Research Opportunities - Internships

The Department of Anthropology coordinates a Summer Fieldwork Placement Scheme for undergraduates in the department moving between years 2 and 3.

The scheme is expected to run again in 2020/21. Watch departmental communications for details.

The Department has offered undergraduate internships since 2017. In 2018, the Department ofered 20 paid internships across seven projects, ranging from apprenticeship in the 18th century to the investments of colonial governments in 1913.

Please watch departmental communications for future opportunities.’ 

"‘What was most interesting about this project is that the interviews provided the 'human' side of the story which can make you imagine the greater economic and social implications.’"

Student reflections and more project information in the 2019 Alumni Bulletin.

The Department introduced a fellowship scheme in 2018/19, running 16 fellowships for projects including ‘Green Investors’ (led by Dr Richard Perkins; Chup Priovashini (URF)); ‘BREXIT and FDI’ (Professor Simono Iammarino; Axel Gros (URF)); and ‘Social Life of Climate Change’ (Dr Kasia Paprocki and Dr Austin Zeiderman; Maria Francesca Castelo (URF)).  You can read more in the 2018/19 handbook. 

Watch the Department website and communications for information about upcoming opportunities. 

"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 Departments' undergraduate Moodle page for information.

Barnaby Perkes, a Research Assistant (BSc Govt. and History), and Dr Denisa Kostovicova discuss their project, ‘Conflict, Identity and Transitional Justice’ (2015). 

Trishna Kurian, a Research Intern (BSc Govt.) and Dr Joachim Wehner reflect on their investigation of voting behaviour in South African local elections (2016). 

Student experiences from 2017: Tetsekela M. Anyiam-Osigwe (BSc Politics and IR), who supported Dr Ryan Jablonski on ‘How Transparency Affects Distributional Politics: A Field Experiment Among Elected Politicians in Malawi’ and ‘Electoral Violence in Uganda (2016 Elections)’; Anqi Chen (BSc Govt.), who supported Dr John Chalcraft on ‘Transnational Advocacy and Activism (TAA) in the Contemporary Middle East’; and Viktor Salenius (BSc Politics and IR), who assisted Professor Catherine Boone with ‘Politics of Land Commodification in African Countries’. 

Gov.ug@lse.ac.uk

In 2018-19 the Department offered five research internships. Information on the scheme is here (in the ‘UG Research Internship Scheme’ section) with details of past internship projects, eligibility criteria, the application process and an ‘Internship Guide’.

Please watch departmental communications for future opportunities.

"I had my first opportunity to read a text in classical Chinese for academic purposes... it was also a significant achievement for myself, expanding the scope of materials that I can now access for information..."
Former IR interns describe their experiences.  Contributors include Jael Tan, who assisted Professor William A Callaghan on ‘Visualising Global Politics’; Jeremy Burey-Abraham, who assisted Dr Milli Lake on ‘Central African Republic’; and Matheus Santos, who worked for Dr Kirsten Ainley in the ESRC Strategic Network on Justice, Conflict and Development.

Between 2017 and 2019 Dr George Tzougas carried out three research projects in collaboration with six undergraduate interns. The projects ran between June and August, with each research intern completing 100 hours of paid work.

The research paper that the students, Wei Li Hoon and Jun Ming Lim, and Dr Tzougas produced in 2017 recently appeared in the internationally recognised European Actuarial Journal.  It was also presented at the 10th International Conference on Computational and Methodological Statistics (December 2017).  The 2018 project (with Woo Hee Yik and Muhammad Waqar Mustaqeem) was presented at the 11th International Conference on Computational and Methodological Statistics, hosted by the University of Pisa (December 2018).  The project's findings will be published in Annals of Actuarial Science. 

The 2019 research project will be presented in the Department of Statistics in November and has already been accepted for presentation at the 12th International Conference on Computational and Methodological Statistics (December 2019).

“Previously, I would normally take science as face value, rarely questioning the premise. As I approach researching new ideas, I believe I am better equipped to analyse the research rather than blindly believing it. Additionally, knowing how to sieve through a huge amount of information by applying a disciplined approach is extremely beneficial, even in my current job as a actuarial consultant researching new topics and techniques.”
“It was a novel opportunity for a fresh graduate to work on cutting edge problems in the practical world, and have a chance to get published as a co-author at such an early stage of my educational career.”
Reflections from interns in 2017 and 2018.

"Especially noteworthy is the outstanding collegiality and support that exists among the Department of Statistics staff’s members..." 
Dr George Tzougas reflects on his experiences in 2017 and 2018

In 2019, Dr Yunxiao Chen supervised a second-year research project, in collaboration with Ms Sarah Hagart, Head of Management Information in the LSE Planning Division, on grade inflation at the LSE.

"To claim that this experience has been one of the highlights of my time in LSE is indeed no exaggeration."
Jeria Kua looks back on his work on this project. 

The US Centre runs an exciting programme which encourages US-related interdisciplinary research collaborations between academics and UG students.  Between 2017 and 2019, topics investigated included ‘The Rise and Fall of US Drug War Hegemony’ (Dr John Collins; Maria Cerdio (URA)); ‘The Decline and Fall of the Gold Standard’ (Dr James Morrison; Maitrai Lapalika (URA)); and ‘Eugenia Charles and US-Dominican Relations, 1980-1995’ (Dr Imaobong Umoren; Christina Ivey (URA)).  Research Assistants and LSE academics participating in this programme have been drawn from a range of departments: Government, International History, International Relations, Anthropology and Economics. Read more about the 2018-19 programme.

Please watch departmental communications for future opportunities.

"I felt that I was integrated into the department."
This Education Case Study on the 2018/19 internships features Research Assistants’ reflections (Olivia Horn; James Sanders) and those of Dr James Morrison. 

iga.uscentre@lse.ac.uk

Some departments at the LSE facilitate internships for undergraduates in businesses and other external organisations, which can involve research. 

The Department of International Relations facilitates work in small to medium-sized companies. In 2018, Roisin O’Donohue’s internship at LatinNews, an organisation which provides political, economic and security analysis on Latin America and the Caribbean. Roisin wrote analysis pieces for LatinNews and carried out in-depth research. The IR Department’s Internship Scheme helped Roisin by contributing to her living expenses for the duration of the unpaid internship.  choice regarding what I wanted to write about and research... on subjects as diverse as the Nicaraguan military to mining in Bolivia!"

The Department of Economics offers internships placements with the civil service (Government Economic Service) and at The Bank of England (First Year Internship and Undergraduate Penultimate Year Internship).  These placements may involve research-related activities such as data analysis.

The Department of Social Policy also 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). 

"I was given significant responsibility and felt that I was making a genuine impact to The Childhood Trust’s cause."
Reflections from interns Menna Bishop and Nohamin Solomon.

If you are interested in gaining research experience outside of a university environment, contact your department or LSE Careers.