BA in Policy Analysis

Course Overview

The BA in Policy Analysis at the London School of Law, Politics and Economics is a three-year UK Level 6 honours degree covering policy design, evaluation, implementation and communication. Part-time and accelerated routes are available, and the syllabus is informed by the working focus of the Institute for Government, the Political Studies Association, CIPFA and the Government Social Research profession.

By graduation you will have written implementation-ready policy briefs, run structured option appraisal, produced impact assessments, and completed a placement year in a policy team, think tank or public-affairs consultancy. The final-year dissertation defends original policy analysis on a UK question fit for practitioner or academic review.

Every intake of the BA in Policy Analysis joins the same LSLPE weekly rhythm, whether on-campus, online or by distance learning, and students are placed in small named cohorts from week one. Reading is drawn wherever possible from primary UK sources including select-committee evidence sessions, Hansard extracts and Chatham House briefing papers, giving honours students a direct working relationship with the evidence base used by the Political Studies Association and the British International Studies Association. Assessed work rewards clean writing and structured argument over volume, and tutors emphasise the everyday drafting skills that honours practitioners use in first practice.

Key Features

• Syllabus informed by Institute for Government, CIPFA and Political Studies Association guidance.
• Select-committee-style seminars on live UK policy questions.
• Placement year in a Whitehall department, think tank or public-affairs consultancy.
• Workshops on Green Book appraisal, Magenta Book evaluation and impact assessment.
• Named programme-tutor support with active policy-research experience.
• Guest sessions from serving and retired civil servants and Parliamentary staff.
• Dissertation on a UK policy question of practitioner relevance.
• Named tutor written feedback on every graded submission with an interim tutor review at the halfway mark.
• Structured induction reading list drawn from primary UK political sources including select-committee evidence sessions, Hansard extracts and Chatham House briefing papers.

What You Will Learn

• Apply the policy cycle from agenda-setting through evaluation.
• Write implementation-ready briefs following IfG structural conventions.
• Run cost-benefit and multi-criteria option appraisal using the Green Book.
• Design evaluation plans using Magenta Book methods.
• Analyse legislative and delegated instruments as policy vehicles.
• Draft impact assessments for regulatory change.
• Present policy proposals in a select-committee-style oral setting.
• Build a dissertation from primary policy and parliamentary sources.
• Read published UK political evidence sessions, working papers and reports at practitioner standard.
• Manage timed writing and oral defence under seminar and committee-style conditions.

Who This Course Is For

• School leavers targeting policy, civil-service or think-tank careers.
• Career changers from journalism, communications or NGO roles.
• Working researchers seeking a full honours BA in policy analysis.
• International applicants wanting a UK-recognised BA calibrated to Whitehall practice.
• Public-affairs officers building analytical depth on domestic dossiers.
• Applicants moving into the degree route from a UK Access to HE Diploma, a mature-applicant portfolio or a related LSLPE credential.

Career Pathways

• Policy Adviser in a Whitehall department or Parliamentary committee.
• Political Analyst in a think tank or policy consultancy.
• Public Affairs Consultant in a public-affairs agency.
• Government Affairs Manager in a corporate policy team.
• Think Tank Researcher in a UK-focused institute.
• Public Sector Consultant advising local and central government.
• Strategy Adviser to charities and civic-society bodies.
• Parliamentary Researcher in a constituency or committee office.
• Support-role progression across think tanks, Parliamentary offices and public-affairs consultancies and political-policy adjacent teams in central London.

The LSLPE careers service coordinates placements with Whitehall departments, think tanks and public-affairs consultancies concentrated in central London. The service runs at least one careers day each academic year specifically for degree students on the BA in Policy Analysis, connecting them with employers across Chatham House, Whitehall, think tanks, Parliamentary offices and public-affairs consultancies and the wider LSLPE alumni network.

Entry Requirements

• A-levels (or equivalent) at BBB or above, OR a UK Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
• GCSE English at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C or equivalent.
• IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
• Two academic references and a personal statement on your policy interests.
• International applicants receive dedicated visa and accommodation support from LSLPE admissions.

Why Study at LSLPE

The London School of Law, Politics and Economics teaches policy analysis within a short tube ride of Parliament, Whitehall, the Institute for Government, the IFS, the Nuffield Foundation and the UK think-tank ecosystem. BA students engage directly with the practitioners running the same policy processes their syllabus interprets.

Every intake, on-campus or remote, joins the same weekly seminar structure with named programme-tutor support, and curriculum alignment is refreshed annually against Political Studies Association and CIPFA guidance.

Study skills teaching is embedded across the BA in Policy Analysis, covering scholarly referencing, timed writing under committee-style time pressure and the reading of published UK political materials. International applicants receive additional English-language coaching from the LSLPE admissions team, and mature applicants without recent formal study join a bridge-week before term begins to consolidate written English and note-taking habits. Tutors provide named written feedback on every submission, and every graded piece is reviewed by a second tutor for consistency across cohorts and study modes. Students shadow LSLPE tutors on structured observation sessions at select-committee evidence sessions and Chatham House public events where relevant, and are encouraged to follow live UK debate through the UK foreign-affairs press and the Whitehall correspondents corps.

Apply for BA in Policy Analysis

Applications for the BA in Policy Analysis are reviewed on a rolling basis and admissions responds within one working day. Apply for the LSLPE Bachelor's programme, placement year in chambers, government or a think tank included. International applicants receive dedicated visa and accommodation guidance from the LSLPE admissions team throughout the enrolment cycle, and progression maps into an LSLPE Master’s programme are set out in writing at offer stage. Enrol Now.