MA in Electoral Systems and Governance
Course Overview
The MA in Electoral Systems and Governance at LSLPE is a research-informed Master's programme running one year full-time or two years part-time on-campus, online or by distance learning. The syllabus covers electoral-system design, party-system dynamics, election administration and the quality of democratic governance, aligned with Political Studies Association and Electoral Reform Society-adjacent reading conventions, and works closely with the British Election Study community.
By graduation you will have produced a structured comparative-election analysis, an election-administration audit, a party-system paper, and a supervised dissertation with primary electoral data.
Key Features
- Weekly seminars aligned with Political Studies Association (PSA) reading conventions.
- Case sessions drawn from British Election Study, European Election Study and Varieties of Democracy data.
- Guest sessions from academic electoralists, election observers and party strategists.
- Supervised dissertation with primary electoral data collection.
- Three parallel study modes so serving analysts and progressor graduates share the same cohort.
- Careers-day access to think tanks, polling firms and party research teams each academic year.
What You Will Learn
- Analysing plurality, proportional and mixed electoral systems.
- Applying Duverger, Cox and modern party-system theory to live cases.
- Reading British Election Study and European Election Study data.
- Auditing election administration for integrity and access.
- Handling voter-registration, boundary-review and campaign-finance regulation.
- Running a comparative-election analysis with structured design.
- Producing an election-observation briefing to international standard.
- Defending a dissertation in an oral viva in front of a mixed academic and practitioner panel.
Who This Course Is For
- Graduates aiming for election-analyst, polling or party-research careers.
- Serving officers in electoral commissions, international election-observation missions or Whitehall democratic-engagement teams.
- Journalists moving into serious election analysis.
- International applicants preparing for democratic-institution roles in their home country.
- Portfolio-route applicants with five or more years of relevant senior experience.
Career Pathways
- Election Analyst
- Political Analyst
- Parliamentary Researcher on constitutional affairs
- Think Tank Researcher
- Political Consultant
- Public Affairs Consultant
- Political Communications Officer
- International Affairs Officer with a democratic-governance remit
The LSLPE careers service curates introductions across polling firms, think tanks, party research teams and international election-observation missions, and refreshes curriculum alignment annually against Bar Standards Board, Political Studies Association and Royal Economic Society guidance.
Entry Requirements
- A UK Bachelor's degree (2:2 or above) or equivalent international qualification in politics, international relations, sociology or a related discipline.
- IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
- Applicants without a Bachelor's degree but with 5+ years of senior professional experience in election administration, polling or party research are considered on portfolio.
- One academic and one professional reference.
- A 500-word research proposal or professional practice statement identifying your electoral-systems interest area.
Why Study at LSLPE
LSLPE is a specialist division of Harold International College of London teaching in small, tutor-visible cohorts. Central London places Parliament, the Electoral Commission, party HQs, polling firms and the LSE-adjacent think-tank ecosystem within a short tube ride of every seminar room, which matters when the election-administration files you will study are drafted nearby.
Every intake, on-campus or remote, joins the same weekly seminar structure with named programme-tutor support. Seminars are run in the case-room tradition, evidence-led and argued in public, and the careers service connects students with employers across polling firms, think tanks and party research teams.
Apply for MA in Electoral Systems and Governance
Applications for the MA in Electoral Systems and Governance are open now, with intakes calibrated to the UK academic year and rolling admissions for online and distance cohorts. Enrol on an LSLPE Master's programme and complete a supervised dissertation with primary electoral data. Enrol Now
