The London School of Economics and Political Science, commonly referred to as the London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist constituent college of the University of London in London, England. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidney Webb, Beatrice Webb and George Bernard Shaw, the School joined the federal University of London in 1900 as the Faculty of Economics. Degrees were issued to the school’s students from 1902 onwards.
Today, the LSE remains a specialist single-faculty constituent college of the University with just 8,700 full-time students. It describes itself as the world’s leading social science institution for teaching and research, which spans the full breadth of the social sciences. It is among the world’s most selective universities, with the lowest admissions rate of any university in Britain. LSE has also produced many notable alumni including several Nobel laureates as well as many foreign heads of state.
Consistently placed among the top higher education instititutions in the world in university rankings, LSE was found to have the highest percentage of world-leading research of any university in the UK as of 2008. It is a member of the Russell Group.
The LSE has its own students’ union, the LSESU, which is affiliated to the National Union of Students and the National Postgraduate Committee, as well as to the University of London Union. The students’ union is often regarded as the most politically active in Britain – a reputation it has held since the well documented LSE student riots in 1966-67 and 1968–69, which made international headlines.
The Union is responsible for the organisation and undertaking of entertainment events and student societies, as well as student welfare and issues regarding accommodation and other matters. As of 2010, there are over 200 societies (more than any other UK students’ union), 40 sports clubs, a Raising and Giving (RAG) branch and a thriving media group.
The Media Group is a collective of four distinct outlets, each with their own history and identity. A weekly student newspaper The Beaver, is published each Tuesday during term time and is amongst the oldest student newspapers in the country. The Union’s radio station Pulse! has existed since 1999, and the television station LooSE Television has existed since 2005. The Clare Market Review one of Britain’s oldest student publications was revived in 2008 and has gone on to win many national awards. Students also get access to London Student, which is published by the University of London Union.
In various forms, RAG Week has been operating since 1980, when it was started by then Student Union Entertainments Officer and now New Zealand MP Tim Barnett.
Affiliated with the LSESU, the LSE Athletics Union is the body responsible for all sporting activity within the university. It is a member of British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS). In distinction to the “blues” awarded for sporting excellence at Oxford and Cambridge, LSE’s outstanding athletes are awarded “purples”