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A group of LSE Department of Management students discussing their work with laptops in front of them
Graduate (Taught)
Application code:N2UA
Department of Management

MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Learn how to design, launch and scale up a successful social enterprise and make a difference in society.
Discover the MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at LSE

Overview

Introduction

Our MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship equips you with the skills to launch successful social entrepreneurial ventures with social goals. The curriculum draws on the latest social innovation research and practical insights from our network of social organisations worldwide.

Real consulting and social innovation design projects enable you to develop your leadership skills and practical experience. During your year at LSE, you’ll have the opportunity to start your own social enterprise.

All students take part in an international field trip to conduct research with an NGO or a business in a developing country. You’ll critically analyse the root cause of social issues in their specific social, economic and political contexts and design effective solutions.

Previous projects have involved sustainable home farming, childcare in Cape Town, and removing cyanide from the water in rural Bangladesh.

Social entrepreneurship is a rapidly expanding field, so you’ll gain highly sought-after skills at LSE. This programme is perfect if you’re looking to become a social entrepreneur.

LSE is ranked sixth in the world for social sciences and management. So, you’ll be studying in a globally renowned learning environment with world-leading academics.

Read more about the LSE student experience on our student blog, The Student Lens.

Entry requirements

  • Undergraduate degree at 2.1 level or above, or international equivalent. Applicants from any academic background are welcomed. Please select your country from the dropdown list below to find out the entry requirements that apply to you.
  • Students admitted to the programme would normally have two or more years' relevant work experience. However applicants with less experience (for example an internship) are also welcome to apply. Please detail any relevant experience in your application.
  • A GMAT or GRE score is not required, but a strong result from either of these tests may benefit applicants.
  • English language requirements

Overseas

English language requirements

The English language requirement for this programme is Standard. Read more about our English language requirements.

Competition for places at LSE is strong. So, even if you meet the minimum entry requirements, this does not guarantee you an offer of a place.

However, please don’t feel deterred from applying – we want to hear from all suitably qualified students. Think carefully about how you can put together the strongest possible application to help you stand out from other students.

Programme content

We're ranked sixth in the world for social science and management, and the MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship programme builds on this tradition for academic excellence with a cutting-edge academic curriculum.

Core courses will develop your insights and understanding of social issues, and provide a world-class training in the development of social innovations to address fundamental societal problems in a range of different economic, political and geographic contexts. You'll also develop managerial and leadership skills, to provide the foundation to launch and sustain socially-focused entrepreneurial ventures.

Core courses will also include an international research field trip with an NGO or socially-focused organisation in a developing country, as well as the opportunity to work on a practical innovation design consulting project. These projects offer the chance to develop your own social venture during your year at LSE.

First term

The students learning journey covers broad managerial topics in the first term, such as organisational behaviour, marketing, and economics, alongside a research-based understanding of social problems.

Second term

This continues into the second term, where students focus on social innovation design and can select from a wide range of elective modules in areas such as leadership, entrepreneurial finance, open innovation, corporate social responsibility, information, and tech innovation, and more.

Third term

The academic journey ends with a dissertation in the summer, which can either be a traditional research dissertation or an applied capstone project related to a social enterprise.

Highlights

  • A year-long group project, linked to two core courses (MG4G1 and MG4G2). This involves working closely with real world organisations in Kenya or South Africa and includes a virtual research week in the Autumn Term and an in-person international field trip in Winter Term.
  • SIE-only events with industry professionals, including Q&A sessions, panels, fireside chats, workshops and bootcamps.
  • Summer bootcamp of events run in conjunction with LSE Generate.

Programme trips

  • Virtual Research Week and an International Field Research Week.
  • Destinations: Nairobi, Kenya; Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Virtual Research Week: Autumn Term Week 6 (approx. early November).
  • International field trip: Winter Term Week 6 (approx. late February).

Year 1

Compulsory core courses (three units)

  • Social innovation design: The first two core courses will focus on understanding and design of solutions for social challenges. These courses draw on the Department of Management's 10 years of experience in conducting research projects and field design programmes with an ecosystem of local partners in South Asia, Africa and South America.
  • Core management fundamentals: The subsequent two core courses will focus on the fundamentals of organisational management, with concepts, terminology and frameworks in marketing, organisational behaviour, economics, accounting and quantitative research. This is designed to build students' ability to make good judgements and better business decisions, and ask the right questions to critically assess issues in the in building, deployment and scaling of their social enterprise.
  • Dissertation: Learning from all core courses will be brought together with a dissertation at the end of the programme, with the opportunity to conduct an individual capstone project bringing together a well-rounded understanding of social problems, techniques to develop innovative solutions, and entrepreneurial or managerial skills.

Students have three options for the dissertation:

  1. An individual design project for a new social enterprise, producing a sound and viable business model, a compelling plan for achieving long-term sustainability, and a detailed and convincing impact assessment.
  2. An individual consulting project to solve a real-world issue for a client organisation. Project themes can be extremely wide-ranging across areas of specialisation and regions, all with a significant, tangible business problem to be solved. Past sponsors have included IMB (big data in Brazil), Riders for Health (healthcare transport in Africa) and Rickshaw Bank (business model renewal in India).
  3. Students can also seek approval to undertake a research dissertation, conducting an empirical research project to develop new knowledge in the field of social innovation.

Optional elective courses (one unit)

Optional elective courses of your choice (to the total value of one unit) will give you a chance to customise the programme to your own interests and career goals. The School’s expertise in the social, economic and political world will provide you with a rich variety of options to deepen and specialise your knowledge.

Why study with us

Discover more about our students and department.

Meet the department

Our mission

Welcome to the Department of Management. Our mission is to inspire superior management practices by fostering a comprehensive understanding of individuals, teams, organisations, and markets, along with the psychological, social, political, and technological contexts that influence them.

By studying with us, you'll gain access to a world-leading centre for education and research, uniquely positioned within a world-class social science institution at the heart of a truly global city.

The environment

Join a vibrant intellectual community comprising world-renowned faculty, astute students, dedicated and responsive professional services staff, and high achieving alumni. Through pioneering research and high-level teaching, you'll receive comprehensive, intensive, and rigorous methodological training to help you become an expert in your specialist fields.

The rich and culturally diverse learning environment at LSE’s Department of Management, will not only enrich your experience through developing a broad perspective and understanding, but also unlock an invaluable network of global peers.

Create a better world

We go beyond the boundaries of a traditional business school by integrating diverse disciplines such as economics, marketing, data, and analytics. Our comprehensive approach ensures that students gain a profound and multifaceted understanding of the business world, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to excel in a dynamic global environment.

Join us in our vision to create a better world, where a profound understanding of management drives positive change in both business and society.

Discover more about our programmes and research.

Who's who

Your application

Overview

Your application will be considered on its academic merits. An offer of a place may be conditional on attending additional courses and/or passing qualifying examinations at a suitable standard, in addition to your degree. You should note that there are always many more applications than places available at LSE and possession of the minimum entrance requirements does not guarantee that you'll be offered admission. It's therefore in your interests to apply as early as possible.

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.

Academic statement of purpose requirements

If you're applying for this programme, please note the following specific requirements for your academic statement of purpose:

Write a short statement (up to 600 words) about why you want to do the programme. This might cover, for example, what you will bring to the cohort, and what your particular strengths are.

Also, you should answer the following questions (your answers should be approximately 500 words each):

  1. Tell us about an experience you had with social innovation /entrepreneurship/ a project with high social impact. What role did you play and what did you learn about yourself?
  2. How will your past experience, combined with this LSE masters, help you to achieve your goals?

The total length of your academic statement of purpose – including the answers to the above questions - should therefore be between 1,100 and 1,600 words.

Speak to an Admissions specialist

If you have any queries which are not answered on the website or would like to chat with an admissions specialist, we run one-to-one Zoom chats on a weekly basis for prospective students and offer holders:

Contact us

For questions related to your application or the admissions process, please check our admissions frequently asked questions page.

If you have any queries which are not answered on the website, please contact the Programme and Admissions Team at dom.msc.admissions@lse.ac.uk.

508
Applications
40
Intake
13:1
2023 Ratio

Fees and funding

The table of fees shows the latest tuition fees for all programmes.

You're charged a fee for your programme. At LSE, your tuition fee covers registration and examination fees payable to the School, lectures, classes and individual supervision, lectures given at other colleges under intercollegiate arrangements and, under current arrangements, membership of the Students' Union. It doesn't cover living costs or travel or fieldwork.

Home

£35,000

Home student fee (2025/26)

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

Deposit

To secure a place on the programme offer holders will be required to pay a deposit of 10% of the tuition fee within six weeks of receiving their offer.

International field trip

This programme includes an international field trip. You should expect to cover the costs of travel in the UK to and from UK airports, visa costs, and food whilst you're on the trip. Otherwise, the flights, accommodation and internal travel at the location are covered by your student fee.

Learning and assessment

How you learn

Graduate destinations

Overview

Career development

The MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurships offers the opportunity to develop your career as a talented, insightful and entrepreneurial manager.

The programme will provide the knowledge, skills and networks you need to take the next step in your career, whether this will be to launch or grow your own socially-focused entrepreneurial venture, drive forward your career in your current organisation, or find a route to transition into social innovation from another sector.

Graduates from the Department of Management are highly sought-after in the job market, and go on to successful careers in a range of leading organisations worldwide. Many of our graduates have also launched successful start-up ventures.

Alumni career profiles

These alumni studied a course on Business Model Innovation at the Base of the Pyramid in the Department of Management in recent years. This former elective course has been developed into the Social Enterprise Design core courses in the MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

  • Lesego, South Africa
    Current occupation: Founder and CEO, Bokamoso Impact Investments
    Watch her testimonial
  • Paroma, India
    Current occupation: Senior Associate, Incubation & Knowledge at UnLtd India
    Watch her testimonial
  • Pallavi, India
    Current occupation: Founder and Managing Director at FifthEstate
    Watch her testimonial
  • Bill, Corporate Partner
    Current occupation: European Marketing Lead at IBM Interactive Experience
    Watch his testimonial

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