Academic and Professional Skills Development

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The place to discover and develop skills you’ll use as a student and beyond. LSE LIFE can support you while you write essays and assignments, prepare for exams, and conduct your research. LSE LIFE have a huge range of activities built around a series of topic areas including writing, reading, referencing and being organised.
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Get involved with research, from a one-off experiment to a student-led project. 
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LSE Students' Union

LSE Students' Union (LSESU) is a not-for-profit organisation run by LSE students, for LSE students. Their aim is to help you make the most of all the life-changing experiences open to you during your time at university.
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Workshops and Networking Events

Social Policy Undergraduate students benefit from a series of bespoke workshops and networking events to support them with their academic studies and professional futures. 

Academic skills workshops provide first year students with study skills training (e.g. in notetaking, reading and writing) to support them at the start of their academic careers and help them get the most out of their courses and programme. These sessions are compulsory and timetabled under SP100.

Professional skills workshops introduce students in all years to the skills needed to support them to plan successfully for their future careers and thrive after they leave LSE. 

Networking events provide students in all years with the opportunity to interact with our alumni students and develop their knowledge of the variety of industries they work in. They include alumni panel events and an evening networking event. 

More detailed information on the SP100 Academic and Professional Skills Development course can be found on the course Moodle page. 

The Social Policy Internship Fund Scheme currently provides first and second year students with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience, learn new skills, enhance their employability, and develop their professional network. Funding (based on the London Living Wage) is currently provided for a limited number of internships within a UK registered charity or small to medium sized enterprise (SME) each year. This enables students to apply for funding for internships that would otherwise be unpaid. Internships must be for 140 hours and take place between June and September. Students source the internships themselves with support from LSE Careers.

For the 2023-24 academic year, further information on the scheme and application process will be sent to students in the Winter Term. 

Read our student testimonials here.

The Alumni Mentoring Scheme currently gives second and third year students an opportunity to apply to be matched with a mentor to support them with the transition from university to the world of work/further education. Having a mentor gives students the opportunity to: gain an insight into professional life; be supported to take charge of their futures; and learn from someone who has been in their shoes. Students can expect to have three forty-five-minute meetings with their mentor. Any contact beyond this is at the mentor’s discretion. Mentors are Social Policy alumni students working in a variety of professional areas. While we aim to match students to mentors as closely as possible, we are not always able to match students to mentors working in areas they aspire to work in.

Information for the 2023-24 academic year

Applications to take part in the scheme are now closed.

Read a selection of testimonials here.

The LSE Language Centre offers non-degree language courses during the academic year. The Department of Social Policy offer a number of bursaries to students in the Department who wish to study a language while at LSE. Please note that Language Centre courses do not form part of your degree programme. Further information on the non-degree language courses offered by the Language Centre can be found here.

Please note: Applications for the 2023-24 academic year have now closed.

Read our student testimonials.

For any further queries about language bursaries please contact socialpolicy.ug@lse.ac.uk

Social Policy Masters’ students benefit from a focused Academic and Professional Skills Development course to support them with their academic studies and professional futures.

The first part of the course focusses on academic skills to prepare students for the year ahead and enable them to make the most out of their courses and programme.

The second part of the course focusses on professional skills to support students with the transition from university to work.

Additionally, there are career panel events that run throughout the course which are delivered by our alumni students working in a variety of social policy related careers.

The course is designed to complement the expectations of Social Policy students on their Programmes, and to help them articulate and develop their experience at LSE into useful resources for gaining employment and thriving beyond LSE. All Social Policy MSc students are strongly encouraged to take this course in addition to the credit bearing courses which make up their degree. 

Once students have selected this course via LSE For You, they will automatically gain access to the SP403 Moodle page which contains more information on the course.

The LSE Language Centre offers non-degree language courses during the academic year. The Department of Social Policy offer a number of bursaries to students in the Department who wish to study a language while at LSE. Please note that Language Centre courses do not form part of your degree programme. Further information on the non-degree language courses offered by the Language Centre can be found here.

Please note: Applications for the 2023-24 academic year have now closed.

Read our student testimonials

For any further queries about language bursaries please contact socialpolicy.msc@lse.ac.uk

The Department can help with the cost of attending events such as workshops or conferences, or with the cost of research-related activities such as travel or participant interview expenses. Read more here. 

Read our student testimonials.