Writing Your Thesis on Sustainability – Good Tips to Know
Time flies by, and the day has come…
It is high time to consider what topic you want to choose for your thesis. While there is some time left before the start, if you are an early bird and have decided to write your thesis on a sustainability-related topic, we have gathered latest updates from our thesis directors and helpful information on some available scholarships and support that might be relevant for you.
Economics or Finance: It is possible to write a B.Sc. thesis on a sustainability related topic in the economics or finance specialization if the thesis satisfies the regular requirements applied to all theses in the specialization. The support provided to students is the same regardless of the topic they pick.
Management: This year, students are encouraged to engage in sustainability related topics, two of the supervisors who will support the students are doing research linked to sustainability. The course director will also encourage students in class to work on sustainability, stressing that this is in line with SSE’s strategy for increasing SSE students’ literacy in sustainability and to produce more research on sustainability. In addition, this year the course degree project in management is a CIVICA course thus with a focus on responsible management and social engagement.
Accounting: Sustainability topics are very common in accounting too. There are many researchers (and thus supervisors) at the accounting department who specialize in sustainability research. The accounting track normally has a few theses on sustainability issues each year, either linked to reporting, financial management, and/or analysis. The teaching team also proposes sustainability as one of the topics students may write their theses on.
Marketing: Writing on the sustainability-related topics was highly common within marketing specialization lately. There are several companies that encourages or are open for collaboration on within this area that may make it easier for you to get access to more unique data.
Cross-over Thesis: In case you have chosen to write a thesis with a partner having a different specialization than yours, you can still write your thesis on the sustainability matter. Note that in this case you will have to choose one teaching team and their rules and requirements will apply to the level of support and your writing process.
Scholarships and support
Writing your thesis on sustainability can entitle you to multiple scholarships and rewards. For instance, two students in accounting have received the sustainability thesis prize from the Research Institute for Sustainability and Ethics in Business (RiseB.se) in 2016 for their bachelor thesis “Corporate Social Responsibility and the Cost of Capital: Is CSR priced in the Swedish capital market?”; another pair has received The Folke Kristensson Scholarship for their thesis “Reshaping the Man in the Mirror: The Effects of Challenging Stereotypical Male Portrayals in Advertising” in 2017 and the thesis “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Intergroup Bias and Access to Venture Financing” has won the The Staffan Viotti Scholarship in 2018.
Furthermore, the SSE Students for Climate Action (SSCA) has a thesis Competition which grants two stipends (both Master and Bachelor) of 2 500 SEK each to sustainability-related theses, and the application ends on the 13th of June.
Moreover, SASSE Sustainability Group (SSG) may provide help with finding contacts from our network and some advice of possible sources for the data. In case your thesis requires monetary support for your research, you can apply to Sustainable Fund by SSG as a member of SASSE. Don’t hesitate to contact the project leader Kiryl Shantyka at sustainability@sasse.se if you have any questions or would love to get some support with your thesis.
Sources:
Accounting students receive sustainability thesis prize. Stockholm School of Economics. 2016-04-30.
Accounting students receive sustainability thesis prize (hhs.se)
Awarded Bachelor's Theses. Stockholm School of Economics. 2017-11-13.
Awarded Bachelor´s Theses (hhs.se)
Awarded Bachelor's Theses. Stockholm School of Economics. 2018-11-07.