London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science (informally the London School of Economics or LSE) is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidney Webb, Beatrice Webb and George Bernard Shaw, LSE joined the University of London in 1900 and degrees were issued to its students from 1902 onwards.^[4] Despite its name, LSE conducts teaching and research across the entire range of the social sciences - accounting and finance, anthropology, applied statistics, actuarial science, economic history, economics, geography, government, history, international relations, law, logic, management, philosophy, politics, psychology, social policy and sociology - as well as in Statistics and Mathematics.^[5]

LSE is based in Westminster, central London, on the boundary between Covent Garden and Holborn. It has around 8,700 full-time students and 1,300 academic staff^[6] and had a total income of £220.9 million in 2009/10, of which £23.9 million was from research grants and contracts.^[7] LSE is organised into around 25 academic departments and 15 research centres.^[8][9] LSE's library, the British Library of Political and Economic Science, contains over 4.7 million volumes and is the world's largest social and political sciences library. LSE was found to have the highest percentage of world-leading research of any British university in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.^[10]

LSE is among the UK's most selective universities and in a number of recent years has had the lowest undergraduate admissions rate of any British university.^[11][12] It has a highly international student body,^[13] and at one time had more countries represented by students than the UN has members.^[14] LSE has produced many notable alumni in the fields of law, economics, business, literature and politics. To date, there have been 17 Nobel Prize winners amongst its alumni and current and former staff,^[15] as well as 34 world leaders and numerous Pulitzer Prize winners and fellows of the British Academy.^[16]

LSE is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs,^[17] the European University Association,^[18] the G5, the Global Alliance in Management Education, the Russell Group and Universities UK.^[19] It forms part of the 'Golden Triangle' of British universities.^[20]

History

Origins

The London School of Economics was founded in 1895^[21] by Beatrice and Sidney Webb,^[22] initially funded by a bequest of £20,000^[23][24] from the estate of Henry Hunt Hutchinson. Hutchinson, a lawyer^[23] and member of the Fabian Society,^[25][26] left the money in trust, to be put "towards advancing its [The Fabian Society's] objects in any way they [the trustees] deem advisable".^[26] The five trustees were Sidney Webb, Edward Pease, Constance Hutchinson, William de Mattos and William Clark.^[23]

LSE records that the proposal to establish the school was conceived during a breakfast meeting on 4 August 1894, between the Webbs, Graham Wallas and George Bernard Shaw.^[21] The proposal was accepted by the trustees in February 1895^[26] and LSE held its first classes in October of that year, in rooms at 9 John Street, Adelphi,^[27] in the City of Westminster.

20th century

The school joined the federal University of London in 1900, becoming the university's Faculty of Economics and awarding degrees of the University from 1902.^[27] Expanding rapidly over the following years, the school moved initially to the nearby 10 Adelphi Terrace, then to Clare Market and Houghton Street. The foundation stone of the Old Building, on Houghton Street, was laid by King George V in 1920;^[21] the building was opened in 1922.

The 1930s economic debate between LSE and Cambridge is well known in academic circles. Rivalry between academic opinion at LSE and Cambridge goes back to the School's roots when LSE's Edwin Cannan (1861–1935), Professor of Economics, and Cambridge's Professor of Political Economy, Alfred Marshall (1842–1924), the leading economist of the day, argued about the bedrock matter of economics and whether the subject should be considered as an organic whole. (Marshall disapproved of LSE's separate listing of pure theory and its insistence on economic history.)

The dispute also concerned the question of the economist's role, and whether this should be as a detached expert or a practical adviser. LSE and Cambridge economists worked jointly in the 1920s—for example, the London and Cambridge Economic Service—but the 1930s brought a return to the dispute as LSE and Cambridge argued over the solution to the economic depression.

LSE's Robbins and Hayek, and Cambridge's Keynes were chief figures in the intellectual disagreement between the institutions. The controversy widened from deflation versus demand management as a solution to the economic problems of the day, to broader conceptions of economics and macroeconomics. Robbins and Hayek's views were based on the Austrian School of Economics with its emphasis on free trade and anti-interventionism, while Keynes advanced a brand of economic theory now known as Keynesianism which advocates active policy responses by the public sector.

During World War II, the School decamped from London to University of Cambridge, occupying buildings belonging to Peterhouse.^[28]

The school's arms,^[29] including its motto and beaver mascot, were adopted in February 1922,^[30] on the recommendation of a committee of twelve, including eight students, which was established to research the matter.^[31] The latin motto, "Rerum cognoscere causas", is taken from Virgil's Georgics. Its English translation is "to Know the Causes of Things"^[30] and it was suggested by Professor Edwin Cannan.^[21] The beaver mascot was selected for its associations with "foresight, constructiveness and industrious behaviour".^[31]

21st century

LSE continues to have an effect within British society, through its relationships and influence in politics, business and law. The Guardian describes such influence when it stated:

"Once again the political clout of the school, which seems to be closely wired into parliament, Whitehall and the Bank of England, is being felt by ministers... The strength of LSE is that it is close to the political process: Mervyn King, was a former LSE professor. The chairman of the House of Commons education committee, Barry Sheerman, sits on its board of governors, along with Labour peer Lord (Frank) Judd. Also on the board are Tory MPs Virginia Bottomley and Richard Shepherd, as well as Lord Saatchi and Lady Howe'."^[32]

Recently, the School has been active in British government proposals to introduce compulsory ID cards,^[33][34] researching into the associated costs of the scheme, and shifting public and government opinion on the issue.^[35] The institution is also popular with politicians and MPs to launch new policy, legislation and manifesto pledges, prominently with the launch of the Liberal Democrats Manifesto Conference under Nick Clegg on 12 January 2008.^[36][37]

The Sunday Times' recent profile of LSE for the 2008 Sunday Times University Guide commented:

"There are many who have achieved in the world of politics, business or academia who can trace their success to the years they spent at LSE. Inspired by tuition from academics who are often familiar faces, if not household names, LSE students take their first steps to greatness in the debating chambers, cafes, bars – and even occasionally in their seminar groups – during three or four years of studying'."^[38]

The top 10 employers of LSE graduates are principally accounting, investment banking, consultancy and law firms.^[39] Indeed, LSE was once described as the 'investment bank nursery' due to around 30% of graduates going into "banking, financial services and accountancy", according to LSE Careers Service official figures. LSE is often a preferred university for employers in the private sector, financial services abroad and the City of London.

Over the years the School has continued to expand around Houghton Street. A recent fund-raising scheme, called the "Campaign for LSE" raised over £100 million in one of the largest university fund-raising exercises ever seen in Britain. In 2003, LSE purchased the former Public Trustee building at 24 Kingsway. This has been redeveloped by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw into an ultra-modern educational building, to be known as the "New Academic Building" at a total cost of over £45 million, and has increased the campus space by 120,000 square feet (11,000 m²). The building opened for teaching in October 2008, with an official opening by Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on 5 November 2008.^[40]

The School has an ongoing capital investment project and has recently purchased a number of sites to add to its portfolio. In November 2009, LSE purchased the freehold of both Sardinia House, overlooking Lincoln's Inn Fields, and the Ye Old White Horse public house. More recently, in October 2010, it was announced the university had been successful in acquiring the freehold of the grade-II listed Land Registry Building adjacent to Lincoln's Inn. It is currently also embarking on a £30 million project to build a new student centre, housing the students' union, careers service, accommodation office, events spaces, cafes, bars and a club. The building will be located on the current St Phillips site, to be demolished in Summer 2010. A new £25 million student residence is also expected to be built in Southwark by 2012.

Professor Niall Ferguson of Harvard University became the Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs for the 2010–2011 academic year.

Its current Director, Professor Judith Rees is also Chair of the School's Grantham Institute on Climate Change, an adviser to the World Bank as well as sitting on the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation and the International Scientific Advisory Council (ISAC).^[41] She is also a former Convenor of the Department of Geography and Environment, and served as Deputy Director from 1998–2004. Her predecessor, Sir Howard Davies stepped down after controversy regarding the School's links to the Libyan regime. In February 2011, LSE had to deal with controversy regarding the authorship of the PhD thesis of one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, and also a £1.5m donation to university.^[42] In March 2011, Howard Davies resigned over allegations about the institution's links to the Libyan regime.^[43] The LSE announced in a statement that it had accepted his resignation with "great regret" and that it had set up an external inquiry into the school's relationship with the Libyan regime and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, to be conducted by the former lord chief justice Harry Woolf.^[43]

Campus

LSE moved to its present day central London campus at Clare Market and Houghton Street in Westminster, off the Aldwych and next to the Royal Courts of Justice and Temple Bar in 1902. In 1920, King George V laid the foundation stone of the Old Building, the principal building of LSE. The School has gradually increased its ownership of adjacent buildings, creating an almost continuous campus between Kingsway and the Royal Courts of Justice. Today, the campus consists of approximately thirty buildings, connections between which have been established on an ad-hoc basis, with often confusing results. The floor levels of buildings do not always equate, leading to an individual being on a different "floor" after passing through a hallway. The campus also has a series of extension bridges between buildings created high on the upper floors to connect several buildings. The school is also noted by its numerous statues, either animals or surrealist, often donated by alumni.

LSE's campus went through a renewal under former Director Anthony Giddens (1996–2003), with the redevelopment of Connaught and Clement Houses on the Aldwych, and the purchase of buildings including the George IV public house, which had been nestled amongst the campus for decades, but is now owned by LSE. Recent projects have included the £35 million renovation of the Lionel Robbins Building, which houses the British Library of Political and Economic Science, LSE's Library and a brand new Student Services Centre in the Old Building as well as LSE Garrick on the junction of Houghton Street and Aldwych. In 2009, the School purchased Sardinia House on Lincoln's Inn Fields and the Ye Olde White Horse public house, adjacent to Parish Hall, as new additions to the estate. Since 2010, LSE has also leased premises behind the Library in New Court and will open a new medical centre on Lincoln's Inn Fields in Queen's House in September 2010.

The New Academic Building (the former Public Trust Building on Kingsway), is one of the most environmentally friendly university buildings in the UK. With an entrance overlooking Lincoln's Fields, the new building has dramatically increased the size of the campus, incorporating four new lecture theatres, the Departments of Management and Law, computer and study facilities.

The British Library of Political and Economic Science (BLPES) is the current operating Library of LSE. It is the home of the world's largest social and political sciences Library, containing over 4.7 million volumes on its shelves. This also makes it the second largest single entity library in Britain, after the British Library at King's Cross.^[44] Other buildings of note include the Peacock Theatre, the School's main lecture theatre, seating 999 persons, which by night serves as the West End base of Sadler's Wells. The venue is a member of the Society of London Theatre, and has hosted many dance, musical and dramatic productions, as well as serving as the base for many of LSE' public lectures and discussions.

LSE also hosts many concerts and plays, with We Are Scientists, Wiley, Robin Williams, Alan Fletcher (better known as Neighbours' Dr. Karl Kennedy) and Tim Westwood performing along with numerous lunchtime classical music recitals.

Location and transport

LSE is situated in the City of Westminster between Covent Garden, Aldwych and Temple Bar, bordering the City of London. It resides adjacent to the Royal Courts of Justice, Lincoln's Inn and Kingsway, in what used to be Clare Market. The School is inside the central London Congestion Charging zone.

The nearest London Underground stations are Holborn, Temple and Covent Garden. Charing Cross, at the other end of Strand is the nearest mainline station, whilst London Waterloo is ten minutes walk across the River Thames. Buses to Aldwych and Kingsway will stop right outside the School at Houghton Street.

Academics

Admissions

Admission to LSE is highly competitive. According to 2008 UCAS figures, the school received 19,039 applications for 1,299 places. This means that there were around 15 applicants per place, the highest ratio of any UK university. Some smaller courses ranging from 7–15 students, including Government, Economics and International Relations, have over 20 applicants per place.^[11][12][45] However, since the university does not release either its admission yield rates or the number of admission offers it makes in order fill its classes, the exact admission rates are unknown. Most programmes give out typical offers of A*AA-AAA at A-Level, with new undergraduates in 2011 arriving with an average of 512 UCAS points (equivalent to over AAAA at A-level).

Entrance standards are also high for postgraduate students, who are required to have (for taught Master's courses) a First Class or Upper Second Class UK honours degree, or its foreign equivalent.^[46] The applications success rate for postgraduate programmes varies, although most of the major courses, including Economics and Law, consistently have an acceptance rate below 10%.^[47] Some of the very top premium programmes such as the MSc Finance and the MSc Financial Mathematics have admission rates below 5%.^[48][49]

Programmes and degrees

LSE is dedicated solely to the study and research of social sciences, and is the only university in the United Kingdom to be so. LSE awards a range of academic degrees spanning bachelors, masters and PhDs. The postnominals awarded are the degree abbreviations used commonly among British universities. The School offers over 140 MSc programmes, 4 MPA programmes, an LLM, 30 BSc programmes, an LLB and 4 BA programmes (including International History and Geography).^[50] LSE is only one of two British universities to teach a BSc in Economic History, the other being the University of Cambridge. Other subjects pioneered by LSE include anthropology, criminology, international relations, social psychology, sociology and social policy.^[51] Courses are split across more than thirty research centres and nineteen departments, plus a Language Centre.^[52] Since programmes are all within the social sciences, they closely resemble each other, and undergraduate students usually take at least one course module in a subject outside of their degree for their first and second years of study, promoting a broader education in the social sciences. At undergraduate level, certain departments are very small (90 students across three years of study), ensuring small lecture sizes and a more hands-on approach than other institutions.

In conjunction with New York University's Stern School and HEC Paris the LSE also offers an executive global MBA called TRIUM. This is currently globally ranked 2nd by the Financial Times and strives to meld the strong social sciences, management strategy and financial accumen providing senior executives a well rounded view.

From 1902, following its absorption into the University of London, and up until 2007, all degrees were awarded by the federal university, in common with all other colleges of the university. This system was changed in 2007 in order to enable some colleges to award their own degrees. LSE was granted the power to begin awarding its own degrees from June 2008. Students graduating between June 2008 and June 2010 have the option of receiving a degree either from the University of London or the School. All undergraduate students entering from 2007 and postgraduate students from 2009 will automatically receive an LSE degree.

LSE does not award annual honorary degrees in common with other universities. In its 113-year history, the School has awarded fifteen honorary doctorates to established figures such as Nelson Mandela (Doctor of Science, Economics).

Partnerships

LSE has a university wide partnership in teaching and research with Columbia University in New York, Peking University and Sciences Po Paris, with whom it offers various joint degrees ^[53]. For example, the highly rated International History department offers a joint MA in International and World History with Columbia University and an MSc in International Affairs with Peking University, with graduates earning degrees from both institutions.^[54] LSE also offers various joint degrees with other universities. It offers the TRIUM Global Executive MBA programme^[55] jointly with Stern School of Business of New York University and HEC School of Management, Paris. It is divided into six modules held in five international business locations over a 16-month period. LSE also offers a Dual Master of Public Administration (MPA) with Global Public Policy Network schools such as Sciences Po Paris, the Hertie School of Governance and National University of Singapore. The school also runs exchange programmes with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Fuqua School of Business, Kellogg School of Management, Stern School of Business and Yale School of Management as part of its MSc in International Management and an undergraduate student exchange programme with the University of California, Berkeley in Political Science.^[56]

The School has formed formal academic agreements with five international universities – Columbia University (New York City), Sciences Po (Paris), the University of Cape Town, Peking University (Beijing) and the National University of Singapore, in addition to numerous research agreements with Oxford, Harvard, Yale, Chicago, NYU, Imperial College and UC Berkeley.

Rankings

The Fulbright Commission states that "The London School of Economics and Political Science is the leading social science institution in the world".^[57]

In the THE-QS World University Rankings (from 2010 two separate rankings will be produced by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings), the school was ranked 11th in the world in 2004 and 2005, but dropped to 66th and 67th in the 2008 and 2009 edition. The school administration asserts that the fall was due to a controversial change in methodology which hindered social science institutions.^[58] In January 2010, THE concluded that their existing methodology system with Quacquarelli Symonds was flawed in such a way that it was unfairly biased against certain schools, including LSE.^[59] A representative of Thomson Reuters, THE's new partner, even stated: "LSE stood at only 67th in the last Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings – some mistake surely? Yes, and quite a big one."^[59] Nevertheless, the school was the only one of its type to finish in the top 200 universities, and was thus stated to be the best "medium sized specialised research university" in the world. Incidentally, LSE often scores well in the social science specific section of the ranking. Indeed, it has never finished out of the top 5 in the world; ranking 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd in the last five years.^[60] LSE also appears high up in the employer review surveys and since the rankings inception, has never finished outside of the world's top 5 universities in the eyes of employers. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, LSE had the highest percentage of world-leading research of any British higher education institution.^[61] The Independent Newspaper placed LSE first in the country for its research, on the basis that 35% of its faculty were judged to be doing world leading work, compared to 32% for both Oxford and Cambridge respectively.^[62] Furthermore, according to the Times Newspaper, LSE ranks as joint-second (with Oxford) by grade point average across the fourteen units of assessment submitted, behind only Cambridge.^[63][64][65] According to these RAE results, LSE is the UK's top research university in Anthropology, Economics, Law, Social Policy and European Studies.^[66][67]

Various specific LSE departments also ranked highly. In 2009, the MSc Management and Strategy programme was ranked 4th in the world by the Financial Times' Masters in Management Ranking (4th in 2008, 3rd in 2007, 8th in 2006, 4th in 2005)^[68] and the TRIUM Executive MBA was ranked 2nd in the world by the 2009 Financial Times EMBA Ranking.^[69] LSE also ranks very highly in various world rankings of Economics and International Relations departments.The Coupe ranking of university economics departments covering the period 1969–2000 places LSE at 16th best in the world for citations and best outside the USA.^[70] Tilburg University's ranking of university economics research for the period 2005–2009 places LSE 10th in the world, and best outside the USA (https://econtop.uvt.nl/rankinglist.php). In July 2011 Quacqarelli Symonds ranked LSE as 4th in the world for economics and econometrics,and best outside the USA, 4th in the world for politics and international relations, 6th in the world for accounting and finance, 7th in the world for law, and 10th in the world for sociology<http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jul/27/top-100-world-university-rankings-social-sciences> With regards to the latter, a February 2009 TRIP survey of 2,724 academics from International Relations faculty in 10 countries placed LSE's PhD program 6th in the world and its terminal masters programs (which include MSc's in International Relations, International Relations Theory, Theory and History of International Relations, History of International Relations, and International Political Economy) 7th in the world and 1st amongst British and African academics surveyed. One of the flagship MSc degrees is the MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics,^[71] which has been named one of the most prestigious 5 degrees in the world,^[72] alongside Harvard's MBA. The programme is considered the top feeder to top US PhD programmes, and is recognised as arguably the toughest MSc-level degree in the world. LSE was ranked as 9th best in the world, and best outside the USA, for the quality of its full time MBA, by Business Insider, in June 2011.^[73] The School's economics department was ranked as 4th best in the world by Repec Author Services and best outside the USA in May 2011.^[74] (Also highly esteemed, is the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method which was established in 1946 by Karl Popper. Popper is widely regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century and is noted for his influential theories regarding falsification and open society. Both he, his successor Imre Lakatos, and a doctoral student of his, Paul Feyerabend, were instrumental in shaping 20th century philosophy of science and the social sciences.^[75] The Philosophical Gourmet Report of 2009 ranks the department as 1st in the world for Philosophy of Social Science.^[76]

Domestically, LSE is one of only four British institutions to have never ranked outside the top 10 in any newspaper compiled league table. LSE ranked 3rd overall in the Sunday Times University Guide cumulative ranking over a ten year period (1997–2007),^[77] and ranked 4th in the Complete University Guide 2012.^[78] A number of departments also ranked among the top three in subject rankings, including but not limited to Law (1st), Social Policy (1st), Philosophy (2nd), Economics (3rd), Sociology (2nd), Accounting and Finance (3rd), History (3rd), Geography (3rd). LSE graduates often score highly in the 'employment prospects' section of guides, with students considered to have the best 'graduate prospects' of any British university in all 2009 Sunday Times University Guide rankings.

Libraries and archives

The main library of LSE is the British Library of Political and Economic Science (BLPES). It is the home of the world's largest social and political sciences Library. Founded in 1896, it has been the national social science library of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth and all its collections have been recognised for their outstanding national and international importance and awarded 'Designation' status by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

BLPES responds to around 6,500 visits from students and staff each day. In addition, it provides a specialist international research collection, serving over 12,000 registered external users each year.

The Shaw Library, housed in an impressive room in the Old Building contains the university's collection of fiction and general readings for leisure and entertainment. The Fabian Window is also located within the library, having been unveiled by Tony Blair in 2003.

Additionally, students are permitted to use the libraries of any other University of London college, and the extensive facilities at Senate House Library, situated in Russell Square.

LSE Summer School

LSE Summer School was established in 1989 and has expanded extensively with more than 4,000 participants in 2010. The Summer School offers over 50 subjects based on regular undergraduate courses, from the Accounting, Finance, Law, International Relations and Management departments, and takes place over two sessions of three weeks, in July and August each year. LSE also offers LSE-PKU Summer School in collaboration with Peking University. Courses from both Summer Schools can be used as credit against other qualifications, and some courses can be taken as part of a conditional offer for LSE Masters programmes. In 2007 the Summer School accepted students from over 100 countries, including from some of the top colleges and universities in the world, as well as professionals from several national banks and major financial institutions. As well as the courses, accommodation in LSE halls of residence is available, and the Summer School provides a full social programme including guest lectures and receptions.^[142]

Public lectures

LSE is famous for its programme of public lectures. These lectures, organised by the LSE Events office, are open to students, alumni and the general public. As well as leading academics and commentators, speakers frequently include prominent national and international figures such as ambassadors, CEOs, Members of Parliament, and heads of state.

Recent speakers at LSE have included Kofi Annan, Hilary Benn, Ben Bernanke, Tony Blair, Hazel Blears, Cherie Booth, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Noam Chomsky, Bill Clinton, Alistair Darling, Niall Ferguson, Joschka Fischer, Vicente Fox, Milton Friedman, Muammar al-Gaddafi, John Lewis Gaddis, Alan Greenspan, Will Hutton, Richard Lambert, Jens Lehmann, Lee Hsien Loong, John Major, Nelson Mandela, Mary McAleese, Dmitri Medvedev, John Atta Mills, George Osborne, Robert Peston, Sebastián Piñera, Kevin Rudd, Jeffrey Sachs, Gerhard Schroeder, Carlos D. Mesa, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Costas Simitis, George Soros, Lord Stern, Jack Straw, Baroness Thatcher, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Rowan Williams.

LSE has also introduced LSE Live, which is a series of public lectures that are broadcast live over the internet, as well as being open to LSE community, and occasionally to the general public. Introduced in 2008, the series has seen many prominent speakers such as George Soros, Thomas L. Friedman, Fareed Zakaria and Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve System of the United States.^[143]

iXXi Briefings

The iXXi Briefings are private discussions which are attended by 40 experts from within LSE and elsewhere and are chaired by Lord Desai. At the briefings speakers talk for 15 minutes before discussion is opened to all attendees. iXXi briefings provide an opportunity to for the LSE to exhibit its resources and engage with experts and prominent figures. The iXXi Briefings are run by LSE Enterprise.^[144]

Student life

Student body

There are nearly 7,800 full-time students and around 800 part-time students at the School. Of these, approximately 65% come from outside the United Kingdom. LSE has a highly international student body,^[13] and at one time, LSE had more countries represented by students than the UN.^[14]

Almost 64% of LSE's students are postgraduates,^[14] an unusually high proportion in comparison with other British institutions. There is approximately an equal split between genders with 51% male and 49% female students.^[14]

Students' Union

LSE has its own students' union (LSESU), which is affiliated to the National Union of Students and the National Postgraduate Committee, as well as to the University of London Union. The students' union is often regarded as the most politically active in Britain – a reputation it has held since the well documented LSE student riots in 1966–67 and 1968–69,^[145][146] which made international headlines.

The Union is responsible for the organisation and undertaking of entertainment events and student societies, as well as student welfare and issues regarding accommodation and other matters. As of 2010, there are over 200 societies, 40 sports clubs, a Raising and Giving (RAG) branch and a thriving media group.

The Media Group is a collective of four distinct outlets, each with their own history and identity. A weekly student newspaper The Beaver, is published each Tuesday during term time and is amongst the oldest student newspapers in the country. The Union's radio station Pulse! has existed since 1999, and the television station LooSE Television has existed since 2005. The Clare Market Review one of Britain's oldest student publications was revived in 2008 and has gone on to win many national awards. Students also get access to London Student, which is published by the University of London Union.

In various forms, RAG Week has been operating since 1980, when it was started by then Student Union Entertainments Officer and now New Zealand MP Tim Barnett.

Affiliated with LSESU, LSE Athletics Union is the body responsible for all sporting activity within the university. It is a member of British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS). In distinction to the "blues" awarded for sporting excellence at Oxford and Cambridge, LSE's outstanding athletes are awarded "purples".

Student housing

LSE operates eleven halls of residence centred in and around central London, consisting ten residential facilities owned and operated by LSE and a further residence operated by Shaftesbury Student Housing. Together, these residences accommodate over 3,500 students.^[147] In addition, there are also eight intercollegiate halls shared with other constituent colleges of the University of London, accommodating approximately 25% of the School's first year intake.

The School guarantees accommodation for all first-year undergraduate students, regardless of their present address. Many of the School's larger postgraduate population are also catered for, with some specific residences available for postgraduate living. Whilst none of the residences are located at the Houghton Street campus, the closest, Grosvenor House is within a five-minute walk from the School in Covent Garden, whilst the farthest residences (Nutford and Butler's Wharf) are approximately forty-five minutes by Tube or Bus.

Each residence accommodates a mixture of students both domestic and foreign, male and female, and, usually, undergraduate and postgraduate. New undergraduate students (including General Course students) occupy approximately 36% of all spaces, with postgraduates taking approximately 56% and continuing students about 8% of places.

The largest residence, Bankside, opened in 1996 and accommodates 617 students across eight floors overlooking the River Thames and located behind the popular Tate Modern art gallery on the south bank of the River. High Holborn, approximately 10 minutes from campus was opened in 1995 and remains the second largest residence. Other accommodation is located well for London's attractions and facilities – Butler's Wharf is situated next to Tower Bridge, Rosebery in the London Borough of Islington and near Sadler's Wells and Carr-Saunders Hall, named after LSE professor is approximately 5 minutes from Telecom Tower in the heart of Fitzrovia.

Since 2005, the School has opened three new residences to provide accommodation for all first year students. Lilian Knowles, independently operated, is home for approximately 360 students and opened in 2006. Planning permission was sought to convert Northumberland House, on Northumberland Avenue into a new residence on 2 June 2005, and the accommodation opened to students in October 2006.

The newest accommodation development is Northumberland House, a Grade II listed building, located between the Strand and Thames Embankment. It was formerly a Victorian grand hotel and lately government offices.

The closest residence to the Houghton Street campus is reserved for postgraduate students and is located on the eastern side of Drury Lane at the crossroads of Great Queen Street and Long Acre. Grosvenor House, converted from a Victorian office building, opened in September 2005. The residence is unique in that all of its 169 rooms are small, self-contained studios, with private toilet and shower facilities and a mini-kitchen.

There are also eight intercollegiate halls and some students are selected to live in International Students House, London.

Notable people

LSE has a long list of notable alumni and staff, spanning the fields of scholarship covered by the school. Among them are seventeen Nobel Prize winners^[148] in Economics, Peace and Literature. The school currently has over 50 fellows of the British Academy on its staff, while other notable former staff members include Anthony Giddens, Harold Laski, Ralph Miliband, Michael Oakeshott, A. W. Philips, Karl Popper, Lionel Robbins, Susan Strange and Charles Webster. Former British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee taught at the school from 1912 to 1923, while Ramsay MacDonald frequently gave lectures on behalf of the Fabian Society.^[149] Mervyn King, the current Governor of the Bank of England, is also a former professor of economics.^[150]

Many alumni of the school are notable figures, especially in the areas of politics, economics and finance. Indeed, with regards to the political arena, as of February 2009, around 34 past or present heads of state have studied or taught at LSE, and 28 members of the current British House of Commons and 42 members of the current House of Lords have either studied or taught at the school. In recent British politics, former LSE students include Virginia Bottomley, Yvette Cooper, Edwina Currie, Frank Dobson, Margaret Hodge and current UK Labour Party leader Ed Miliband. Internationally, John F Kennedy (former US President), Óscar Arias (Costa Rican President), Taro Aso^[149] (Prime Minister of Japan), Queen Margrethe II of Denmark,^[149] B. R. Ambedkar^[149] (Father of Indian Constitution) K. R. Narayanan^[149] (Ex-President of India) and Romano Prodi^[149] (Italian Prime Minister and President of the European Commission) all studied at LSE. As of August 2010, the present heads of government and/or state of seven countries studied at the School – Colombia, Denmark, Ghana, Greece, Kenya, Kiribati and Mauritius. Moreover, in President Barack Obama's administration, LSE has more former students than any other university outside the US, with the White House Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Budget Director, and Secretary for Homeland Security, all having studied at the school. In fact, LSE is more represented than Yale, Princeton, Stanford and MIT.^[151]

Successful businesspeople who studied at LSE include Tony Fernandes, Delphine Arnault, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Spiros Latsis, David Rockefeller, Maurice Saatchi, George Soros and Michael S. Jeffries. Notable fictitious alumni include President Josiah Bartlet from the television series The West Wing and Andrew Bond, the father of Ian Fleming's James Bond and Jim Hacker, the fictitious Minister and Prime Minister of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister (in which the Prime Minister is regularly derided by his Permanent Secretary for not having attended Oxford or Cambridge). The LSE is mentioned in the film: The Social Network, as being one of the first three UK universities to have a Facebook network, along with Oxford and Cambridge.

Carlos the Jackal studied in the LSE as well.

List of Directors

• William Hewins (1895–1903)^[152]
• Professor Halford Mackinder (1903–1908)^[152]
• The Hon. William Pember Reeves (1908–1919)^[152]
• Sir William Beveridge (1919–1937)^[152]
• Sir Alexander Carr-Saunders (1937–1957)^[152]
• Sir Sydney Caine (1957–1967)^[152]
• Sir Walter Adams (1967–1974)^[152]
• Professor Sir Ralf Dahrendorf (1974–1984)^[152]
• Dr Indraprasad Gordhanbhai Patel (1984–1990)^[152]
• Professor John Ashworth (1990–1996)^[152]
• Professor Anthony Giddens (1996–2003)^[152]
• Sir Howard Davies (2003–2011)^[152]
• Professor Judith Rees (2011–2012) interim^[153]
• Professor Craig Calhoun (2012-)^[154]

Heads of State and Government

• Óscar Arias (b. 1941) - President of Costa Rica, 1986–1990, 2006–present and Nobel Prize winner
• Maurice Bishop (1944–1983) - Prime Minister of Grenada (1979–1983)
• Heinrich Brüning (1885–1970) - Chancellor of Germany, 1930–1932
• Joe Bossano (b.1939) - Chief Minister of Gibraltar, 1988-1996
• Forbes Burnham - (1923–1985) - President of Guyana
• Tuanku Jaafar (b. 1922) - Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia, 1994–1999
• Tanin Kraivixien (b. 1927) - Prime Minister of Thailand, 1976–1977
• Yu Kuo-Hwa (1914–2000) - Premier of Taiwan, 1984–1989
• Sylvanus Olympio (1902–1963) - Prime Minister of Togo, 1958–1961, and first President of Togo, 1961–1963
• Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (1900–1985) - Prime Minister of Mauritius (1961–1982)
• Sergey Stanishev (b. 1966) - Prime Minister of Bulgaria, 2005–2009
• Edward Szczepanik (1915–2005) - Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile, 1986–1990
• Banja Tejan-Sie, (1917–2000) - Governor-General and leader of opposition Sierra Leone People's Party in Sierra Leone
• Lee Kuan Yew (b. 1923) - Prime Minister of Singapore, 1959–1990

Notes

1. "LSE: A History of the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1895–1995", Oxford University Press, 1 June 1995.
2. "Determined Challengers Keep Heat On The Elite", The Times Higher Education Supplement, 28 October 2005
3. "Outstanding library and archive collections receive national recognition", MLA News, 28 October 2005
4. "1969: LSE closes over student clashes", BBC News
5. "JEEA Published Ranking", "Source: Table 3 of Pantelis Kalaitzidakis, Theofanis P. Mamuneas, and Thanasis Stengos (2003)"
6. "Top 200 universities: evolution over time", "ULB 6/17/02"
7. "EconPhD Net 1 Dec 2005", "EconPhD Net"
8. "Cowles, Yale", "Francisco Cribari-Neto, Mark J. Jensen and Álvaro A. Novo, "Research in Econometric Theory: Quantitative and Qualitative Productivity Rankings," Econometric Theory, 1999"
9. "HERO 1996", "UK Research Assessment Exercise 1996"
10. "HERO 2001", "UK Research Assessment Exercise 2001"
11. "IDEAS Research Assessment UK top 20% of Departments & World top 5% of Departments", "IDEAS, University of Connecticut, Top 20% UK institutions"

External links

• London School of Economics and Political Science
• LSE Students' Union
• LSE student lists
• LSE military personnel,1914–1918
• Memorandum about the School by William Beveridge, 1935
• Catalogue of School minute books, 1894–
• Lord Woolf's Inquiry into the LSE and Libya, March, 2011. Make a submission.
• 2011 Dahrendorf Symposium - Changing the Debate on Europe – Moving Beyond Conventional Wisdoms
• 2011 Dahrendorf Symposium Blog

References