Despite being a relatively new School, we trace our particular origins back to 2003, when LSE founded a stand-alone two-year Master of Public Administration (MPA) with just 18 students, thought to be the first of its kind in UK. Professor George W. Jones and Professor Patrick Dunleavy were instrumental in the creation and early years of our MPA. The scale of that initial cohort of students stands in contrast to the thriving community of over 350 students now enrolled in our degrees.
In 2011, LSE established the Institute of Public Affairs as the forerunner to the School of Public Policy, to act as a co-ordinating and umbrella structure for MPA students.
The creation of the Institute of Public Affairs enabled, in 2013, the launch of our Executive Master of Public Administration, for students with significant work experience to accommodate study alongside full time employment.
In 2014, the Institute of Public Affairs successfully bid for a contract to co-design and co-deliver an Executive Master of Public Policy for the UK’s Civil Service Learning, targeting senior civil servants. The Executive MPP enrolled its first students in 2015 and the contract was extended in 2018 and a further four years of the contract were awarded in 2019.
In 2015 the Interim Director of LSE, Professor Julia Black, established a Task Force to review the teaching of public policy at LSE and make recommendations for its further development. The Task Force worked for two years, resulting in a proposal to the LSE’s Academic Board, and latterly the LSE Council as our governing body, to establish the School of Public Policy from September 2018. The Academic Board and the LSE Council approved the creation of the School of Public Policy without the need for a vote.