Introduction to LSE
The LSE’s full name is the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The LSE is a particularly international university, and its focus on social, economic and political problems means that areas of interest reach across the whole world, not just the UK and European Union. It is a well-regarded university, describing itself as ‘a world class centre for its concentration of teaching and research across the full range of the social, political and economic sciences’.
The LSE has around 7,800 full-time students and over 800 part-time students, from 140 countries around the world. Of these, 34 per cent from the UK, 18 per cent are from other European Union countries. 48 per cent of students are from outside the European Union.
On the teaching and administrative side, LSE has over 1,460 full-time staff and around 1,320 part-time members of staff. 97 per cent of the academic staff are involved in research, and 45 per cent are from abroad, half of these from the European Union and half from outside the European Union.
History of the LSE
The LSE was founded in 1895 by a group of four Fabians at a breakfast party in Milford, Surrey, with the help of a bequest by Henry Hunt Hutchinson of £20,000. The members of the Fabian group were Beatrice and Sidney Webb, Graham Wallas and George Bernard Shaw. This original bequest was soon built upon by other donations from various philanthropists, and the school began to grow.
The main stated aim of the LSE, upon its foundation, was ‘the betterment of society’. The Webbs, Sidney and Beatrice, were particularly concerned with poverty and inequality in society, and sought to establish a school which provided direction and support to its students.
The very first classes held by the LSE were in October 1895 in John Street, and then a year after that, in Adelphi Terrace. The University of London recognised LSE in 1900 as a faculty of economics, and in 1901, the University announced the degrees to be offered by the faculty - BSc (Econ) and DSc (Econ). These were the first ever university degrees geared solely around the social sciences.
It was in 1902 that the LSE moved to its present location, in Clare Market and Houghton Street, just off Aldwych. In the February of 1922, Professor Edwin Cannan devised the LSE’s motto; rerum cognoscere causas. Translated from latin, this means to know the cause of things.
How the LSE works
The LSE offers a large number of undergraduate and also postgraduate courses in social sciences. Teaching at the LSE is delivered via academic departments, interdisciplinary institutes and also partnerships with well-established overseas colleges and universities.
Postgraduates can study a wide range of masters programmes (MA, MSc and LLM), which take one year to complete full-time, or two years if undertaken part-time. MPhil and PhD degrees are also available across the LSE, as research programmes. The LSE also offers conversion diplomas, and diplomas to augment undergraduate study. The LSE also offers language courses via its Language Centre – language degrees are available as well as smaller courses.
The LSE manages the External Programme in economics, information systems, finance, management and social science on behalf of the University of London.
At present this Programme has more than 15,000 students enrolled. The External Programme enrols students wherever they are currently living, and is based around course structures and content which are set by LSE staff.
There is also a summer programme at LSE, which runs in London from July to August, consisting of an intensive three weeks of study. These programmes are aimed at secondary school students and students can also shadow those doing degrees at LSE, in the spirit of encouraging and raising awareness of the possibilities of higher education offered by LSE.
Visiting undergraduate students from abroad may undertake a fully integrated year of study abroad at LSE with a choice of over 300 courses available – this is known as the General Course.
The LSE holds meetings and seminars with government, industry and various professions to discuss how research findings might bear upon public policy. A number of LSE staff also sit on and participate in advisory organisations and bodies, for example the Low Pay Commission, the Monetary Policy Committee and the Press Complaints Commission.
Famous Alumni
Being a renowned centre for international students, the LSE has notable alumni all over the world. Many former heads of state around the globe are LSE alumni. Former US president John F Kennedy graduated from LSE, as did infamous intern Monica Lewinsky. Many other international leaders studied at LSE; the list includes Harmodio Arias, the former President of Panama, Oscar Arias, former President of Costa Rica, Errol Walton Barrow, former Prime Minsiter of Barbados, Marek Belka, former Prime Minister of Poland, Pedro Gerardo Beltran Espanto, the former Prime Minister of Peru, Maurice Bishop, the former Prime Minister of Grenada, Heinrich Brüning, the former German Chancellor, Forbes Burnham, the former President of Guyana, Kim Campbell, the former Prime Minister of Canada, Eugenia Charles, the former Prime Minister of Dominica, John Compton, former Prime Minister of St Lucia, Sher Bahadur Deuba, former Prime Minister of Nepal, Tuanku Jaafar, former King of Malaysia, Mwai Kibaki, former President of Kenya, and Tanin Kraivixien, former King of Thailand.
Many British politicians went to LSE; Michael Meacher, Ed Miliband, Ruth Kelly, Margaret Hodge, Edwina Currie, Tony Banks and Stephen Pound are amongst the better known. The most notable British LSE graduate in the political arena is former British Prime Minster, Lord Clement Atlee.
In the field of popular culture, LSE boasts Mick Jagger of Rolling Stones fame as an alumnus, Chef Loyd Grossman, money saving expert Martin Lewis, TV present and Eurosceptic politician Robert Kilroy-Silk, and Oliver Weindling, jazz promoter and founder of the Babel jazz record label.
LSE boasts notable alumni in many fields; the small number listed above bears testament to the reputation of the university as a centre of excellence, particularly for international study.
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