MSc European and International Politics and Policy

If you're looking to gain a comprehensive understanding of European politics and policy-making in an international context, our programme is the perfect fit for you.

Our curriculum offers a critical and multidisciplinary analysis of current governance issues at the domestic, European/EU, and international levels, covering a wide variety of topics. You'll also have the opportunity to draw on the expertise of the largest number of academic experts in European government, politics, and public policy found anywhere in the world.

In addition to gaining advanced knowledge of European and international policy-making, you'll acquire thorough training in research skills. The programme also offers courses furthering professional skills development for careers within governmental organisations at the national or international level, in the private sector, or in non-governmental organisations.

Join us and become part of a dynamic community of scholars, thinkers, and innovators who are shaping the future of European politics and policy-making.

These readings indicate something of the range of literatures you will encounter on the course. You're encouraged to read some of them before you arrive.

• Putnam, R. (1988). Diplomacy and domestic politics: the logic of two-level. In International Organizations, 42(3), pp. 427-460.
• Tsebelis, G. (2002). Veto Players: How Political Institutions Work. Princeton University Press.
• Pollack, M. (2015). Theorizing EU Policy-Making. In Wallace et al. (Eds). (2015). Policy-making in the European Union. Oxford: OUP.
• Moravcsik, A. (1998). The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht. Cornell University Press.
• Anderson, C., and J. Hecht. (2018). The Preference for Europe: Public Opinion About European Integration Since 1952. In European Union Politics 19(4), pp. 617-38.
• Kleine, M. (2013). Informal Governance in the European Union: How Governments Make International Organizations Work. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
• Pereira, M. (2021). Understanding and reducing biases in elite beliefs about the electorate. In American Political Science Review 115(4)
• Schneider, C. and Slantchev, B. (2018). The Domestic Politics of International Cooperation: Germany and the European Debt Crisis. In International Organization, 72(1), pp. 1-31.
• Hobolt, S. (2016). The Brexit Vote: A Divided Nation, A Divided Continent. In Journal of European Public Policy, 23(9), pp. 1259-1277.
• De Vries, C. (2018). Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration. Oxford: OUP.

You'll take compulsory courses to the value of one full unit, half a unit of semi-compulsory courses, a dissertation or applied policy project with a half unit methods course, and optional courses totalling one unit. Additionally, you must select Engaging with Europe: Professional Skills during course choice.

The European Institute is a multidisciplinary centre for the study of European politics, economics and culture.

Founded in 1991, the institute is the UK's leading centre for the study of Europe, offering a range of master’s programmes and an extensive MPhil/PhD programme. Every year, we welcome more than 200 master’s and 30 doctoral students from all regions of the globe.

Our research spans four key themes – political economy, politics and policy, culture and society, and migration. Teaching and research draw on the expertise of staff from many different disciplines across LSE, including politics, economics and sociology.

The institute is outward facing. We run dozens of events each year, with workshops, seminars and presentations, welcoming high-profile speakers, including former presidents, prime ministers, foreign and finance ministers, distinguished scholars and influential commentators.

Internationally, we’ve forged close links with several partner institutions, including Sciences Po (Paris), Bocconi University (Milan), Fudan University (Shanghai), and Columbia University (New York) with whom we run double master’s programmes.

• Experience the European Institute through our videos and blogs
• Find out more about our Alumni
• Video Highlight | LSE European Institute: An Introduction
• Video Highlight | Welcome to LSE: Our official campus tour video
• Find out more about out faculty
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European Institute

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.

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.

Assessment

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

The programme is ideal for those considering a career that deals with European and global issues. The programme is an excellent preparation for further research work. Former graduates pursue successful careers in EU institutions, national governments, business, politics, academia, journalism and non-governmental organisations. LSE maintains excellent links with leading centres for the academic study of contemporary Europe and with the EU and national institutions.

Many leading organisations give careers presentations at the School during the year, and the Careers Service has a wide range of resources available to assist students in their job search.

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.