Senior year has arrived and it’s officially time for you to begin your senior project! However, choosing the right project can be a daunting task—especially when there are countless senior projects out there. To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of 70 potential senior project ideas. Look through each idea and see which one resonates with you!
What Is a Senior Project?
A senior project is a long-term project that high school seniors work on outside of their traditional classes. It can be done on almost anything, from an illustrated comic collection to organizing a trash pickup to designing a new app. While they can be in many forms and versions, most senior projects are either presentation projects, creative writing projects, professional career projects, or service-related projects.
Choosing a Senior Project
The key to choosing a senior project? Picking one that means something to you! It will make the months of working on the project worth it. Consider asking yourself these questions when making your choice:
- What field or career am I interested in pursuing?
- What issues do I care about in the world? The environment? Mental health? Education?
- What am I passionate about? How can I incorporate my passion into my project?
- What hobbies or activities bring me joy in my free time? Volunteering? Hiking? Cooking?
- Is there anything I’ve been wanting to try? Coding? Writing? Photography?
70 Senior Project Ideas
Here are some unique and creative senior project ideas you can choose from. If you don’t see an idea that excites you, don’t stress—use this for inspiration and choose whatever you’re passionate about. Whatever you choose, make sure to get it approved by your school!
- Develop an app to help your classmates stay on top of assignments and manage their time more easily.
- Team up with a journalist or photographer to learn the ropes of journalism and storytelling.
- Write a research paper on a new technology or scientific breakthrough you find interesting.
- Tutor younger students in a subject you’re good at and passionate about.
- Volunteer at an animal shelter or vet clinic to help care for pets in need.
- Start a mental health awareness campaign to provide support and resources for teens at school.
- Create a small business or nonprofit to address a need in your community.
- Write and publish a biography of someone who inspires you.
- Design and build a robot or machine with a practical function, like helping with chores or organizing items.
- Create a piece of art—whether it’s a painting, sculpture, or song—that expresses your creativity.
- Start a blog or website about a hobby or topic you love, and share your thoughts with the world.
- Host a workshop to teach friends or younger children a skill, like coding or cooking.
- Teach a class or lead a group activity on a subject you know a lot about, like photography or history.
- Do an internship in a field you want to explore.
- Start an art therapy group for children, helping them express their feelings through drawing, painting, or crafting.
- Organize a local clean-up event to make your neighborhood or park look great.
- Research and present on a historical figure or event.
- Set up a debate club to discuss current events and social issues with friends.
- Build your photography portfolio by focusing on a topic you love, like nature or portraits.
- Shadow paramedics or doctors to learn about emergency care and what goes on behind the scenes.
- Volunteer with a charity to help underserved families or individuals in your community.
- Plan a STEM event for younger students.
- Help out at a local museum by assisting with exhibits, events, or educational programs.
- Put together fun science experiment kits for elementary school children to spark their interest in STEM.
- Host a summer coding camp to teach children the basics of programming in a fun, hands-on way.
- Create a short documentary.
- Write and direct a play for your school, getting classmates involved in acting, costumes, and set design.
- Build a go-kart from scratch and race it to show off your engineering skills.
- Shadow a real estate agent to learn about buying, selling, and the housing market.
- Organize a mock trial to give students a taste of how the legal system works.
- Create a new product or service.
- Teach a foreign language to seniors at a community center, helping them learn something new.
- Come up with a solution to a public health issue, like making hand sanitizing stations for public spaces.
- Teach English to non-native students.
- Build a free neighborhood library box to encourage book sharing in your community.
- Advocate for a policy change at your school, like healthier lunch options or mental health support.
- Get a group together to tutor younger students.
- Write and illustrate a children’s book, bringing your story to life with creativity.
- Start a community garden, teaching neighbors how to grow their own food and be more eco-friendly.
- Work in a research lab to help professors and scientists study important issues.
- Volunteer in a restaurant or kitchen to work on your cooking skills and serve the community.
- Partner with your school’s cafeteria to reduce food waste and donate leftovers to shelters.
- Propose new bike trails in your neighborhood, promoting a greener, healthier way to get around.
- Advocate for a dog park in your area to make life more fun for both pets and owners.
- Coach a children’s sports team, teaching teamwork and skills while having fun.
- Set up a volunteer service to help seniors with grocery shopping, errands, or medications.
- Volunteer at a soup kitchen, serving meals and connecting with people in need.
- Offer rides to seniors who need help getting to appointments or other important activities.
- Organize a toy drive to brighten up children’s holidays by collecting and distributing toys.
- Build and program a drone.
- Create a music therapy program for nursing home residents.
- Design and showcase your own fashion collection.
- Team up with a conservation group to raise awareness about protecting local wildlife.
- Launch a social media campaign to spread awareness about an important social issue.
- Write a cookbook full of original recipes, focusing on a niche diet or cuisine you love.
- Lead a project to paint a mural that reflects your community’s history, culture, or diversity.
- Conduct an environmental study on something like pollution or wildlife, then present your findings.
- Document a local historical figure or event with a video or written piece, sharing it with the community.
- Create a virtual reality tour of your high school that helps new students feel more comfortable.
- Start a website that offers free tutoring resources.
- Curate an online art portfolio to showcase your talents.
- Research and document your family’s history, creating a family tree or story archive.
- Start a TikTok account to share your senior year adventures and tips for future seniors.
- Launch a podcast where you interview local business owners and entrepreneurs.
- Offer tech support for seniors, helping them learn how to use smartphones, tablets, and more.
- Create a collection of upcycled clothing, designing and showing off your sustainable fashion pieces.
- Find a way to connect high school students with professionals.
- Design an interactive exhibit for younger children at a museum or school.
- Produce a short autobiographical film about an event or moment that shaped you.
- Develop an AI project.
Will it Look Good On My College Application?
Yes! Completing a senior project can help boost your college application for a number of reasons:
- It shows passion. Colleges like to see that you care about things outside of your traditional classes. Your senior project is a chance to show them what you’re passionate and curious about.
- It shows commitment. Your senior project highlights your ability to take on a long-term project. This shows admission officers how dedicated you are to learning and personal growth.
- It shows independent work. There is so much independence in college, from when you do laundry to when and how you study. Since a senior project is based on your own ideas, completed outside of school, and shows colleges that you know how to be self-disciplined and manage your time without much external guidance.
- It shows creativity. Your senior project can reveal your creativity in ways that a transcript can’t. Use this project to show you think outside of the box and approach tasks from a unique perspective.
- It shows transferable skills. Sure, your future college wants to make sure you’ll be a good fit academically, but they also care to know that you’ve developed important transferable skills. Skills like time management, problem-solving, diligence, and research abilities will all be valuable during your time in college.
When it comes to ideas and deciding on your senior project, don’t overthink it! If nothing on this list stands out to you, that’s okay. Brainstorm anything and everything you enjoy and are passionate about and then figure out a way to turn that into a project. Use this opportunity as a chance to create a meaningful project that leaves an impact on you and others.
Ready to turn your college admission dreams into reality? Use College Raptor’s free College Match tool to find out how likely you are to be accepted into the school of your dreams!
