Previous programmes

The MSc Public Management and Governance (PMG) program was a one-year Master’s programme offered from 2008 – 2017 (inclusive). It was designed to provide an in-depth, interdisciplinary education for approximately 40 selected students each year. It was a programme geared towards future practitioners, preparing students to understand the complex problems of public management and acquire a conceptual skill set for effective policy delivery. 

The PMG programme was, following a detailed programme review in 2016, incorporated into the Master of Public Administration (MPA) programme. The core curriculum of the PMG featured, and the MPA programme now features, rigorous instruction in principles of management and public administration.

Programme overview

The program was administered by leading faculty members, as well as public policy and management practitioners in a collaborative environment. The PMG’s core curriculum enabled students to conduct policy analysis and evaluate cost and benefit appraisals, examine different modes of governance, work through key challenges of designing and managing public sector change, and scrutinize accounting and auditing regimes. 

Students were taught conceptual frameworks that enabled them to work out practical responses to a variety of policy problems and managerial challenges. The programme developed over its ten years but the essential elements of its core courses drew on research by faculty on major areas of public services across different countries and international trade. This was learnt through studying case studies of particular services to illustrate general principles and, through comparative analysis, to understand the importance of context through differences in the types of service (e.g. hospitals, schools, universities, water) and country (developed, middle and high-income countries). Students were then challenged to apply this thinking to a range of national contexts and policy domains.

The final year of the programme was designed around three compulsory core courses, along with a team-based Capstone project that required students to deliver independent research for external clients, such as the World Bank, The Boston Consulting Group, and the UK Department of Health. The Capstone projects allowed students to apply their knowledge to real-world, real-time public governance problems across a diverse range of subjects and geographical locations. PMG students also selected elective courses from LSE’s wider academic departments. The broad range of electives that were available allowed students to customize their programme and to explore their own interests.

Core-Curriculum (as for 2016-17)

• MG414 Designing and Managing Change in the Public Sector (1.0 unit) 
• MG4E4 Enabling Governments to Make Hard Choices by Assessing Costs and Benefits** (0.5 unit) 
• MG4E5 Running Governments by Hierarchy and Regulated Markets** (0.5 unit) 
• MG4E3 Capstone Project (0.5 unit) 

** Prior to 2016 MG4E4 and MG4E5 comprised a single, 1 unit, compulsory course.

Career development 

Upon graduation, PMG students were prepared to enter staff and junior managerial positions in governments, multilateral organizations, consultancies and NGOs engaged in public action. 

Over time, PMG alumni should be able to reach executive positions in public service organisations inside and outside of government; senior management positions in organisations contracting with governmental bodies, including consultancies; senior staff positions in multilateral and non-governmental organisations; and expert advisers to professional bodies concerned with public management. 

Following a strategic review of our programme portfolio in 2016, the MSc Management, Organisations and Governance programme was no longer made available to new students from 2017/18. The programme has an honourable heritage and has produced highly successful graduates over the years, all of whom will remain central to the department’s alumni community. Graduates of this programme will continue to benefit from LSE’s growing expertise in governance, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Programme overview

This challenging and highly distinctive one-year programme offered a rigorous interdisciplinary social science perspective on the analysis of management, in relation to three core themes: governance, innovation and entrepreneurship. Through this we provided an intensive and intellectually demanding approach to analysing the key issues facing modern organisations.

The core curriculum focused on organisations within the context of the wider economy and society, providing an in-depth understanding of management practice, entrepreneurship and innovation. Students were gifted knowledge around issues of operational and strategic significance, and their managerial consequences within modern organisations. The programme provided a sound understanding of approaches and tools for the management and the governance of organisations. Students were able to choose up to three optional elective courses which offered access to broad curriculum from a range of LSE departments - from philosophy to digital innovation.

The teaching format combined lectures, case studies, teamwork, data analysis and presentations. As part of the core learning students had the unique opportunity to develop their own real-world entrepreneurial business, applying theoretical knowledge to a practical challenge and gaining invaluable experience from initial idea generation through to business growth and future change.

Curriculum

The programme was designed around three compulsory core courses, along with a 6,000-word research project/dissertation.
Students were also able to customise their programme according to their own interests, and benefit from a truly interdisciplinary learning experience, by choosing up to three optional elective courses from the wide range of world-leading academic departments across LSE.

Compulsory core courses (2.5 units):

1. MG426 Organisations in the Economy and Society (1.0 unit) - introduced the economic and social context in which managers and their organisations operate.
2. MG428 Enterprise Development (0.5 unit) - started with an evaluation of leadership roles and skills, followed by idea generation, group development, market evaluation, organisational design, resource issues, performance evaluation and growth.
3. MG427 Innovation in Organisations (0.5 unit) - developed students' abilities to analyse, design and evaluate innovative initiatives in organisations.
4. MG416 research project/dissertation (0.5 unit) - students were required to write 6,000 words on a topic related to the above courses.

Career development

The programme looked to produce reflective, analytically sharp managers who will be in demand in a rapidly changing world. It was aimed at exceptional individuals aspiring to the highest levels of management seniority, in strategic or operational management in the corporate, governmental or not-for-profit sectors. The analytical approach, knowledge and skills developed during the programme make Management, Organisation and Governance graduates attractive to top employers.

The MSc Management, Organisations and Governance programme provided a route to transform your career, and move away from a specialised academic or employment background, toward a more general and senior management role - for example in consulting, social enterprise, NGOs, government and entrepreneurship.

The programme provided excellent career prospects for early-career graduates, seeking entry to graduate programmes at top global firms, as well as for experienced graduates looked to re-position themselves for more senior roles.

Large employers frequently express a preference for managers who have a solid education in the social sciences and are able to diagnose a large variety of problems and apply appropriate analytical techniques. Additionally, employers consistently say that the competency that most graduates fail to show is commercial awareness and "intrapreneurship"; this programme is designed to meet those expectations. 

Following a strategic review of our programme portfolio in 2016, the MSc International Management programme was no longer made available to new students from 2017/18. The programme has an honourable heritage and has produced highly successful graduates over the years, all of whom will remain central to the department’s alumni community. We also plan to continue our relationship with many partner Schools that are currently part of the international exchange component of the degree, by bolstering the MBA exchange offered on the two-year Global MiM programme, providing students with a wider choice of academically excellent Schools in North America.

Programme overview

The MSc International Management was a one-year programme emphasising an analytical approach to issues of globalisation and international management, through a unique combination of theoretical and practical teaching styles and international learning. The core course in the MSc International Management programme focused on an analytical approach to globalisation, giving students an understanding of industries, firms and nations at a global level.

During the first term the programme provided a highly analytical approach to management founded in the LSE’s tradition of critical thinking. In the second term students took part in the International Management Exchange programme (IMEX), studying as guests in the second year of an MBA programme at a leading business school in the US or China, with a more practical teaching approach. These two terms allowed students to benefit from different teaching approaches, which provided a uniquely valuable and globally-relevant learning experience.

The programme offered a firm foundation of critical thinking and analytically rigorous understanding of management at a global level, developing our graduate’s talent to achieve lasting success over a lifelong career in a rapidly changing international market.   
Six world-leading business schools partnered with the LSE in the IMEX programme, and students studied at one of these schools throughout the second term of their programme:

• The Chicago Booth School of Business, University of Chicago
• The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
• Yale School of Management
• Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Michigan University
• Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
• Guanghua School of Management, Peking University

Curriculum

Students spent the first term at the LSE where they take a compulsory core course, and were able to customise their programme according to their own interests by choosing up to three optional elective courses from the a selection of world-leading academic departments within the LSE.

Students then embarked on the second term abroad at a leading international business school in either China or the US as part of the IMEX exchange programme. The term abroad was worth one full (1.0) unit towards the degree. Whilst abroad, students took courses from the 2nd year of the MBA programme at their allocated school.

In the final part of the programme, students completed a dissertation of 10,000 words which was submitted in the first week of September. 

Compulsory core courses (3.0 units):

Either: MG4B5 Business in the Global Environment  (0.5 unit) - looked at the process of globalisation at three levels: industries, firms and nations. Its goal was to develop a solid understanding of the external, economy-wide factors that affect the performance and management of firms in today's global economy. Topics included the changing structure of industries; the response of companies, both those based in the advanced industrial countries and those based in emerging markets, to increasing international competition; and differences between countries in their institutions and policies.

Or: MG4B9 The World Trading System (0.5 unit) - looked at the globalisation process: the negotiation, implementation and implications of international trade agreements (ITAs). The challenges and opportunities faced by companies engaged in the global economy in this context were analysed. The course relied on recent theoretical and empirical research to gain insight into the motivations for ITAs and their consequences for consumers and firms.

MG494 IMEX echange term:  Students chose courses to the value of 1.0 unit at one of the IMEX partner schools during their term abroad.

MG495 Dissertation (1.0 unit) a 10,000-word dissertation.

Career development

The MSc International Management provided graduates with a route for career acceleration into more senior roles for top employers, for example consulting roles in large firms. The majority of graduates chose to work in banking and management consulting, but our students  also went on to excel in a range of careers such as marketing, human resource management and public relations.

The programme offered students an excellent foundation of critical thinking and an in-depth understanding of management at a global level, preparing them for a variety of employment areas and developing their talent to achieve lasting success over a lifelong career. 

The MSc Management Science (Operational Research) programme is now hosted by the Department of Mathematics as of 2017/18, as a stand along degree entitled MSc Operations Research & Analytics - benefiting from closer links to LSE’s experts in this field. This decision was taken following an in-depth review of our programme portfolio in 2016, and follows the migration of the School’s Operations Research Faculty Group to Mathematics in August 2015.

The MSc Management Science (Decision Sciences) was not closed as a result of the programme review. However, it was suspended for 2017/18 as part of the broader restructuring within the department. As this degree equipped students with effective decision making skills at organisational level, we see significant value in making core courses currently offered on the Decision Sciences programme available as electives across our entire portfolio of MSc degrees.

In addition, we are working closely with colleagues around LSE to embed decision sciences into the teaching of other departments. Graduates of this programme will continue to benefit from LSE’s growing expertise in behavioural science research and its active community.

Programme overview

The MSc in Management Science was a one year programme which provided students with both the knowledge and experience needed to apply Management Science techniques and methods at the highest decision making levels in organisations.

The Management Science degree was built on the experience of a range of internationally renowned researchers, authors and teachers who have a proven track record in developing pioneering methods for influencing the decisions that matter in organisations. 

The degree had two streams:

Operational Research (OR) stream - this stream was oriented to finding solutions to problems experienced by organisations in the way they operate. Aspects of an organisation's environment are modelled using a variety of well-defined analytics models, which reveal solutions that would otherwise have been difficult to discover. That describes the 'harder' side of OR. The 'softer' side is concerned with messy, complex issues faced by organisations, which can benefit from problem structuring approaches that enable the stakeholders to diagnose and resolve their issues. This stream was originally delivered in collaboration with faculty from the Department of Mathematics.

Decision Sciences (DS) stream - the focus in this stream was on helping decision makers to think more clearly about complex issues in their organisations, and on achieving committed alignment of key players. Mathematical models were used to help create alignment, but always within a carefully designed social process utilising behavioural analytics.

Both streams provided a thorough grounding in fundamental concepts and analytics methods of Management Science and enabled students to gain the skills to pursue higher degrees, or careers in commerce, industry or government in any country.

Curriculum

Under each stream students studied three compulsory core courses, and submitted a 10,000-word dissertation. 
In addition students had the opportunity to customise their programme according to their own interests and career goals, and benefit from a truly interdisciplinary learning experience, by choosing optional elective courses from a range of world-leading academic departments across the LSE.

Compulsory core courses (2.5 units)

Operational Research (OR) stream courses:

MG4C1 Techniques of Operational Research (0.5 unit) - introduced students to a range of Management Science techniques. 

MG4C8 Model Building in Mathematical Programming (0.5 unit) - Mathematical Programming is one of the most powerful and widely-used quantitative techniques for making optimal decisions. The course had a pragmatic focus and aimed to enable students to model and solve real-life management problems, using a range of approaches.

MG4C5 Computer Modelling: Applied Statistics and Simulation (0.5 unit) - introduced students to the uses and practice of stochastic modelling and applied statistics.

Either MG4C7 Applied Management Science  (1.0 unit) - a three month practical project undertaken for a real company in a real life situation. This was a chance to put what had been learned on the programme to good use.

Or MG4C9 Dissertation (1.0 unit) - 10,000-word dissertation which allowed students to pursue an independent piece of research within the field of Management Science.

Decision Science (DS) stream courses:

MG455 Behavioural Decision Science for Management and Policy (0.5 unit) - examined the key theories and experimental findings of behavioural science.

MG456 Risk and Decision Analysis for Management and Policy (0.5 unit) - examined how to use Risk and Decision Analysis to support decision making in private and public organisations.

MG4C5 Computer Modelling: Applied Statistics and Simulation (0.5 unit) -introduced students to the uses and practice of stochastic modelling and applied statistics.

Either MG4C7 Applied Management Science (1.0 unit) - a three month practical project undertaken for a real company in a real life situation. This was a chance to put what had been learned on the programme to good use.

Or MG4C9 Dissertation (1.0 unit) - 10,000-word dissertation which allowed students to pursue an independent piece of research within the field of Management Science.

Career development

Upon graduation, MSc Management Science students were prepared to enter positions in governments, multilateral organisations, consultancies, financial institutions and other major organisations. They were also given the skills to start their own enterprises if they choose to do so. Over time, students should be able to reach senior management positions in all types of organisations.

Graduates generally found ready employment in financial institutions, consultancies, government departments, software houses and other major organisations.

Every year, LSE Careers conducts a destinations survey of LSE graduates 6 months after they have graduated. From the 2013-14 survey of Management Science graduates:

• 92% were in work or further study 6 months after graduation.
• Mean salary of £40,000.