MSc City Design and Social Science

This programme focuses on the social, economic and political dimensions of urban design. You’ll learn how urban environments shape communities and how design can tackle social problems and create inclusive spaces.

Drawing on our urban expertise from across LSE, this programme is distinctive for its studio-based approach. You’ll examine theory in a practical, real-world context – with a studio workshop, masterclasses and opportunities to learn from innovative practitioners.

You’ll gain the skills to become an interdisciplinary urban practitioner and advanced urban thinker who can work across professional boundaries and help create sustainable and socially inclusive cities for all.

This MSc City Design and Social Science attracts students from wide-ranging academic and professional backgrounds, reflecting the range of skills involved in urban studies, urban policy and urban design today. Our students come from architecture, urban design, planning and engineering backgrounds, as well as the broader social sciences, humanities, law and natural sciences.

By the time you graduate, you’ll have well-rounded research, analytical and practical skills to contribute to the design, development and implementation of transformative urban projects in cities around the world.

• Bayat, Asef. 2013. Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East. 3rd edn. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
• Caldeira, Teresa P. 2017. “Peripheral Urbanisation: Autoconstruction, Transversal Logics, and Politics in Cities of the Global South.” Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 35 (1): 3-20.
• Hall, Suzanne and Ricky Burdett, eds. 2017. The SAGE Handbook of the 21st Century City. London: SAGE.
• Hall, Suzanne M. 2021. The Migrant's Paradox: Street Livelihoods and Marginal Citizenship in Britain. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
• Kern, Leslie. 2020. Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-made World. London: Verso.
• Madden, David and Peter Marcuse. 2016. In Defense of Housing: The Politics of Crisis. London: Verso.
• Minton, Anna. 2017. Big Capital: Who is London for? London: Penguin.
• Miraftab, Faranak. 2009. “Insurgent Planning: Situating Radical Planning in the Global South.” Planning Theory 8 (1): 32–50.
• Roy, Ananya. 2011. “Slumdog Cities: Rethinking Subaltern Urbanism.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 35. (2): 223–38
• Simone, AbdouMaliq. 2010. Improvised Lives: Rhythms of Endurance in an Urban South. Cambridge: Polity.
• Tonkiss, Fran. 2013. Cities by Design: The Social Life of Urban Form. Cambridge: Polity.

You'll take four compulsory courses including a core studio workshop, taught courses on critical urban theories and issues, and options chosen from the suite of urban courses taught across LSE. You'll also undertake an independent project under faculty supervision.

Guest practitioners from industry, expert speakers and masterclasses on key urban issues complement the core academic programme, and you'll be linked into the wealth of urban expertise across LSE.

The Department of Sociology conducts world-class research and teaching on some of the most challenging social and ethical issues facing society today.

Founded in 1904, our academics have contributed to shaping research and thinking in the field nationally and internationally.

We're committed to research and scholarship that is socially and politically relevant. The department’s research is organised into five clusters: economic sociology; politics and human rights; social inequalities; knowledge, culture and technology; and urban sociology. We engage in major debates at the intersection of economics, politics and society on issues such as migration, urban ecology and climate change.

With a thriving research community, we play an active role in several research centres and institutes, including LSE Cities, LSE Human Rights and the LSE International Inequalities Institute. Our research has a global impact, informing decision-making and policy for numerous governments, NGOs and international organisations.

Our research expertise is reflected in our teaching curriculum. The department offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with 500 students engaged in learning and research at any one time.

We’re a lively department, with a regular programme of events involving workshops, conferences and collaborations with internal and external partners. We’re also home to the British Journal of Sociology, the UK’s leading publication in the field.

We're ranked first in the UK for Sociology in the Guardian University Guide (2026), and third in the Complete University Guide (2026).

Learn more about our programmes and research.

Explore the Department of Sociology

the Department of Sociology

We welcome applications from all suitably qualified prospective students. At LSE, we want to recruit students with the best academic merit, potential and motivation, irrespective of background.

We carefully consider each application and take into account all the information included on your application form, such as your:

• academic achievement (including predicted and achieved grades)
• statement of academic purpose
• two academic references
• CV.

See further information on supporting documents.

You may need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency. See our English language requirements.

Applications for this programme are considered on a rolling basis. This means that applications will close once the programme is full.

There is no fixed deadline. However, if you’d like to be considered for any funding opportunities, you must submit your application (and all supporting documents) by the funding deadline. See the fees and funding section below for more details.

For this programme, the tuition fee is different for home and overseas students depending on their fee status.

For this programme, the tuition fee is different for home and overseas students depending on their fee status.

All taught courses are required to include formative coursework which is unassessed. It's designed to help prepare you for summative assessment which counts towards the course mark and to the degree award. LSE uses a range of formative assessment, such as essays, problem sets, case studies, reports, quizzes, mock exams and many others. Summative assessment may be conducted during the course or by final examination at the end of the course. An indication of the formative coursework and summative assessment for each course can be found in the relevant course guide.

Graduates from this programme find international career opportunities across the urban design, planning and development fields in the private, public and community sectors – as designers and planners, project managers and consultants, researchers and entrepreneurs. A vibrant alumni network offers guidance and support for current students and recent graduates.

Further information on graduate destinations for this programme

From CV workshops through to careers fairs, LSE offers lots of information and support to help you make that all-important step from education into work.

Many of the UK’s top employers give careers presentations at the School during the year and there are numerous workshops covering topics such as job hunting, managing interviews, writing a cover letter and using LinkedIn.

See LSE Careers for further details.