Dissertations completed by doctoral students at the University of Northern Colorado. Older dissertations can be found using the library catalog.
Dissertations from 2026
Reconsidering the Undergraduate Viola Canon: A Skill Based Framework for Repertoire Expansion, Daniella Isabel Angulo Martinez
The paradox of twice-exceptional teacher experience: A narrative and visual inquiry, Michael Danielle Bell
Feedback without Content Expertise: Exploring Teacher Perception of Effective Feedback in Teacher Evaluations with Content Mismatch, Anna Keathley Bergeron
Protecting the public: The impact of continued competence regulations on nursing disciplinary rates, Laura Katherine Blackhurst
Reframing Health: A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Lived Experiences of Weight- Inclusive Healthcare Providers, Hannah Brass
Between the lines and behind the lessons: An educational criticism of bridging anti-bias possibilities in Colorado’s K-2 standards and classrooms, Grace Marguerite Breiten
Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialists’ Experiences Working with Students who have Cerebral Visual Impairment, Elise Nobuko Darrow
Practices and Strategies Used in Classrooms for Children Who are Deaf with Autism, Jennifer Anne Hills
The Relationship of Analysis and Performance in Henri Tomasi’s Concerto pour Trombone et Orchestre, Craig Owen Hull
The Use and Efficacy of Non-Verbal Gestures In Applied Studio Voice Instruction And Vocal Coaching, Mark Eugene Lubas
First-Year Seminar’s Influence on Thriving in First-Year Students, Chelsea Miller
Nomophobia in early adolescence: An exploration of prevalence, academic performance, and school policy in United States middle school students, Christopher Otero
Police, Punishment, and Mental Health: Examining the Effects of School-Based Services on Disciplinary Inequities, Jessica Peña
Experiences of care from the perspective of students with disabilities: A multi-case study, Neve Grosse Siegfreid
A Phenomenological Examination of Value Recognition and Development in Mental Health Counselors-in-Training, Luke Erskine Steinman
Vinicio Meza and the Bassoon: A Study of the Costa Rican Composer’s Chamber Music and Episodios for Bassoon and Orchestra, Bryan Valderrama Vega
Transforming the Tail: Evaluating Top-Coding And Distributional Adjustments In Skewed Healthcare Expenditure Models, Kimberly T. Wiggins
Wrestling With Morality: A Study On Moral Identity and Social Behavior In Individual Sports, Julia Isabella Ybarra
Dissertations from 2025
Temporal Dynamics in Spatial Random Field Theory: A Methodological Advance in fMRI Data Analysis, Theophilus Barnabas Kobina Acquah
Teachers’ Perceptions on Success and Effectiveness of Required Professional Development In a Midwest Middle School, Genevieve Kate Adams
Does Universal Screening Increase the Proportion of Culturally, Linguistically, and Economically Diverse Students in Gifted Education?, Leona Alexander
Response Rates and Response Quality of Online Course Survey for Deaf College Students: A Mixed-Method Study, Abdulaziz Abdullah M. Alqahtani
Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into an Undergraduate Sport and Exercise Science Program: A Holistic Case Study Utilizing Social Justice Education, Genevieve R. Altomare
College Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Phenomenological Study of Inclusive Post-Secondary Education Experiences, Laura K. Anderson
Lived Experiences of Reintegration for Afghanistan Veterans Who Were Army Combat Medics, Matthew Argento
El Salvador’s Cultural Memory and María de Baratta’s Piano Music: Kushkatan, Nahualismo, and the Representation of Indigeneity, Alejandro Jose Arroyo Alberto
Emotion Beliefs, Emotion Regulation, and Dyadic Coping in Couples, Emily Corrinne Bach
Internalized Heterosexism through Intersectionality: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Devon Alexandra Monica Bortfeld
The Big Five, Impulsivity, and Problem Gambling in Online Sports Betting, Jeffrey Vincent Bowling
“They’ll Be Needing Us”: A Mixed Methods Study of the Lived Experience of Secondary English Teachers, Sarah Hahn Campbell
Unschoolers in Higher Education: A Narrative Case Study of Unschoolers’ Sense of Belonging at University, Melissa Marie Carlson
Learning The Musical Elements from an Early Age Through the Use of Traditional Folk and Popular Tunes in The Mother Tongue and A Compendium of Music Resources in Spanish for General Music Classes, Román Orlando Carranza Zapata
Production Pressure and Normalization of Deviance: An Examination of Their Prevalence Among Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in Their Primary Clinical Practice Setting, Jeremy Stephen Carter
Do Need for Cognition and Need for Affect Moderate the Relationship Between Lecture Style, Learning Strategies, and Retention?, Mary Chapman
Through Their Eyes: A Photovoice Study of Mental Health and Well-Being Among Rural-Dwelling Latina Adolescents, Ashley Marie Coburn
Effects of Exercise Timing on Circadian Rhythm and Functional Outcomes in Cancer Patients Undergoing Treatment, Buck Williams Covington II
Preschool-to-Kindergarten Transition for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kristin Claire Duncan
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Expansive, and Queer+ Client Experiences Discussing Consensual Nonmonogamy In Therapy: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, Evan Wendell Engle-Newman
Assessing K-Nearest Neighbors Imputation Methods for Missing Data: A Simulation Study, Ernest Essel-Kaitoo
A Formative Evaluation of a Combined Reading and Emotional-Behavioral Intervention, Katlyn Fowler Frey
Reversing the Panopticon: Perspectives of Previously Incarcerated Adults in Community College, Megan Friesen
The Effects of Retrieval Practice on Knowledge Acquisition and Durable Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Students, Jessica Everritt Gay
Teaching Strategies Clinical Educators Use to Develop Undergraduate Students’ Clinical Reasoning Skills, Lisa González
Narrative Economics of Sports Gambling Legalization: A Case Study of the United States, Tyler John Hajek
Undergraduate Faculty Experiences with Test Remediation, Shauna L. Haynes
New Graduate Nurse Retention: The Effect of Financial Literacy on New Graduate Nurse Intent to Stay, Jenna Elizabeth Hluwood
A Transcriptomic Approach to Identify Pea Aphid Effector Proteins During Interactions with Medicago and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Lani Marie Irvin
The Coping of Special Education Directors in the Western United States, Emily Mrazek Jones
Academic Self-Efficacy in Nurse Anesthesia Residents, Nathan Seth Jones
Students’ Ability to Transfer Organic Chemistry Concepts to Metabolic Reactions, Timothy Jones
Franz Schubert’s Composition Process Seen Through His Autograph Manuscripts, with a Focus on the “Arpeggione” Sonata, Ahmad Kandari
The Psychological Impacts of Higher Education Educators During The COVID-19 Pandemic, Ashlee Morgan Kemp
A tale of Bohemians: A Comparative Analysis of Leoncavallo’s and Puccini’s Treatments of La Bohème, Mihye Kim
Examining the Effects of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation on Gut Immune Responses, Aspen Elizabeth King
The Interpretation and Historical Performance Practices of Black Choral Music: The Spiritual and Gospel Music, A Comparative Study, Travis Terrence Kornegay
A Lineage of Contemporary Jazz Violin, Tsu Hao Kuo
New Nursing Faculty Perspectives on and Experiences with Group Mentoring, Kathryn Donna Kuskie
The Effects of Nursing Faculty Approachability on Student Engagement in the Clinical Setting, Kristin Lambert
Revealing the Impacts of Teachers’ Lived Experiences with Burnout: An Educational Criticism Study, Joanna Laurx
Exploring Moral Distress in Hospital-Based Nurse Case Managers: A Qualitative Descriptive Study, Mary Margaret Leas
Meet Them Where They Are: Itinerant Early Childhood Special Education Services in Community-Based Settings, Ashley Lindstrom
Implementation of Holistic Admissions Review in Associate Degree Nursing Programs: An Interpretive Description, Alisha Loken
Exploring the Integration of Social and Emotional Learning in Chinese High School Music Courses, Yao Lu
Cognitive and Affective Factors Related to Geoscience Academic and Career Choice, Amanda Diane Manzanares
Supporting Cultural Capital In Undergraduate Biology: Instructor Roles and Practices, Lydia Nicole Mayo
LGBTQ+ Adolescents With Disabilities’ Experiences of School Connectedness and Identity Navigation, Lyndsay Loretta McCabe
Exploring the Utility of a Behavior Assistant Position in One School District, Carolyn Christine Mitchell
The Role of a Web-Based Collaborative Cloud Application as a Tool for Spanish Acquisition: College Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions in Language Courses, Gloria Mercedes Monzon
Development and Validity Analysis of the Pragmatic Assessment of Role Transition and Onboarding for Midwives (Parto-M) Instrument: An Exploratory Study, Erin Mary Morelli
Hispanic/Latinx Faculty Members’ Experiences within Academia, Sarah Muñoz
A New Approach: Supporting Traditional Jazz Pedagogy Through Neuroscience, Christopher John Navarrete
Teacher Motivation to Implement Evidence-Based Interventions with Fidelity: Development and Testing of a New Psychometric Instrument, Jaden Miles Nyberg
A Qualitative Examination of Sport Management Faculty Challenges Faced During Implementation of Game-Based Learning Within the Classroom, Yash Kishore Padhye
Meaning in Occupational Therapy Practice: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring Perceived Meaning and Burnout In Occupational Therapists, Rebecca Lauren Reinhardt
Exploration of Disorienting Dilemmas New Registered Nurses Experience in Clinical Situations, Heidi Ritchie
Can You Breathe Your Way to Better Health?, Edwin Richard Rodriguez
The Paraprofessional-to-Teacher Experience: Moving From the Margins to Front and Center, Joanna Kerster Ross
Rural Secondary Principals’ Perceptions of Their Role in Transition Planning for Students with Disabilities, Christina Natascha Ruffatti
A Moderation Analysis of the Relationships Between Burnout, Internalizing Symptoms, and Self-Care, Alexandra McCorkle Ryan
Stayin’ Alive: Examining the Moderating Effect of Suicide Resilience on the Relationship Between Sexual Minority Stress and Subjective Well-Being, Natalie A. Sachs
Nurturing Students: A Qualitative Case Study Analyzing the Perceived Impact of Tiered Mental Health Support for Elementary Students, Mallori Victoria Sage
Culturally Responsive Functional Communication Training for Asian Families: A Single-Subject Design Study, Guofeng Shen
Emerging Adulthood, Identity Conflict, and Self-Compassion’s Impact on Mental Health Interference of Collegiate Student-Athletes, Courtney Amber Shields