MSc Philosophy and Public Policy career placement

Katherine Furman

The MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy provides for the exploration of practical social problems with philosophical rigour, allowing students to develop a more ‘first principles’ perspective on various policy issues. I completed my dissertation on coping with scientific dissent in health policy development and I received a great deal of support for this study in the Evidence, Objectivity and Policy elective. Before attending LSE I had little understanding of either health policy or issues related to the sciences, but with the encouragement and extensive expertise offered by the Department I was quickly able to supplement my knowledge. Since completing my MSc I have returned to South Africa, where I am working as part of a research team at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at Rhodes University. We are currently studying the Government’s proposed National Health Insurance plan, which if it comes into effect will be the most substantial reorganisation of health policy in South Africa since the end of apartheid. In this work I am able to further extend the understanding of health policy that I gained during the course of my MSc.

Jeroen Jonker

Originally trained in Public Administration, I've tremendously enjoyed studying Philosophy and Public Policy at LSE. The programme has sharpened my analytical thinking, and I’ve gained valuable philosophical insights into complex issues like climate change and healthcare. The most important thing though, following in big part from the philosophical debates with the extraordinary individuals I’ve met during the programme, has been learning how to quickly get towards the higher values (like freedom or welfare) behind superficial disagreements. This helps you understand where others are coming from, and how you might be able to convince them. All this is very useful in my current job, working on welfare state reform as a policy advisor in The Netherlands.

Morgan Mullooly

LSE has a distinct magnetism - Immediately after finishing my exams, I began working in a technology consultancy, directly across Aldwych, in Bush House! The company I work for, (Analysys Mason) like many others, has strong links to the LSE and I applied for my role through the LSE consultancy society. I work primarily in the fascinating area of radio frequency spectrum administration and regulation. My background in Philosophy and Public Policy helped me distinguish myself from the other candidates who primarily had engineering and management backgrounds. In my interview, this gave me more scope to discuss broad concepts, which are relevant to the role, such as the merits and legitimacy of collective and individual ownership rights, rather than simply reciting technical knowledge – as I suspect my competing candidates would have done. I wholeheartedly endorse the MSc in PPP to prospective students. Though the course felt overwhelmingly challenging at times, it challenged me to completely rethink the way I approach evaluating public policy and received wisdom in other domains.

Bryan Williamson

Upon completing the MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy, I accepted a consulting analyst position with Accenture in Silicon Valley.  The rigorous analytical training of the programme provided an invaluable opportunity to develop my logical reasoning skills and strengthen my communicative ability.  Despite having never formally studied philosophy, I was at no disadvantage and my supervisor helped me to form a dissertation topic utilising the strengths of my undergraduate training.  Additionally, the breadth of subject matter was continually stimulating, from Kantian ethics to climate change, game theory and the limits of econometric models.

Monica Queiroz Ferreira de Magalhaes

The courses broadened my knowledge of philosophy, particularly of the questions in moral and political philosophy that underlie current public policy debates. The programme mainly concentrates on these underlying philosophical questions rather than on particular policies, which makes its contents much more applicable across different countries and over time than would otherwise be the case. Moreover, at the LSE, there is no shortage of resources or opportunities to learn about any particular policy in detail.

Writing a dissertation allowed me to deepen my understanding of my main area of interest (the ethical aspects of health policy), to find the specific questions that interest me the most, and to be sure that I wanted to go on to doctoral studies. In addition, and very importantly, this degree made me a competitive candidate for doctoral programmes. After working for a year as a journalist and in a think tank, I am now about to start a PhD in Health Policy with a concentration in Ethics at Harvard University, where I hope to continue thinking about the questions I began to focus on during the MSc.

The faculty and my fellow students made my year at LSE as enjoyable as it was educational. The faculty members are extremely approachable, supportive and generous with their time and advice, not only about the coursework and the programme itself but also about further study and career options.

Daniel Wang

Studying Philosophy at the LSE was as intellectual challenge. I was constantly challenged to underpin opinions with sound arguments, to analyze critically the arguments in a debate, to develop original thoughts and to cross the boundaries among disciplines. The results came fast. My MSc dissertation on Health Care Rationing in Brazil was accepted for publication in the journal of Health, Economics, Policy and Law and I was recently accepted with full funding for the MPhil/PhD program at the Department of Law in LSE, where I will develop some of the conclusions I developed for my MSc dissertation.

Tanya Wragg-Morris

Since finishing my program I’ve been working with the Young foundation on a research internship, temporarily with the LSE Public Policy group this past fall as a research assistant and now as a research intern with the UNDP. I'm stationed in Brasilia Brazil and have just finished working with the UNDP’s International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth. I was one of about 4 interns working with the team on rural and sustainable development.

I've been working on 3 main projects: 1. Institutional frameworks for the Rio +20 conference which will be a side event at the conference on the 19th , 2. A short paper on Social Technologies and Social Technology transfer, and 3. My own research on something of interest, to begin a working paper or more likely due to time, a policy brief on the lack of social inclusion and impacts on indigenous populations with the building of large dams.

I'm so thrilled to be here and it wouldn’t have been possible without the year I spent at LSE and the help I received along the way!

Scott Burnett

There was much in the content of the MSc that could be directly applied to the work that I do in South Africa. In the carbon sphere, the lectures on environmental policy and on rational choice theory helped in moulding my thinking on these issues; in the HIV-prevention sphere, where I work for a campaign that is essentially an exercise in social engineering, I was given much to think about in our studies of utilitarianism, Kant, Kamm's non-consequentialism, and in the work I did on Peter Singer for my dissertation. But for me this wasn't the best thing about the MSc at all. What I have really had opportunity to apply was the slow and careful approach to examining moral and political issues that we employed in our seminars. I had grown accustomed (in the context of a country where public debate is lively to the extent of being rough) to forming an opinion on an issue quickly, and then spending time vigorously defending it. What really challenged me during my year at the LSE was having to examine all the premises I held which I had never before bothered to think about properly. I cannot claim that my thinking has been 'fixed' - one year is too short a time to do this - but it certainly has set me on a path to being more careful in my thinking, more rigorous in my analysis, slower to pass judgment on the opinions of others, and in general better able to make the case for particular courses of action.

Ben Holden

I studied for an the Msc. in Philosophy and Public Policy, graduating in 09. Studying at LSE was a great experience because you get to develop your analytical skills and equally importantly your ability to present your own opinions in a supportive an intelectually stimpulating environment. One part of the LSE experience which really helped prepare me for the outside world was taking up an the option to do an internship organised by the university whilst I was studying. Since leaving LSE I've been working as a civil servant for the UK Government.

Alnoor Ladha

I completed the MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy in September 2009 after two years of part-time enrollment. I was working full-time in addition to the program, and although it was demanding, the professors and the department were extremely flexible with me. Even though the hours were pretty consistent from one semester to another, the program started enveloping more and more of my intellectual energy and the idle time of my subconscious. The content was so interesting and challenging that class soon became the time I looked forward to most. In fact, it spurred me to switch careers, from brand strategy consulting to the realm of public policy. Between the intellectual climate of the LSE, the rigour of the program, the inspiration of the professors, and the co-stimulation of the other students, my MSc proved to be one of the foundational experiences in my life. Anyone who is looking for an area of study that will teach them critical thinking, a platform to debate the issues of our day, from climate change to new ways to organize our political economy, and the tools for an expansive lens without the institutionalization that can occur with overly structured programs like MPA's and MBA's should consider the philosophy department at LSE.

Andy Lowenthal

Andy was selected for the Presidential Management Fellowship at the U.S. Department of State, with rotations at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and D.C. Public Schools, Office of the Chancellor. Coincidentally, Andy had highlighted Chancellor Rhee's leadership in his dissertation, which he later presented at the Global Dialogue on Ethical and Effective Governance in Amsterdam. Andy recently joined the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service as Program Manager (www.ourpublicservice.org).

He writes: 'LSE provided me an unparalleled opportunity to fundamentally change the way I think about public policy. Considering policy creation and execution through the lens of moral philosophy conjures up far more questions than it does answers, and yet it is hard to overstate the intrinsic value of asking such questions. In my research, I considered the moral obligations of public officials, and have applied that knowledge to both public education reform and government transformation. Furthermore, the guidance and support I received from the faculty really validated the Department's stellar reputation.'

Orri Stefansson

Three activities have taken up most of my time since I finished the MSc program in Philosophy and Public Policy: working as a journalist, doing research for the Icelandic Parliament's Special Investigation Commission, and preparing PhD applications. The MSc degree has, I believe, helped me with all these activities. Firstly, the degree gave me a valuable opportunity to develop analytical skills that have helped me in my work as a journalist. Although I had been writing news and analysis for two years before I entered the program, I feel that I am both more competent and confident in my work after I did the degree. Secondly, I don't think I would have been offered the job at the Investigation Commission - where I work with a group that investigates moral matters related to the collapse of the Icelandic banking sector - if I didn't have a master's degree in applied moral philosophy from LSE. Finally, the MSc degree has helped me in the PhD application process, by focusing my philosophical interests and making me able to produce better writing samples and research proposals than I would have been able to write before I entered the program.

Luke Tomlinson

I am a PhD student at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford, having been awarded an ESRC studentship to study 'Justice, Governance and Climate Change'. My research involves applying normative political theory to climate change policy and is heavily influenced by my studies at the LSE. My MSc dissertation thesis was titled 'Global Justice and Climate Change' was an essential foundation for my current research. I joined the MSc programme having initially studied economics as an undergraduate. The programme was extremely accommodating for students who had little previous experience of analytical philosophy and allowed me to pursue my specific research interests in climate change policy.

Matthew Mahone

Matt currently serves as a Senior Advisor in the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade for a program that provides funding to cities and industries facing economic challenges. For two years prior, he worked in the private sector for a consulting firm, Nordicity Group, that specializes in policy, strategy and economic analysis in the cultural and communication industries. On the political side, he managed a campaign in the 2008 Canadian Federal Election.

He writes, "The MSc Philosophy and Public Policy is an ideal program because it applies philosophical concepts to practical policy issues. So I learned how to engage with policy issues such as human rights, multiculturalism and economic development by applying a range of philosophical concepts espoused by Aristotle, Locke, Kant, Mill to the more contemporary Rawls, Nozick, Kymlicka and Sen. These lessons yielded a unique interdisciplinary approach that has strengthened my analytical skills when tackling public policy issues from a public, private, and political perspective."

Joelle Abi-Rached

I was offered a position as a research officer at the LSE's BIOS centre for the study of bioscience, biomedicine, biotechnology and society. My position which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is part of a project that will map the socio-political implications of the 'new brain sciences'. My dissertation, which tackled the philosophical aspects of post-war mental health, combined with my background in medicine was definitely instrumental in securing me the offer. First, because it falls under the growing field of 'neuro-ethics' but also health care ethics with an international scope-both of interest to the current project. And second, the interdisciplinary approach I used in my argumentation was precisely what the interviewers were interested in: integrating sociology, applied ethics, morals, and politics to explain an empirical biomedical problem is one of the trademarks of BIOS.

Jonathan Birdwell

I have been working as a Researcher at the London-based think tank DEMOS for approximately two years now. I work on a variety of topics, including social housing, local government and drugs policy, but I mainly focus on extremism and counter terrorism. The Philosophy and Public Policy course, with its great breadth of topics, provided the perfect underpinning for my current position. As a Researcher, I manage research projects and research teams, fundraise, lead and facilitate seminars and focus groups, and conduct one-to-one interviews. We employ a range of qualitative research methods to analyse our research, and the end product is a pamphlet that gets disseminated to media, academics and policy makers. All our reports can be accessed on our website (www.demos.co.uk). If your goal is to work as a policy researcher or special advisor, I highly recommend the Philosophy and Public Policy course.

Sze Ling Chen

Sze Ling Chen is working as a teaching assistant in the Department of Government at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She will lead the tutorial classes for Fundamentals of Politics and Political Philosophy.

Murray Gregorson

Murray Gregorson has accepted a job as a corporate strategy consultant at a boutique consultancy called Kaiser Associates. This is an American firm with a London office. He writes: 'My LSE degree helped immensely in getting me the first interview, and my philosophical training helped me get through the interview process: they look for analytical ability, critical thinking, rigorous argumentation, inter alia.'

Yi Hu

I am currently working in equity research of HSBC CIBM (Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets). This is a global rotational program, so I have the opportunity to rotate in London, Hong Kong or New York. I think that the PPP program has significantly improved my analytical and critical thinking skills, which are essential to equity research. Meanwhile, Luc Bovens and Alex Voorhoeve have given me lots of help and encouragement, without which I would not have gotten through the year so well or have gotten offers from both the banking industry and from other MSc programmes and PhD programmes in the LSE. This is a small but great program, with great lecturers and great classmates.

John MacIntosh

I have joined Seachange Capital as a partner. Seachange is a New York based non-profit firm that aims to help outstanding non-profits, beginning in youth education and youth development, raise capital to support their growth, through donations from wealthy individuals, foundations, and other organizations. (see www.seachangecap.org/) I am very excited about the opportunity to work in the non-profit sector. I would not have been taken seriously by the sector, nor have been firm in my conviction about joining it, without my year with you at LSE.

David Sneyd

David Sneyd has accepted a job working for the Pensions Investment Research Consultancy, which lobbies for proper corporate governance in companies as well as organising shareholder activism. He received the job mainly due to his MSc dissertation which was on shareholder activism and which acted as quite a nice segue into the sector.