What do LSE graduates do? View the LSE IR graduate destination statistics
Graduates of the Department have excellent career prospects.
In 2016/17, 94% of undergraduate leavers and 93% of postgraduate leavers from the Department of International Relations were in employment, completing further study or taking time out to travel just six months after graduation.
International Relations graduates found work with a wide range of employers including:
- Multilateral and intergovernmental organisations
- Non-government organisations (NGOs)
- Banking and accounting services
- Local and national government
- Education
- Media and publishing companies
- Consultancy
Their job titles vary hugely from Account Manager to White House intern, and they are employed by such companies as Amnesty International, Apple, British Council, European Commission, European Foundation for Democracy, Foreign Office, HSBC, International Criminal Court, International Crisis Group, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, OECD, Ministry of Defence,The White House, the UN and the World Bank.
PhD graduates from the IR Department have gone on to work for the BBC, the Eurasia Group, the National Secular Society, Saudi Research and Marketing, US Department of State, the UN, Chatham House, European Commission, and to teach in universities such as LSE, UCL, King's College London, Sussex, Cambridge, Minho, Campinas, Royal Holloway and Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais.
38.4% of IR Department postgraduate students for the last five years 2011-16 remain in the UK, but overall they have located to 78 different countries.
Six months after graduation:
- the median salary was £27,000 and mean salary was £29,829 for undergraduate International Relations graduates who were working full-time in the UK
- the median salary was £28,250 and mean salary was £36,031 for postgraduate International Relations graduates who were working full-time in the UK
Visit our blog to read about our featured alumni and their career destinations
LSE Careers
LSE Careers is here to help guide you through the careers maze with a comprehensive range of careers and employment services.
We offer one-to-one appointments, practice interviews, careers events and fairs, the chance to meet employers, job listings, volunteering opportunities, advice about further study, support if you’d like to set up your own business, and numerous online resources.