Since 2015 the DSA has awarded an annual dissertation prize to Masters’ students working in the field of international development, development studies and development economics. This annual prize is awarded to the best masters’ level dissertation in these fields of study.

The judges said that Richard’s dissertation is “an extremely thorough analysis that shows how key elements of the research are informed by relevant literature and that the review of different dimensions of justice is very good. Its originality comes from the comparison of two activist groups in the Australian coal context, using a justice framework to reveal differences in approaches and possible impacts (one emphasised economic justice; the other a more integrated economy–environment–social view). Both campaigns missed opportunities for recognitional justice, particularly regarding Indigenous communities. The analysis consistently foregrounds ideas of justice, interrogating the gap between intentions and outcomes in civil society campaigning. It is well structured, makes good use of quotes and figures, and presents a strong case for a more nuanced, recognitional approach to justice in just transitions. The methodology section is excellent, clearly explaining the use of framework analysis, the justification for the two case studies, how the methodology generated themes and coding, and ethical concerns and data limitations.”

Richard will receive £350, plus full funding to attend DSA2026 to present his research in person.

Elena’s research looks at the relationship between the selection of partners on the basis of shared levels of education and income inequality within households in Indonesia, noting the policy implications of this given that the model has not been used extensively in Asia. The judges said that her “methodology is clear and persuasively presented, with robustness checks that include ethnicity and age gaps, explicit acknowledgement of data limitations (notably the absence of pre-childbirth income data), and discussion of case selection. Using nationally representative Indonesia Family Life Survey data and counterfactual simulations, the author shows that men’s earnings typically exceed women’s by a large margin across observed and simulated scenarios and that women’s share of household income rarely exceeds one-third; the gender gap is only erased under extreme hypogamy, at the top of the education distribution, and even then only among dual earners and at the cost of significantly lower total household income. The dissertation carefully examines distributional patterns and explores how EAM interacts with patriarchal norms, asset ownership and labour-market inequalities, highlighting a structural trade-off between household income maximisation and gender equality.”

Elena will receive receive £150 and a registration fee waiver to attend the conference and present their research.

Every year, all Development Studies and Economics departments in the UK are invited to submit one MA or MSc dissertation each for consideration the DSA Masters Dissertation Prize. This year nominations were accepted in the autumn of 2024. The DSA asked all the Heads of Centres of DSA affiliated institutions in the UK to nominate the highest scoring masters’ dissertation (MA or MSc) awarded on their international development, or related subject, programmes in 2024. We were happy to accept nominations of extended essays but these needed to be of exceptional quality to win when compared to longer dissertations. The nominations were evaluated by an academic panel from the DSA. Decisions were made in early February 2025 and the winner and their department notified.

You can read more about the Masters Dissertation Prize and access the back catalogue of winning dissertations to the DSA Masters dissertation prize page.

The DSA is committed to supporting the development of students and early career researchers. Find out more about what the DSA offers students and early career researchers on our website.