2,893 Inspirational Passion Project Ideas
Turn inspirations into your passion project.
This collection of project ideas, shared by Polygence mentors, is meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.
- AI/ML
- Animation
- Arts
- Biology
- Biotech
- Business
- Cancer
- Chemistry
- Cognitive
- Computer Science
- Creative Writing
- Dance
- Dentistry
- Economics
- Engineering
- Entomology
- Environmental Science
- Ethics
- Fashion
- Finance
- Game Design
- Healthcare
- History
- Illustration
- Languages
- Linguistics
- Literature
- Math
- Medicine
- Music
- Neuroscience
- Nutrition
- Organizational Leadership
- Philanthropy
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Physics
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Quantitative
- Social
- Social Science
- Sports Analytics
- Statistics
- Surgery
How Does Resilience Relate to Mental Health?
Resilience is your ability to cope with life challenges and engage support networks. In other words, our levels of resilience determine how much we're able to adapt and "bounce back" from threatening and challenging circumstances. How does this relate to mental health? Is it possible that resiliency can help offset, protect or prevent mental health conditions? Let's see!
Dance, Psychology
Are Economic Sanctions Still Effective?
Economic sanctions have been used since the First World War as a deterrent to physical force to secure peace. This project will look into past conflicts and more current conflicts to assess the effectiveness of economic sanctions.
Dance, Psychology, Economics, Social Science
The effects of Motivational Interviewing (MI) on decreasing addicted behaviors (alcohol, smoking, social media, gaming)
To increase treatment seeking and treatment alliance for people with addicted behaviors, Motivational Interviewing appears as a promising technique to increase motivation and reduce ambiguity for patients.
Dance, Social, Psychology
Bodies in Motion: Performance Reviews
How do we read bodies in today's society? How do we code gestures and cypher meaning in our physical interactions? These questions can be applied to the spectacular nature of the stage, or the quotidian spaces of the everyday. With guidance, students will select a variety of performances to critically review and analyze, paired with a sampling of key texts in the field of performance studies and critical dance studies. This project is perfect for the performance artist ready to engage in the theory that underpins their movement, or the creative writer ready to explore a form outside of the literary.
Dance
Solo Performance/Acting Monologues
Creating a solo piece of video, theatre or performance art based on a conceptual idea that explores a personal, social or political subject. The process of the project can be based in writing or on research into any type of source material. This type of project could be helpful to anyone wanting to audition, build an artistic portfolio or applying for grants and scholarships or fellowship in film, theatre, performance or new media arts.
Dance, Photography, Creative Writing
Research into Performance Techniques
Help in writing a research paper and analysis on techniques and traditions used in acting, dance, performance, and film/video. The paper can be conceptual and/or theoretical, with possible case studies as examples.
Dance, Photography, Creative Writing
Arts and Justice
What is the relationship between arts and justice? How do they co-inform each other? While "law and literature" is an increasingly popular field, the intersection of the arts and legal reform goes beyond the scripted to the realm of the visual and performative. This project encourages the student to dive deep into a contemporary issue of justice--such as carcerality and feminism; race and policing; and “crimmigration”--among others, in order to understand how artists continue to inform the narrative and shape the future of a more just society.
Dance
Literary Magazine Concept Design
In this project, you will design the idea for a new literary magazine. First, you will learn about the variety of literary magazines that exist today, what their creative and practical models are, what their aesthetic is, and how they are run and funded. Then you will apply this knowledge to creating a custom idea for your own literary magazine that you might one day be the founder of, just as I was! If you are passionate about great writing and literary publishing, you can also be part of it and create platforms for the great writers to come.
Dance, Creative Writing
The Effects of Music on Emotions
A research study on how different genres of music can affect emotions in a certain group of people (ex. careers, age, etc.)
Music, Dance, Arts
Oral Microbiology
In this project, the student studies the over 700 types of microscopic species - both beneficial and detrimental - that inhabit our oral cavities. The student will write an extensive research paper discovering what remains to be done to couple microbiology with treatment mechanisms.
Dance, Ethics
Beginning Martial Arts
Always wanted to learn martial arts but can't find a good teacher nearby? I've been practicing and teaching Chinese martial arts for quite some time, and I'm more than happy to help you learn a form! I have experience teaching at all levels of experience, including complete beginners with no experience in any sport, so the only thing you need to come in with is a good attitude.
Dance, Physics
Audition Solo
The student will choreograph a solo for themselves to use at auditions, focusing on analyzing their strengths and expressing what dance means to them. I will help guide them through this process providing feedback on their choreography and challenging them to explore movement in new ways including elements of space, time, and shape.
Biology, Dance
Review Paper on the Neurobiology of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
This project would aim to succinctly review current models used to study the neurobiological mechanisms of PTSD. Students could further add in their personal interest in the project by looking at this in light of: gender differences, human versus animal models, or basic research to clinical treatments.
Biology, Neuroscience, Dance, Psychology
Exploring the Link Between Ethnicity and Poor health
African Americans, in particular, bear a disproportionate burden of poor health outcomes in many parts of the world in terms of health status, care quality and treatment results. For instance, fibroid tumors and obesity are both more common and severe among African American women, and each can convey a significant disease burden by affecting many aspects of women's healthcare and reproductive health. This project will examine factors leading to healthcare disparities, highlight prevalent public health problems, compare and contrast health outcomes in different communities, and finally discuss ways to solve this health disparities issue.
Dance, Psychology
Just keep Moving
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death globally. Although there are many risk factors for cardiovascular disease the majority of them are modifiable. In this project you would explore the effect of exercise programs in reducing cardiovascular disease risk and prolonging life. Using current research you would focus on creating an optimal exercise program and presenting it in your form of choice.
Biology, Dance
Biothics in the COVID-19 Era
The student will use traditional ethics principles to examine recent bioethical issues in the time of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The student will write a research paper outlining new ethical dilemmas in this unprecedented situation.
Dance, Ethics
Writing an Anthology of Ekphrastic Poems
Some of the greatest poems in history, including poems by John Keats and W.H. Auden, were written about works of art. They are called "ekphrastic poems." Would you like to write your own collection of ekphrastic poems, inspired by innovative paintings from art history and contemporary art? In this project, you will learn both about how to analyze art and how to write impactful and polished poems.
Dance, Creative Writing
Documentary Film or Performance
Equipping and providing creative tools to that could guide a documentary process of filmmaking or performance making. The way one approaches a documentary project always influences and determines what is being documented, so understanding what type of approach work best in certain situations, while maintaining ethics, is key to a successful documentary project.
Dance, Photography, Creative Writing
Social Determinants of Oral Health
There are so many ways our oral health affects our lives, and vice versa. This project is a marriage of sociology and dentistry, and studies the way our oral health both impacts and is impacted by our social surroundings. In this project, the student will create a presentation of their studies to educate different groups on the importance of oral health, and the fallacies of our current healthcare system.
Dance, Ethics
History of Hip Hop Dance
This project will be a combination of studying the history of different hip hop dance styles and active hip hop dance instruction. The student will use dance as a vector for learning more about cultural expression. After delving into the meaning behind different hip hop practices, the student will create a dance routine that combines many styles, and in turn celebrates many cultures.
Dance, Ethics