Being an LSE student was both an exciting and challenging experience. The programme enabled me to improve my econometrics skills, to get to grips with difficult concepts in economics and to explore new branches of ethics and philosophy of economics. I appreciated the friendly atmosphere in the philosophy department and the support of the lecturers.

Most of all, the programme offered me the opportunity to meet intelligent people from different corners of the world, with whom I could engage in great debates from topics as diverse as philosophy to current affairs. Having such a close circle of friends was one of the most rewarding aspects of the LSE experience.

I am currently working as a research assistant at an economics think tank in Brussels, called Bruegel. I now have the opportunity to apply the quantitative skills gained during the MSc to practical policy issues, such as the European debt crisis. Philosophy still remains close to my heart and I enjoy stumbling across topics in which economics and philosophy overlap.

Blake Heller

Blake Heller works as a research analyst at the Education Innovation Laboratory at Harvard University. He writes: "The MSc Economics and Philosophy programme was pivotal in helping me develop the quantitative and analytical skill sets I needed to succeed as an applied researcher. In my current work, I use the econometric knowledge I gained at LSE daily. Even my training in game theory and rational choice has come in handy as I work with others to build models of strategic behaviour of students and teachers in response to our interventions. Not only did I learn a great deal, but I truly felt like I was a part of the community in the philosophy department. I met dozens of interesting, brilliant people among my peers and professors who helped me truly engage with the subject matter and get a great deal out of my brief time in London."

Ying Shi

As an applicant, I had no trouble picking out the MSc in Economics and Philosophy program from LSE’s tome of a course catalogue. It seemed like the ideal balance of economic rigor combined with normative inquiry. I was finishing up three years in the private sector, and wanted an interdisciplinary academic environment without the full commitment of a Ph.D. The program certainly lived up to expectations. I spent half my time learning quantitative methods and theory from the economics department. At the same time I also relished the advantages of the philosophy department, which included more faculty interaction and opportunities for small class discussions. The courses were challenging, and there was plenty to learn. The surprising part was how much my peers contributed to that learning. My fellow students were among the most curious, clever and engaging people that I’ve met. Looking back I’m thankful for these friendships, and for an all-around rewarding year at the LSE.

2009-10

Susanne Burri

My MSc year at the LSE was incredibly intense; it was both demanding and -- at least with the benefit of hindsight -- lots of fun. I worked hard, and it wasn't always easy to satisfyingly divide my time between the economics and the philosophy part of my degree. I'd nevertheless recommend this degree to anyone who is philosophically inclined, but has a strong background and is interested in economics as well. To me, what made the MSc effort worthwhile is not so much the fact that I've discovered that I am willing and able to perform under pressure, nor is it the fact that I've grown intellectually thanks to some first-rate teachers. What instead stands out most prominently is the fact that I've met fellow students whom I still call close friends today. For the first time in my life, I was amongst people who were interested in the same issues as I am, and who were similarly convinced that these issues are fascinating partly because they lack simple and clear-cut solutions. It is this fact that made me want to stay at the LSE, and pursue a PhD in philosophy here.

Katya Pirozhkova

The MSc Economics and Philosophy programme provided me with an excellent training in Economics courses. I was planning to do a PhD in Economics after the MSc, so developing skills in the research methods for Economics was essential for me. At the same I was looking for an opportunity to look beyond pure techniques and to study the fundamentals of the economic science closely. Doing the course in Philosophy of Economics met my needs perfectly - it helped me to look at important issues in economic research from different perspectives, to see why some generally accepted concepts and theories not only need further elaboration, but also need justification and development of their foundations. In this way, the course was an indispensable help for my PhD studies in Economics (which I am now pursuing at Birkbeck College at the University of London), because it has given me a broader and innovative perspective on the questions I am considering in my research.

2008-09

Mårten Lewander

Mårten Lewander writes, 'I attended the MSc in Economics and Philosophy during 08/09. My goal when applying to LSE was to give myself a chance to really indulge in the philosophical issues surrounding economics, such as those relating to normative theories of distribution. I also wanted to sharpen my previous knowledge of economics without necessarily having to go the full distance of a Ph.D. programme. For this purpose, the MSc in Economics and Philosophy was perfect and I am happy to say that I reached my goals. Coming from a career as a strategy consultant, the step into the classrooms of LSE to study theoretical economics and philosophy was quite a contrast. My lasting memory from LSE as a school will be the strong dedication and commitment of the teachers and the constant stream of high-calibre academic events such as guest lectures, conferences and debates open to students. But most of all I will remember the wonderful friends I made among all my smart, witty and interested fellow students. Now, back in the business community from where I came, I sometimes find myself viewing a real life decision problem in the structure of an impossibility theorem and I can't help longing to be back where people would understand if I said it out loud.'

2005-06

Tom Cunningham

Tom Cunningham is pursuing a Ph.D. in Economics at LSE. He writes, 'I enjoyed the MSc economics & philosophy program a great deal. In the philosophy seminars we were able to chew and digest the material I learned in the economics courses. The other students taking the program have become close friends. It wasn't straight-forward to enter an economics PhD program after this degree, but I managed to, and I'm now very glad that I did take this Masters.'

2004-05

Alexander Badinski

Alexander Badinski is pursuing a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University. He writes: The M.Sc. in Economics and Philosophy is one of the greatest programs I ever heard about and I was so glad to have had the chance of attending it. I also enjoyed many of the offered seminar speaches, public lectures and conferences in the LSE across the Economics and Philosophy Departments.

Lucilla Bruni

Lucilla Bruni works for an economic consultancy in London. She writes: The MSc was very useful in finding a job in economic consulting because of: 1) the very rigorous approach of the Economics courses at the LSE was a guarantee for my employer of the quality of my training in Economics; 2) the Philosophical component of the course, in addition to being extremely enriching in terms of contents, also really helped in developing my analytical and writing skills, which are essential for writing reports/briefings/etc.

Chunxiao Liu

Chunxiao Liu is a management associate at Citibank Bejing.

2003-04

Viara Bojkova

Viara Bojkova works for the think tank Sea and Water. She writes: We try to influence governmental policy and represent the shipping industry. What I do is research and analysis on the trade between the UK and the EU, North Africa and ex-Soviet Republics. I also write theoretical and economic argumentats when we work on documents that are particularly oriented to changes in the governmental policies. We work on consultation papers of the European Commission as well. Very useful for me were the discussions about our dissertations. I still remember the hints that I learnt and use them now when I write long reports.

Isabell Kohten

Isabell Kohten works at the Office for National Statistics in the UK Centre of the Measurement of Government Activity. She writes: The purpose of this Centre is to improve and develop further output and productivity measures for public services such as health or education, and my specific task is to establish the basic principles and methods and their economic foundations. That, in some sense, requires a lot of thinking about philosophy of economics, and more than once I have literature again that was covered in the PH413 course (rational choice, public choice, economic policy, the concepts of welfare and well-being, to name a few). Even though I don't expect this to be the case for most jobs I will go through in the future, I did value the PH413 course as a very valuable addition to the very technical economic courses that didn't look at underlying assumptions/views of the world any more but focussed fully on establishing and solving complex models.

Joshua Tan

Joshua Tan started out at as an investment banker at DBS, Singapore's largest bank, and is now at PhillipCapital. He writes: My employers hired me because they thought that I was interesting and different from the usual Accounting/Business/Finance grads that they hire. Thus they were willing to overlook the fact that I had no Finance background (but had enough Mathematics training from my Econs).