MSc International Social and Public Policy

The ISPP programme addresses how states and societies respond to global challenges of social, demographic and economic change, and of poverty, migration and globalisation. It is underpinned by the LSE approach to social and public policy which is explicitly international, interdisciplinary and applied.

Meeting human needs and increasing well-being are universal policy goals but these are addressed differently around the world, with different roles for key stakeholders such as governments, NGOs, families and markets. ISPP approaches the policy process from an international and comparative perspective. Looking at low, middle, and high-income countries, you will gain the skills to identify key social challenges and to analyse the social and public policies used to address them, and the role of difference actors in these processes.

You can choose to follow one of six streams. You can take either the general stream:

• MSc International Social and Public Policy

Or you can choose one of the following specialist streams:

• MSc International Social and Public Policy (Development)
• MSc International Social and Public Policy (Migration)
• MSc International Social and Public Policy (Non-Governmental Organisations)
• MSc International Social and Public Policy (Research)
• LSE-Fudan Double Master's in International Social and Public Policy

Whichever stream you choose, ISPP will equip you for a career in social and public policy within government, NGOs, international organisations, private sector providers, or in academia.

The MSc ISPP replaces, consolidates and builds upon five previous MSc programmes: Social Policy and Planning, European and Comparative Social Policy, Social Policy and Development, Social Policy and Development (NGOs) and Social Policy (Research).

Assessment

All taught courses are required to include formative coursework which is unassessed. It is designed to help prepare you for summative assessment which counts towards the course mark and to the degree award. LSE uses a range of formative assessment, such as essays, problem sets, case studies, reports, quizzes, mock exams and many others. Summative assessment may be conducted during the course or by final examination at the end of the course.

Careers

Students who have graduated from programmes similar to this have gone on to work for:

• different UN agencies including UNDP, UNICEF and UNHCR
• a variety of small and large NGOs including Oxfam, Médecins Sans Frontières, International Red Cross and One World
• action international or intergovernmental organisations such as the World Economic Forum, European Commission and World Bank
• consulting companies
• government ministries.