Ezazi on May 28, 2026
The importance of using statistical evidence to help inform the interpretation of forensic evidence has grown greater over time. This is especially evident in the field of forensic fire debris analysis, where the reliability […]
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Robust Linking Estimation in Item Response Theory Using Quantile Regression: Applications to the Graded Response and Generalized Partial Credit Models
by Ibrahim Almansour on May 27, 2026
This dissertation investigates robust estimation of linking coefficients in Item Response Theory (IRT) using quantile regression and its extensions. Linking procedures are essential for placing item and ability parameters […]
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Comparative Analysis of Estimation Techniques on Human Performance in Seek-and-Place Tasking
by Adam J. Wehr on January 7, 2026
Accurate parameter estimation is fundamental to statistical modeling, shaping the validity of inference, prediction, and decision-making. Although Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) and Bayesian methods are well established […]
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Robust Multiple Change Point Detection for Streaming Data
by Randyll Pandohie on January 7, 2026
The growing prevalence of high-frequency, high-dimensional data streams in domains such as finance, cybersecurity, and industrial monitoring has intensified the demand for real-time multiple change point detection methods. […]
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Fast Differentiable Projection Layers onto High-Dimensional Polytopes for Large-Scale Predictive Modeling
by Camilo Gomez on January 7, 2026
Recent trends in statistical machine learning have revealed the power of integrating optimization procedures as first-class components within end-to-end large-scale predictive systems. These structured computations—often […]
View Full Statistics & Data Science Thesis & Dissertation List
School of Politics, Security, & International Affairs (SPSIA)
SPSIA Department Contacts
Jacopo Baggio
Graduate Director – Security Studies Ph.D.; Network Analysis Certificate
Kelsey Larsen
Graduate Director – Political Science M.A.; Intelligence Certificate
John Hanley
Graduate Director – Survey Research Certificate
Graduate Program Contact Email: graduatepolisci@ucf.edu
SPSIA Degrees & Certificates
- Intelligence and National Security Graduate Certificate
- Network Analysis and Applications Graduate Certificate
- Political Science MA
- Security Studies PhD
- Survey Research Graduate Certificate
Recent SPSIA Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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Appraising the Uniform: Stress, Predisposition, and Trust in Police among Latin American and U.S. Latino Populations
by Maren J. Mainx on August 26, 2026
Public trust in police is central to regime legitimacy, yet reforms intended to build trust produce inconsistent results, and communities facing comparable conditions can respond differently to similar policing. This […]
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Hunter. Hunted. Human: Warfighters' Emotional Responses to Weapons in Tactical & Strategic Context
by Simon Mace on August 26, 2026
Human emotional responses to weapons have long been assumed to be relatively parsimonious, comprised predominately of aggression, anxiety, and fear responses. However, most research on this weapons effect has focused on […]
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Lost Innocence, Found Martyrdom: Childhood War Exposure, Narratives, and Militancy in Hezbollah
by Léa Faure on August 26, 2026
What explains participation in armed insurgent groups? Existing literature has examined psychological, individual, structural, and organizational dynamics of mobilization, but rarely looks at all three in tandem. This can be […]
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Do Emerging Social Media Platforms Shape the Gender Gap in Surveillance Political Knowledge?
by Saskia Papsova on May 29, 2026
Abstract Research shows that men consistently score higher than women on standard political knowledge measures, but as Americans increasingly obtain political information through social media, it is unclear whether different […]
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Girl Child Marriage and Governing Party Ideology: Evidence From India
by Divya Kapoor on February 25, 2025
Although India has made significant advances in reducing girl-child marriage compared to other countries in South Asia, one in three of the world’s child brides still lives in the country. The literature on girl child […]
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Assessing the Connection Between Social Media and Ideological Polarization
by Joshua Stiekman on August 27, 2024
Does the usage of social media make individuals more polarized? Previous studies have shown that political use of the internet does make individuals more likely to politically participate, but little academic work has looked […]
Sociology
Sociology Department Contacts
Amy Donley
Graduate Director
Jana Mostafa
Graduate Support Staff
Graduate Program Contact Email: socadmissions@ucf.edu
Sociology Degrees & Certificates
Recent Sociology Graduate Theses and Dissertations
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The Intersection of Abuse, Child Welfare, and the Law for Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: Gender Violence as an Antagonistic Social Force
by Julio Montanez on May 29, 2026
Intimate partner violence (IPV)—as gender violence—pits children’s civil rights and women’s civil liberties against each other. To explore this phenomenon, the current work features five (5) studies that aim to […]
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Fear, Uncertainty, And The Chilling Effect: A Case Study Of Organizational Racialized Omission
by Annie Jones on May 29, 2026
Florida passed House Bill 7 in 2022 and Senate Bill 266 in 2023, both policies that restrict how race and racism are discussed and taught in the public higher education setting. Although scholars of race and racism contend […]
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Food Insecurity Among University Students and the Barriers to Utilizing Food Assistance Programs During and After Hurricanes Ian and Nicole
by Carvis C. Durr on January 7, 2026
Background and objectives: Food insecurity (FI) is a pressing concern among university students in the United States. Natural disasters such as hurricanes can exacerbate this issue, particularly for low-income individuals, […]
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Podcast Narratives of Cybercrime Perpetration
by Rebeka Rocco on August 22, 2025
The growth of the internet and cybertechnology has created the opportunity for new types of crime. Given the recency of these developments, little is known about cybercrime perpetration and there is scant existing data […]
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American Muslim Women’s Experiences with Pregnancy And Childbirth In The United States Healthcare System
by Salema Mohamed on August 22, 2025
Muslim women adhere to specific religious beliefs and practices, which can inform their healthcare decisions and requirements during pregnancy and childbirth. Despite an increase in the Muslim population in the U.S., there […]
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Examining Educational Inequalities and Driving Science’s Next Generation Forward: GeoBus Program Theory Evaluation
by Elise M. Lorenzo on August 22, 2025
This study presents a theory-driven evaluation of GeoBus, a mobile science lab designed to deliver hands-on, “fun learning experiences” via a solar powered, technology-rich learning environment brought directly to K-12 […]