London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE
speciality: International Relations

I love it. LSE has lots of opportunities and support for students, amazing lecturers, lots of events, constant visits from industry-leading professionals, helpful staff. I’m really enjoying my Master’s here.

LSE helps students to reach their academic full potential and allows them to succeed in terms of their careers and dreams. LSE continues to be the top university in the UK for human sciences. Not only do they support students to pursue their careers in international organisations, LSE also allows students to pursue their careers in banking and consulting firms.

Generally good, but as a political science student, I find it difficult to land on the best opportunity for career. Maybe more help in career service would be great. Confused about the all formative essay stuff at first

Half way into my second year, LSE has been a positive experience so far, mostly due to the people I’ve met. Managing your studies is largely left up to you with little contact time with teaching staff, which requires independence and self-motivation. While there are opportunities on campus to get involved with societies, sports, and other groups, seeking out these opportunities is entirely the student’s responsibility. LSE lacks the community often found in campus based universities, but students proactive with their social lives will not find this a challenge. Overall I would recommend the university, but keeping in mind that some students would struggle with the lack of support LSE is known for.

Good place to do a social sciences degree. Lectures are pretty engaging (in IR at least) and the classes (1hr per week per module) are not that long, but still enough time to discuss. Personally I really enjoy the topics. Some seminar teachers are better than others. Learning is quite independent – most of the information comes from the three readings you do each week – but the uni are doing things to try and offer more support. ____Nothing comes close to LSE if like me you like to learn languages as a way of getting to know the society and politics of other countries. It’s one of the only places where you can do a language within a social science degree at 5 levels going from beginner to advanced. Since it’s LSE, the courses focus on politics and economics as opposed to literature for example. ____There isn’t quite the same close-knit community feel that some campus/collegiate unis have but so many other things go into making friends anyway. The buildings are mostly modern, unlike Durham or Oxbridge. It’s very multicultural and at least 50% of students are from outside the UK. Halls vary but Rosebery is very good. Nights out are expensive as it’s London but at least it’s not too far to get home. There are lots of societies – not quite 200 like the website claims as some are from previous years – but still plenty to do. And if it’s your thing there are talks about politics, economics etc. from renowned speakers almost every day.

LSE puts a lot of emphasis on academic rigour and performance. Whilst some may find this approach a little too serious, I found it to be stimulating. ____The large international student body truly enriches class discussion further adding to the academic life.

I have only been here for some months now but I particularly enjoy the quality of education. All my classes and class teachers are great. The professors are all passionate about the subjects and I learn interesting things everyday. I think the atmosphere at LSE Can be scary at times but as long as you make an effort to be social (clubs, societies, halls) you’ll have a good time!

For International Relations: perhaps down to sheer fortune but had fantastic professors with only maybe one or two exceptions, programme was academically rigorous albeit heavily theoretical. Personally enjoyed the theory but this can also be a downside for some

Coming into my first year of undergraduate study on BSc International Relations, the best advice I found online is ‘London and LSE are what you make of it’. Before starting university it seemed rather trivial and untrue, but seven months later I can say those people were right. LSE nowadays is known for two things – employers love LSE students but students do not love LSE. The university has one of the lowest student satisfaction ratings and perhaps deservedly so. The workload and academic pressure is high from day one, the environment is competitive and the Student Union has more issues than Vogue. LSE seems to be doing little real work to change the status and so students are left to their own devices to find enjoyment. However, my first year here was also one of the best years of my life. All the criticism stands but I knew coming into LSE that it would be difficult. Considering it is based in London there is no classic campus student experience with crazy parties put on by the SU, however there is a wide variety of societies you can get involved in. I was heavily involved with Model United Nations and have made a supportive network of friends and a solid social life. I am an incoming vice-president for Grimshaw Club and have learned many skills through that. Teaching on my course has also been very good and so far I’ve been taught by academic who publish books and are experts in their field. Not many universities can offer that to their students. Going back to my first point, ‘London is what you make of it’, the city may be expensive but it is possible to live on a budget and have fun. There are so many free activities to do around the city and Whetherspoons which you can find anywhere in the city has decent pint prices. It is a vibrant, multicultural environment with so much on offer that you cannot ever be bored. So to answer the question posed in the title – LSE deserves the low satisfaction ratings to an extent. It has its downfalls, however it teaches you to be proactive in creating a great environment in which you can thrive and have fun. So make sure to go out of your way in Freshers to meet people, test out different societies and commit to one or two and create friendships there too! LSE is ultimately worth the trouble and your money.

Personally, I think LSE is a great RESEARCH university however when it comes to teaching and its ability to support you throughout the year it lacks the ability to make classes the most engaging, provide handouts or summaries of content and at times it feels super difficult to engage with professors and ask for help.