Research Opportunities - Internships

The Department of Anthropology coordinates a Summer Ethnography Project for undergraduates in the department moving between years 2 and 3. Participants propose their own project, receive initial guidance from academic staff, then carry out the work independently.

Please watch departmental communications for future opportunities.

The Department sometimes has research assistantship positions available, and also collective independent research projects which require assistance and offer a great opportunity to students both within and outside of the Department.

For current opportunities, please contact: 

Dr Judith Shapiro – j.c.shapiro@lse.ac.uk (Departmental Tutor) 

Dr Antonio Mele – a.mele1@lse.ac.uk (Undergraduate Programme Director) 

The Department has offered internships to undergraduates and taught masters students since 2017, investigating topics from apprenticeship in the 18th century to the investments of colonial governments in 1913.

Please watch departmental communications for future opportunities.

"The experience not only gave me the chance to develop my coding abilities, but also provided crucial context for my own research. It undoubtedly contributed to the success of my undergraduate dissertation." -Student researcher, 2020/21

The Department of Geography and Environment run an Undergraduate Research Fellowship scheme where students contribute to a research project, enabling academic staff to improve their research and its impact. Previous projects have included residential property taxation, climate agreements, migration policy and homelessness, and designing a teaching package using VR videos.

These fellowships are only open to current undergraduates in the Department of Geography and Environment.

Applications open annually, normally in early Autumn Term. Information about upcoming opportunities will be shared via email. 

"Our ambition is that these fellowships will serve as a model for fostering a more inclusive research community within LSE." - Dr Richard Perkins describes the programme’s inception.

"I thought ‘I’ve got no chance, but I’ll just try anyway.’... I would definitely encourage anyone to do it." - Eleonore Lorijn on assisting Professor Vernon Henderson investigating the impact of colonialism on the built environment in African cities.

Geog.ug@lse.ac.uk

The Department has been offering internships since 2015.

Watch departmental newsletters and the Department’s undergraduate Moodle page for information.

Internships in recent years researched topics including the World Bank and regime change (with Dr Omar McDoom), night work and the politics of freedom (with Professor Paul Apostolidis), electoral hostility and the atmosphere of elections (with Professor Michael Bruter).

Gov.ug@lse.ac.uk

The department offers assistantships to undergraduate students who are interested in contributing to the research projects of staff members through the completion of specific tasks. These are an opportunity to collaborate with a staff member in their research, gain experience of working on a project, and add depth to a CV.

Past projects have included: anti-colonial activism; history of slavery and emancipation; the Vietnam War in Latin America; insurrection and abolition: Cuba, 1843-44; human rights and the Iranian Revolution; US-China transnational relations in the 1970s.

“I feel like I've got a much better understanding of the academic process and the various stages involved in it — it is a great opportunity to see the kind of readings studied at undergraduate level from a 'behind the scenes' perspective.” - Harriet, assistant in 2020/21

Please watch departmental communications for future opportunities.

The Department is offering undergraduate research internships - read more about the scheme here, with details of past projects, eligibility criteria, the application process and an ‘Internship Guide’.

Please watch the scheme’s website and departmental communications for future opportunities.

"I learned a lot about the rigour and precision behind this sort of scholarship — without even mentioning what I’ve learned from the book’s content. … Academic work can be painstaking and frustrating, but ultimately deeply rewarding.” - Colin, IR intern in 2020/21

The department also facilitates work in small to medium-sized companies. In 2020, five undergraduate students took up internships at a number of organisations ranging from refugee advocacy trusts to communications consultancies. The scheme offers funding to students undertaking internships that would be otherwise be unpaid and therefore might not be feasible to do. Read more about their experiences.

The Language Centre coordinates a Summer Research Internship open to all their Year 3 undergraduate students. The aim of the Research Internship is to produce a publication for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.

The Language Centre Director guides in terms of literature and methodology and submits the publication. The project detail is designed depending on which BSc students want to take this opportunity.

The Language Centre will invite all eligible students to apply each Winter Term.

 The Department of Social Policy runs an Internships Scheme - in conjunction with LSE Careers - to help support its students in getting involved with 'real world' work and research opportunities with charities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

Read student testimonials here.

 The Department has previously supported student interns to presenting their work at conferences and publishing in journals including Annals of Actuarial Science. 

Between 2019–2023, Dr Yunxiao Chen and Dr Chengchun Shi supervised eight second-year research projects, in collaboration with Sarah Hagart and Ellen Austin from the LSE Planning Division. The topics of these projects are listed below.

2019     Grade Inflation at LSE
2020     LSE Student Survey Scores
2021     (1) Students’ Discontinuation at LSE and (2) Analysis of Module Grade Classification at LSE
2022     (1) LSE Student Hub Usage Analysis and (2) The relationship between student-level satisfaction on courses and on programmes
2023     (1) Trend of Student Satisfaction and (2) Student satisfaction on courses

Please watch departmental communications for future opportunities.

"To claim that this experience has been one of the highlights of my time in LSE is indeed no exaggeration."
Jeria, intern

The Phelan United States Centre encourages US-related interdisciplinary collaborations between academics and undergraduate student research assistants. 

Research Assistants and LSE academics participating in this programme have been drawn from a range of departments: Economics, Government, International History, International Relations, Social Policy, Geography and Environment, and Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method. 

Applications open annually - normally in the early Michaelmas Term. Please watch departmental communications for future opportunities.

"Blown away by the brilliance of my UGRA Emily. I would have made exactly zero progress on this project without her work and her work is just so, so good.” - Dr Rebecca Elliot

iga.uscentre@lse.ac.uk