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Teaching


The III supports a diverse range of interdisciplinary teaching, with programmes at Master's and PhD level.

Studying at the III is a fantastic experience as it brings together research and teaching from across LSE in an attempt to tackle one of the most pressing challenges we face.

Our programmes include the MSc in Inequalities and Social Science, the Atlantic Fellows Programme, and the III Doctoral Programme.

See below for more information on our teaching programmes:

MSc Inequalities and Social Science

As a result of dramatic economic and social changes over recent years, the study of inequality has rapidly developed as one of the most important areas of inter-disciplinary social scientific study.

The MSc Inequalities and Social Science is a comprehensive and wide-ranging programme, providing an introduction to a range of interdisciplinary approaches to the social scientific analysis of inequality. The MSc programme, co-organised by the International Inequalities Institute and LSE's Department of Sociology, includes expertise from leading academics across LSE, giving students the opportunity to study inequalities from a wide range of perspectives.

A limited number of fully-funded places on the MSc are available to successful applicants of the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme (AFSEE). AFSEE is an innovative fellowship bringing together policy-makers, activists and movement-builders from around the world to explore and challenge the root causes of inequality.

Programme Director: Dr Sam Friedman

See here for information on the programme and how to apply.

Read about our MSc students' experiences and graduate destinations.

Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity

Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity (AFSEE) is a fully-funded fellowship programme that brings together mid-career activists, policy-makers, movement-builders and social change leaders from around the world to the LSE to work across disciplines and borders to understand and address the root causes of inequality.

There are two tracks in the AFSEE Fellowship: Residential and Non-Residential. Members of the Residential track undertake the MSc in Inequalities and Social Science at LSE during their active fellowship year, while Non-Residential Fellows undertake a Postgraduate Certificate in Social and Economic Equity.

Applications for the 2025-26 programme will open in Autumn 2024. 

III Doctoral Programme

The III Doctoral Seminar is an interdisciplinary seminar for PhD students from across the School whose research relates to inequality in some way. Students holding "Analysing and Challenging Inequality” (ACI) PhD Studentships are expected to attend, and applications are invited from any other MPhil or PhD students enrolled in any department at LSE, regardless of year of study. 

The seminar is a forum for the exchange of ideas and for discussion of research questions and methods across a School-wide community of (junior and more senior) researchers interested in inequality, its causes and consequences. It brings together people working in disciplines such as economics, political science and political economy, sociology, anthropology, law, philosophy, and psychology. The overarching aim of the programme is to increase our understanding of the mechanisms that link the economic dimensions of inequality with their social, cultural, and political context.  The programme is led by Professor Francisco Ferreira, Dr Xavier Jara-Tamayo and Michael Vaughan, all based at the International Inequalities Institute (III). 

Seminar Structure 

There will be 10 fortnightly seminars over the course of the academic year: five in Autumn Term and five in Winter Term. Early in Autumn Term (AT) the seminars will combine informal teaching and discussion. Leading III-affiliated researchers including Prof Francisco Ferreira, Prof Sam Friedman, and Dr Mukulika Banerjee will present their perspectives on different methodological approaches to the study of inequality, and interdisciplinary discussion will be strongly encouraged. The seminars provide a great opportunity to meet III researchers in person and connect with like-minded peers.  

In the latter part of Autumn Term and during Winter Term, the seminars will be based on student presentations: two in each two-hour session. Pre-arranged peer discussants and guest faculty will be at hand to comment. We will begin with presentations from students in the later years of their PhD programme, and gradually offer opportunities for second and first-year students to present early work or preliminary research ideas. These sessions provide students with an opportunity to receive friendly and constructive feedback from a broad range of peers and more established scholars. 

Applications

Candidates interested in applying are invited to write a statement of no more than one page explaining how their plans for doctoral studies relate to inequality and how they expect to benefit from attending the seminar. Candidates will also need to obtain the approval of their supervisors who need to write no more than two sentences of support.  

Applications and all enquiries should be directed to Dr Xavier Jara-Tamayo at H.X.Jara-Tamayo@lse.ac.uk.   

The fortnightly seminars will take place on Wednesdays at 4.00-6.00pm in the PhD Academy teaching room. 

Students joining the seminar continue to be based in their home departments. In addition to all normal departmental expectations, they have an opportunity to present their work and hear about the research of their peers in this interdisciplinary setting. To fully benefit from the group interaction, participants are expected to commit to attending as many seminar sessions as possible.  

PhD Studentships on ‘Analysing and Challenging Inequalities’

This award is not running in 2024.

For 2023 entry, LSE offered three doctoral studentships for PhD study in any Department for research addressing ‘Analysing and Challenging Inequalities’.

Topics covered any aspect of economic, social, cultural and/or political inequality, in any part of the world, at any time, addressing whether, why and how such inequalities are intensifying. Students could propose to use quantitative, qualitative, archival, or mixed methods.

Students applied to specific Departments and are also affiliated to LSE’s International Inequalities Institute. They are part of a dynamic research culture exploring the links between the economic dimensions of inequalities with their social, cultural and political aspects to systematically assess whether and how inequalities might be hardening in mutually reinforcing ways. They join five previous cohorts of LSE-funded ‘Analysing and Challenging Inequalities’ Scholars developing research on this theme and participate in the Institute’s doctoral programme.

As well as being supervised by experts in their home Departments, they are actively mentored by a group of leading scholars with proven records of research on inequality. 

Doctoral Programme Participants 2022-2023

Jakob Dirksen

Jakob Dirksen is an Analysing and Challenging Inequalities Scholar based at the Department of Social Policy. His research focuses on the measurement of welfare, poverty, and inequality. Among his key research interests are the development and use of conceptually and normatively sound metrics for evidence-based policy-making. Jakob is also Research and Policy Officer with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative within the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford, Lecturer at Leuphana University of Lüneburg, and Seminar Leader at the Blavatnik School of Government. He studied Liberal Arts & Sciences (BA), Political Philosophy (MA), and Public Policy and Human Development (MSc & MPP) with Social Protection specialisation in Germany, Spain, and at the United Nations University.

Previously, Jakob held research and teaching positions with the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and worked for the German Federal Foreign Office. He regularly works with governments, UN agencies, and other partners around the world on the development and use of prosperity and poverty indices as yardstick indicators and policy tools. Among his most recent publications are reports for and with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Programmecalls for action and policy briefs for the G7, as well as academic articles and book chapters on multidimensional poverty, health equitychild poverty, and metrics of welfare and development.

hobeth

Hobeth Martínez Carrillo is a PhD student based at the Sociology department. He works under the co-supervision of Professor Mike Savage and Dr. George Kunnath, researching on rural elites and their role in the reproduction of socioeconomic inequalities. Hobeth is interested in the study of social class, elites, land issues, human rights, conflict/peace, and transitional justice.

He holds a law degree from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL) an MA in Socio-legal studies from the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law (IISL), affiliated to the University of the Basque Country, and an MSc in Inequalities and Social Science from LSE. He currently researches under the Atlantic Equity Grant funded project ‘Peace and Gender (In)equality: Lessons from the Colombian Peace Agreement of 2016’, linked to the Politics of Inequality research theme of the LSE International Inequalities Institute.