Key Services

Are you a student looking to have a high-impact thesis and career?

At Effective Thesis, we aim to support you in your journey towards utilising your thesis to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges and to lay the groundwork for your pathway to impact.

Overview of Fellowships

Generalist Track (4 Weeks)

Ideal for students who are deciding between different thesis topics and career paths.

Upcoming Cohort: 19th May to 13th June

Explore high-impact topics, cause areas, and career directions

Collaborate with other students in group discussions and projects

Build your Theory of Change for your thesis and develop your career plan

Time commitment of up to 10 hours per week for 4 weeks

Specialist Track (2-3 Months)

Ideal for students who are looking to start developing their high-impact thesis.

Apply directly to complete a specific featured project as your thesis

Partner with mentors and high-impact organisations to complete your thesis

Create a final thesis with meaningful, real-world impact

Time commitment of up to 10 hours per week for 3 months

Fellowship: Generalist Track (4 weeks)

Ideal for students currently deciding between different thesis topics and high-impact career paths.

Are you a student currently deciding between different impactful thesis topics or career paths? Through this fellowship, you’ll be provided with learning modules and collaborative group projects to learn to prioritise between different thesis topics, build a Theory of Change for your thesis ideas, and develop your high-impact career plan. 

Upcoming Cohort: 🗓️ May 19 – June 13 | 📍 London (in-person) or Online (virtual)

Application Deadline: 1st of May

  • Throughout the 4-week program, you’ll follow a structured curriculum designed to help you:

    • Explore several high-impact research directions that align with pressing global challenges

    • Learn how to prioritise between thesis topics using effective frameworks

    • Build a personal Theory of Change to guide your thesis and career

    • Develop a high-impact career plan that reflects your strengths and aspirations

    • Collaborate with peers in small groups, exchanging feedback, insights, and support

  • Up to 10 hours per week. This involves around ~4-5 hours of personal reading and projects, ~4-5 hours of peer feedback, group projects, and group discussions. 

  • Current students who are still deciding between multiple thesis topics, as well as deciding between different career paths.

    Open to students at all levels: Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD

Fellowship: Specialist Track (2-3 months)

Ideal for students who are looking to start developing their high-impact thesis.

The Specialist Fellowship is designed for students who want to work directly on research alongside high-impact partners for their final thesis while accelerating their own path toward an impactful career. Fellows will work with organizations and experts working on real-world problems, produce thesis work that feeds directly into real-world decision-making, and receive tailored mentorship throughout the process.

Upcoming Cohort: 🗓️ Flexible Start Dates | 📍 Online (virtual)

Application Deadline: 1st of June

  • Over 2-3 months, you’ll:

    • Apply to a specific research question aligned with your interests and our priority areas

    • Collaborate closely with a mentor or a high-impact organisation

    • Co-develop a research project that serves as your final-year thesis

    • Receive ongoing support, feedback, and mentorship from the Effective Thesis team throughout the whole program

  • You’ll spend around 10 hours per week over 2-3 months, including:

    • Independent research and writing

    • Check-ins with your mentor

    • Progress check-ins and guidance from Effective Thesis

    • Optional participation in group meetings and workshops with other Fellows 

  • Current students who will complete these projects as their final-year thesis. The fit will depend on the exact project (See project descriptions).

Featured Projects for Specialist Fellows

To apply for the Specialist Fellowship, you should apply to one of the individual projects below. Read each project description (linked below) and fill in the application form by the 1st of June.

For this cohort, students should be working on these projects as their final-year thesis for 2026-2027.

Specialist Fellowship Application Timeline

1:1 Mentorship and Coaching (Rolling)

Ideal for self-directed students who are close to graduation and require targeted expert feedback or more connections for career capital

What does Mentorship entail?

Students will be directly matched with expert mentors to provide research guidance, career advice, and networking opportunities. This can range from a one-off call to ongoing monthly calls depending on the fit. 

Formal or Informal Thesis Supervision – Receive structured feedback or casual mentorship from experts in your field.

Research Refinement – Sharpen your research focus in alignment with the world’s most pressing problems.

Research Proposal Development – Craft a compelling, well-structured proposal.

Enhancing Research Skills – Improve methodology, data analysis, and academic writing.

Navigating the Thesis Journey – Get guidance on time management, overcoming challenges, and staying on track.

We highly recommend this option if you already have a clear idea of the thesis topic you want to work on or the career path you want to get into.

  • Dr. Cassidy Nelson - Biosecurity Expert

    Cassidy Nelson is Co-Lead of the Biosecurity Research Group at the Future of Humanity Institute. She advises students on health security, biosecurity, and pandemic prevention.

    Guiding students through Effective Thesis has been incredibly rewarding. It's inspiring to see young researchers tackle critical issues in biosecurity and pandemic preparedness, areas that are more important now than ever.

    Vanessa Kosoy - AI Alignment Researcher

    Vanessa is a research associate at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. She advises students in mathematics, computer science, and other quantitative degrees interested in human-aligned artificial intelligence research.

    As an Effective Thesis expert, I've had the opportunity to help shape the future of AI safety research. It's exciting to see students apply rigorous mathematical approaches to ensure AI systems remain beneficial to humanity.

    Dr. Ryan Dwyer - Global Happiness Researcher

    Ryan is a senior researcher at the Happier Lives Institute, where he investigates the best interventions to improve global happiness. He advises students on conducting impactful research in social psychology and wellbeing.

    Being part of the Effective Thesis network has allowed me to guide students towards research that can genuinely improve people's lives. It's gratifying to see how their work contributes to our understanding of global happiness and effective interventions.

    See our full network here.

Volunteer Internships (Rolling)

Ideal for highly motivated students/professionals in which working at Effective Thesis can significantly inform next career steps

At Effective Thesis, we provide internship opportunities to help students build skills/ career capital, refine career plans, and transition into high-impact placements.

Project-based Experience – Contribute directly to Effective Thesis work or research aligned with our mission.

Skill-building Opportunities – Strengthen research, writing, and project management skills through real tasks.

Career Exploration – Use the internship to clarify career goals and explore high-impact paths.

Remote Flexibility – Participate from anywhere, with schedules that accommodate your studies or part-time work.

We highly recommend this option if you already have a clear idea of the thesis topic you want to work on or the career path you want to get into.

Peer Research Groups (8-weeks)

Ideal for highly motivated students who can benefit from peer support and accountability in completing a high-impact thesis and exploring high-impact career paths.

What do Peer Groups entail?

Students will be matched with aligned peers in groups for research collaboration and accountability on high-impact theses and career planning.

Accountability and structure – Access peer support and accountability in completing your high-imapct thesis.

Collaborative idea development – Strengthen research, writing, and project management skills through real tasks.

Career planning support – Use the internship to clarify career goals and explore high-impact paths.