United Kingdom London

Summary

The London School of Economics (officially The London School of Economics and Political Science, often referred to as LSE) is a public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidney Webb, Beatrice Webb, Graham Wallas and George Bernard Shaw for the betterment of society, LSE joined the University of London in 1900 and established its first degree courses under the auspices of the University in 1901. The LSE has awarded its own degrees since 2008.

LSE is located in Westminster, central London, near the boundary between Covent Garden and Holborn. The area is historically known as Clare Market. The LSE has more than 10,000 students and 3,300 staff, just under half of whom come from outside the UK. It had a consolidated income of £340.7 million in 2015/16, of which £30.3 million was from research grants. One hundred and fifty five nationalities are represented amongst LSE's student body and the school has the highest percentage of international students (70%) of all British universities. Despite its name, the school is organised into 25 academic departments and institutes which conduct teaching and research across a range of legal studies and social sciences.

LSE is a member of the Russell Group and is generally considered a part of the "Golden Triangle" of universities in south-east England, along with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, University College London, Imperial College London and King's College London. It is second in the world for social sciences in the QS Rankings behind Harvard University, ranked in the top twenty in the THE Rankings and in the top fifty by all four major global rankings. Overall, it is ranked among the top ten universities nationally by two of the three UK tables, while internationally it is ranked in the top 50 by two of the four major global rankings and in the top 100 by a third. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the School had the highest proportion of world-leading research among research submitted of any British non-specialist university. The LSE is also a member of academic organisations such as the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the European University Association.

LSE has produced many notable alumni in the fields of law, history, economics, philosophy, business, literature, media and politics. Alumni and staff include 52 past or present heads of state or government and 20 members of the current British House of Commons. To 2016, 27% (or 13 out of 48) of all the Nobel Prizes in Economics have been awarded or jointly awarded to LSE alumni, current staff or former staff, making up 17% (13 out of 78) of all laureates. LSE alumni and staff have also won 3 Nobel Peace Prizes and 2 Nobel Prizes in Literature. Out of all European universities, LSE has educated the most billionaires according to a 2014 global census of U.S dollar billionaires. LSE graduates earn higher incomes on average than those of any other British university.