(requires FULL YEAR PETITION)

At LSE, you will have the chance to study a broad range of subjects. Some of them you may have studied in school, some will be new to you. At one end of the spectrum are subjects you might consider 'arts' subjects like history, while at the other end you will find mathematics and related subjects. Some subjects have a direct vocational or professional link, like law or actuarial science. All are a useful intellectual training in different approaches to social questions.

Each subject has its own section describing the degrees and courses available. Use the degree programmes menu item on the left to find what is on offer.

The School offers a unique opportunity to study the social sciences in a university institution with a worldwide academic reputation, while enjoying the cultural, social and recreational facilities of one of the world's great capital cities. Many influential developments in thinking about society, economics and politics have originated in work carried out at the School, including the basis of the modern welfare state and the development of free-market economics.

What we study

LSE seeks to promote the impartial pursuit of knowledge and understanding about how people organise themselves into, and interact within, social groupings. The social sciences offer a number of ways of investigating and thinking about these questions: they do not teach you a correct way to solve the world's problems. The focus of our teaching is on helping you to learn some of the different ways to test your - and other people's - ideas: and, in the words of our motto, rerum cognoscere causas, 'to understand the causes of things'. In most of our degrees, we expect students to take at least one course in a subject outside their particular specialism.

The School offers courses not only in economics and political science, but also in a wide range of social science subjects, taught within a number of departments and interdisciplinary institutes. It is the only university in the UK specialising in the study of the social sciences, and has a worldwide reputation in the field. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) the School topped or came close to the top of a number of rankings of research excellence. LSE's academic departments have also achieved outstanding results in the HEFCE/QAA teaching quality assessment/subject review exercises; and a range of independent and authoritative assessments have judged the School to be among the world's leading institutions for study of the social sciences.

While aiming for the highest standards of independent judgement, we seek to make our work practical and relevant to the real world. Teaching draws on the insights derived from our academic staff's current research. This can be an exploration of theoretical or technical developments in an academic subject, but much is also applied to topical and practical concerns.

Many past and present members of staff act as expert advisers to political parties, the Civil Service and policy pressure groups. For instance, Professor David Metcalf is chair of the independent UK Migration Advisory Committee, Emeritus Professor Lord Layard, founder of the Centre for Economic Performance, is a prominent expert on happiness and well-being and Dr Arjan Gjonca recently chaired the Commission for Reform in Higher Education in Albania.

The School's international reputation and London location ensure that in times of crisis it is to LSE that the media turn first for a response. Professor Nicholas Stern (climate change), Professor Conor Gearty (human rights), Professor Tim Newburn (crime), Professor Anne Power (housing policy), Professor Tony Travers (London and local government) and Professor Danny Quah (the weightless economy) will all be familiar names to the average news addict.

LSE100 - The LSE Course: Understanding the causes of things

LSE is a unique institution with a distinctive teaching programme. A new element of this is LSE100, which introduces first year undergraduates to the fundamental elements of thinking as a social scientist by exploring real problems and real questions. LSE100 is a compulsory course for all undergraduate students. You can also view the LSE 100 video.

Why choose LSE?

The School's location in central London is fundamental to its identity. When you choose to be an undergraduate at LSE, you are choosing not only a course of study, but a place to live and work for three years. LSE looks out over the London skyline, rather than over green fields. It is stimulating, cosmopolitan and very much a part of the 'real world'.

These qualities derive from the variety of its staff and students (about half our undergraduate students come from outside Britain, and about half the student body are postgraduates), from its active academic debate on current social, economic and political concerns, and from the easy interchange of ideas between the School and the world outside. Government, Parliament, the business and financial institutions of the City, the Law Courts and the media are all on the School's doorstep. Each year, there are many influential outside speakers at the School (politicians, business leaders and industrialists) as well as leading academics from all around the world who visit to participate in teaching, to give public lectures and to pursue their own research. LSE is compact and full to the brim with students and staff - this just contributes to the vitality and friendliness of the place.

LSE offers you the opportunity - and the challenge - to study different ways of understanding human society together with people from all parts of the world, with radically differing experiences, views and beliefs, in an atmosphere that encourages you to question ideas and to seek solutions to problems. If you welcome the stimulus of new experiences and ideas in a lively capital city - then choose LSE.

 
Eligibility Minimum GPA: 3.3 for qualitative subjects
3.5 for quantitative subjects
Type of Program: University-Based Program
Areas of Study: Administrative Science / Business / Management
Economics
Government / Political Science
International Development
International Relations
Social Sciences
Sociology
Program Languages: English-only
Terms Offered: Year
Colby Status: Approved Program (FULL YEAR PETITION)