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 Programs
Note: We kindly request that all applications be submitted through Effective Thesis and to not contact mentors directly. This helps ensure fair treatment for all applicants and allows us to facilitate the best possible matches.
Effective Thesis Accelerator (8 Weeks)
Ideal for students who are deciding between different thesis topics and career paths.
Upcoming Cohort: 26 Jan - 20 March 2026
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 5-7 hours per week
Effective Thesis Fellowships (3 Months)
Ideal for students who are looking to start developing their high-impact thesis.
Not working on a thesis yet? No problem! The Fellowship is perfect whether you're building research skills ahead of your thesis, working on an independent project, or developing career capital through impactful research.
Upcoming cohort: 2 March - 25 May (If you have any uncertainty regarding the dates, still apply, and we can discuss this in the application!)
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
Peer-Led Accelerator Cohorts (20 Oct - 12 Dec)
We have several peer-led cohorts running from 20 Oct – 12 Dec. Apply to a cohort by topic area or region, and work alongside peers and facilitators to develop high-impact thesis ideas! Examples of upcoming cohorts include:
Cohorts with specific focus areas: AI Safety in Southeast Asia (Facilitator: Shafira Noh) and Global Development and Capacity Building in Africa (Facilitator: Tatenda Mawema)
Cohorts open to all topics and problem areas: London School of Economics EA Society, EA Nigeria - Bayero University (Facilitator: Adebayo Mubarak), and Makerere University (Facilitator: Barbara Kayondo)
Effective Thesis Accelerator (8 weeks)
Ideal for students currently deciding between different thesis topics and high-impact career paths.
The Effective Thesis 8-Week Accelerator is designed to guide you from your initial thesis idea to a fully developed, high-impact thesis proposal with a clear Theory of Change. Over eight weeks, you’ll refine your personal vision for impact, map your problem area, engage with peers and experts, and develop a concrete proposal to make meaningful contributions through your thesis.
The program combines self-directed modules and worksheets, peer group collaboration, and biweekly cohort meetings, with an expected commitment of 7–10 hours per week.
By the end of the program, you’ll have a well-developed thesis proposal that is strategically aligned with your long-term, high-impact career plan. You’ll gain clarity on how your research can contribute to solving important problems while building skills, networks, and experiences that support your personal goals.
Top-performing participants may advance to become Effective Thesis Fellows, gaining ongoing mentorship to turn their high-impact thesis idea into reality and further strengthen their high-impact career trajectory.
Upcoming Cohort: 🗓️ 26Jan-20March 2026📍Online (virtual)
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Throughout the 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
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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.
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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
Effective Thesis Fellowships (3 months)
Ideal for students who are looking to work with high-impact organisations on meaningful research
The Effective Thesis Fellowship is designed for students who want to work directly on research alongside high-impact partners 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: Rolling
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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
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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
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Our Fellowship is designed for anyone, especially current students, looking to contribute to meaningful research and build experience/test their fit in a high-impact career path alongside our partner organisations.
For current students completing a final-year thesis: Many projects can be integrated with your thesis, depending on the specific project (see descriptions).
Non-student or students not yet working on a thesis: The fellowship is ideal for building research skills and helping you build career capital or test your fit in a high-impact career path.
Featured Projects for the Effective Thesis Fellowships
We are excited to offer a diverse range of impactful projects across multiple cause areas for our Effective Thesis Fellowship applicants. Each project is designed to provide hands-on experience while contributing to meaningful work in your area of interest.
To apply for the Fellowship, you should apply to one of the individual projects below (linked below).
1:1 Advising (Rolling)
Ideal for students, recent graduates, and early-career professionals who want support navigating high-impact research or career paths
What does 1:1 Advising entail?
Through 1:1 advising with the Effective Thesis team, students receive tailored support to clarify their career plans, strengthen the theory of change of their research, and navigate their thesis journey with confidence. Depending on your needs, this can range from a single session to ongoing monthly calls. During these calls, we may focus on:
Career Planning & Support: Clarifying your longer-term career goals and high-impact pathways, and ensuring your thesis supports and strengthens that direction.
Theory of Change & Topic Selection: Developing a clear Theory of Change and supporting you in selecting a topic area where your research can meaningfully contribute to pressing global problems.
Outreach & Stakeholder Mapping: Identifying relevant stakeholders (i.e., practitioners, policymakers, NGOs, researchers) and planning outreach to strengthen the relevance and impact of your work.
Thesis Support: Providing structured or informal feedback on your proposal, methodology, analysis, and academic writing.
We highly recommend applying for 1:1 advising if you want personalised support with your thesis and/or career planning, and are interested in making your work more impactful.
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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.
Applications are currently being accepted for the following positions: