About the MSc programme
Political sociology is a subject with a long and distinguished history and a thriving contemporary debate. LSE has been home to some of the leading thinkers in the subject, and the MSc will give you the chance to study political sociology at graduate level, with teachers who are both active researchers and renowned in their fields. It will also give you the opportunity to learn and work with students from all over the world, some of whom will bring first hand experience of politics in their own countries.
The programme is designed to look beneath the day to day controversies of politics in order to explore the underlying forces that either promote or retard political and social change. It will provide you with the analytical tools and the empirical knowledge to understand some of the fundamental forces that have shaped, and are shaping, the world in which we live. The programme combines a strong core curriculum with the flexibility to develop individual interests. It will give you the opportunity to expand your knowledge of politics and society, and to build up special expertise in particular areas.
It will also give you the opportunity to develop your capacity for rigorous oral and written argument. Seminar discussion and essay writing will foster a critical approach which will encourage you to re-evaluate commonly accepted ideas, to consider alternative explanations for important social and political developments, and to support your own conclusions with carefully deployed evidence.
Students go into a wide range of professions including academic research, teaching, politics, diplomacy, government policy-making, public administration, journalism, the media, law, publishing, industry, and management, as well as working for think tanks, activist groups, international bodies, and non-governmental organisations.
The compulsory course, Politics and Society|, explores a series of fundamental questions about the social bases of politics and the relationship between states and societies. It examines the interaction between economic interests, political institutions, and cultural norms. It has a strong empirical and historical component, which provides an opportunity to engage with some of the classic puzzles that have defined the field, to expand your knowledge of a number of countries, and to systematically compare their experiences. The course is organised around a two hour seminar each week during teaching terms. Special additional seminars cover some key theoretical approaches and methods in the social sciences, and provide a forum for exploring the use of these in your own work.
Students on the programme also choose two further full unit courses (or up to four further half unit courses) from a wide range of options. This choice of options enables you to build a focus around either empirical or theoretical topics, or a mixture of both. It also enables you to draw on the expertise of academic staff in different departments throughout LSE.
Finally, all students on the degree write a 10,000 word dissertation. This gives you a chance to develop your thinking in an area that is of particular interest to you, and to produce an extended piece of individual research.
We will consider applicants who have good first degrees in any relevant discipline, and a considered interest in the area covered by the MSc. We are looking for bright students, with an interest in political sociology, who enjoy engaging in argument and debate.
Compulsory course
Options
(* half unit)
You must select the equivalent of two further full unit courses. At least one full unit (or two half units) must be taken from a list of relevant options. This list currently includes:
The other full unit (or two half units) may be taken either from this list or from one of numerous other taught master's courses offered by Sociology, Government, and other departments and institutes. Please see lse.ac.uk/calendar| for brief details of all taught master's courses. Note however that the options which are chosen must be relevant to the study of political sociology, and are subject to the approval of the programme director.
Please also note that not all courses are given every year, and that entry into some is limited by the course provider or the department which is responsible, and is not guaranteed.