Upcoming students

Applicants and Offer-holders

Welcome to the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

LSE has a long tradition of studying and teaching in media and communications, culminating in the formation of the Department in 2003. This reflects LSE's considerable recent investment in this important area of work. Now with more than 200 Masters students and over 30 PhD students from around the world, our programmes build on our world-class reputation for leading-edge research.

Why study at LSE?

Watch below LSE students and staff explaining why prospective undergraduate and graduate students should consider studying at the School:

Why study at LSE Why study at LSE

In addition, we understand that applying for graduate study can be an anxious time. We have put together some helpful information to guide you through the process.

Make sure you also check out the LSE Student's Union - and definitely take a look at their recent day in the life of an LSE student; 'Life at LSE with Lizzie'. Follow them on Twitter for all latest news.

LSE Welcome 2021

Visit our Department Welcome page here.

LSE Vocabulary

Sometimes you will come across jargon, acronyms and titles with which you are not familiar, or which have been used differently in your previous institution.  Read our brief guide to some of the jargon, acronyms and special LSE terms that you will come across in our website and publications.

Academic Mentor

At the beginning of the year each student is allocated an 'Academic Mentor' who is responsible for their academic and pastoral welfare.

Auditing

If you choose to audit a course, this means that you sit in on the lectures, but do not undertake any assessment for that course. Courses that you have audited will not appear on your results transcript, and will not count towards your degree.

Calendar

The Calendar is a web-first resource containing definitive regulations relating to students and their study.

Class 

The smaller groups into which students on a particular course are divided for more interactive study.  Graduate seminars are sometimes referred to as classes particularly by the Timetables Office. Each course is normally taught by a combination of weekly lectures and seminars.

Course

Sometimes referred to as 'module', meaning the different components of a programme of study, e.g. MC408, the core course for all media MSc programmes.

Course Convenor

A member of the academic staff in a department who has overall responsibility for the academic direction and assessment of a particular course.

Course guide

A brief description of each course offered at LSE, published in the School Calendar.

Dissertation

You may know this as a 'thesis' or 'research report', the dissertation is a compulsory one-unit course taken by all students in the Department and comprises an independent quantitative or qualitative investigation of an issue in the field of media and communications.  The submission date will be in August.

Grade

Sometimes used interchangeably with 'mark', however a grade is alphabetical and represents a range of marks, e.g. Bad Fail, Fail, Pass, Merit, Distinction.  

Graduate Teaching Assistant [GTA]

Usually a PhD researcher in the final stages of their programme, providing seminar teaching to accompany a lecture series.

Lecture

A teaching format used in most LSE courses, attended by all students taking that particular course, normally one hour long, normally held weekly.

Lecturer

Usually a member of the academic staff of LSE but sometimes a visiting or associated academic.

LSE For You (LFY)

LSE's web-based self-service administration system

LT

Lent Term, the second term in the academic year, running from January - March.

Mark

Sometimes used interchangeably with 'grade', however a mark is numerical and ranges from 0-100.

Module

Another word for 'course', meaning the different components of a programme of study, e.g. MC408, the core course for all media and communications MSc programmes.

Moodle

A web-based location for LSE course materials which provides additional forms of student-to-teacher and student-to-student communication, all in one virtual space.

MT

Michelmas Term, the first term in the academic year, running from October - December.

Programme

The schedule of study leading to the award of, e.g. the MSc in Media and Communications, made up of several 'courses' or 'modules'.

Seminar

The smaller groups into which students on a particular course are divided for more interactive study.  Graduate seminars are sometimes referred to as classes particularly by the Timetables Office.  Each course is normally taught by a combination of weekly lectures and seminars.

ST

Summer Term, the third and final term in the academic year, running from April - May.

Supervisor

In the Department of Media and Communications, each student is allocated to a Dissertation Supervisor at the end of Michaelmas Term.

Important links for new arrivals