I arrived at the LSE with a ‘traditional’ Philosophy background and a hope that the concepts and values I had studied could be usefully applied to explore and perhaps help resolve current public policy challenges. After a year’s worth of debates on secessionist ethics, climate change and democratic dilemmas (etc), I felt that the Philosophy and Public Policy MSc had taught me to think about policy options in an orderly, thorough but original manner. These skills were definitely useful during my traineeship at the European Commission, where, amongst other things, I was asked to assess whether certain ‘extreme’ political parties could be considered to respect democratic values (and if not, what should be done?). In policy areas where detailed legal guidelines and precedents are absent, I realised how important it is to engage in the kind of open-minded thinking encouraged by this MSc.

I found the LSE to be highly respected in European institutions, and the PPP course certainly gave me the public policy credentials to get through the Commission’s competitive selection process. The fact that I tailored my degree around my interest in Environmental policy has now allowed me to move on to an Eco-Management traineeship at the European Central Bank.