MSc Political Science (Global Politics)

The MSc Political Science is a wide-ranging programme combining subject-specific study and rigorous methodological training.

The Global Politics stream offers an in-depth analysis of globalisation, global governance and global politics. The core course of the stream draws on cutting-edge political-science research to provide an overview of the changing structure of the global order, and the impact of various dimensions of globalisation on politics within, between, and beyond countries. In addition to completing the core course and a quantitative or qualitative methods course, you'll select options from a wide range of courses related to various aspects of global politics and will complete a dissertation on an approved topic of your choice, which will be supervised by a faculty member of the LSE Department of Government. Through close engagement with state-of-the-art quantitative and qualitative political science, graduates from the programme will be able to provide sophisticated analyses of the drivers of continuity and transformation in key areas of global politics.

This programme will be a good preparation for a career in international organisations, government, public policy, political consultancy, security agencies, finance, the media and NGOs, as well as providing an excellent foundation for further research including PhD programmes.

• A Acharya The End of American World Order (2nd edition, Polity Press, 2018)
• M Kaldor Global Security Cultures (Polity Press, 2018)
• B Milanovic Global inequality: a new approach for the age of globalization (Harvard University Press, 2016)
• A Roberts and N Lamp Six faces of globalization: Who wins, who loses and why it matters (Harvard University Press, 2021)
• D Rodrik The globalization paradox: why global markets, states, and democracy can't coexist (Oxford University Press, 2012)
• A Zarakol (ed.) Hierarchies in World Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2018)

You'll take courses to the value of four full units in total, made up of two compulsory courses and a dissertation. In addition, you're required to take other full unit and/or half unit courses to the total value of one and a half units. Some of the courses focus on global public policy in general or in relation to specific policy areas, such as the global economy, development, conflict, environment, culture, and gender. Other courses cover politics in specific regions of the world.

The Department of Government is an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research on politics and government.

Within our department, we have 850 undergraduates, postgraduates and research students and more than 40 faculty staff – who come from 80 countries.

Our research focuses on six main areas:

• comparative politics
• conflict studies
• political behaviour and political psychology
• political economy and institutional analysis
• political theory
• public policy and public administration.

The department’s work covers national, sub-national and global politics – with a strong emphasis on public-facing research.

Teaching within the department draws on these strengths and our central role in a prestigious social science institution. As a student, you’ll learn from internationally renowned academics and study in the heart of London, close to the UK’s political heartland in Westminster and the Houses of Parliament.

Our students gain the knowledge and skills to become sharp-minded critical thinkers who apply diverse analytical perspectives to political issues and conflicts around the globe. We encourage students to reflect on what it means to be responsible for addressing urgent public problems and engage in these issues in practical ways to prepare for their future careers. Our graduates find fulfilling roles in government, financial and professional services, teaching and research.

Learn more about our programmes, research, public events and people.

Department of Government

We welcome applications from all suitably qualified prospective students. At LSE, we want to recruit students with the best academic merit, potential and motivation, irrespective of background.

We carefully consider each application and take into account all the information included on your application form, such as your:

• academic achievement (including predicted and achieved grades)
• statement of academic purpose
• two academic references
• CV.

See further information on supporting documents.

You may need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency. See our English language requirements.

Please note: The applications, intake and ratio values below includes all the streams of the MSc Policial Science programme: Conflict Studies and Comparative Politics; Global Politics; Political Science and Political Economy; and Political Behaviour.

Applications for this programme are considered on a rolling basis. This means that applications will close once the programme is full.

There is no fixed deadline. However, if you’d like to be considered for any funding opportunities, you must submit your application (and all supporting documents) by the funding deadline. See the fees and funding section below for more details.

For this programme, the tuition fee is different for home and overseas students depending on their fee status.

For this programme, the tuition fee is different for home and overseas students depending on their fee status.

All taught courses are required to include formative coursework which is unassessed. It's designed to help prepare you for summative assessment which counts towards the course mark and to the degree award. LSE uses a range of formative assessment, such as essays, problem sets, case studies, reports, quizzes, mock exams and many others. Summative assessment may be conducted during the course or by final examination at the end of the course (which in some cases may be offered online). An indication of the formative coursework and summative assessment for each course can be found in the relevant course guide.

The programme is a good preparation for further research work or for a career in education, the public services or the private sector at national, international or global levels.

Further information on graduate destinations for this programme

From CV workshops through to careers fairs, LSE offers lots of information and support to help you make that all-important step from education into work.

Many of the UK’s top employers give careers presentations at the School during the year and there are numerous workshops covering topics such as job hunting, managing interviews, writing a cover letter and using LinkedIn.

See LSE Careers for further details.