Programme title, core module, policy/procedure and programme composition changes
LSE publishes changes to programme and module information throughout the year as they are agreed in the LSE Calendar, which houses all of our regulations. These changes are normally made in light of developments in the discipline or path-breaking research, or on the basis of student feedback. LSE has procedures to ensure that changes are carefully considered and meet set requirements for the assurance of quality and fairness for both current and future students.
Updates to programme titles, core modules, and changes to the composition of programmes for forthcoming academic sessions can be found on the following webpages. These webpages are maintained by the Teaching Quality Assurance and Review Office:
Undergraduate
Updated course and programme information for undergraduate students registered in the current academic session.
Updated course and programme information for prospective undergraduate students entering in the next academic session.
Updated course and programme information for future undergraduate students entering after the next academic session.
Postgraduate:
Updated course and programme information for postgraduate students registered in the current academic session.
Updated course and programme information for prospective postgraduate students entering in the next academic session.
Updated course and programme information for future postgraduate students entering after the next academic session.
Policies and Procedures
LSE publishes information about its policies and procedures here. Updates to School rules and regulations for current and forthcoming academic sessions can be found in the LSE Calendar.
TheLSE ensures that these changes are carefully considered and meet set requirements for the assurance of quality and fairness for both current and future students.
Process
If the change affects students who have received an offer for a place on a programme but have not yet started, reasonable efforts will be made to notify students of the changes (e.g. via email). The Teaching Quality Assurance & Review Office facilitates the approval process for changes to programmes and courses in coordination with the Admissions office and academic departments. Students will usually be contacted directly by the academic department responsible for their programme of study as soon as possible once the change has been approved.
In exceptional circumstances, if something is proposed to change after a student has registered on a programme, the department will be required to liaise with the Teaching Quality Assurance & Review Office regarding the timing of implementation and will also be asked to seek endorsement from all students prior to making the change. Students will have a reasonable opportunity to respond to the proposed change. If any objections are raised, the amendment would normally be deferred to the following year of entry.
Further information on the process for how course and programme modifications are considered can be found here:
Modifications to existing courses and programmes
How are changes considered?
LSE uses the terminology ‘programme’ to describe the entire set of studies required to complete a university degree and ‘course’ to describe the individual components that make up that programme. Some institutions use the word ‘module’ to describe the individual components. For the purpose of the information below, the words ‘course’ and ‘module’ refer to the same thing.
As with programme titles, the provision of core modules is fixed prior to the admissions cycle opening and major changes after this time are only made when considered absolutely necessary. If changes are made they are communicated to offer-holders as soon as possible.
Major changes to core modules may include amendments to course titles, course codes, course availability, unit values or core courses becoming optional (and vice versa). ‘Major changes’ are defined as any changes that affect ‘material’ information needed by offer-holders and current students to make informed decisions about selecting programmes of study or individual courses.
Major changes to core modules after registration are only made in exceptional circumstances. The department will be required to liaise with the Teaching Quality Assurance & Review Office regarding the timing of implementation and will also be asked to seek endorsement from all students prior to making the change. Students will have a reasonable opportunity to respond to the proposed change. If any objections are raised, the amendment would normally be deferred to the following year.
Please note that all courses, core and optional, do undergo a review every year to ensure they remain up to date and to allow course leaders to improve and enhance the learning experience for students. This is done by adjusting provision to use alternative teaching or assessment methods for example, or simply to refresh content and reading material. Staff teaching on a course may also change. Modifications to courses do therefore take place from one year to the next. Course guides available for reference in the Calendar provide an indicative summary of each course which is subject to change. Updated course information is published in the LSE Calendar each August in advance of the start of the new academic session. The Calendar is maintained by the Teaching Quality Assurance and Review Office in coordination with academic departments.
Examples of changes to programme composition may include changes to the structure of the programme regulations such as the number of core and optional courses that can be taken, changes resulting from the suspension or withdrawal of courses, changes to optional courses due to timetabling clashes or withdrawal or suspension of the programme itself.
If changes to core modules listed in the regulations affect students who have received an offer for a place on a programme but have not yet started, reasonable efforts will be made to notify students of the changes (e.g. via email) as soon as possible. This might include the addition or removal of core modules for example, or significant re-organisation of how the programme regulations are structured. Changes are usually only permitted after the start of the admissions cycle if they are considered to be beneficial to new students.
Major changes to programme regulations that students are currently taking must be approved by all students before the change can be put to the Departmental Teaching Committee for approval. Students will have a reasonable opportunity to respond to the proposed change and if any objections are raised, the amendment would normally be deferred to the following year of entry. This would include any changes affecting core modules for example.
Prospective students will be notified of changes to the availability of courses, including the suspension or withdrawal of courses, via offer-holders’ newsletters from the Admissions office, or via email from the academic department responsible for their programme of study when changes affect core modules.
Further information on how course and programme modifications are managed can be found here:
Modifications to existing courses and programmes
Programme composition and balance
Programme regulations provide a description of which courses a student can or must take during their programme of study. These courses are listed by year of study and are divided into papers. The papers provide an easy way to split the programme into small parts. Each paper includes one or more courses which will be either full or half units. Programmes vary in composition, such as 12 papers over three years or 16 papers over four years for undergraduate students. In the majority of Post Graduate Taught (PGT) programmes, students complete four or five papers over one year; however some PGT and Executive programmes are different.
Undergraduate and Post Graduate Taught programme regulations:
Undergraduate programme regulations
Taught master's programme regulations
Post Graduate Executive programme regulations
Post Graduate Research programme regulations
Contact hours:
Students take four or five full units over a year, usually with equal spread across both of the two main teaching terms – Autumn Term (AT) and Winter Term (WT) – with examinations in January and May/June and dissertations completed over the summer with submission in August. The average taught course contact hours per half unit is 20-30 hours and a full unit is 40-60 hours. This includes sessions such as lectures, classes, seminars or workshops. Other courses vary in format of delivery and dissertations, non-assessed study skills and development courses may have fewer contact hours. Hours vary according to courses and are listed in the Teaching section of each course guide for courses on any particular programme of study.
Students are also expected to complete independent study outside of class time. This varies depending on the programme, but requires students to manage the majority of their study time themselves, by engaging in activities such as reading, note-taking, thinking and research.
Teaching staff:
LSE is internationally recognised for its teaching and research and therefore employs a rich variety of teaching staff with a range of experience and status. Courses may be taught by individual members of faculty, such as Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Readers, Associate Professors and Professors. Many departments now also employ Guest Teachers and Visiting members of staff, LSE Teaching Fellows and Graduate Teaching Assistants who are usually doctoral research students and in the majority of cases, teach on undergraduate courses only. Teaching staff may change from one year to the next due to changes in teaching allocation or staff leave.
The teacher responsible for each course can be found in the relevant course guide:
Undergraduate course guides
Taught Master’s course guides
Research course guides