About the MSc programme
This programme is based in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method. The Department provides additional information on its degree webpage. The programme offers the following benefits:
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It offers a critical examination of conceptual and methodological issues underlying social scientific research.
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The Department's approach to philosophical study is resolutely interdisciplinary. We believe that philosophical analysis is best seen as continuous with scientific practice. (In this sense, we fall squarely within the "naturalist" tradition in the philosophy of science.)
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The Department's strength in philosophy of economics and rational choice theory makes it a natural place to study for those who wish to examine, and critique, the use of these methods within the social sciences.
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The Department is one of the major centres for the philosophy of social science in the world.
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The degree is highly regarded internationally.
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The Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, housed at LSE, is one of the international centres of the discipline and attracts a series of eminent visitors. MSc students benefit from the seminars and research activities at the Centre.
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The Department has close links with other philosophy departments in the University of London. Many graduate level lecture courses given in other colleges of the University are available to MSc students and are required teaching for some courses. This gives students access to the very rich, general London philosophical environment.
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The position of the Department within an international centre of excellence in the social sciences means that there is a good deal of collaboration between social scientists and philosophers both in teaching and research.
The MSc in Philosophy of the Social Sciences will be of interest to students from a variety of backgrounds, eg, from philosophy, history, economics, sociology, anthropology, social psychology, geography, political science, and so on. We will consider applicants with a first or upper second class honours degree or equivalent, with a considered interest in the area covered by the MSc. If your first language is not English, please submit with your application to LSE a sample of your work in English (five to ten typed pages).
We recruit students from all across the world to assemble a genuinely international group, which enriches the social and intellectual environment that the programme offers.
We approach philosophical issues in the social sciences through examining historical and contemporary issues with the scientific study of society. These include topics such as the following: the scientific status of the social sciences, and whether they might count as properly objective. What accounts for the diversity of methods in the social sciences (and lack of agreement as to which ones ought to be followed)? Do evolutionary explanations of social phenomena provide an accurate account of why societies are the way they are, or are such explanations merely unverifiable just-so stories? What relations exist among rationality, choice, action, and interpretation?
Programme details
A typical student on this programme can expect to have, for each examined course, 20 hours of lectures and 30 hours of seminars (with a guarantee that no seminar will have more than 15 students). In addition, there will be 30 hours of teaching on the dissertation research and writing seminar. Additional contact time concerning one-on-one dissertation and class teaching support is available during office hours and by appointment at the request of the student.
Our students typically form a tight social group. The Department facilitates this by hosting a number of social occasions through the year. In addition, London has a wide range of opportunities for socialising, with a great many additional philosophical activities offered by the Institute of Philosophy and the University of London, enabling enterprising students to make contact with people from other universities.
Compulsory courses
You will write a Dissertation of not more than 10,000 words, on a topic in the philosophy of the social sciences (within the "analytic" tradition, broadly construed).
Students will be expected to choose courses to the value of three units from a range of options.
You can find the most up-to-date list of optional courses for MSc Philosophy of the Social Sciences in the Programme Regulations section of the current School Calendar.
You must note however that while care has been taken to ensure that this information is up to date and correct, some circumstances may cause the School to subsequently change, suspend or withdraw a course or programme of study, or change the fees that apply to it. The School will neither be liable for information that after publication becomes inaccurate or irrelevant, nor for changing, suspending or withdrawing a course or programme of study due to circumstances outside of its control. You must also note that places are limited on some courses and/or subject to specific entry requirements. The School cannot therefore guarantee places on its courses. You should visit the School's Calendar, or contact the relevant academic department, for information on the availability and/or content of courses and programmes of study. Certain substantive changes will be listed on the Updated graduate course and programme information page.
Graduate destinations
Past programme graduates have gone on to a wide variety of careers, ranging from Law, studying in various PhD programmes in Philosophy, forming their own start-up, working in the City and working at Google. We have a very good record of students entering excellent PhD programmes.
Contact us
If you have any further questions about the programme or the department, please email us at philosophy-dept@lse.ac.uk.