In addition to the three elective courses in the BISP Special Focus, all students will complete a culminating project of their choosing through the required independent study and research course. The culminating project will be shared with other BISP students via a short talk, poster, shared paper, or other type of presentation.
The following list includes presentation titles from previous BISP students following a BISP Special Focus topic.
Climate Change and the Environment
- The Benefit and Challenges of Cargo Shipping through the Arctic in the Context of Climate Change
- The Change of Air Quality in China Over the Past 20 Years
- Climate Change and Resilience: How City Planning and Climate Change Adaptation Can Improve Resilience to Hazardous Floods?
- Climate Change Impact and Mexico's Sustainable Development (podcast)
- The Degrees of Domestication
- Our Future for Sustainable Roads
- Petroleum Industry and Climate Change in Norway
- Photovoltaic Systems in Cities
- What's Going On With Our Planet: Extreme Climate Events and Imminence
Current and Historical Politics
- Comparative Perspectives on the History of China and the U.S. between 1920-2000
- Decode the INGO Board Election: an Analyzation of World Scout Committee 2014-2021
- Establishing Links Between Constitutional and Democratic Stability
- Healthcare: A Right or a Privilege? Comparing California and Norway's Healthcare Systems
- The Impact of Primary Openness on Local Legislators' Political Promotion: A Case Study of the Taipei-New Taipei Region from 2008 to 2024
- Micro-Politics During Shanghai's Epidemic Lockdown
- Observations on U.S. Strategic Response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative
- Russia’s Annexation of Crimea
- Understanding the Gulags
- Why is Italy Withdrawing from The Belt and Road
Education, Society, and the Student
- A Brief Report of Social-Emotional Intervention Recommendation for Teach for Taiwan (TFT)
- Exploring Language Proficiency and Anxiety Among Mandarin-Speaking Exchange Students at UC Berkeley
- Thoughts and Findings from the Cultural Differences in IUSM
Global Economies and Entrepreneurship
- Celebration of Entrepreneurs
- Changes in China’s Share in U.S. Imports Based on U.S. Tariff Policy
- Comparative Analysis of Barriers in Women Entrepreneurship: Insights from India and Kenya
- Contemporary Perspectives on Inflation
- Cross Waters
- The Development of Bay Area
- Development to Modern Society: Women's Rights
- The East Runs to the West
- The Economics of Drug Trafficking
- Educational Inequality’s Impact on Intergenerational Income Immobility in India
- Entrepreneurial Idolization
- Global Economies and Entrepreneurship
- Google’s Innovation Strategies
- How Does The Meatpacking Supply Chain in the U.S. Look Like
- LGBTQ+-owned Businesses and Their Stories
- A Longitudinal Empirical Examination of Social Media Responses to the #CancelStudentDebt Movement
- Research on Personal Data Portability Right: Digital economic law
- The Rise of the Sharing Economy: take Uber and Obike, for Example
- Social Responsibility Within Food Delivery Services
- Startup Success Factors
- Sustainability and Green Innovation: Sweden’s Role as a Global Leader
- Women in Entrepreneurship
- Women's Entrepreneurship in Mexico and the USA
Health and Society
- Acculturation Among Chinese Exchange Students at UC Berkeley: A Qualitative Research
- A Comparative Study on the Norwegian and American Healthcare Systems
- Cutting-edge Technology and Psychological Disorder
- Developmental Trajectory of Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders in Older Adults
- The Efficacy of EDMR Therapy for Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Literature Review
- Premature Birth in Black Women in the USA
- Vulnerability and Health
Inequalities and Social Justice
- A Comparative Analysis of "Platform Jobs"
- Behind the Accusations: Poverty, Inequality, and Preventive Prison in Mexico
- Beyond Marriage Equality: LGBTQ+ Parenthood and Reproductive Rights in Taiwan
- Critique of the Legitimacy of Men's Minimum Election Quota in A Student Association
- Femicide – Modern Witch Hunts
- The Impact of the Ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) on Poverty Reduction
- Investigating the Role of Education in the Social Marginalization
- Porns Impact on Perceptions of Gender
- Time Perception in Chinese and American Culture
- Towards Inclusive AI: Addressing Bias in Large Language Models through Design, Ethics, and Interdisciplinary Solutions
Language and Culture
- [European Languages] The Historical and Linguistic Evolution of the Old English word "Writ"
- Language & Culture: English Language
- [The Americas] Acknowledging Endangered Languages: with a Special Focus on Koryo Mar
Media, Communication, and Storytelling
- "Addiction" (film)
- The Crusoe of Chinese Cultural Relics
- Echoes of Discord: Unpacking Social Conflicts and Modern Relevance in ‘La Haine’ (podcast)
- Genshin Impact: Building Multicultural World and Promoting Chinese Culture
- Hallyu's Future: Learning from "Cool Japan" in the US Market
- I’m Gonna Die Alone (and I Feel Fine)
- Standing Up: Alternative Ways to Live Life: Rhetorical Study of Jen Kirkman’s Stand-up Special
- Storytelling through Art Curation