

Senior Capstone Experience
Washington College’s Senior Capstone Experience (SCE) represents the culmination of previous academic work and intellectual thought and as such requires demonstrated student initiative, significant preparatory work, active inquiry, and creative integration of acquired knowledge and skills.
SCE Guidelines
Washington College’s Senior Capstone Experience (SCE) represents the culmination of previous academic work and intellectual thought. As such, it requires initiative, significant preparatory work, and active inquiry. The CMS SCE requires students to integrate the knowledge and skills acquired through the major in their original project, demonstrating mastery of a body of knowledge. Students will engage in a long-term, substantive project that combines research, writing, and presentation of original ideas.
Upon successful completion of their SCE, students will receive a grade of Pass, Fail, or Honors. Passing and Honors SCE projects earn four academic credits that count toward the total number of credits needed to graduate from the College. To graduate as a CMS major, students must pass their SCE.
SCE Honors
CMS students with a major GPA of 3.5 can attempt an Honors capstone. Students who complete an Honor’s capstone and maintain a 3.5 GPA through the end of the senior year earn Departmental Honors, conferred at graduation.
Completed Senior Capstone Projects
Michael Cebzanov | Business and Organizational Communication | COVID 19: A Restaurant's Great Depression
Ross Douglas | Arts and Production | Making an Indie Boy: The Indie Music Genre and Fan Culture
Erin Jesionowski | Film Studies | It's Not All Just Looking in the Camera: The Mockumentary
Maddie Jones | Identity and Culture | Honors | Don’t Let Them Lie to You: An Examination of Fake News Belief and its Impact on American Democracy
Olivia Montes | Identity and Culture | Media Coverage of The Congressional Squad: Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Mikie Sherrill, Abigail Spanberger, and Rashida Tlaib
Isaiah Reese | Arts and Production | The War on Black Thought: How We Can Use Film to Combat Cultural Dissonance
Holly Ruvo | Film Studies | There is No 'I' in Documentary and original documentary, Comeback
Laura Cochrane | Arts and Production | A Four Day Party of Music and Fashion: How the Relationship of Music Festivals and Audience Carved Their Own Culture in the United States
Mark Cooley | Arts and Production | "What's Your Island Code?": A Look Into the Motivations to Buy and Play Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Evan Gaines | Arts and Production | Honors | Death by Cassette: Freedom, Control and the Death Metal Underground
Colin Levi | Identity and Culture | Honors |¿Hablas Tecnología?: The Impact of Networked Education Technology on English Language Learners*CMS Capstone Experience Award Winner
Natalie Mansfield | Film Studies | The Representation of Mental Illness in Children's Television
Cody Miller | Arts and Production | Pay to Win, But at What Cost?
Gemma Mochi | Business and Organizational Communication | Stereotypes and Recruitment Within Division 3 NCAA Athletics
Bella Procopio | Arts and Production | Grrrls to the Front: Riot Grrrl in Postfeminism and Defining the Line Between Sexual Reclamation and Objectification
Trish Rana | Business and Organizational Communication | Beauty in the Philippines: An Analysis on the Skin Whitening Industry, Its Marketing Strategies and Effect on the Country's Perception of Whitness in the Postcolonial Era
Jacklyn Russo | Arts and Production | Honors | "But Tell us Howwww": An Investigation Into the Relationship Between False Expert Status and Negative Body Image
Julia Sparco | Business and Organizational Communication | A Look Into the Culture of the NFL and their Marketing of Colin Kaepernick and Kneeling Protests Within the League
Tamia Williams | Identity and Culture | A Broken Narrative: How the Rise Fairy Tale Aids Oppression and Symbolic Annihilation
Katie Bedard | Film Studies | Cheating on Adaption Studies: Walking Out on Questions of Fidelity
Caitlyn Creasy | Business and Organizational Communication | Honors | Still Divided? Impacts of The Digital Divide on Students in the United States & Business Plan for All - Access, Literacy, & Learning
Mitchell Evans | Arts and Production | Everything Is Terrible and We’re All Going To Die: Stimulating Environmental Advocacy Online
Jenna Follin | Business and Organizational Communication | Honors | Dream or Scheme: The Operations, Internal Communications and Appeal of the American Dream in Multi-Level Marketing Companies
Louie Galdos | Arts and Production | Ok Boomer! The Cultural Legacy of Woodstock
Will Hewitt | Business and Organizational Communication | Honors | The Who, What, Wear of Fast Fashion
Jilly Horaneck | Arts and Production | Honors | The Time Is Now: How Legislative Strategies Were Used by The National Organization For Women During Second Wave Feminism
Emily Kreider |Identity and Culture | Honors | We’re Here and We’re Queer: An Ethnographic Study of the LGBTQ Community at Washington College *CMS Capstone Experience Award Winner
Ben Lammers | Identity and Culture | Honors | TRUTH OR D.A.R.E.: Critically Assessing the Impact of War on Drugs Propaganda *CMS Capstone Experience Award Winner
Sophie Polovoy | Business and Organizational Communication | Here’s the Tea on #Sponcon, Sis: The Media Effects Associated with Influencer Marketing
Cass Quattro | Business and Organizational Communication | The Gendered Sporting Body: Marketing and Endorsement Campaigns of Elite Women In Sport
Hannah Sauer |Film Studies | Honors | Talk Plurality to Me: A Feminist Film Analysis of The Strong Female Lead In Synchronized Sound and Contemporary Warner Bros. Action Films
Casey Wolhar | Arts and Production | Honors | Guerrilla Warfare: Representing the Other in Contemporary Art Museums
Rachel Frebert | Arts and Production concentration | Honors | The Meaning of Art is Lost: A Paint By Number
Brian Graham | Business and Organizational Communication concentration | Newspaper, Radio, and Television Advertising’s Impact on Major League Baseball
Jake Sandler | Film Studies concentration | The White Savior Narrative in Contemporary Sports Films
Gillian White | Arts and Production concentration | The Perceptions of International University Students on U.S. Film and Television