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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 combines a strong core curriculum with the flexibility to develop individual interests.
This programme is based in the Department of Sociology. It offers a number of appealing opportunities and advantages:
* Political sociology is a subject with a long and distinguished history and a thriving contemporary debate.
* LSE is the only specialist institution for the social sciences in the UK, and it has been home to some of the leading thinkers in the subject.
* 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 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.
* It will give you the opportunity to expand your knowledge of politics and society, and to build up special expertise in particular areas of interest.
* 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.
* In addition, the MSc dissertation will provide you with the opportunity to explore the possibility of writing on a particular subject in some depth, and the programme will give you the chance to progress to a research degree (MPhil/PhD) on completion.
* Students go into a wide range of professions including teaching, research, politics, public administration, the social and health services, journalism and other areas of the media, law, publishing, industry, and management, as well as working for think tanks, activist groups, international bodies, and non-governmental organisations.
The core course 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, social identities 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. 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
* Politics and Society
* 10,000 word dissertation on a topic in political sociology
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:
* Economic Sociology*
* Globalisation: Economy, Politics and Power*
* Approaches to Human Rights
* Political Reconciliation*
* Nationalism
* Ethnic and Religious Violence in Post-Colonial Societies*
* Partisanship in Europe*
* European Society and Politics beyond the Nation State*
* Interest Representation and Economic Policy-Making in Europe*
* Regulation, Risk and Economic Life
* Contemporary Social Thought
* Gender and Societies*
* Topics in Race, Ethnicity and Post-colonial Studies
* Racial Formations of Modernity*
* Race, Ethnicity and Migration in Britain (post 1945)*
* Theories and Concepts in Media and Communications I (Key concepts and interdisciplinary approaches)*
* Theories and Concepts in Media and Communications II (Processes of communication in modern life)*
* Classical Social Thought*
* Modern Social Thought*
* Social Research Methods
* Race and Biopolitics*
* Politics of Social Policy: Welfare and Work in Comparative Perspective*
* Risk and Governance: A Sociological Approach*
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.
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.
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