Emeli Hanson, from the Institute for Global Sustainable Development at the University of Sheffield is the winner and Yoga Prasetyo, Dept. of International Development at the University of Sussex was highly commended.

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 Emeli’s engaging dissertation looks at how the challenges of menstrual health management, for example, acquiring and cleaning sanitary pads, exacerbate the embodied experiences of menstrual stigma for adolescent girls living in resource-poor communities in Kampala. “It’s a beautifully written study that foregrounds the voices of the young female participants, as the author intended,” said the judges.

The judges appreciated the thoughtful approach, with helpful reflection on the researcher’s own identity and positionality. While menstrual management is well-studied in other contexts, this is typically in relation to secondary education or using quantitative methods, so the choice of a feminist phenomenological lens created something that felt quite novel. This approach generated real insights, such as the relationship between menstrual management and transactional sex.”

Emeli will receive £350, plus full funding to attend DSA2025 to present her research in person.

Highly Commended was Yoga Prasetyo, Dept. of International Development at the University of Sussex for his work on: Integration-transnationalism nexus in the context of enforced transience: Managing racial harmony and temporary labor migration in Singapore. The dissertation contrasts the ideas of integration and trans-nationalism, looking at the case of migrant workers in Singapore.

The judges described it as “thoughtful, reflective, and thought-provoking, striking a strong intellectual and emotional chord and showing a rare ability to move anecdotes to analysis”.

A key focus is the idea of “indefinite temporariness” – it explores how migrant workers who are not viewed, or treated, as integrated citizens, still engage in social activities (“acts of self-inclusion”) which demonstrate their agency as social actors – even if they are not “accepted” by regularised citizens of Singapore. The qualitative research provides powerful and original insights into a deeply excluding and disempowering context for migrant workers. Its description of how Singapore “constructs” its society through a series of complex regulations and requirements (legal and customary) feels strongly reminiscent of other repressive regimes where specific groups have experienced systematic exclusion.”

Yogaa 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.