Incoming students, 2020/21

The Welcome Week Schedule is a timetable of all department events over Welcome Week, also referred to as Week 0. You can view and download the schedule here, including Zoom links (You will need your LSE log-in details to access this page). 

The Quick Start Guide is an online webpage with information designed to familiarise you with a few essential resources you need to get off to a good start. You can view the page here. 

Catch up on Welcome Week Videos here

The Student Handbook will help you make most of your time whilst at the LSE, so we recommend that students familiarise themselves with the content. 

The Student Handbook should help you to find your way around the department and the School, and to plan your own programme. In it we have included a key date calendar and key information, administrative information, course information, and academic information. We have also included a section about services and trips offered by the department. The guide should help you make most of your time whilst at the LSE, so we recommend that students familiarise themselves with the content. 

You can view and download the handbook here. 

Key dates

You can download the keydates for the 2020/21 academic year here

What happens between the terms?

Between the Michaelmas Term and the Lent Term, you have the Christmas break, while between the Lent Term and the Summer Term, you have the Easter break. Some of you may have exams over the Christmas period, which means there will be work to be done over the break. For all programmes, the Easter break will be a time for revision, completing assessments and preparing for exams.

Download the course choice information for 2020/21

View the course videos for 2020/21

Course selection at LSE

Course choice advice 

You will be assigned to an Academic Mentor during Welcome Week with whom you must discuss your course options, to ensure you are making an informed choice. You can also seek course choice advice from your Programme Director.  

Courses in other departments 

Although most students take all their courses within the department, you may apply to take a course in another department, subject to their conditions and permission and that of your Academic Mentor. You can browse all postgraduate courses by departments at http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar/.  

International Development students are advised that different departments have their own rules. The International Relations Department, for instance, specifies – as indicated in the Calendar – that students from outside the department may take only one IR option. We cannot guarantee access to courses outside the Department even in those cases where the programme regulations specify that these courses are approved options to take as part of your degree. Conversely, students who are not International Development or joint degree students are not guaranteed access to our courses. 

Withdrawn courses

A full list of withdrawn graduate courses from around the school can be viewed here.

Timetables

Each course will typically have one lecture and one seminar each week. Lectures will be common for everyone taking the course. Seminars are in smaller groups and you will be able to choose a suitable seminar timing. The timing of the lectures and the various seminars will be published online. You may want to take a look at this once it is published to ensure that your preferred courses don’t clash with each other. Timetables often clash between courses of different departments.

Course choice timelines

The timeline for International Development course selection is as follows: 

• Graduate Course Selection opens for browsing on Course Finder at 10am Monday 21 September 2020.
• Graduate Course Selection opens fully on LSE for You at 2pm Thursday 24 September 2020.
• You should make your request to take ID courses LSE for You by 5pm Tuesday 29 September 2020.
• Instructors will review requests to take courses and make offers by 5pm Wednesday 30 September 2020.
• Offers that have not been accepted within 48 hours of an offer being made, will automatically time out. Any remaining places will then be offered to students on the waiting list.
• The Graduate Course Selection will close for Michaelmas Term at 5pm Monday 12 October. 

Students will be allocated a Mentor in Week 0, as you arrive. This person will advise you on course choices and help you to deal with settling in and navigating the LSE.  However, International Development staff operate an ‘open door policy’, meaning that you may sign-up to see any member of staff in the department during office hours, not just your Mentor.   What this means in practice is that you can see anyone in the department for advice.   Towards the end of Michaelmas Term we will allocate you another colleague who will support you in your work on your dissertation.  This person will have research interests that are more aligned with your own. More details on this will follow later. 

The department of International Development offers a pre-sessional in economics workshop designed for students that have little or no economic background. It is optional and if you are interested in attending it please sign up by Wednesday, 16th September 2020. 

Sign-up form using this link 

Information about the workshop: 

The pre-sessional will take place over two days: 

Day one (taught online by Dr. Joana Naritomi): 

Thursday 24 September 2020, 9:00-11:00 and 16:15-18:15 (UK time) online only via zoom (the link will be sent later) 

Part 1 (morning): Introduction to economics (discussion of key principles with great focus on intuitive examples and policy discussions) 

Part 2 (afternoon): Evidence in economics (discussion of key concepts of empirical analysis in economics; also based on intuitive discussions and examples) 

 Day two (taught in-person and online by Prof JP Faguet)

Friday 25 September 2020, from 13:00 to 16:30 (UK time) at the Peacock Theatre and broadcast live (information about how to access it online will be sent later) 

Introduction to Microeconomics: 

1. We begin with basic concepts and definitions, and then proceed through: 
2. Households and Firms 
3. Supply and Demand 
4. Equilibrium Prices and Quantities: The Price Mechanism 
5. Shifts in Demand, Shifts in Supply 
6. Elasticities 
7. Consumer Surplus 

Imperfect Competition 

1. Monopoly 
2. Externalities 
3. Public Goods 
4. Simple Game Theory – Prisoner’s Dilemma 
5. Indifference Curves 
6. The Gini Coefficient 

The workshop will be recorded and it will be made available to those who cannot attend it.

Please remember that the deadline to sign up for the workshop is Wednesday 16 September 2020.

These preliminary reading lists will help you prepare for the year ahead. 

• DS preliminary reading lists
• DM preliminary reading lists
• HID preliminary reading lists
• IDHE preliminary reading lists

Downloadable PDF on how to access LSE's library material

Most of the preparation for the dissertation begins once you are at the school. If you have got a good idea beforehand, that’s fine, but you will probably find that your choices and interests change as you become exposed to new evidence, new examples and new theoretical frameworks. So, don’t worry if you haven’t got a clear idea before you arrive. There is a very clearly laid out process of how you get your research proposal agreed, ethically and methodologically before you launch your dissertation and your dissertation mentor will be guiding you through this. Most people launch their dissertation fully just after the exams in the Summer Term.

In the meantime, you can view past prize-winning dissertations here.

Past newsletters 

• March
• April
• May
• June (DS) (DM) (HID) (IDHE)
• July (DS) (DM) (HID) (IDHE)
• No August newsletter
• September newsletter (FINAL - to be sent out 11/09/2020)

You can view past newsletters from the LSE Graduate Admissions team here: http://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/Graduate/Offer-holders/Offer-holder-news. 

Zoom Q&A sessions

Virtual Q&A session with Professor Kathy Hochstetler - the incoming Head of Department, Dr Stuart Gordon - Programme Director of International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies and incoming Head of Teaching, Drucilla Daley - Deputy Department Manager, as well as our Student Ambassadors.

Click on the links to view the sessions again:

• Wednesday 17 June, 10am-11.30am (BST)
• Thursday 18 June, 4pm-5.30pm (BST)
  
• DS Q&A Session
• DM Q&A Session
• HID Q&S Session
• IDHE Q&S Session
• Applied Economics Q&A Session
• Pre-Arrival Zoom recording and slides

Student Ambassadors 

Our Student Ambassadors are a group of current students who provide mentorship to incoming students for the new 2020/21 academic year. You can reach out to our Ambassadors via our intdev.mentors@lse.ac.uk email account. 

Some tips and advice from our Student Ambassadors:

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/internationaldevelopment/category/student_ambassadors/

Contact us

For general enquires about the admission process, please contact Graduate Admissions. Please keep an eye on processing times as the team are currently very busy.

For programme-related enquiries, please contact intdev.enquiries@lse.ac.uk.  

For programme and course specific questions, please contact the relevant Course Administrator:

Chris Llewellyn: C.Llewellyn@lse.ac.uk
MSc Course Administrator, MSc Development Management  
Courses: DV410 / DV445, DV411, DV423, DV424, DV431, DV432, DV447, DV454, DV455, DV463, DV480

Maria do Prado: M.A.Do-Prado@lse.ac.uk
MSc Course Administrator, MSc HID and MSc IDHE
Courses: DV407, DV420, DV421, DV428, DV444, DV453, DV456, DV457, DV458, DV462, DV472

Sebastiano Caleffi: s.caleffi@lse.ac.uk
MSc Course Administrator, MSc Development Studies
Courses: DV400, DV413, DV415, DV418, DV433, DV435, DV442, DV460, DV483, DV490, DV491, DV492

FAQs

You can view department FAQs for the incoming 2020/21 cohort here.  

FAQs from LSE Graduate Admissions (updated 12.20 Wed 23 July 20220)

Student discounts 

16-25 railcard, 1/3 off your rail fare

Transport for London, student railcard 

Tomtum, student discount card

UNiDAYS, studdent discount card