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
Creative Close Reading
Choose a work of literature -- a novel, a memoir -- to read with a writer's eye (think: taking the motor apart to see why it works and how) and we'll design a creative project to incorporate and respond to the work.
Literature, Creative Writing
Crafting your art portfolio
Are you an artist, filmmaker or creative writer looking to build an art portfolio or website for your college application? I am happy to work with you to reflect on the work you have made and brainstorm visions for future creations. Together, we can think about the patterns and stories within your art and what inspires you as an artist and person in the world. Through various prompts and exercises, we will explore how you can write about your art and create a carefully-crafted portfolio to share this vision with others.
Arts, Literature, Creative Writing
Creative Re-write
Literature is widely regarded as a mirror for life, reality, and society. What happens when the world mirrored in a text does not include you? Or includes a version of you that you do not identify with (and even take issue with)? Creative re-writes provide a platform for you to challenge and interrogate the assumptions and implications underlying a text. Together we can rewrite or create a scene from a text of choice in order to reflect, discuss, or explore something new.
Literature, Creative Writing, Social Science
Tools of Surveillance
This project takes a deep-dive into the history of surveillance in both the US's criminal justice and immigration systems. From vetting systems used to exclude immigration since the 1800s, to biometric tools like fingerprint and facial recognition scans used at our borders today, the US government has a rich history of using surveillance technology as a means to control its populations. Questions on this topic might ask: What are the effects of surveillance (both perceived and actual) on immigrant populations? What are the possible consequences of the lack of regulation of facial recognition technology (in both the private and public sectors)? When we introduce the concept of algorithmic bias to biometric technology, what implications might this have on vulnerable populations?
Psychology, History, Literature
Research paper (any level)
This project would allow you to do two big things: 1) formulate a research question; develop a claim; summarize, analyze, and synthesize critical, peer-reviewed sources; and write a persuasive, compelling essay in support of your ideas, and 2) throughout this process, discover how you write most effectively: how does the writing process work for you? How do you move from brainstorming, through research and drafting, to final revisions? What tools, strategies, and approaches can you keep in your writing toolkit for your future endeavors?
Literature, Creative Writing
Short Stories
We will work together to develop one or more short stories from an inkling or idea to a complete draft. We'll study and discuss the elements of craft relevant to fiction and read contemporary fiction and short stories in your genre to help you develop your writing.
Engineering, Literature, Math, Creative Writing
Philo and Monotheism
Some have argued that "monotheism" as a category is anachronistic and problematic when used to describe Judaism and Christianity around the first century. Would a Jewish philosopher like Philo agree? Philo both says that Jews should respect the gods of other nations, but also refers to his God as the one God. For this project we would look at Philo in his historical setting, understand his views, and then communicate those in either a paper or through film.
Philosophy, Literature
If the Shoe Fits: An Exploration of Fashion in Fairy Tales
This project could begin with either a themed study of fairy tales and fashion or a variant study. In a themed study, the student would choose a particular thread that runs through several tales of different types, such as "tales that feature a significant cloak or covering for the protagonist and/or others" and then the student would choose several different classic tales and their corresponding contemporary re-imagined versions. If the student wanted to choose a variant study, then the student would begin with a tale by type, such as the "Cinderella" tale type, and then research a selection of classic and contemporary tales that are all similar and considered "Cinderella" type tales, with an eye towards comparing the fashion in each one for similarities and differences. More than simply making a list of the garments and accessories in the tale selection, though, would be an exploration of the WHY in terms of the authors' and/or editors' costume choices. Research questions would consider if there is a reason, historically, for instance, that a type of garment was/is referenced. We might also consider if gender roles play into this subject, or if social customs or social classes played a role. So the focus would be on the way characters are adorned, the objects and accessories that are significant and coveted, but also look into why those choices were made at different times in history and how such things play a part in the telling of tales and the reflection, accurate or distorted, of the "real" world that exists outside the realm of fairy tales.
Literature, Creative Writing
Void
How do we represent nothingness? Is it even possible? Curated art exhibit featuring visual representations of oblivion, nothingness, the formless. Also features clippings from literature and the arts that touch upon the things that exist in this void: ghosts, monsters, dreams, and the ethereal.
Philosophy, Psychology, Literature, Creative Writing
Sustainability Analysis & Carbon Footprints
Whether you want to study a product, your home, or school we can work together to develop a data set to estimate your subject's carbon footprint using industry standard and academic methods. We'll also develop solutions, changes, and recommendations to improve the subject's sustainability and reduce their carbon footprint.
Engineering, Literature, Math, Creative Writing
Personal is Political- Pop Culture and Politics
We could explore the relationship between popular culture and politics, including representations in pop culture and how they intersect with issues of race and gender, for example. This idea comes from the feminist concept that the personal is political! What we consume, or what is presented to us, impacts the way we live our lives. After choosing the particular topic, we will read and discuss the relevant literature then develop a research question, choose the methodology, and conduct research that culminates in a conference paper, academic journal article, podcast, or think piece.
History, Literature, Languages, Social Science
The Impacts of COVID-19 on Adolescents' Mental and Social Health
This research project explores the impacts the pandemic has had on young people's mental health and interpersonal relationships. Shio is a health and sexuality educator in different schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, so they have been able to witness firsthand how students have been shaped by the pandemic and thus will be able to provide guidance on the research project. The student can investigate issues such as alternative avenues through which young people have sought social engagement and relationships (e.g. online platforms, video games, pets), changes in mental health before and during the pandemic, and how the pandemic has affected students’ academic performance and outlook on the future. Depending on what approach, theme, and population the student wants to focus on, they will be able to learn research skills, including survey design, best practices in outreach and recruitment, and facilitation in focus groups with their peers. This research project can lead to a personal essay that a student can consider publishing to magazines, newspapers, and websites; a scientific research paper; a podcast, video, and/or blog; or a letter to the student's school district to advocate for better resources and support for students based on research findings.
History, Literature
Story Collection
One of the greatest challenges of writing is conveying a full story in short form. In this project you will write a collection of five or more pieces - poems, flash fiction, personal essays, etc - that center around a cohesive theme. Throughout the process you’ll break down other authors’ works to better understand their methods, and how to improve upon your own. Lastly, you’ll organize and design your finished pieces into a printable booklet with a polished and professional look and feel!
Arts, Literature
Hollywood vs. History
With this project, students can watch popular movies that are based on historical events and compare the depictions and characterizations against the actual accounts found in primary sources. This allows students to learn how popular legend and the mythologizing of history takes place.
Philosophy, Literature
Podcast: Neurodiversity and Culture
You will develop a podcast centering on the impact of culture on teenagers who are neurodiverse. Culture can be described as family heritage and traditions, community culture, school culture or workplace culture. Topics can range from teenagers who manage having ADHD, ADD, Autism, Epilepsy, etc. This process will teach you how to tap into current studies regarding neurodiversity, communicate publicly about the intersection of culture and learning/living/being with neurodiversity, and to raise awareness about the services and resources associated with neurodiversity. You will gain skills in writing, editing, communication, technology, digital services, and community engagement statregies.
History, Literature, Languages, Public Health
Alternative Canons
The canon of English literature is overwhelmingly male and white. Are you interested in reading literary works written by writers who fall outside of this purview? What would a canon composed only of women and people of color look like? Together we will explore some of the most important texts produced by a set of writers of your choosing. We will come away having read and appreciated a range of texts, having interrogated the idea of canonicity and its relationship to power, and having identified possible areas for future research.
History, Literature, Creative Writing
How Does Stigma Affect Mental Health?
Many marginalized identities face social stigma and discrimination, including people who are LGBTQ, from a minority race or religious group, or have a disability. A review paper can help us understand how these experiences affect the mental health of people with a particular identity, and how mental health providers can better support members of this community.
Social, Literature, Creative Writing
Cooking to Find the American Dream: Food as a Mode of Historical Dialogue
Delve into your family's history through a series of interviews with near and extended relatives. These conversations will inform dishes that will capture the salient milestones and historical moments that define your family's journey to the present day. The project will culminate in a tasting menu for your family that will not only demonstrate the mentee's culinary growth but also galvanize conversation surrounding the interviews and family histories that resulted in the meal.
Biology, Literature, Business
Spanish and How it Got that Way
In 711 C.E. the Arabic-speaking Umayyad dynasty began their conquest of the Iberian peninsula, now present-day Spain and Portugal. During this time, there was over 800 years of Arab cultural and linguistic influence on the region. Today, over 4,000 Spanish words derive their origins from Arabic. Students can explore the influence of Arabic on Spanish through the lens of historical linguistics.
Literature, Languages, Creative Writing, Linguistics, Social Science
Finding Meaning In Game: How Video-Games Use Literature and Philosophy to Create Meaningful Experiences
In this project, a student focuses on a popular video-game and explores how the game's setting, story, characters, and maybe even mechanics are influenced by works in Literature and Philosophy. The student's research would focus on drawing parallels between the game a specific literary/philosophical works and also explores how the presentation of those ideas in the context of the game deviate or align with the original work. A particularly ambitious student might also work on developing a thesis addressing why these texts serve as inspirations for the game or even how the game's use of specific themes and ideas can help illuminate social, political, or economic problems in the present.
Philosophy, Psychology, Arts, Literature
