Social Policy Prizes
Celebrating outstanding achievement
The Department has a number of prestigious prizes to celebrate the outstanding achievements of its graduating students each year.
Undergraduate Prizes
Awarded for exceptional contribution to social policy, and established in 2021 to celebrate the distinguished career of Professor Sir John Hills. John made tremendous contributions to social science, and his work had a major impact on social policy, especially concerning poverty and inequality.
Prize recipients for the 2024/25 academic year
Winner:
- Gracie Hunter - BSc in International Social & Public Policy with Politics
Highly Commended:
- Anisha Hussain- BSc in International Social & Public Policy
- Karishma Kara- BSc in International Social & Public Policy and Economics
- George Rushworth- BSc in International Social & Public Policy and Economics
- Maham Tahir- BSc in International Social & Public Policy and Economics
Awarded for conspicuous achievement, and established in 2017 to celebrate the distinguished career of Professor David Piachaud. With a career at LSE spanning fifty years, Professor Piachaud is recognised for his world leading research in social security, social exclusion, and child poverty. His close affiliation with the Department continues as Emeritus Professor of Social Policy.
Prize recipients for the 2024/25 academic year
Winner:
- Sarah Rashid - BSc International Social and Public Policy
Highly Commended:
- Debbie Afflu- BSc in International Social & Public Policy and Economics
- Sabaa Pasha- BSc in International Social & Public Policy and Economics
- Navyaa Sharma- BSc in International Social & Public Policy and Economics
- Caichen Zhang- BSc in International Social & Public Policy
Awarded for the best undergraduate dissertation, and established in 2017 to celebrate the distinguished career of Professor Jane Lewis. Professor Lewis is recognised for her world leading research in social policy and administration, social history, and gender studies. Her close affiliation with the Department continues as Emeritus Professor of Social Policy.
Prize recipient for the 2024/25 academic year
Winner:
- Elizabeth Ng Si Jie - BSc in International Social & Public Policy
Awarded for outstanding achievement, was originally established by Lord Beveridge in memory of his wife. William Beveridge was Director of LSE from 1919-1937. Under Beveridge's directorship the School was firmly established as one of the world's leading social science institutions. Outside academia, Beveridge's career was diverse. His most famous contribution to society is the Beveridge Report (officially, the Social Insurance and Allied Services Report) of 1942, the basis of the 19451951 Labour Government's legislation program for social reform.
Prize recipient for the 2024/25 academic year
Winner:
Elizabeth Ng Si Jie - BSc in International Social & Public Policy
The Sir Julian Le Grand Behavioural Public Policy Prize is awarded to the student who submits the best essay in Behavioural Public Policy each year. Sir Julian Le Grand, former Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy, judges the best essay. All students who are considered for this prize are afforded the opportunity to be published either in the Journal, Behavioural Public Policy, or on the Behavioural Public Policy Blog.
Prize recipient for the 2024/25 academic year
Winner:
- Charlie Pride - BSc in International Social & Public Policy with Politics
Prize recipients for the 2024/25 academic year
Awarded to the candidate with the highest mark in SP100 (year 1 core course)
Winner:
- Christine Liu - Bsc in International Social and Public Policy
Awarded to the candidate with the highest mark in SP200 (year 2 core course)
Joint winners:
- Ralph Ali-Henson - BSc in International Social & Public Policy with Politics
- Ela Arslan - BSc in International Social & Public Policy
- Maham Saleem- BSc in International Social & Public Policy
Postgraduate Prizes
Awarded for exceptional contribution to social policy, and established in 2021 to celebrate the distinguished career of Professor Sir John Hills. John made tremendous contributions to social science and his work had a major impact on social policy, especially in relation to poverty and inequality.
Prize recipient for the 2024/25 academic year
- Kumarjit De, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Development)
Charles Mostyn Lloyd was Head of the Department of Social Administration from 1922 to 1944. A prize is awarded in his memory for outstanding performance at the MSc level.
Prize recipient for the 2024/25 academic year
- Astha Patel, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Development)
Mary Isabel Ashworth (known as Delia) studied social science at LSE from 19361938. She bequeathed a sum of money to the School and an award was established in 1971 in her memory. In view of Ms Ashworth's particular interest in social work, this prize is awarded for outstanding performance in an MSc programme by a student likely to pursue a career in this field.
Prize recipient for the 2024/25 academic year
- Madeleine Wright, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Development)
The prize, for merit or achievement, was established by a private benefactor and is awarded in memory of Sir Charles Loch, who spent his life working to improve the welfare of the poor and disadvantaged.
Prize recipients for the 2024/25 academic year
- Teran Chapis, MSc Criminal Justice Policy
- Lillian Dunavant, MSc Criminal Justice Policy
- Helena Rodriguez-Mellado, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Development)
- Snehil Singh, MSc Criminal Justice Policy
The Sir Julian Le Grand Behavioural Public Policy Prize is awarded to the student who submits the best essay in Behavioural Public Policy each year. Sir Julian Le Grand, former Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy, judges the best essay. All students who are considered for this prize are afforded the opportunity to be published either in the Journal, Behavioural Public Policy, or on the Behavioural Public Policy Blog.
Prize recipients for the 2024/25 academic year
Joint winners
- Ivey-Elise Ivey, MSc International Social & Public Policy (NGOs)
- Charmie Parekh, MSc International Social & Public Policy
- Fankun Zhen, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Education)
Richard Titmuss was Professor of Social Administration at LSE from 1950 until his death in 1973. His publications on welfare and social policy were radical and wide-ranging, spanning fields such as demography, class inequalities in health, social work, and altruism.
Titmuss' work played a critical role in establishing the study of social policy as a scientific discipline; it helped to shape the development of the British Welfare State and influenced thinking about social policy worldwide.
Prizes are awarded in his memory for best performance, outstanding performance, and outstanding dissertation.
Prize recipient for best performance 2024/25
- Kumarjit De, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Development)
Prize recipients for outstanding performance 2024/25
- Yesmine Abdelkefi, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Education)
- Addier Giovanni Arriola Laura, MSc Criminal Justice Policy
- Kumarjit De, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Development)
- Joshua Dixon, MSc International Social & Public Policy (NGOs)
- Elisa Laures, MSc International Social & Public Policy
- Zhenyao Li, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Research)
- Ziyue Wang, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Fudan)
- Brittany Wong, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Migration)
Prize recipients for outstanding dissertation 2024/25
- Addier Giovanni Arriola Laura, MSc Criminal Justice Policy
- Eman Baasti, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Development)
- Kumarjit De, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Development)
- Elisa Laures, MSc International Social & Public Policy
- Zhenyao Li, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Research)
- Nikola Mayrhuber, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Development)
- Helena Rodriguez Mellado, MSc International Social & Public Policy (Development)
- Seoyoung Yoo, MSc International Social & Public Policy
PhD Prize
The Titmuss PhD Prize is a prestigious award, made annually, to recognise the most outstanding thesis submitted by a student of the Department.
Prize recipient for the 2023/24 academic year
Winner:
Ilona Pinter
Living a differentiated childhood: children and families’ experiences of poverty and material deprivation within the UK’s Asylum Support system
Supervisors: Dr Isabel Shutes, Dr Tania Burchardt
Read here