University Profile

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is the world's leading dedicated social science institution. Founded in 1895, LSE enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence. In the most recent national Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) the School had one of the highest percentages of world leading research of any university in the UK.

LSE's education is truly international, both in and out of the classroom, around 69 per cent of LSE's students, and more than 40 per cent of its academic staff, originate from outside the UK. LSE's academic staff remain actively engaged in their research, their expertise is called upon by governments, companies and media around the globe and they share their "real world" experience with the School's students.

LSE's location in the heart of London is fundamental to its identity. It enjoys an easy interchange of ideas with the external environment – Westminster, the City, the Law Courts and the media are all on the School's doorstep. LSE's graduates are found in senior positions around the world and former staff and alumni include 16 Nobel Prize winners in Economics, Peace or Literature, and over 30 past or present Heads of State.

LSE offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes from accounting to law, management to urbanisation, across 30 departments or institutes.