Spring 2026 Graduates Complete Their Theses

As the academic year comes to an end, the community of Bard College Berlin proudly honors its graduating cohort of over forty students. The thesis topics of this year's graduates spanned evaluations of the German political space, gender dynamics, human rights in conflict regions, and other various topics.

Liana Sendetska’s thesis bears the title “Bound by Democracy: Securitizing Russian Disinformation in Germany Since 2022.” Her topic was inspired by an internship which she completed last summer at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, where she focused on disinformation and tech regulations in the European Union. Sendetska says that living in Germany and being a part of its information space prompted her curiosity to “research the discourse around Russian disinformation and policy counter-measures it produces.” She sees the greatest advantage of the liberal arts education to be the way in which it changes our approach to thinking about the world around us. “It teaches how to ask questions and stay critical and curious. This skill, I believe, is something that can be used in any professional field down the road and personal life as well,” she adds. After her journey at BCB comes to an end, Sendetska is excited to join Hertie School’s Master of International Affairs program, where she will focus her graduate studies “on the intersection of digitalization and security policy.”

Muhammed Sayed’s thesis idea began taking its shape after a conversation with the Turkish consul general, whom he met at an internship event. “We got to talking about European rearmament and how the Turkish arms industry could/would play a role in that,” he says. Sayed describes the process of refining his thesis idea as a demanding one. “I spent a great deal of time discussing with my advisor Dr. Berit Ebert,” he says. The hardest part for him was going from vague interrogations “to a very concise and focused question.” His thesis is titled "Beyond the Unit Price: The Hidden Economics of Short Range Drone Warfare.” Sayed says that the main highlight of his life at BCB was the institution’s community; the friends he had made who end up living all over the world. “Living in Berlin is probably the best part, also you get the opportunity to learn a whole new language,” he adds.

Sanskriti Shrestha’s thesis research stems from a deeply personal motive. “As someone with a chronic illness and a mobility difficulty who daily experienced so much hardships, bureaucracy and capitalism in her medical journey, I found myself constantly questioning the inefficiency of modern healthcare when it comes to dealing with chronic illnesses,” Shrestha explains. She comes from South Asia, where the notions and approaches to health, healing, and community differ greatly from those in Germany. This difference prompted Shrestha’s interest in alternate ways and definitions of healing. “My research itself became a kind of healing for me, as I was academically as well as artistically theorizing my lived experiences at the very same time as I was looking for ways to reconcile with my own illness and disability,” Shrestha says. Her thesis is titled “Healing as a Transitional State — Rethinking Chronic Illness through Integrative Care and Sonic Embodiment.” She decided to work on a Creative Component along with her written thesis, which allows students to connect their academic research with a final artistic project. Shrestha’s component was a memoir-based film, born out of her own memoir pages and fragments of life which she documented during her journey with her own illness. “My experimental visual essay deals with the themes of chronic illness, disability, medical hardships amongst many other questions about our medical healthcare system,” she says.

Shrestha describes her liberal arts experience as something that “prepares you for a very different kind of life; one where you are always open, empathetic, always curious and concerned with the world around you.” She is currently finishing an internship with the Kaspar Hauser Stiftung, which works with people with various kinds of disabilities. After graduation, Shrestha aims to continue her advocacy work in disability and accessibility, especially at the intersection with community, arts, culture and visibility.

Samantha Aikman’s thesis, titled “In the Shadow of a Cloud: An Ecocritical Comparison of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas and Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land,” was inspired largely by Doerr, one of her favorite authors. “The inclusion of Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas and the ecocritical lens only came later in the process, but it really tied everything together and felt exciting and fitting for my interests,” she says. Aikman came to BCB as a transfer student in the third year of her studies after what she described as “a last-minute scramble to stay in Berlin.” While she describes experiencing nervousness at first, Aikman says that ultimately, “moving to Berlin and BCB confirmed for me that listening to my instinct is often the right decision, and transitions are always hard, but I'm so happy I pushed through.” After graduation, she plans to remain in Berlin and find a full-time job.

The graduates of Spring 2026 and Fall 2025 will walk the stage together during commencement on the 16th of May.

By: Hana Trenčanová '28

Post Date: 05-13-2026