MSc in Political Economy
Course Overview
The MSc in Political Economy is a UK Level 7 postgraduate degree running one year full-time or two years part-time, with online and distance routes available. The programme applies formal economic tools to institutional and political questions and is aligned with the applied competencies referenced by the Royal Economic Society, the Government Economic Service and the research programmes of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, NIESR, ODI and Chatham House.
By graduation you will have written a research-informed dissertation, built econometric models of political-economy phenomena such as fiscal reform, regulatory capture or trade politics, drafted policy analysis briefs, and completed a supervised capstone or sponsor consulting project for a chambers, government department, think tank or international body.
Key Features
- Aligned with Royal Economic Society, GES and Chatham House research programmes.
- Formal micro and macro tools applied to institutional and political-economy questions.
- Econometrics taught with Stata and R using UK administrative and cross-national data.
- Weekly case-room seminars run in the select-committee tradition.
- Supervised dissertation of 12,000 to 15,000 words.
- Practitioner sessions from IFS, NIESR, Treasury and Bank of England alumni.
- Three parallel study modes for progressors and working professionals.
What You Will Learn
- Model policy choice under political constraints using formal game and choice theory.
- Apply econometric identification strategies to policy datasets.
- Interpret fiscal, monetary and trade policy through political-economy lenses.
- Analyse regulatory capture, rent-seeking and distributional politics.
- Draft policy analysis briefs for a ministerial or think tank audience.
- Evaluate reform programmes using theory of change and monitoring frameworks.
- Present research findings in the case-room seminar tradition.
- Deliver a Master's-level dissertation of research-informed senior practice standard.
Who This Course Is For
- Bachelor's graduates in economics, politics or PPE moving into senior policy work.
- Working policy advisers, analysts and consultants wanting a research anchor.
- Think tank staff moving from research assistant to research fellow work.
- International applicants seeking a UK Master's in political economy.
- Portfolio-route applicants with senior public-sector or NGO experience.
Career Pathways
- Government Economist on the GES senior track.
- Research Economist at NIESR, IFS or ODI-adjacent programmes.
- Economic Policy Analyst at a think tank or NGO.
- Public Finance Analyst in a CIPFA-aligned team.
- Regulatory Economist at a UK regulator.
- Economic Consultant at a specialist practice.
- Development Economist at a bilateral agency.
- Investment Analyst in the City.
The LSLPE careers service maintains standing introductions to Treasury, GES, IFS, think tank and City recruiters for Master's students.
Entry Requirements
- A UK Bachelor's degree (2:2 or above) or equivalent international qualification in economics, politics, PPE or a cognate discipline.
- IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
- Applicants without a Bachelor's degree but with five or more years of senior professional experience in policy, economics or research are considered on portfolio.
- One academic and one professional reference.
- A 500-word research proposal or professional practice statement.
Why Study at LSLPE
LSLPE places the MSc in Political Economy within a short tube ride of the Treasury, the Bank of England, Chatham House, the IFS and the LSE-adjacent think tank ecosystem, giving dissertation students direct access to the live research publications, data releases and practitioner communities they draw on.
Every intake shares the same weekly seminar structure with a named programme tutor, and the LSLPE careers service refreshes curriculum alignment annually against Royal Economic Society and Political Studies Association guidance so MSc graduates step into UK senior-track policy or research work with a current, credible skill set.
Apply for MSc in Political Economy
The MSc in Political Economy is a Master's-level credential that pairs quantitative rigour with institutional analysis. Enrol on an LSLPE Master's programme, dissertation, capstone or sponsor project supervised by practising barristers, policy advisers and City economists. Enrol Now.
