London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science, often referred to as the London School of Economics or simply the LSE, is a specialist university based in London, often regarded as the world's most prestigious social science institution with unrivalled diversity.

History of the School

The London School of Economics and Political Science was founded in 1895 after a bequest to the Fabian Society of some £20,000 by Henry Hunt Hutchinson in 1894. The decision to found the School was made at a breakfast party between four Fabians: Beatrice and Sidney Webb, George Wallas, and George Bernard Shaw on 4 August 1894.

Related Topics:
Fabian Society - Henry Hunt Hutchinson - Beatrice - Sidney Webb - George Wallas - George Bernard Shaw

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The real driving force for the School was the Webbs, and in particular Sidney, for whom such a School had been an idea of long standing. The Hutchinson bequest coincided not just with the Webbs' ideas, but also with a wider movement in society. Politically and economically, people feared that Britain's international position in business and industry was at risk because of inadequate teaching and research. In August 1894, the British Association for the Advancement of Science spoke out for the need to advance the systematic study of economics. The timing was favourable, the idea found support, and the London School of Economics and Political Science held its first classes in October 1895 at rooms at No 9 John Street, Adelphi.

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The School's academic purpose was clear: original lectures, the scientific and objective discovery of facts, research and the training of researchers. In 1905/6, there were 181 postgraduates in the whole of England and Wales: 27 at Oxford, 36 at Cambridge, 49 at other universities - and 69 at LSE. Within its first decade, the School had become established as a world-class centre of research.

Related Topics:
England - Wales - Oxford - Cambridge

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LSE's expansion was rapid. The British Library of Political and Economic Science was created alongside the School, and in 1896 the institution moved from 9 John Street, Adelphi to 10 Adelphi Terrace. In 1900, LSE was recognised as a Faculty of Economics in the newly constituted University of London, and in 1901 the Faculty degrees were announced as the Bachelor of Science (Econ.) and Doctor of Science (Econ.). These were the first university degrees principally dedicated to the social sciences, and LSE became the institution where the social sciences were established in Britain. The LSE also formed the second oldest faculty Chair in International Relations in the world around this time in addition to faculty chairs in history, philosophy, sociology, and various other fields of the social sciences.

Related Topics:
Faculty of Economics - University of London - International Relations - History - Philosophy - Sociology

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In 1902, the School moved to its first purpose-built site at Passmore Edwards Hall in Clare Market, near Aldwych and the Strand. The School has since continued to grow there, beginning in 1922 with the construction of Old Building in the adjacent Houghton Street.

Related Topics:
Strand - Old Building

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From the outset, the LSE was proud of its unique perspective, and pragmatic in its outlook on life and in its reactions to historical circumstances. It was the first such institution in England, and--as the Webbs hoped--it attracted gifted students and academics from both the United Kingdom and other countries worldwide. The LSE was never intended to be purely academic but to use the higher study of economics and political science to educate and train people for careers in administration and business.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - Economics - Political science - Administration - Business

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The LSE is located close to the BBC on the Aldwych, giving journalists easy access to LSE academics. Under the previous Directorship of Anthony Giddens, the LSE was heavily involved in public debate over Labour Party policy in Britain.

Related Topics:
BBC - Anthony Giddens

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LSE & World Rankings

League tables published by British newspapers consistently rank the LSE inside the top four academic institutions in the country. In recent years, the LSE has become the second largest overall research university in the United Kingdom, second only to Cambridge, and the largest in the social sciences.

Related Topics:
League tables - British

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In November 2004, the LSE was ranked the 11th best university in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement world league table of universities. In that same paper, the LSE was ranked the second best university for the study of the social sciences (behind only Harvard in the United States), as well as tenth best in the world for humanities. It was also reported that the LSE is the most international school in the world, with just over 70% of its student body coming from outside the United Kingdom, and well over 130 countries represented on campus in any given year. During the 1950s and 60s, the School had more countries represented on campus than the United Nations. In a 2003 profile of the School, The Guardian newspaper depicted the LSE as having had "more influence on the contemporary political world than any other university in the world."

Related Topics:
Times Higher Education Supplement - Harvard - United States - United Kingdom - United Nations - The Guardian

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LSE & Columbia Alliance

The LSE recently formalised a major institutional alliance with Columbia University, which has been burgeoning for years. The alliance developed as a result of the good working relationship between the two institutions built up through their partnership in establishing Fathom, a centre for online knowledge and learning from the world's leading universities, libraries, museums and research institutes. LSE and Columbia Business School are also collaborators in UNext.com, a privately held company dedicated to the development and delivery of business education and training via the Internet.

Related Topics:
Columbia University - Columbia Business School - UNext.com

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So far, the alliance has achieved three joint Masters degree programs in public policy and environmental studies, including a Master of Public Administration, a Master of Public Policy, and Master of Science, two joint law degree programs, a joint Master of Laws (LLM) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB), at least five joint research projects, one joint research centre, and an endowment through joint fundraising to provide scholarships for students to enroll or participate in the research performed by the LSE and Columbia affiliation.

Related Topics:
Masters degree - Master of Public Administration - Master of Public Policy - Master of Science - Master of Laws - Bachelor of Laws

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