Programme Specification: MSc Population and Development
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
Population and Development
Full-time 12 months, part-time 24-28 months
Social Policy; in association with the Department
of International Development
N/A
L1S3
January 2004 / November 2012
10. The programme aims to:
To offer research-led teaching in population and development to high-ability postgraduate UK/EU and
international students, fostering an independent and critical approach to learning and developing the skills
either to do further academic research or to work in the wide range of careers concerned with problem,
issues and policies of developing countries.
To provide access to a research-active teaching and learning environment that includes a wide range of high
quality learning and information resources in the Department, School, and in the international community.
To develop interdisciplinary perspectives on issues of population and development for students from diverse
intellectual backgrounds and nationalities, with a wide range of choice to develop an interdisciplinary
postgraduate programme that meets their individual careers goals.
To prepare students for careers in a diverse range of settings, including: acadaemia, public organisations, in
civil society, or in the private sector.
11. Programme outcomes: knowledge and understanding; skills and other attributes
Students who successfully complete the course will have gained basic understanding of information and
issues relating to the field of population and development. Details will depend upon particular course
choices, but are likely to include the fundamental relationships linking population growth and economic and
social development processes, demographic dynamics in the developing world and knowledge of modern
population policies and programmes.
Knowledge and understanding
 advanced understanding of population and development;
 ability to interpret new population facts and models;
 knowledge and understanding of advanced topics in population and development;
 an advanced, critical understanding of the main theoretical debates within population and
development;
 the ability to apply acquired knowledge to new problems and contexts for population and
development;
 the ability to work independently, employing an empirical and analytical knowledge of population
and development in the planning and presentation of succinct, precise arguments, written and
oral;
 understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of a range of quantitative and qualitative
methods for empirical research in population and development;
Skills and attributes:
 IT for general and academic purposes;
 library and internet research;
 research-report writing;
 oral presentations;
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the ability to analyse and interpret data, particularly those arising in the social sciences;
ability to design and independently execute a dissertation in population and development.
12. Teaching, learning and assessment strategies to enable outcomes to be achieved and
demonstrated
Teaching and learning strategies
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a range of teaching, learning and assessment strategies are used to enable the learning outcomes
to be achieved - lectures, seminars, one-to-one feedback sessions and self-directed study;
a specific feature of this interdisciplinary programme is team teaching, which provides students with
access to a wide range of expertise
lecture formats are varied, including both traditional formats, audio visual and electronic
presentations;
seminars are interactive and usually organised around themes for discussion or readings; these aim
to deepen and consolidate knowledge, and develop critical awareness and communication skills,
including opportunities to make oral presentations and to p[participate in discussion and debate
under the guidance of an experienced seminar teacher;
access to web-based resources (for example, podcasts and a Virtual Learning Environment) to
support and extend face-to-face teaching;
one-to-one Advice and Feedback Sessions provide individual pastoral and academic support and
direction; all Academic Advisors provide extensive opportunities for students to meet to discuss
topics related to their study and research
Assessment strategies include
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unseen examinations;
formative coursework, which provides opportunities for students to incorporate feedback into their
future work;
summative coursework (e.g.: country reports, policy reports)
dissertation, representing a substantial piece of independent research on a topic of the student’s
choosing with guidance from an Academic Advisor (summative);
summative assessment is carried out anonymously.
13. Programme structures and requirements, levels, modules and awards
See the MSc Population & Development programme regulations for further information.
Additional information
14. Criteria for admission to the programme
Students are expected to come from a range of backgrounds, and to hold an upper second class honours
degree or its equivalent.
15. Indicators of quality
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high entry requirements;
good examination results;
favourable remarks from external examiners;
consistently high scores achieved in students’ questionnaires via the Teaching Quality Assessment
Surveys.
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
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Incorporation of feedback from student responses to the Teaching Quality Assessment Surveys
individual teacher’s self-appraisal of the worth of the seminars and lectures;
the Department takes seriously the feedback on teaching quality provided by the annual Teaching
Quality Assessment survey of students;
the Department holds termly staff-student liaison committees at which student representatives from
all programmes are able to raise issues of concern. It takes forward suggestions and proposals
coming from that meeting;
each programme in the Department has one or two elected student representatives who bring
issues of concern to the staff member with management responsibility for the Programme and to the
staff-student liaison committee;
the Department has a Teaching Committee; part of its remit is to plan provision and support
innovation;
the Department (and School) takes seriously the feedback from external examiners; comments
made by external examiners are followed up within the Department and by the School, and
comments are made available via Moodle to current students;
the School’s Teaching and Learning Centre is available to monitor and observe teaching and offers
constructive advice on how to improve the standard of teaching and quality.
The Teaching and Learning Centre is available to monitor and observe teaching and offers
constructive advice on how to improve the standard of teaching and quality.
The Teaching Learning and Assessment Committee which regulates all aspects of teaching quality;
Departmental TLAC review once every five years.
The Graduate Studies Sub-Committee which oversees all graduate programmes and ensures that
significant changes to programmes and courses pass through a sequence of formal stages, so that
curricular changes are appropriate and compatible with other developments.