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Washington Semester Program

The Washington Semester Program is a selective, semester-long program offered in Washington, D.C., through Holy Cross. The program welcomes students from all disciplines, and it allows them to have the opportunity to work with national leaders, engage in independent research, and live in the stimulating environment of Washington, D.C. An award is given each semester for the best research paper produced in the Washington Semester Away Program. The recipient of the prize is accorded the opportunity to give a public lecture at the College on their research. In addition, the recipient receives a bound copy of the thesis and is presented the book award during Commencement exercises.

Papers from 2015 2015

Fossil Fuel Dependence: A Study into the United States' Unfaltering Love of Fossil Fuels, and the Climate Denial Machine, Samuel Gentile

Economic Warfare: Assessing United States Sanction Policy, Nicholas Goode

The Arctic Gamble: Evaluating U.S. Policy in the Arctic, Andrew Higgns

Analyzing Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing, Chardwin Jean-Baptiste

Tanked: The Transition of Think Tanks from Academics to Advocacy; How think tanks have become increasingly politicized, and the need for increased financial transparency., Brooke Emily Larsen

The Middleman Opportunity: Positional Power in the Humanitarian Exchange, Bowen C. Lee

The Federal Reserve, 1920, and 2008: A Comparative Analysis of Economic Depressions and Federal Reserve Policy, Mark Maxmillian Lies

Implications of Interest Group Formation Theories on Coalition Building: The Formation of the Americans for Transportation Mobility Coalition, Megan McCarthy

The Feasibility of Abstinence-Only Education Goals and Objectives, Kelly Probish McDonald

American Approaches to Human Rights, Joseph Murphy

U.S. Economic Sanctions Waged Against Iran: A Critical Analysis, Jennifer A. Nash

Proliferation of Salafi-jihadist Terrorist Groups in the Sahel and the Middle East: An analysis of the implications of U.S. policy towards weapons security and military intervention., Carmella O'Hanlon

Are Base Realignments and Closures (BRACs) Good for the Community? An Examination of Case Studies, Victoria Pennacchio

New Media and the Rise of the Outsider Presidential Candidate: An Analysis of the 2004 and 2008 US Presidential elections, Caroline Shannon

Information Games: Privacy versus Security in the United States, Lauren Tilmont

LGBT Cultural Conceptualization and the Acquisition of Minority Status in the Healthcare Industry, Hannah Tulinski

Papers from 2014 2014

Dr. StrangeDragon or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Rise of China, Garrett Beaulieu

Tangled Nets: Evaluating the Status of International Cooperation on Sustainable Fisheries Management in the North Atlantic, Colin Beaumont

President Obama's Executive Action & The Affordable Care Act, Katie Bullek

Amnesty and Agriculture: The Struggle to Find a Balance in a Modern Society, Dan Creme

Does the Fourth Amendment Need a Status Update? Assessing Police Use of Facebook Profiles in Investigations Without Warrents, Emily Cross

The Role of Soft Law in International Securities Cooperation: The Implementation of the IOSCO MMoU, Christine Fimognari

The Jurisprudence of Antonin Scalia: An Originalist's Interpretation of the Constitution, Jonathan R. Formichella

You've Come A Long Way, Baby! The Heroism of Billie Jean King, Katie Giesecke

Savior or Destroyer?: An Examination of the Nuclear Energy Industry in the United States, Derek Grabhorn

The FHA Single Family Mortgage Insurance Program: Facilitating the American Dream by Expanding the Credit Box, Sean Griffin

Die Pflicht des Staates: A Comparative Analysis of the United States and germany as Welfare Regimes, Taylor Gull

The Effect of Low Natural Gas Prices on the Market for Renewable, Liam Hecht

Is increasing the quality and availability of Career and Technical education in secondary and post-secondary schools a viable step towards closing achievement, income, and educational attainment gaps between the haves and have-nots of the United States?, Quantasia Islam

Enter the Dragon: Rising China and the International Order, Brick W.C. Kawabata

Nuclear Fallout: The Modern Impact of the Enola Gay Contoversy, Madison Keller

NAFTA 2.0? Looking at NAFTA 20 Years Later to Predict TPP's Effects on Jobs and Income Inequality in the United States, Michael Noone

Kurdish Women Fighting the Islamic State: A Comparative Look at the Prospects for Greater gender Equality in Iraqi Kurdistan Following the Islamic State Conflict, Colleen Paddock

Israel and Palestine: Justice in Modern War: The quest for just war in the face of immeasurable conflict, Fallon Parker

Blood & Iron: An Analysis of Russia's Annexation of Crimea, Jimmy Polewaczyk

Partisan Media, Political Networks and the Changing Shape of Ideological Politics, Timothy J. Rice

Punishment Without A Crime: Marginalizing the Already Marginalized: The School-to-Prison Pipeline and Implicit Racial Bias, Kelly Shaw

Social Media and Sochi: How the Twitter game has affected the 2014 Winter Games, Kate Sullivan

Free Speech in the Modern Era: The Fine Line between Corruption and Constitution for 501(c)(4) Organizations, Adam Sykura

Does Darden's Foreign Direct Investment Benefit Malaysia's Economy?, Nicole Tan

Trade Liberalization: Why the Shift? An Analysis of the Causes of Trade Liberalization in Mexico and South Korea in the 1980s and 1990s, Preston Turner

Gridlock Backed Up on the Beltway: The Impact of Party Polarization on Legislative Productivity, Charles E. Volkwein

Papers from 2012 2012

Show Me The Money: The Super PACked Balance Between Donor Privacy and Electioneering, David Perretta

Papers from 2011 2011

A Key to Privatization: An Analysis of the Political Viability but Economic Impossibility of a Covered Bonds Market in the United States, Kristen Russo

Papers from 1994 1994

A New Vision for the Learning and Teaching Of Mathematics at the Secondary Level: Cooperative Learning with Technology, Carolyn A. Brenia

Papers from 1905 1905

Cold War Sanctions' Effectiveness and its Relation to Present-day Sanctions on the Ukraine Crisis, Richard Armstrong

Avoiding Another Fukushima: A look at the dangers of regulatory capture in the domestic and international regulation of nuclear energy., Brendan Collins

A League of Their Own: How the political and economic realities of student debt are changing the college culture, Brett Gannon

What Accounts for the United States Government's Delayed and Ineffective Response to the West African Ebola Crisis, Matthew Heffner

The Golden Door?: Unaccompanied Alien Children in America's Immigration System, Jacob Medina

Breaking Down the Barriers: Existing Obstacles and Promising Practices that Influence Participation in the Summer Nutrition Programs, Caitlin Murphy

The Evolution of U.S.-China Relations in Science Diplomacy and International Science Cooperation, Lillian Piz

Mass Shootings and the National Rifle Association, Barry Sawtelle Quinn

Justice With Compassion: The Christian Response to Mass Incarceration and U.S. Drug Policy, Ben Schweitzer