Urbanisation and Development

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The MSc Urbanisation and Development Programme offers students an integrated and up to date course on urban development, which draws on the breadth of research expertise and practical experience in the Department of Geography and Environment and the Development Studies Institute (DESTIN).

It offers the following benefits:

* A unique interdisciplinary approach towards this increasingly important field, drawing on the wide ranging disciplinary expertise and experience of staff in both the Department of Geography and Environment and the Development Studies Institute.
* Teaching staff are leading researchers in the field supplemented by visiting professors and an intense schedule of outside speakers, seminars and conferences.
* A focus on developing graduates' abilities to integrate recent theoretical developments with practical experience and concerns.
* The opportunity to select from a range of options, allowing you to shape your studies to your needs.
* An active, international community of graduates studying on a range of master's courses, many related to urban and development issues.
* Located at the heart of one of the world's most exciting and cosmopolitan cities, LSE is an excellent base from which to explore contemporary urbanism and offers access to a wide range of development organisations and civil society organisations (CSOs).
* Graduates enter a wide variety of employment including non-governmental and civil society organisations, international organisations, research, consultancy, and the public sector.

This programme is intended for graduates with a good first degree in the following disciplines: geography, development, sociology, planning, anthropology and any programme with a substantive urban or development studies component. At a time when three-quarters of the world's urban population and 90 per cent of urban population growth will be in the developing world, it is vital we understand relationships between urban and development issues from both theoretical and empirical standpoints.

The programme reviews urbanism from colonial to the contemporary period, emphasising demographic, social, economic, cultural and political processes. The programme pays particular attention to the origins and claims of development theory and practice, and the aims and achievements of contemporary urban policy from a wide variety of thematic and theoretical perspectives.

Compulsory courses

* Urban Policy and Practice in the South
* Dissertation

Options

(* half unit)

Choose courses to the value of 1 unit from:

* Development: History, Theory and Policy
* Poverty*
* Population and Development: An Analytical Approach*
* African Development*
* Complex Emergencies*
* HIV/AIDS and Other Emerging Health Threats*

Choose courses to the value of 1 unit from:

* Gender and Development: Geographical Perspectives*
* Contemporary Urbanism
* Urban Ethnography*
* Cities, People and Poverty in the South*
* Cities and Social Change in East Asia*
* Cities Politics and Citizenship*
* Planning for Sustainable Cities*
* Economic Appraisal and Valuation*
* Race and Space*
* Development, Diaspora and Migration*
* Environment and Development: Sustainability, Technology and Business*Environment and Development: Resources, Institutions and the Global South*
* The Urban Revolution*
* Other urban and/or development courses available in the School as approved by the programme director and subject to admittance by course director

Minimum entry requirement: * 2:1 in geography, development, sociology, planning, anthropology or any programme with a substantive urban or development studies component English requirement: * TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with a minimum score of 603 in the paper test or 100 in the internet based test. * IELTS (International English Language Testing System) with a minimum score of 6.5. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 CAE score: (read more) Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) is part of the Cambridge English suite and is targeted at a high level (IETLS 6.5-8.0). It is an international English language exam set at the right level for academic and professional success. Developed by Cambridge English Language Assessment - part of the University of Cambridge - it helps you stand out from the crowd as a high achiever. 80 (Grade A) TOEFL paper-based test score : 603 TOEFL iBT® test: 100 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.

Fee reductions and rewards
LSE undergraduates starting taught postgraduate study at the School are eligible for a fee reduction in the region of ten per cent of the fee. These reductions are available for UK, EU and non-EU students. The School offers a range of rewards for early payment of fees for all self-financed students.

Scholarships for study at LSE

LSE makes available over £12 million annually in financial support for its students via a range of scholarships, bursaries and award schemes, details of which can be found on these pages. LSE's world class programmes attract a consistently high calibre of applicants, many of whom seek financial support from the School, so there is always much competition for our awards. Securing the necessary funds to attend LSE can be a difficult and time consuming process so you should start to think about it as early as possible. Please be aware that the School will be unable to offer you any financial assistance if you knowingly register under funded. The relevant link on the left will take you to the awards available for your chosen level of study.

The School would like to thank the many donors who have contributed to the New Futures Fund, which provides funds for a number of discretionary scholarships.

Diploma, LLM, MA, MSc and MSc (Research) programmes

There are a range of awards available for study at this level. Approximately 19% of taught masters offer holders are successful in obtaining some form of financial support from the School. The value of support ranges in value from 10% of the tuition fee to a full fees and maintenance award.

Graduate Support Scheme

LSE's major financial support scheme for study at taught masters level is the Graduate Support Scheme (GSS). This scheme is open to all applicants, with the exception of those undertaking specific modular or executive programmes such as the MSc in Finance (Part time) or the MSc in Health Economics, Policy and Management. Around £2 million is available annually in the form of awards from the Graduate Support Scheme. The Scheme is designed to help students who do not have sufficient funds to meet all their costs of study. GSS awards range in value from £3,000 to a maximum of £10,000, and have an average value of £6,000. Application to the Graduate Support Scheme is via the LSE Graduate Financial Support Application form. This form will be made available to you once you have submitted an application for admission to the School. The form will then be available until 27 April 2011.

Awards

If you complete the LSE Graduate Financial Support Application form, and are made an offer of admission by 27 April 2011, you will also be automatically considered for any other awards being offered by LSE, for which you are eligible, with the exception of Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding where there are separate, department led processes in place. AHRC and ESRC funding is relevant to Home UK and Home EU applicants only, and there are also subject restrictions in place. We offer a range of awards based on different criteria such as a specific programme of study, nationality, or country of permanent domicile. In addition, a number of external organisations offer funding to support postgraduate study. We recommend that applicants follow up as many avenues as possible to find funding. Please be aware that if you accept funding from an external source, it is your responsibility to check the terms of the award. Some awards are accompanied by specific terms and conditions which you should be sure you able to meet before accepting the award. Information about other Awards offered by LSE or external organisations. Please take some time to look at all the other awards available to support your study at LSE. The details of these awards are updated each October, but new LSE awards may become available during the course of the admissions cycle. We will only write to successful applicants for these awards. Selection for these awards will take place between May and July 2011 and all successful applicants will be notified by 31 July 2011.