Make your thesis more meaningful

We work with students, from undergraduates to PhDs, who want to change the world with their research

Explore our thesis topics
Research has changed the world
Great research has changed the world. It’s helped to prevent famines, reduce violence, eradicate diseases and expand our circle of compassion. But there are still many global problems we need further research to solve.
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We think any act of improving the world is amazing.
But not all attempts have the same impact – in fact, some research questions are vastly more promising than others from the perspective of improving the world. So you might want to ask: 'How can I use my research to help others as much as possible?'
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Who can we help?
We work with talented students at bachelors, masters and PhD level who want to begin research careers that significantly improve the world. Although we mainly support students who want to have research careers, our main criteria is that you want to reflect on how your research could have a greater positive impact on the world.
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Where should you begin?
Start by exploring our thesis topic profiles. These are our introductions to areas where we expect additional research to have a particularly large impact. Our profiles are chosen by looking at several factors: how many individuals are affected by a problem and by how much, how many researchers are working on solving the problem already, and whether we believe progress could be made with further research.
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Next steps
Once you've explored the topics we recommend, we encourage you to apply for a coaching session. Our coaches have spent a lot of time thinking about what the most important research problems are and can help you clarify your ideas and plans. Your coach can also connect you with experienced researchers who can offer you further guidance or mentorship.
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Our other services
If you’re looking for an academic supervisor, funding, research internships or other research-related opportunities, we can help as well. You can also join our online, supportive community of coaching alumni who also want to improve the world as much as possible with their research. And by the way – we're a non-profit, and all our services are completely free.
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Subscribe to the Topic Discovery Digest

Subscribe to our Topic Discovery Digest to find thesis topics, tools and resources that can help you significantly improve the world.

Subscribe to our Topic Discovery digest to find thesis topics, tools and resources that can help you significantly improve the world.
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Our Services

Are you a bachelors, masters or PhD student searching for a thesis or research project that has great potential to significantly improve the world? Start by exploring the thesis topics we recommend and applying for coaching. We’ll help you find the ideas and resources you need to increase your impact.

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Explore thesis topics

Find ideas and topics for your thesis and thesis statement by exploring our informative research profiles.

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Coaching

Our coaches can offer you tailored advice and potentially connect you to experienced researchers in your field and our community of students.

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Supervisors

Access our database of potential thesis supervisors who work in the research directions we recommended.

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Alumni Network

Apply to our alumni network to share ideas and get inspiration from other students seeking to do as much good as possible with their research.

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Funding

Find funding for your PhD studies focused on one of our recommended research directions.

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Opportunities

Find jobs, internships, prizes and scholarships related to the research directions we recommend in our Opportunities Board.

Students we've advised

Effective thesis did a fantastic job in broadening my perspective on topics I could be researching and then making the relevant connections to deepen my understanding of the field I felt most excited about.
JonaPhD student
Having someone at Effective Thesis to bounce ideas off helped me refine my research ideas, and it was an added bonus that they understood that I wanted to do research that could have a real impact on peoples' lives.
Tomundergraduate student
I have already recommended ET to friends as a fantastic organisation dedicated to helping students find impactful theses, and to connect with like-minded researchers.
JérémyPhD Student
I spoke with an Effective Thesis coach about funding options for my PhD. He gave me tons of advice on how to ask for funding from different organisations. It definitely worked, as I won a scholarship and I am now fully funded.
DiegoPhD student
Talking with one of the coaches at Effective Thesis ... has served as a useful stepping stone on the path to finding an impactful research project! Regardless of where you are in the process, I would highly encourage you to take advantage of all the great (and free!) resources offered on this platform.
NilsMasters student
I ended up having different priorities and realising what were the most impactful subjects I could work on. I received encouragement, connections and lots of useful advice.
AnaMasters student
Through Effective Thesis I received the essential motivation to pursue an impactful topic. I then also got plenty of suggestions of interesting topics to choose from and a whole lot of meaningful support in the form of advice, reading materials and contacts.
AntonellaMasters student
I found picking a thesis topic to be a daunting experience. Having the team at Effective Thesis link me with experts who had thought a lot about the areas I was interested in really helped me to narrow my focus and identify the research questions at the leading edge of the field I was interested in.
Tomundergraduate student
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Our expert network

Our coaches can connect you to researchers from our network of over 100 experts, who can help you find the most important open questions in your field.

Philip Trammel

Philip Trammel is a research affiliate at the Global Priorities Institute at Oxford University. He advises students on applications of economic theory to global priorities research.

Dr Cassidy Nelson

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.

Vanessa Kosoy

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.

Prof David Denkenberger

David Denkenberger co-founded and directs the Alliance to Feed the Earth in Disasters (ALLFED). He has 65 peer-reviewed publications and is the third most prolific author in the field of existential and global catastrophic risk.

Maxime Stauffer

Maxime is a co-founder and chief executive officer of the Simon Institute for Longterm Governance. Max advises students in political science, behavioural sciences, mathematics and physics interested in improving political decision making.

Parendi Birdie

Parendi Birdie is the Head of Brand Strategy at Mission Barns. She advises students who are interested in both technical and non-technical areas of the field of cellular agriculture.

David Moss

David is the Principal Research Manager at Rethink Priorities and a research fellow at Canterbury Christ Church University. David advises students interested in moral psychology and empirical social science.

All others

There are many other researchers and collaborators for whose support we are very grateful.

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Research advice

Explore our advice for students interested in impactful research careers