The Agricultural Impacts Research Group applies advanced earth observation technology and geospatial analytics to study the causes and consequences of agricultural change. Principal investigator: Lyndon Estes, Geography
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Capstone
Here’s where you turn action and energy into knowledge.
Your Capstone will draw on the skills and experiences you’ve gained during your first three years at Clark.
You will complete a Capstone in your major independently or as part of a group. This endeavor will involve advanced work that addresses a significant issue, problem, or theme in your field — or in the world.
Capstone projects encompass a spectacular range of topics and opportunities— it may take the form of an honors thesis, creative work, or project. In consultation with a faculty adviser, you will define and carry forward the project on your own initiative.
Simon Bissitt ’26 works with Ph.D. candidate Sohum Kapadia in Professor Arshad Kudrolli’s physics lab on an NSF-funded research project, for the development of soft robots that could one day revolutionize the ways that emerging technologies influence biomedical science. Students in STEM fields may pursue independent research or contribute to faculty-led grand-funded projects.
During a study abroad experience in Thailand, Molly Gurney became interested in how some local villagers — notably the women — remained united during their pushback against a mining company whose activities were threatening their livelihoods. Gurney extended her time abroad to conduct research for her senior honors thesis. 
Will Smith ’25, M.S. ’26 spent the summer in Concord, N.H. studying the effects of lupine flowers on the egg-laying behavior and overall performance of the frosted elfin butterfly, an endangered species. Students interested in conservation may choose an environmental science research project for their Capstone.
Ilse McCormick ’23, M.A. ’24, a self-designed major in human sexuality, examined Clark’s and Worcester’s historical connection to the pill, the role of eugenics in the pill’s creation, and population-control rhetoric that circulated during clinical trials in Puerto Rico. Student interested in human health may choose to pursue research or community-based internships.
Students who major in the visual and performing arts may choose to compose and perform and original piece of music, write and direct a play, create works of art, curate an exhibition, or produce a short film or documentary.
The Interactive Media curriculum is centered around a Game Studio course that provides a unique hands-on development environment. Students gain experience working as part of a game studio team with various departments, leads, development infrastructure, and real-world demands. Game Studio culminates with a formal interactive title and serves as their Capstone.
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Departmental Honors Programs
Art History
Students wishing to take honors in art history should identify an area of interest, choose an appropriate advisor, and apply for eligibility to the art history faculty before April 1 of their junior year.
Asian Studies
The Honors Program in Asian Studies provides advanced undergraduate students with an opportunity to engage in focused and in-depth research on an issue of deep scholarly interest.
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
A student who has a minimum 3.40 GPA is eligible to undertake an honors research project in addition to their normal course load.
Biology
Qualified, upper-division students majoring in biology may choose to carry out independent research in the honors program, under the direction of a faculty member in the department.
Chemistry
Students who want to enter this program must apply in writing to the department chair prior to the beginning of their senior year.
Combined Languages
In the capstone semester, faculty will identify qualified seniors and invite them to submit a proposal for a honors thesis. This honors program is for language, literature and culture majors only.
Community, Youth, and Education Studies
Upon satisfactory completion of CYES 294 and the program, the CYES Program Praxis Committee may recommend graduation with departmental honors.
Comparative Literature
Faculty will invite qualified senior majors to submit a proposal for a semester-long honors thesis during the spring of their senior year.
Computer Science
Students interested in pursuing the honors program should consult their department adviser and reach out to their intended Honors advisor during their junior year.
Economics
Economics majors with outstanding academic records may apply to pursue departmental honors.
English
Faculty identify qualified junior majors and invite them to work on a yearlong honors thesis during their senior year.
Environmental Science
Students apply in writing before the beginning of their senior year to the Director of the Environmental Science program for admission into the honors program.
French & Francophone Studies
In the capstone semester, faculty will identify qualified seniors and invite them to submit a proposal for a honors thesis. This honors program is for language, literature and culture majors only.
Geography
To graduate with honors, a student must complete a two-semester honors project conducted under the supervision of two faculty members.
Global Environmental Studies
To graduate with honors, a student must complete a two-semester honors project conducted under the supervision of two faculty members.
History
Students interested in honors should consult with their adviser during the fall semester of their junior year.
International Development & Social Change
Majors who have maintained the required grade point average are eligible to apply for an honors thesis.
Mathematics
A student’s application in writing must be directed to a prospective honors advisor or the department chair by the end of the student’s junior year.
Media, Culture, and the Arts
Students who meet the requirement may, with the program’s approval, elect to complete a one- or two-unit senior honors thesis.
Music
The intention to pursue an honors degree must be declared before the start of the junior year and requires approval of the music program director.
Philosophy
Students majoring in philosophy may apply to complete an honors thesis under the direction of a department faculty member.
Physics
Candidates will conduct a research project under faculty member guidance during the junior and/or senior years culminating in a thesis.
Political Science
Political Science majors with outstanding academic records may apply to the departmental honors program in spring of their junior year.
Psychology
The Psychology Honors Program is a two-semester sequence whose focus is to guide honors students through the design and execution of an independent honors research project under the guidance of one or more faculty mentors.
Screen Studies
Students who meet the requirement may, with the program’s approval, elect to complete a one- or two-unit senior honors thesis.
Sociology
The senior thesis gives the exceptional student an opportunity to pursue an intensive course of independent study under the direction of a department faculty member.
Spanish
In the capstone semester, faculty will identify qualified seniors and invite them to submit a proposal for a honors thesis. This honors program is for language, literature and culture majors only.
Studio Art
Students with a strong commitment to intensive study and departmental approval can elect to undertake a senior thesis project, which culminates in an exhibition of work in the Schiltkamp Gallery.
Theatre Arts
Students with distinguished academic records who wish to take honors in theater arts should consult the program director early in their junior year to identify a project of interest and choose an honors adviser.
Women’s and Gender Studies
Women’s and Gender Studies majors with outstanding academic records may apply to the departmental honors program in spring of their junior year.
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4+1 Accelerated Master’s Degree
Degrees
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Academics
Academics
Discover your purpose
At Clark, you’ll find an uncommon community of peers and mentors who get to know you, challenge you to grow as a thinker, and consider the world from new perspectives. You’ll feel inspired to imagine a better world — and empowered to create it.
Undergraduate education
Whether you’re interested in documenting heat islands in Worcester, designing characters in a video game, learning a new language, or transforming your business idea into a reality, you’ll find opportunities to engage with real-world challenges.
Undergraduate EducationThe Clark Experience
The Clark Experience brings together the exceptional education you’ll receive in the classroom and so much more. Through focus and flexibility, it ensures you’ll leave Clark with the creativity, confidence, and resilience to succeed and lead a life of meaning and consequence.
Problems of Practice
Problems of Practice (PoP) courses are internship-like experiences that offer the chance to make a difference as you learn.
You’ll join faculty-led teams working in partnership with local and global communities to investigate complex, real-world questions and challenges.
HallMark of a Clark Education4+1 Accelerated Master’s
An advanced degree within reach
The 4+1 Accelerated Master’s provides an opportunity to earn a pathway to a master’s degree — with one year of additional study and available tuition scholarships.
Hands on learning
Graduate Education
Students from around the world choose Clark University for our globally ranked and recognized graduate programs that deliver knowledge, skills, and experience for successful careers.
GRADUaTE Education
Faculty
Clark faculty members are scholar-teachers who bring students along in their groundbreaking research.
Eduard Arriaga-Arango, who helped launch the Digital Humanities Research Collaborative, works with interdisciplinary teams to apply technology to the study of textual analysis, data mining, and visualization.
While at Clark, Dilasha Shrestha ’22 served as president of the Clark Center for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (TIE). Today, she’s a Product Manager at LinkedIn.
Be a force for change.
Come study at a small research university with a strong liberal arts core.
- Undergraduate
- Graduate
Still curious? Request more information.
