Executive Master of Public Administration

The Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) is ideal if you’re looking to develop your career in public service, in private sector organisations impacted by government regulation, in organisations bridging the public – private divide, or transition from the private to public sector. The programme provides skills to navigate an increasingly challenging global policy environment, and in doing so achieve more senior positions.

Taught in intensive blocks over 22 months, the programme combines academic study with practical learning. You’ll develop your knowledge in policy analysis, economics, and political science and build skills to tackle professional policy challenges in different settings and geographic regions. The programme's flexible format means you can instantly apply your learning to your daily work, making you potentially a more effective, productive, and valuable employee.

You’ll be taught by LSE’s world-class faculty and hear from senior policymakers and learn how they’ve approached some of the most challenging policy issues of our time. This degree shares classes with the Executive Master of Public Policy (EMPP) – which is only open to experienced members of the UK Civil Service Policy Profession. Senior practitioner insights and professional experience are key elements of the EMPA.

Central to the EMPA is a friendly, experienced, and diverse cohort of high-calibre students with wide range of professional backgrounds. Since the programme started, we have recruited students representing 77 different nationalities with an average of 12 years of professional experience. The EMPA’s deliberately interactive teaching style ensures you learn not only from faculty but from your fellow students.

The flexible format ensures location is never a barrier to study. About 80% of EMPA students live and work outside of the UK, travelling to London for modules before returning home. Our dedicated programme team and online resources ensure you feel well supported between trips to LSE.

Our alumni have described the EMPA experience as transformational. You’ll leave LSE with an evidence-based toolkit to help you develop and implement policies, tackle complex challenges, and be better placed to help lead your organisation to new levels of success.

CORE: Introduction to Public Policy

This module provides you with the foundations for analysing public policy questions. We'll introduce how and why to study policy problems and solutions analytically and systematically. You’ll learn how to think about handling situations where there are competing interests and how incentives affect behaviour, and you’ll learn when markets deliver good outcomes and, more importantly, when they don’t, thus justifying intervention or regulation.

CORE: Introduction to Statistics

For some of you who have been out of education for a while, or who don't use maths and statistics in your day-to-day jobs, this module ensures that you're ready to undertake the EMPA programme at LSE by quickly and effectively bringing you up to the necessary level required to understand the concepts discussed in the modules. No prior knowledge of statistics is required, and the module isn't assessed.

CORE: Political Science and Public Policy

This module introduces a range of theoretical and empirical tools to analyse the politics of public policy making. The main focus is on political institutions in modern democracies and how they relate to public policy.

Topics include elections, representation, delegation, accountability, interest groups, legislatures, executives and decentralisation.

CORE: Empirical Methods for Public Policy

The module introduces students to the quantitative evaluation of public policies. The focus of the module won't be on practical applications of state-of-the-art empirical methods.

The module begins with an overview of the key benefits of randomised experiments and then covers a number of other widely used approaches to determine the effectiveness of public policy interventions.

CORE: Economic Policy Analysis

The module is an introductory graduate module providing an economics background suitable for high-level public policy making. The emphasis is on acquiring sound models and methods suitable for appraising policy-making issues and applicable in a wide variety of context.

The module will cover both key microeconomic policy issues and macroeconomic issues.

CORE: Policy in Practice (PiP) I

The policy workshops apply the analytical tools taught in the EMPA to specific policy areas. Teaching is based on a series of case studies. The case studies are taught by specialists in a particular policy area and are complemented with group working sessions by the students and presentations by policy practitioners involved in the policy area.

Examples of previous PiP case studies include:

• AI and public policy
• terrorism: how to respond
• managing financial and health crisis
• migration and integration policy
• climate change and the law
• cybersecurity: challenges and governance.

The module will also include practical and professional skills sessions, such as negotiation skills for public policy.

OPTION: Public Economics

This module provides an introduction to the field of public economics. The module covers all the main areas or research in public economics, including tax policy, transfer policy, social insurance, pensions, minimum wages, child care provision, parental leave policy, regulation, and public goods.

All of the topics are motivated by current policy questions, and we look at both the empirical and theoretical evidence bearing on these questions. At the end of the module, you'll have a clear understanding of what we know and don’t know in most areas of public economics, as well as an understanding of the methodologies used to produce these insights.

OPTION: Global Market Economics

This course focuses on the economic interdependence between countries in a global economy.

The first part of the module examines the structure and geography of world trade and examines popular hypothesis such as the "global village" or "flat earth". The second part of the module analyses macroeconomic issues such as the magnitude and effects of international capital flows, the debate over fixed versus flexible exchange rates and the economics of a common currency.

OPTION: Regulatory Analysis

This module provides the analytical tools to evaluate public policy interventions with respect to both efficiency and equity.

The first part of the module provides you with the analytical tools to assess the efficiency of public policy interventions through examples based on a range of topics including health, education, crime, social services and social care. The second part focuses on issues of inequality and poverty.

OPTION: Fiscal Governance and Budgeting

The course examines contemporary issues in fiscal governance with a focus on the institutional structures that shape budgetary choices.

Following an introduction to theoretical approaches to the study of budgeting, topics include medium-term frameworks, top-down budgeting, fiscal rules and fiscal councils, performance budgeting, legislative budgeting, fiscal decentralisation, budget transparency, audit and accountability.

OPTION: Development Economics

The main focus of this course is on acquiring the necessary theoretical and empirical skills to engage in the rigorous analysis of public policies in developing countries.

Topics at the forefront of development economics will be covered. These include political economy, trade liberalisation, growth, access to finance, technology adoption, education, health, infrastructure, property rights, land reform, gender, environment, mass media and political accountability.

CORE: Policy in Practice (PiP) II

In addition to analysing key public policy issues through the perspective of the latest academic thinking and the experience of senior policy practitioners, the second PiP module also contains a major policy simulation exercise, in which students assume the position of countries, international organisations, and other stakeholders to navigate a real-time policy challenge with the goal of achieving a positive outcome. This exercise provides valuable practical experience and draws together the different strands of learning from your EMPA study.

The LSE School of Public Policy (SPP) is a global community united by a shared commitment to LSE’s founding mission: to understand the causes of things and work for the betterment of society.

Our seven master’s programmes combine academic rigour with real-world relevance, tailored to suit professionals at every stage of their career — from emerging leaders to seasoned executives.

As an SPP student, you’ll join a diverse and dynamic cohort, learning from world-renowned faculty and distinguished guest speakers with experience in governments around the world.

The School is at the heart of LSE – ranked the top university in London and sixth in the world for social science and management subjects (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2025). Situated in the centre of a global city, LSE is the perfect place to study and contribute to public policy debates.

Our programmes enable students to develop rigorous and empirical skills underpinning evidence-based policymaking. Students learn how to apply these skills to real-world problems and contexts. We also offer a wide range of opportunities beyond the classroom for students to develop their professional skills and prepare for their future careers, these include:

• Professional Skills accelerator programme.
• Policy in Practice seminar series.
• Alumni mentorship scheme and career Q&A sessions.
• Global Public Policy Network (GPPN) – hear from our participants.
• MBA Impact Investment Network and Training (MIINT) – hear from our MIINT 2025 participants.

We have an inclusive, diverse community, open to enquiring minds. From small beginnings, the School of Public Policy now has a thriving community of more than 400 students who all share a passion for learning and developing new perspectives as they prepare to develop policies to transform societies around the world.

Connect with us on:

• Linkedin: LSE School of Public Policy
• Instagram: @lsepublicpolicy
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lseschoolofpublicpolicy
• X/Twitter: @lsepublicpolicy.

School of Public Policy

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. As an Executive Master’s we also value professional experience and have designed a programme that deliberately uses professional insight as part of the teaching and learning experience.

The EMPA application is submitted online and comprises:

• transcripts from previous degrees
• statement of academic purpose in support of your application
• copy of your CV
• two references (both academic and professional references are acceptable).

There is a £95 application fee.

We don't require GRE or GMAT.

See further information on supporting documents.

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

A consultation with an EMPA advisor can help you better understand the application process. If you supply a copy of your CV, the advisor can also provide feedback on your suitability for the programme and whether the programme aligns with your professional goals. Finally, we'd be happy to put you in contact with an EMPA alumnus to get a "student" perspective on the programme.

To learn more about the Executive MPA, visit the EMPA programme page in the Department's website.

This EMPA is ideal if you’re looking to develop your career in public service, in private sector organisations impacted by government actions and regulation, in organisations bridging the public – private divide, or if you wish to transition from the private to the public sector.

Since the EMPA started in 2013, the programme has recruited experienced working professionals representing 77 different nationalities, working across a wide range of public and private sector organisations. This professional experience and cultural and geographical diversity both enriches the learning experience and ensures that you'll graduate with an impressive global network united by a passion for using public policy to improve people's lives.

Explore our EMPA alumni profiles

Class profile (2025 intake):

• gender: 61 per cent male and 39 per cent female
• age range: 25 – 47
• average age: 35
• average professional experience: 12 years
• nationalities represented: 77 (2013 – 2025 intakes)
• employed by a wide range of public and private industry sector organisations.

Book a consultation with an EMPA advisor to see if your profile fits with the EMPA. The advisor will be happy to connect you with an EMPA alumnus for you to learn how the programme has impacted their professional lives.

Applications for this programme are considered on a rolling basis, meaning the programme will close once we have allocated all available space. There is no fixed deadline by which you need to apply, but we strongly recommend early application to avoid disappointment.

Year 1 (2026/27):

Home students: £20,600

Year 2 (2027/28):

Home students: £20,600

Deposit

To secure a place on the programme offer holders will be required to pay a deposit of £500 towards the Year 1 tuition fee.

Other than the £500 deposit there are no tuition fees due prior to registering as a student in September.

What else is covered in your tuition fee?

The tuition fee covers course materials, including access to online resources such as the LSE Library and Moodle, extra-curricular activities such as social, networking, careers, and guest speaker events, lunch on teaching days, and tea/coffee during breaks.

Travel to London for modules, accommodation, and incidental expenses are not included.

Discounts and self-funding students

LSE alumni may be eligible for a 10% fee discount, and there are various loan options available – see "Scholarships, bursaries and loans" below.

Self-funding students can pay fees in equal instalments in October, January, and April of each academic year (six instalments over two academic years).

Learn more about the payment plan and contact the LSE Fees Office with any questions.

Year 1 (2026/27):

Overseas students: £20,600

Year 2 (2027/28):

Overseas students: £20,600

Deposit

To secure a place on the programme offer holders will be required to pay a deposit of £500 towards the Year 1 tuition fee.

Other than the £500 deposit there are no tuition fees due prior to registering as a student in September.

What else is covered in your tuition fee?

The tuition fee covers course materials, including access to online resources such as the LSE Library and Moodle, extra-curricular activities such as social, networking, careers, and guest speaker events, lunch on teaching days, and tea/coffee during breaks.

Travel to London for modules, accommodation, and incidental expenses are not included.

Discounts and self-funding students

LSE alumni may be eligible for a 10% fee discount, and there are various loan options available – see "Scholarships, bursaries and loans" below.

Self-funding students can pay fees in equal instalments in October, January, and April of each academic year (six instalments over two academic years).

Learn more about the payment plan and contact the LSE Fees Office with any questions.

Courses are assessed by a combination of written assignments and exams. Assessments are submitted electronically from your location, which means that you don't have to return to LSE between modules.

The EMPA is a transformational programme that aims to provide skills and knowledge to enhance your career prospects and options in the area of public policy. Several EMPA alumni occupy leading positions in a wide range of public and private sector organisations around the world including governments, international organisations, major consultancies, financial services companies, charities and think tanks. Whether you're seeking career progression or career transition the EMPA can help to provide critical skills, knowledge, and networks to support you in the achievement of your goals.

If you'd like to better understand where our alumni are employed contact spp.exec.admissions@lse.ac.uk to discuss. We can also connect you to alumni in particular geographies or industry sectors if you'd like a consumer perspective on the programme.

Visit the EMPA student directory to find out about our current cohort and the Alumni in Action page which hosts inspiring alumni success stories.

Further information on graduate destinations for this programme

EMPA students receive customised support appropriate for more experienced professionals including events specifically for experienced hires, a programme of one-to-one executive coaching, and a "soft" skills development programme.

In addition to custom careers support, EMPA students can access the resources of the central LSE Careers service. Many leading organisations give careers presentations at LSE during the year, and LSE Careers has a wide range of resources, many available online, to assist students in their career journey.

Find out more about the support available to students through LSE Careers.