Geography and Environment

About the Department

As we attempt to improve human welfare and environmental quality, it is vital that we have a good understanding of the social, political and economic forces which shape development and social change in our interdependent global economy.

The Department of Geography and Environment at LSE is distinctive in that it concentrates on the social scientific aspects of geography and environmental studies, placing great emphasis on multidisciplinary teaching and research and focusing on policy-relevant work. We focus on the spatial dimensions of economic, social and environmental processes and problems.

Department research primarily takes place in three thematic clusters: Economic Geography and Regional Science; Environmental Economics and Policy; Urbanisation, Planning and Development. The clusters are closely associated with large externally-funded research centres: the ESRC Spatial Economics Research Centre (SERC), the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (incorporating the ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy), and the Latin America and Caribbean Centre respectively. Staff in each of these research clusters have responsibility for teaching specialist courses, ensuring that students benefit from the most up-to-date understanding of the issues involved.

MPhil/PhD programmes

The Department runs five PhD programmes in Economic Geography, Environmental Economics, Environmental Policy and Development, Human Geography and Urban Studies, and Regional and Urban Planning Studies. These five programmes reflect the range of expertise in the Department, which produces world class research in economic, urban and development geography, environmental social science and climate change. Like our staff, you will operate at the very highest academic level, and benefit from being at the forefront of research in your chosen field.

As part of your PhD training, you will take a range of compulsory and optional courses. Specifically, you will take core courses in human geography, economic geography, environmental economics or environmental policy (depending on your programme) as well as relevant specialist MSc-level courses to take you to the leading edge of your chosen discipline and topic. You can also select from courses offered by LSE's Department of Methodology to help you prepare for your research.

Research programmes

• MPhil/PhD Economic Geography
• MPhil/PhD Environmental Economics
• MPhil/PhD Environmental Policy and Development
• MPhil/PhD Human Geography and Urban Studies
• MPhil/PhD Regional and Urban Planning Studies

Taught programmes

• MSc Environment and Development
• MSc Environmental Economics and Climate Change
• MSc Environmental Policy and Regulation 
• MSc Human Geography and Urban Studies (Research)
• MSc Local Economic Development
• MSc Real Estate Economics and Finance
• MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies
• MSc Urbanisation and Development

The Department runs a joint degree with Sciences Po, Paris:

• LSE-Sciences Po Double Degree in Urban Policy