FAQs about graduate course selection

Every MSc programme at LSE has a set of programme regulations, which outline the courses that you are permitted to take. Unless your regulations specifically state that you are able to take a course from outside the regulations with permission, then you are expected to only choose courses listed in your programme regulations:

MSc in International Relations

MSc in International Relations (Research)

MSc in International Political Economy

MSc in International Political Economy (Research)

LSE-Sciences Po Double Degree in Affaires Internationales

Course guides provide descriptions of every individual course at the School, including information about content, teaching methods, types of assessment and more. Click the course code within your regulations to view each course guide. 

You can also watch a short video for all IR optional courses.

The method of teaching and types of assessment for LSE courses vary.  Some operate a lecture/seminar style of teaching; students attend lectures together in a larger group, and break into seminars of approximately 10-15 students per group to facilitate smaller group discussions.  Some courses will operate a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops, or have seminar teaching only. Each course guide will clarify what to expect.

Use Moodle to browse course reading lists, see the structure of a course week by week and find out about the course convenors. The IR Department will release most course Moodle pages by Friday 13 September 2024. See Information on how to access Moodle. If you have any problems accessing an IR course on Moodle, contact ir.msc@lse.ac.uk.

If you wish to take an optional course outside the IR Department, you should first make sure your programme regulations allow outside options and check the relevant course guide to make sure you are eligible.

The controlled access courses list has information on how and when to apply for courses in other Departments. This document explains the application process and deadline for each department and course. It should also provide some expectation of when you might expect to receive a decision on your application. Provided a course is listed in your programme regulations you are technically permitted to take the course, although offers are ultimately made subject to availability and student demand.

A half unit course runs for just one term - either the Autumn Term (AT) or Winter Term (WT) and typically comprises around 20 hours of teaching (lecture/seminar) over ten weeks. A full unit course, on the other hand, usually runs for both the Autumn and Winter Terms and typically comprises 40 hours of teaching (lecture/seminar) over twenty weeks. The course guide for each course will indicate the number of units for each course. See the LSE Term Dates webpage for information on the term structure.

You will be assigned to an Academic Mentor during Welcome who can discuss your course selection options with you. Your Academic Mentor is responsible for signing off on your course selections to ensure you meet all of the requirements to graduate.

If you have questions about course selection and how it relates to your future career goals, you could also consider speaking to LSE Careers for advice. The International Relations dedicated career advisor is Barnaby Mollett, who can be contacted at b.mollett@lse.ac.uk.

A provisional timetable will become available online in late August on the LSE Timetables website. Timetables are decided at a School level, and the Department does not have access to the timetable until it is formally released. 

It is important that you take the time to review the Timetable before selecting your courses to ensure that you do not select courses with a timetable clash (courses scheduled at the same time), as this is not permitted.  Although the LSE for You (LFY) system will allow you to sign up for clashing courses, you will be contacted by the IR PSS staff and asked to make a different course selection. It is best to check the Timetable before choosing your courses to avoid disappointment.

You will register for your courses online via LSE for You (LFY). You can sign up for your courses anywhere with internet access that will allow you to log into LSE for You.

Information on how to make your LSE Taught Postgraduate course selection

You must be signed up for 4 units of courses from within your programme regulations and must be registered on all Autumn and Winter Term courses when Graduate Course Selection closes in October. There will be an opportunity to review your Winter Term course selections during the January course selection period.

Compulsory courses will have already been selected for you, but you will still have to ensure that you submit these courses on LFY.

Do not de-select compulsory courses unless you are a part-time student, in which case you should de-select the courses you intend to take in your second year.

Note: The option to select courses will not appear when course selection opens if you have any outstanding documents required by Graduate Admissions.  

Department of International Relations course selection timeline:

• Graduate Course Selection opens for browsing from 10.00am Monday 23 September 2024 until Thursday 26 September 2024. You can try out using the LFY system, but no changes are saved at this point.
  
  Please note that LfY for course selection is only available from 7am to 7pm daily.
• Graduate Course Selection opens fully from 10.00am on Thursday 26 September 2024. You should log onto LfY to officially start your course selection process (available 7am to 7pm daily). Please note that places on IR4 courses are not offered on a first-come-first-served-basis.
• You should make your request to take your IR courses by no later than 12.00pm on Friday 27 September 2024. No decisions will be made or returned on applications to IR4 courses until after this deadline.
• Course convenors will review requests and make offers to allow you to join the course from 12.00pm on Friday 27 September 2024. You must accept your offers within 48 hours. Offers that have not been accepted within 48 hours will automatically time out. Any remaining places will then be offered to students on the waiting list. First round offer period for IR courses ends at 12.00pm on Monday 30 September.
• Seminar sign up will open from 12.00pm on Friday 27 September 2024.
• You must have signed up to all 4 units of your course selection by the School deadline of 5.00pm on Wednesday 16 October 2024. Students who do not complete 4.0 units of courses will not fulfil the requirements of the programme and will not be eligible for their degree.
• There will be a short opportunity at the start of the Winter Term to request changes to your half unit courses which start in WT. The January course selection period runs from 10:00am on Monday 20 January to 5:00pm on Friday 31 January 2025. However, please note that this is subject to availability and places are not guaranteed. You are strongly advised to speak to your Academic Mentor and check with the Programmes Team before making any changes.

Other Department course selection timelines

Different departments will operate their own timelines for course selection, and you should check with each department.

The Departments of Government, International Development, Sociology and the European Institute all follow the same timeline as International Relations and you must make your selections for any courses run by these departments by 5.00pm on Friday 11 October 2024.

All IR courses operate controlled access due to limited places and/or prerequisites required to study the course. 

You will apply to courses of interest in LSE for You (LFY) with a written supporting statement of no more than 200 words which should succinctly address your reasons for wishing to take the course and how it fits with your overall research interests. TIP: be specific about why you wish to take a course, and note any research, dissertation or career-related reasons for your application. Statements are reviewed by course convenors who decide who will receive an offer to join a course.

You can apply for up to 4.0 units of courses, which is the unit value required for your programme. You cannot select more courses than you need.

If any of your course requests are unsuccessful you must request other courses during the course selection period, the total number of live course requests is displayed on your main course selection screen. It is recommended that you identify a couple of back-up courses, should a place on a first-choice course not be available. 

In order to help course convenors understand and process your request, you should state under which Paper you are selecting the course.

In summary:

1. Keep your statement short and to the point. Write no MORE than 200 words.
2. Indicate if the course is for Paper 2 or Paper 3. 

Yes, you MUST register for compulsory courses in LSE for You, (for example, dissertations). The system does not do this automatically for you.

You will be required to ‘submit’ these selections in order to register for these courses. LFY will automatically accept your registration request for your compulsory courses; you can then sign-up for your core course seminar.

We strongly recommend that you plan to take a balanced course load across terms. The academic year is a very busy one, and students who balance their course selection evenly find it easier to effectively manage their time and assessment loads. If you do want to take more courses in one term than another, then you must discuss this with your Academic Mentor. Your Academic Mentor has final approval of your course selection. 

Applying for an optional course does not mean you will automatically be accepted. The Department makes every effort to offer a sufficient number of seminar groups in a given subject. However, all courses are controlled to a specified number of places and there are no guaranteed places on optional courses.