Congratulations to our BSc IR and MSc IR Prizewinners for 2022/23

We're delighted to announce our BSc and MSc in IR prizewinners this year.

Check out the BSc blog post and the MSc blog post for full details of the winners and their prizes.

Comments from our External Examiners 2022/23

"The MSc in International Relations is an excellent degree programme, combining theoretical, practical and regional themes in meaningful ways. The courses offered are highly topical, well-organised, intellectually rigorous and at the cutting-edge of research in IR."

Read the comments on our programmes of study from the external examiners for 2022/23

LSESU Grimshaw Club's Bluebird Blog

The Bluebird Blog is seeking contributors - students at all levels are encouraged to take part, with no experience necessary.

Submit your pitch for the Bluebird Blog

London Student Sustainability Conference in February 2024

Have you completed (or currently completing) any assignments/projects related to sustainability/the UN Sustainable Development Goals in some way?

LSE, along with 10 other London-based Universities, is running the London Student Sustainability Conference in February 2024. 

Full details, including how to apply by 19 Nov

Please direct any questions you might have about the conference to sustainability.team@lse.ac.uk

Free guided meditation sessions for Winter Term

Thursdays 12.00-12.30pm
Faith Centre, Saw Swee Hock Student Centre

Katy, our IR Events Co-ordinator, holds free, guided meditation sessions at the Faith Centre every Thursday 

Everyone is welcome, no matter what your level of meditation experience. She leads a simple session, using the breath as a point of focus.

Meditation mats will be provided, but please wear loose clothing and bring a blanket or shawl if that would make your sit more comfortable.

There is no charge for these sessions.

We hope to see you there!

LSE100 Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement

Congratulations to IR undergraduate Emily Rawlings who has won the LSE100 Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement in 2023!

LSE IR Department represented at the European Student Assembly

Over 200 students gathered in Strasbourg in early June 2023 to draft policy proposals on the future of Europe.

The European Universities Community (EUC) is a grassroots initiative gathering student representatives from European University Alliances to empower students and give them a say in the future of Europe. 

LSE sent four students including Zoe Swanwick, currently studying for an MSc in International Relations.

Read about Zoe's experiences here

Prizewinning essay

Congratulations to MSc student Shaurya Dev who has won the LSE South Asia Centre Vera Anstey Essay Competition for his excellent essay on 'What could "Decolonisation" mean for contemporary South Asia?'.

Become a Student Academic Mentor (SAM)

Want to make a meaningful contribution to life at LSE? Want opportunities to develop your own skills while helping others?

Well, look no further! Becoming a Student Academic Mentor (SAM) to students in our department could be the perfect opportunity for you. SAMS are 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates given training to support new first years.

Find out more and apply here.

LSE LIFE will then be in contact about next steps including the SAM training. All SAMs must complete the training to become a Mentor. If you have any questions, please contact Anna a.l.baker@lse.ac.uk or Jenny j.stowar@lse.ac.uk

You've Got This - the Student Support Map

The Student Support Map is a joint LSE and LSE Students’ Union project that aims to map out all the support available in one place - helping you navigate and access the various types of support at LSE.

The support map includes support in the six following categories:

• Your Studies
• Health and wellbeing
• Finances
• Disability and neurodivergence
• Bully, harassment and sexual violence
• Housing

Take a look at the Student Support Map

You can also access it via the LSE Student Hub App.

Ask an Alum launched!

Did you know that LSE has a global alumni community of 200,000, currently Shaping the World?

As a student at LSE, you can be the first to Ask an Alum. This brand-new tool will help you as you start to think about your career journey and develop your network with your future alumni community.

With Ask an Alum, you now have access to 200,000 alumni at your fingertips, who are ready to provide advice and to connect with you. Use this tool to ask a question, for careers advice, about industries you would like to learn about, or a location you may like to move to, and AI will connect you with the best matched alumni who can provide advice straight to your email inbox.

Ask your first question today

LSE LIFE - Dissertation support for MSc students

LSE LIFE offers 30-minute appointments, online or on-campus, Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm all summer long to help you with your dissertation. 

You can book on Student Hub to talk through your research question or your ideas so far, ask about ways to learn more about research design and methods, or simply have a chat about the practicalities and challenges of conducting research.   

Find out more and book your place

Congratulations to BSc student Rory Moore!

Rory has been named on the Forbes 30 under 30 Europe list for his social action work.

Find out more

Congratulations to our IR LSE Class Teacher Award recipients!

LSE Class Teacher Awards are given to Graduate Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows and Guest Teachers in recognition of their very special contribution to teaching at LSE. Seven of our Fellows and Graduate Teaching Assistants are recipients in 2022.

Winners: Irene Morlino, Sophie Rosenberg, Elisa Gambino

Highly Commended: Jacklyn Majnemer, Meg O'Mahony, Agnes Yu, Chris Deacon

More information here

Model NATO event awardwinners

Congratulations to two of our undergraduate students who were recognised for their achievements at the British International Studies Association (BISA) and Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Model NATO event!

• Manas Chawla was awarded Outstanding Delegate in the North Atlantic Council
• Miksa Jordan was awarded Distinguished Delegate in the North Atlantic Council

Student papers online: British Foreign Policy Post-Brexit: Pursuing a New Role for 'Global Britain'?

In what ways has Brexit impacted British foreign policy? By tracking and assessing new directions and traditional roles in British foreign policy, this new collection of papers by LSE Master's students addresses this question by scrutinising post-Brexit British foreign policy from the date of departure on 1 January 2020 to Spring 2021.

Find out more and read the BRIFPO papers

Congratulations to Katrina Lambert, recipient of a Diana Award 2021

We're very proud of Katrina Lambert, 2nd year BSc Politics and International Relations student, for her amazing work and prestigious Diana Award in recognition of her social action and humanitarian work - "an unstoppable advocate for the voices of young people".

Read the roll of honour 2021

LSE Politics/International Relations ranked fourth in 2022 Complete University Guide Rankings by subject

LSE Politics and International Relations has been ranked fourth in the Complete University Guide Rankings by Subject 2022 league table for Politics/International Relations.

Overall LSE is 3rd in the UK and ranked second both for graduate prospects and research quality.

Find out more

Professor Tomila Lankina is a winner of the LSE Student Union Teaching Awards 2021

Congratulations to Professor Tomila Lankina who has received the Award for PhD Supervision in the LSESU Teaching Awards 2021. These are student-nominated awards.

Congratulations also to Alireza Shams Lahijani and Marnie Howlett who were highly commended for 'Exceptional Teaching in an Unprecedented Year'. 

Read the full list of winners

Congratulations to Ed Unwin, named LSE Student Volunteer of the Year 2021, and five other students from the department were nominated

We are thrilled to learn that Ed Unwin, a second year BSc IR student, has been named LSE Student Volunteer of the Year. Ed's voluntary work at City Year UK has provided a pathway for the charity to support more pupils and young adults. 

Also congratulations to the five other students from the department who were also nominated for their volunteering: Dowon Kim (BSc IR and History), Noah Gershon (BSc Politics and IR), Pauline Reineke (MSc IR), Rory Moore (BSc IR) and Tanya Marwaha (BSc IR and Chinese).

Read more about all their work here.

VIDEOS: Day in the Life of an LSE International Relations student

With all our students studying online in very different situations around the world, we asked you to show us your average day at LSE from home.

Watch the videos here

Rory Moore, BSc International Relations, has been recognised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the UN for the impact of his work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Rory set up ‘Coronavirus Community Volunteering’ at the start of the outbreak among friends as a way of supporting elderly and vulnerable people in his rural village with day-to-day activities, and it has since become the largest COVID-19 volunteering network in the world, reaching 40 different countries across six continents.
 
Rory received the Points of Light award from Boris Johnson, who called Rory “an inspiration and a testament to the power of youth” in a personal letter.

Read more here

Student Volunteering Week

Read about what Sewon Hwang (BSc IR, 2021) and Ed Unwin (BSc IR, 2022) have been up to this past year and learn what makes volunteering special for them.

Find out more.

Student event bloggers

We're offering students the opportunity to work with faculty and get a 300-word review of our prestigious public events published on the LSE website. We'll be sending out an email shortly before each of our public lectures, requesting expressions of interest from IR students of all levels and giving further information, so keep an eye on your email!

LSE Volunteering Awards 2020

A number of our students have been nominated for the LSE Volunteering Awards. Congratulations to Alex Lashley, Anais Fiault, Daniel Lawes, Emily Otvos and Tze Wong. Read about why they were nominated for their volunteering

Congratulations to Alex Lashley (BSc IR 2021) who has been awarded LSE Volunteer of the Year 2020 for his work with Care4Calais and Bright Futures UK. Read more about his work.

Congratulations also go to Aminah Nihal (BSc IR 2021) and Emily Otvos (BSc IR 2020), who received the award for Outstanding Contribution to the LSE Community. They are the co-founders and leaders of the Interfaith Group at LSE, and contribute to the community in a number of other ways.

Read about Alex, Aminah and Emily's work on the LSE Volunteering blog