We are proud to provide access to the theses and projects of successful graduate students at Cal Poly Humboldt. You can search for titles or authors in the search bar on the right.
For those submitting for Fall 2026, submit a PDF and DOCX of your thesis/project for committee approval using Adobe Sign's Graduate Thesis/Project Approval Form. Please start this form as early as feasible but no later than Monday, December 14, 2026, to allow your committee members time to electronically register their approvals before the Tuesday, December 15, 2026 deadline. Please see the Humboldt Graduate Student's Culminating Experiences: Thesis & Project Submission Canvas page for assistance.
Please review the Humboldt Graduate Student's Culminating Experiences: Thesis & Project Formatting/Accessibility Canvas page for instructions on how to meet formatting and accessibility requirements. After incorporating those instructions in your thesis or project, send a draft of your paper to [email protected] for free courtesy review assessment. The deadline for requesting a courtesy review for Fall 2026 is Monday, November 30, 2026. Please contact the Scholarly Communications Office with any questions at [email protected].
Theses/Projects from 2026
Geochemical and petrological observations of the June Lake Basalt, Eastern California, Daniel Jacob Abel
Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) response to habitat restoration through space and time: Monitoring growth, survival, and movement in a restored habitat network, Carter Perez Adamson
Examining the physiological stress-reducing effects of virtual nature exposure and slow breathing, Jesse Benefiel
The effects of temperature on the persistence of environmental DNA in self-preserving filters, Megan Boche
Integrating multi-method monitoring to characterize seasonal habitat use of green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) in Humboldt County, California, Olivia S. Boeberitz
Following the water: Tree water sources in coastal northern California forests, Kaitlyn Briggs
Supporting risky outdoor play through professional development: A quasi-experimental study of TK–6 educators’ attitudes, Justin Ross Burrill
Subjective glib dynamics: Using an alien society to investigate reactions to leader and member norm deviance, Catie Burtch
The effects of expectancies and attention to placebo relevant sensations on the open-label placebo response, Miranda Connelly
Effects of conifer encroachment on Oregon white oak crown structure and nonvascular epiphyte communities, Courtney Jonell Copper
Plurality of Place: A Critical Walk Through the Ananda Meditation Retreat, Heidi L. Cram
Navigating liminality: Building resources for and with undocumented students, Yaneyry Delfin Martinez
“Twist but don’t break:” Constellating past and present barriers in Black queer multimodal publishing that shift text into subtext; addressing acceptance into queer creative communities and the void of Black voices within, Kae Ann Dennert-Frederick
Reclaiming presence: An anthropological study of digital disconnection and meaning-making, Leslie De Paz
The spatial relationship between the residents of Buttonwillow, CA and the carbon capture and storage project, Carbon TerraVault, Daniell Dorado
Factors influencing tree vigor and structural failure along powerline corridors in Northern California: A multi-species analysis, David Justin Dorval
Succession and alpine plant habitat of a recently deglaciated foreland in the Trinity Alps, California, Sebastian Evans
Depth and soil physical context govern soil organic carbon, while woody cover moderates native vegetation relationships in California rangelands, Dabid Zuniga Garcia
Do California rangeland healthy soil practices offer co-benefits for grassland birds?, Ximena O. Gil
Assessing water storage in Northern California forests, Christopher Gerard Gressierer
"What power do we have?" Community capacity and justice in Samoa, California’s floating offshore wind terminal development, Lauren McCall Hart
Beyond the meter: Frameworks for evaluating the broad spectrum of microgrid benefits, Elias Henderson
Aquatic habitat use by western toads and American bullfrogs in California’s Central Valley: Effects of local habitat characteristics and landscape composition, Kaitlyn Breana Hernandez
Bacterial community function in pitcher plant leaves as an experimental and mathematical model of functional dynamics, Amelia Jackson
Assessing a half-century of change in understory plant range and frequency in the Klamath Mountains of California, Emily Jean Jackson
Species boundaries of the rare Menzies’ wallflower (Brassicaceae: Erysimum menziesii), an endemic of the northern California coast, Cameron M. Jones
An evaluation of aquatic interventions to support increased physical fitness levels for children with cerebral palsy, Grace Kasberger
A sticky situation: Renal morphology and glue production of Aulorhynchus flavidus in comparative perspective, Lucas Kebow
Long-term relationships between tree growth and climate in the Trinity Alps Wilderness, Klamath Mountains, California, USA, Emma R. Knepp
The effects of saddle tilt on gross efficiency and upper body muscle activation in seated uphill cycling, Guy Leshem
Pretend play effects on autistic children's Theory of Mind & social skills, Joelle Lok
Neoliberalism and the crimes of the powerful: Transforming the state during the first Trump era (2017-2021), Charles Brandon Lonon
Relational approaches to fire resilience: Designing a living shaded fuel break with Indigenous knowledge systems, Natalee Nicole Lopes
Marine mammal stranding patterns in northern California: Linking effort-controlled baselines and environmental drivers (2012-2023), Allison Brie Lui
Forest management options for the wildland urban interface: Comparative analysis of stand development, economics, and forest carbon over 100 years in Sierra Nevada ponderosa pine, Kassandra A. McDaniel
Preliminary study on free-weight back squat muscular hypertrophy reference values, Luis Medina
Testing adaptive habitat selection in breeding Swainson's hawks (Buteo swainsoni), Elizabeth Meisman
Endocranial lesions: A paleopathological study of late medieval skeletal remains from Żelewo Poland, Francesca Aleen Meyer
Decolonizing restorative justice: A teaching development project, Lacy Felice Mitchell
Effects of coaching interventions on burnout and mental health outcomes among collegiate athletes: A meta-analysis, Natalie Mitchell
Queering poetry workshops, Dobby Morse
Baker cypress (Hesperocyparis bakeri) in a changing fire landscape: Characterizing fire refugia and guiding post-fire reforestation, Olivia Lorraine Moskowitz
Skeletal markers: Interpreting trauma, healing, and survival through osteological remains from medieval Pomerania, Michael Mulliner-Szyndler
Symmetry in affiliative interactions of North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) in a Northern California estuary, Charlotte E. Norman
Weaponized borders: A contrapuntal analysis of uneven humanitarian aid and comparative landscapes, Alex Orla-Bukowski
Nourishing roots: Supporting Indigenous food education in school gardens, Tatiana Marina Patino Madriaga
The effect of automated self-monitoring on the behavior of individuals diagnosed with pre-diabetes or Type 2 diabetes, Leti Phillips Armenta
Early successional response to stream daylighting in Redwood National and State Parks, Orick, California, Rylee Rawson
Postfire habitat use and density of Pacific martens (Martes caurina) in Lassen National Forest, California, Deirdre L. Replinger
Ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with Pinus species of California's northwestern coast, Monika Audrey Richardson
Geographic variation in proteomic responses to ocean acidification in a cold-water coral (Balanophyllia elegans), Keana A. Richmond
Repairing estranged death: Care, politics and ecology in the US funeral industry, Cecilia Catherine Rodriguez
Rethinking belonging in first-year student support: A mixed-methods evaluation of EOP/SSS programing at Cal Poly Humboldt, Elizabeth Rose Silver
Effective interventions for increasing participation in physical activity among hearing impaired individuals: A meta-analysis, Jack Stewart
Analyzing critical mineral supply for lithium-ion battery demand to 2050, Shaely Sullivan
Land cover classification using optimized imagery resolution and machine learning algorithms for a long-term monitoring and restoration project, Jessica R. Suoja
Taking a seat in the circle: Decolonizing gender roles that argue against the participation of feminine bodies at the Big Drum, Juli Suzukawa
Development of the Core Lit Apparatus for Seaweed Hatcheries (CLASH) bioreactor using a germplasm approach, Phillip O. Tahimic
A framework for evaluating riparian climate refugia in the Eel River watershed, California, Farrah Tyler
Multiple burn and forest characteristics affect gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) occurrence following a California megafire, Amida Zohar Verhey
A critical toponymy of Humboldt County: Ethics and tensions within efforts to change place names, Serenity Aleta Wood
Theses/Projects from 2025
Lineation to liberation: the transformative power of poetic rhetoric, Amber Rae Alvarez
A comparative analysis of perineuronal nets in trout and zebrafish models, Adnan Alyan
Common raven habitat selection along the Northern California coast, Alon Averbuj
From the ashes: lessons in community recovery from 2020 wildfires in Northern California and Southern Oregon, Catriona Grace Barr
Jaguar (Panthera onca) population status and conservation needs in Panama revealed using spatial density and occupancy models., Rebeca E. Becdach
Testosterone reactivity and parental care motivation in men as a function of parental status, Nathan Boone
Wait... homework can be fun?! A pilot homework system study, Caroline Brock
The menstrual cycle, dual-hormone hypothesis, and competition: implications for athletic performance, Camille Burns
Fleeing structural stigma: Psychological outcomes for transgender and gender-diverse internally displaced persons, Max E. Cartagena
An evaluation of fuel model accuracy and multi-scale mitigation strategies in the wildland-urban interface of southern Humboldt County, Julia I. Cavalli
Community assembly across environmental gradients: contrasting patterns of funtional convergence and divergence in California coastal grasslands, Ernesto Chavez- Velasco
Post-prohibition changes in cannabis genetics, Caleb Y. Chen
Physiological conditions of barn owl (Tyto furcata) nestlings as indicators of habitat quality within the wine-growing region of Napa Valley, Christian Cortez
The impact of plant-based diets on erythrocyte function, oxidative stress, and vascular inflammation in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Walter G. Craig
Resource guide to evidence based practices for children with autism spectrum disorder, Guadalupe Cruz
North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) prey selection of wintering waterbirds in a wetland complex, Gina Yael Culver
Grade-band instructional framework using art integration as a social emotional learning tool to increase accessibility and equity for all learners, Greta Dodson Turney
An economic and production analysis of seaweed farms in California and the Pacific Northwest, Brian Donovan
The effects of chronic absenteeism on average daily attendance funding in Humboldt County elementary schools, Corabelle A. Esmailian
The masa that holds us: Indigenous epistemologies and the food we share, Necahual Gamboa
An assessment of the California logging workforce, Kendra Jean Gerstenberg