MSc in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Course Overview

The MSc in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences at the London School of Law, Politics and Economics is a UK Level 7 research-informed programme running one year full-time or two years part-time, with on-campus, online and distance learning routes. Themes align with the working focus of the Political Studies Association, the Royal Economic Society, CIPFA, the Overseas Development Institute and the Institute of Development Studies analytic community.

By graduation you will have designed and executed a mixed-methods study, produced integrated policy briefs, defended a live consulting or dissertation project supervised by an LSLPE tutor with senior practice or publication experience, and presented findings before an LSLPE tutor panel.

Every intake of the MSc in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 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 Green Book appraisals, Magenta Book evaluations and evidence-review syntheses, giving research-informed students a direct working relationship with the evidence base used by the Political Studies Association and the Royal Economic Society. Assessed work rewards clean writing and structured argument over volume, and tutors emphasise the everyday drafting skills that research-informed practitioners use in first practice.

Key Features

• Syllabus themes aligned with PSA, RES, CIPFA, ODI and IDS research standards.
• Mixed-methods research workshops across qualitative and quantitative approaches.
• Dissertation, capstone or sponsor consulting project supervised by practising analysts.
• Case-room and select-committee seminars on real interdisciplinary questions.
• Named programme-tutor support with active interdisciplinary research.
• Guest sessions from senior researchers across law, politics and economics.
• 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 interdisciplinary sources including Green Book appraisals, Magenta Book evaluations and evidence-review syntheses.

What You Will Learn

• Design mixed-methods studies on integrated policy questions.
• Apply comparative-politics and applied-economics methods to shared datasets.
• Read and critique interdisciplinary literature at journal standard.
• Advise on integrated policy briefs across law, politics and economics.
• Manage a substantial research or consulting project.
• Assess methodology across disciplines.
• Present at Master's-level oral examination.
• Produce a dissertation or sponsor project of publishable or practitioner standard.
• Read published UK interdisciplinary 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

• Working analysts and policy officers advancing into senior integrated-policy roles.
• Development, humanitarian or NGO professionals seeking a Master's credential.
• Public-sector officials designing cross-departmental programmes.
• International applicants seeking a UK-referenced interdisciplinary Master's.
• Portfolio-route applicants with 5+ years of senior professional experience.
• Applicants moving into the Master’s 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.
• Think Tank Researcher on integrated interdisciplinary briefs.
• Development Analyst in an ODI-adjacent research team.
• Programme Manager for a civic-innovation or development body.
• Public Sector Consultant advising local and central government.
• Global Affairs Analyst covering interdisciplinary international dossiers.
• Strategy Adviser to charities and civic-society bodies.
• Public Leadership Fellow in a civic-innovation programme.
• Support-role progression across think tanks, government departments and civic-innovation bodies and interdisciplinary-policy adjacent teams in central London.

The LSLPE careers service links Master's students with sponsor-project opportunities at think tanks, government departments, NGOs and international bodies. The service runs at least one careers day each academic year specifically for Master’s students on the MSc in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, connecting them with employers across the Institute for Government, Whitehall, think tanks, government departments and civic-innovation bodies and the wider LSLPE alumni network.

Entry Requirements

• A UK Bachelor's degree (2:2 or above) or equivalent international qualification in a relevant discipline.
• IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
• Applicants without a Bachelor's but with 5+ years of senior professional experience are considered on portfolio.
• One academic and one professional reference.
• A 500-word research proposal or professional practice statement.

Why Study at LSLPE

The London School of Law, Politics and Economics teaches interdisciplinary social sciences within a short tube ride of Parliament, Whitehall, the ODI, Chatham House, the IFS, the Institute for Government and the LSE-adjacent think-tank ecosystem. MSc students engage directly with the researchers running the same integrated analyses 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, Royal Economic Society and CIPFA guidance.

Study skills teaching is embedded across the MSc in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, covering scholarly referencing, timed writing under committee-style time pressure and the reading of published UK interdisciplinary 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 Institute for Government events and public-consultation briefings where relevant, and are encouraged to follow live UK debate through the UK policy press and the What Works network commentary.

Apply for MSc in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Applications for the MSc in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences are reviewed on a rolling basis and admissions responds within one working day. Enrol on an LSLPE Master's programme, dissertation, capstone or sponsor project supervised by practising analysts across all four LSLPE departments. International applicants receive dedicated visa and accommodation guidance from the LSLPE admissions team throughout the enrolment cycle, and progression maps into further doctoral study or senior professional practice are set out in writing at offer stage. Enrol Now.