The Finnish University Partnership for International Development –UniPID-, and the Finnish Society for Development Research –FSDR- seek to recognize and award exceptional Master’s theses from UniPID member universities.

The Master’s Award in Development Studies 2024 will be presented in conjunction with the FSDR’s annual Development Days Conference in February 2025. The prize for the winning thesis is 1,000 euros. Honorable mentions will also be awarded to other high-quality theses of exceptional merit.

The Master’s Award in Development Studies eligibility criteria are the following:

• The thesis has been approved as a requirement for completion of a Master’s degree during the period 1.8.2023 - 31.7.2024 at a UniPID member university.
• The language of the thesis is in Finnish, Swedish, or English.
• The grade of the thesis is eximia cum laude approbator or higher, or at least 4 in the 1-5 grading scale.
• While the scope of the competition is multidisciplinary, the thesis should employ one of the following global development research frameworks: development studies, developing country research, international development, or Global South research.

The Master’s Award Working Group will decide on the eligibility of the submitted thesis.

The final review of the work will focus on the following qualities:

1. Scientific relevance and impact (i.e., excellence and academic merit related to theoretical value and/or research methods; pioneering topic; timeliness; and creativity).
2. Societal applicability (i.e., social impact of the results).
3. Maturity/excellence of research design and research questions (i.e., the choice and use of methods; author’s own critical thinking).
4. Potential for publication.

How to participate?

The author should submit the thesis via the specific form for Master’s Award 2024 application on the UniPID website.

With the author’s consent, the thesis may also be submitted by his/her supervisor.

The deadline for the submissions is 15 August 2024 at 23:59.

The submitted theses should be accompanied by the following information and attachments:

• Contact details of the author
• A summary of the work (max. 1 page)
• Relevance of the thesis for the field of global development research (max. 1 page)
• Transcript of records and/or examiner’s statement indicating the university, department, supervisor(s), the grade the work received, and official date of approval.

For further information, please contact Ana Tarazona (ana.tarazonagalvis@helsinki.fi)