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.