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Quick Start Guide


Welcome to LSE and the Department of International Development. This quick start guide is designed to familiarise you with a few essential resources you need to get off to a good start:

1. Register to get an LSE username, password, and email account

Full information on registration can be found here:

https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/your-first-weeks/Enrolment

Make sure you regularly check your LSE email account as key information and communication will be sent to you there.

2. Sign up for Moodle 

Moodle is the primary web-based channel through which students interact with courses and many administrative functions of the Department and School. To register for Moodle:

  • Log into Moodle at https://moodle.lse.ac.uk and log in with your LSE username and password.
  • You should automatically be enrolled in compulsory courses associated with your programme.
  • You can further ‘enrol’ in as many optional courses as you like; in fact, Moodle should be the primary source for up-to-date information about all LSE courses.

  • You will automatically be subscribed to receive messages about department announcements and internal LSE events. You also have the option of subscribing to receive messages about external international development events and job opportunities. 

    NOTE: ‘Enrolling’ in a course on Moodle does not formally register you for the course, it is simply a way to access course information and/or interact with course functions (like signing up for seminar forums or submitting course essays).
  • We suggest that you make use of the the Moodle Digest option to condense the announcements into fewer emails. To set up digest emails in Moodle, you can do the following:
    • Click your name in the top right corner of the Moodle page
    • Select Preferences
    • Select Forum preferences
    • Select an option from the Email digest type pull-down menu
    • Save your changes
    • The options for email digest type are:
      • No digest: Receive one email per forum post
      • Digest - complete posts: Receive one email per day with the full contents of each forum post 
      • Digest - subjects only: Receive one email per day with the subject of each forum post 

3. Download the Student Hub app

The LSE Student Hub will join up your day-to-day activities, help you book office hours, find out about all that the School has to offer, navigate the school and connect you with others in the community in a way that suits you.You can download the app and find out more about the Student Hub here:

You can download the app at https://studenthub.lse.ac.uk/welcome.  

Have a look at our short introduction video about booking office hours on the StudentHub app. This is where you will book your office hours with your Mentors as well as book office hours with other academics:

 BookingOfficeHours

 

4. Become familiar with LSE for You (LFY)

LFY is a platform used for your personal academic administration. This is where you formally register for your course choices, pay your programme fees, update your contact details, and where your provisional and final results are published.

Log into LFY using your LSE username and password.


5. Meet your academic mentor (MSc)

Prior to the start of Welcome Week you will be asked to communicate your top 5 preferred mentors from the staff associated with your programme, via the International Development Moodle site. You will be able to see your assigned mentor early in week 0 and they can advise you on course choices, help you to settle in and navigate your journey at LSE and support you with any other queries or issues you may have. 

You can book an office hour session with your mentor through Student Hub.

Keep in mind that you are not limited to speaking only with your mentor; the Department has an 'open door' policy and you are welcome to seek advice from other ID and LSE faculty. Your Programme Directors are also a very useful source of advice and support. This is particularly true if you are seeking expertise on a particular research topic and you discover a member of staff whose research interests are relevant – you can find out more about the research specialities of ID staff here.

 

Other Key Information and Resources

Find optional courses

Although some departments follow the timelines above, the way that course choice takes place can vary from department to department. The timeline for International Development course selection is as follows:

  • Monday 23 September – 10am: Course choice opens for browsing on LSE For You (LFY) to help you familiarise yourself with the system
  • Thursday 26 September – 10am: Course choice selection sign-up opens
  • Friday 27 September – 12pm: First round application deadline for DV (International Development courses)
  • Monday 30 September – 12pm: First round offer period ends (deadline for Departments to return decisions)
  • Friday 11 October – 5pm: Course selection closes to students
  • Wednesday 16 October – 5pm: Course selection closes to students accepting/declining offers
  • Any offers expire 48 hours after being made; more offers are made depending on availability

There are several ways to gather information on courses, and as each of these resources may provide unique information we recommend taking advantage of all of them:

  • Use LSE course finder at: https://apps.lse.ac.uk/coursefinder
  • ‘Enrol’ and view the course on Moodle to review up-to-date course information and content.
  • Watch introductory videos filmed by course instructors.
  • Talk to your academic mentor.
  • Further information on your programme regulations and course guides can be found on the LSE Calendar: http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar/

The course choice system will re-open in January, when you will be able to make changes to Winter Term half units only. It will not be possible to change full unit courses or half-unit courses that were taught in Autumn during this period.

Register for optional courses

Formal registration for course is done on LSE for You (LFY)

Log into LFY using your LSE username and password.

Expand the 'Graduate Course Choice' option in the left hand menu.

          Select 'Graduate Course Choice - Student'.

It is important to make note of both the deadline for initial course selection and the deadline for making any changes. These dates can be found under ‘Course Selection Dates’ here: 

https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/services/course-choice/course-selection 

It is often a good idea to register for Winter Term (WT) courses right away in Autumn Term (AT) before they fill up.  You can change your initial selection at the start of WT. Just be mindful of the deadlines for course changes!

Some courses are controlled access and/or are capped. To avoid disappointment it is a good idea to collect information on courses. You may have to supply a supporting statement or complete some other task.  Do check the course information on both Moodle and the course catalogue for course specific guidance.

Courses offered by International Development do not allocate places on a first come first serve basis, but please be aware that some courses offered by other Departments do. Make sure you thoroughly check this before applying for a course offered by another Department.

Note: If the Department chooses to offer you a place you will have to accept that offer before you will be enrolled on the course. The offer expires after 48 hours.

Full instructions on course registration can be found here:

https://lfy.lse.ac.uk/lfy/ap/public/resources/LFY_Graduate_Course_Choice_Guide.pdf

Zoom and Microsoft Teams 

As an LSE student, you will automatically have access to a Zoom and Microsoft Teams ccount. You will be able to enable group chats and schedule meetings. Although you won't need to do this in Week 0, you will likely need to set up group meetings from Week 1. We advise familiarising yourself with the two different platforms. Here are some guides to help you:

Become aware of the wide range of support services available

Check out LSE LIFE, the portal for a variety of resources, seminars, and tutorials for both academic and personal help and development: https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/lse-life

Learn about the groups, activities, and support offered by the LSE Student Union at: https://www.lsesu.com/

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) focuses on the skills required to perform in an English speaking academic environment across the core subject areas you will encounter during your time at LSE. Enrol on the English for Academic Purposes at LSE workshop. 

Disability and Wellbeing Service is the central hub for all students who are disabled, have a  long-term medical condition, have a mental health condition or have a specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia or dyspraxia): https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/student-services/disability-and-wellbeing-service

Find your way around the LSE

Maps and room numbering information can be found here: 
http://www.lse.ac.uk/lse-information/campus-map

You can also use StudentHub: https://studenthub.lse.ac.uk/welcome

Contact us

Roles in the admin office: 

Andrea Merino-Mayayo, MSc Development Managment
a.c.merino-mayayo@lse.ac.uk 

Charlotte Mckay, MSc Development Studies
C.D.Mckay@lse.ac.uk 

Maria do Prado, MSc IDHE and MSc Health and International Development
M.A.Do-Prado@lse.ac.uk 

Ayman Hassan, MSc Economic Policy for International Development
a.hassan9@lse.ac.uk 

Dru Daley, Deputy Department Manager
D.Daley@lse.ac.uk 

Dipa Patel, Communications and Events Manager
D.Patel20@lse.ac.uk 

Maya Bullen, Communications and Events Officer (Student Experience)
M.R.Bullen@lse.ac.uk 

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