Programme Specification: MSc Politics and Communication
1. Awarding Body
2. Details of accreditation by a
professional/statutory body, e.g. ESRC;
BPS etc
3. Name of final award
4. Programme Title
5. Duration of the course
6. Based in the Department/Institute:
7. Relevant QAA subject benchmark
statements
8. Application Code
9. First written/last amended
LSE
N/A
MSc
Politics and Communication
Full-time 12 months; part-time 24 months
Media and Communications
N/A
P4UA
June 2005 / November 2012
10. The programme aims to:





provide a high quality postgraduate education which introduces students to major
social scientific approaches to politics and communications;
provide a research training for students wishing to go on to MPhil/PhD research, and
to encourage the development of independent research skills;
prepare students for doctoral or professional research in politics and communications
and for entry into a variety of political communications-related careers;
to provide a stimulating and supportive learning environment for students on an
individual basis, in groups and in collaboration with supervisors;
provide students the flexibility to pursue particular topics of interest to them in a
variety of areas related to political communications.
11. Programme outcomes: knowledge and understanding; skills and other attributes






students will develop an understanding of a range of theoretical and methodological
approaches to the study of politics and communications;
students will possess knowledge of conceptual developments and debates in
research into media and political communications;
students should have a foundation in research relevant skills in politics and
communications (including qualitative and quantitative empirical and theoretical skills);
students will acquire the skills to think analytically and to develop critical awareness of
the academic and professional literature relevant to their studies;
transferable skills in critical evaluation, marshalling of varied evidence, organisation of
complex materials and effective written and oral communication;
knowledge of current developments in the professional media and communications
world through seminars with invited professionals working in major firms and
institutions.
Information relating to careers.
12. Teaching, learning and assessment strategies to enable outcomes to be achieved
and demonstrated
The programme includes four core courses, two optional courses and a dissertation. The core
courses in Theories and Concepts in Media and Communication, Democracy and the Media
and Political Communication will be taught as a series of lectures and seminars.
The research methods course is taught as a series of practical classes and lectures. Option
courses typically involve a combination of lectures and seminars.
Students are assessed by written examinations, a series of research assignments, essays
related to the substantive courses and the dissertation which must be submitted towards the
end of August.
The course may be taken part-time by taking courses equivalent to two units in each year.
13. Programme structures and requirements, levels, modules and awards
See the MSc Politics and Communication programme regulations.
Additional information
14. Criteria for admission to the programme
Applicants should usually have at least an upper second class honours degree or its
equivalent in a social science subject. Applications from those with professional experience in
the media and politics are particularly welcomed, and in these cases degrees in other
subjects may be accepted.
15. Indicators of quality







Entrance requirements and high demand for the programme;
Members of department serve on relevant editorial boards of refereed journals;
Research quality: Submitted with Sociology UoA- 5 in 2001 RAE;
Members of the department are authors of key texts in the programme subject area;
Members of the department are recipients of research grants in the programme
subject area (and research results inform the courses offered);
External Examiner’s Reports;
The LSE Careers Centre website provides data on career destinations of LSE
graduates.
16. Methods for evaluating and improving the quality and standard of teaching and
learning











School survey of teaching quality;
Department survey of graduates;
Teaching Committee meetings at least once a term;
Annual departmental programme review reports;
Annual departmental course review reports;
Peer to peer teaching reviews;
All members of staff are assigned a mentor;
Staff Student Liaison Committee termly meetings;
Review and promotion process includes an assessment of teaching;
Academic advisers monitor student progress;
External Examiners’ Reports.
School quality assurance processes include:







regular staff appraisal and review;
improvements in teaching technique are affected by the Teaching and Learning
Centre (TLC) through observations, advice and further training;
induction programme and mentoring scheme for new members of staff;
Staff/student liaison committee;
centrally administered student satisfaction questionnaires by the Teaching Quality
Assurance and Review Office;
an improved system for ensuring that External Examiner’s
comments/recommendations are fed through to Departments and acted upon;
the School’s Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee (TLAC) which regulates
all aspects of teaching quality;


annual monitoring of courses and periodic reviews every 3-5 years. The outcomes of
the annual reviews are presented to TLAC;
the School’s Undergraduate Studies Sub Committee and Graduate Studies Sub
Committee which oversee all taught programmes and ensure that significant changes
to programmes and courses pass through a sequence of formal stages to ensure that
curricular changes are appropriate and compatible with other developments.