EUPRERA is pleased to announce the finalists of the 2026 Master Thesis Award for Excellence. The winners, 1 per category, will be announced during the EUPRERA congress in Málaga on September 18th, 2026.

This award recognises outstanding master’s theses that contribute to the advancement of public relations, strategic communication, and related fields. All submissions are evaluated for originality, relevance, theoretical and methodological quality, and practical implications. Following a rigorous selection process, the jury has shortlisted the following finalists (listed alphabetically by surname within each category):

2026 EUPRERA Master Award Finalists

Theoretical Impact category

• Sandra Mechler
  Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany
  Thesis: Expected to take a stand? Public expectations and attributed motives in Corporate Social Advocacy
  Supervisors: Thomas Koch, Nora Denner

• Esther-Lea Schlegel
  Hochschule Darmstadt, Germany
  Thesis: Sustainability Communication in Times of Change: The Need for Strategic Adaption​​​​​​​
  Supervisor: Lars Rademacher

• Raphaela Stibor
  University of Vienna, Austria
  Thesis: Transparent Leadership and Interactional Justice in CEO-Communication: The Impact on Psychological Safety and Employee Voice during Organizational Change
  Supervisor: Sabine Einwiller

• Emma Tolderlund Vegel
  BI Norwegian Business School, Norway / WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria
  Thesis: Advancing theory on the ‘M&E stasis’: extending the theory of planned behavior to study measurement and evaluation practices in corporate communication​​​​​​​
  Supervisor: Jens Seiffert-Brockmann, Alexander Buhmann

• Antonia Wiehr
  Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Germany
  Thesis: Lobbying Forever Chemicals: An LLM-Based Analysis of Lobbying Arguments on PFAS Regulation in the EU​​​​​​​
  Supervisors: Irina Lock, Djamila Heß

Practical Impact category

• Karolin Kelm
  Leipzig University, Germany
  Thesis: Communicative Artificial Intelligence and Corporate Communications: A Conceptual Study on the Reconfiguration of Public Spheres through Self-communicating Systems
  Supervisors: Ansgar Zerfaß, Alexander Godulla

• Magda Sarsevanidze
  Lund University, Sweden
  Thesis: NGO Communication Countering Character Assassination in Georgia​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
  Supervisor: Marlene Wiggill

• Amelia Spinks
  University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
  Thesis: Systems of Communication, Cultures of Exclusion​​​​​​​
  Supervisor: Gloria Walker

We extend our congratulations to all finalists and express our gratitude to the reviewers and institutions who supported this year’s award process.

Congratulations!