PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION: Executive MSc in Cities
1. / Awarding Body / LSE2. / Details of accreditation by a professional/statutory body,
e.g. ESRC; BPS etc. / N/A
3. / Name of final award / Executive MSc
4. / Programme Title / Cities
5. / Duration of the course / 18 months
6. / Based in the Department/Institute: / Sociology
7. / Relevant QAA subject benchmark statements / N/A
8. / UCAS Code / K4U1
9. / First written/last amended / 15/10/2014-27/04/2015, 1/9/16
10. / The programme aims to:
a. Train experienced mid-career professionals to deal with urban challenges in an integrated and cross-disciplinary way
b. Provide a flexible means of delivering cutting edge urban research to people in full time employment.
c. Access a large market of professionals that our current MSc and PhD programmes are currently incapable of reaching because of the time commitment of full time study.
d. Provide high quality multi-disciplinary education that is professionally geared and academically rigorous
e. Help students build an awareness of key patterns, trends and regional differences of global urbanisation, urban change and city growth.
f. Deepen the students’ awareness of the key challenges facing large cities, notably the persistent levels of social inequality, poverty, unsustainable resource use and constraints to economic efficiency
g. Take away knowledge of the role of spatial governance, urban planning and city design
11. / Programme outcomes: knowledge and understanding; skills and other attributes
By the end of the programme, students will be able to:
a. Gain a greater understanding of the relationship between the physical and social development of cities
b. Achieve a broad understanding of cities as institutions and their regional and neighbourhood government arrangements
c. Advanced understanding of the role of cities as part of broader developmental agendas
d. Prepare an integrated strategic plan for a chosen city
e. Prepare a master plan, finance and phasing strategy for a London development area
f. Carry out cost benefit analysis, social and environmental impact assessments for a chosen project
g. Pitch policies, projects and strategies in front of industry experts
h. Provide consultation to private or public organisations on how best to deliver sustainable urban projects or policies
12. / Teaching, learning and assessment strategies to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated
Teaching and learning strategies: As an executive training programme, our focus will be on putting participants in the midst of real leadership and decision making challenges through a mixture of innovative teaching methods:
a. Harvard style case method teaching will introduce students to some of the major challenges that city and project leaders around the world are currently facing. Students will be asked to take decisions and test options as if they were governing that city or project at that time.
b. Work in a real master planning and strategic planning challenge currently taking place in London, meeting and shadowing the companies and public agencies behind these projects
c. Invite current and former city leaders to give their personal insight of running a city
d. Seminars that are participant led encouraging student participation and problem solving
All our courses will be managed on Moodle with faculty moderating discussion groups whilst the students are off campus.
Assessment strategies: Students will be assessed on their ability to analyse, plan and manage real urban challenges set to them through case studies and master planning workshops through the following ways:
a. Consultancy report where we will ask feedback from the host institution on the candidate’s performance.
b. Group and individual presentations in front of expert panels
c. Individual essays testing the expertise of students in key planning methods
d. Formative assessments will be presented to faculty and peers on campus and will form the brief for the final essays and reports for each course.
13. / Programme structures and requirements, levels, modules and awards
See the Executive MSc Cities programme regulations.
Additional information
14. / Criteria for admission to the programmeAdmission criteria:
a. A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in an urban-related public or private sector.
An application should include the following:
b. Two references
c. An application fee of £1500
d. Proof of English language proficiency such as an English language test (TOEFL or IELTS)
e. A personal statement
15. / Indicators of quality
· The recent UK Research Excellence Framework 2014 picked out LSE Cities’ impact in
shaping urban practice and leading the global debate on liveable cities.
· The Urban Age programme of global conferences is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and is regarded as the most prestigious yearly forum shaping urban governance.
· Our core faculty is consistently being monitored in the quality of their executive teaching.
· A recent student group from a custom executive programme organised by LSE Enterprise, reviewed the teaching quality of the four convenors in this application as 9.8/10
16. / Methods for evaluating and improving the quality and standard of teaching and learning
We will maintain and review the quality of our teaching through the following methods:
a. Student representatives feeding programme quality information and concerns back to the teaching faculty.
b. Annual reviews of academic staff and visiting lecturers
c. Setting up an alumni fellowship programme whereby graduates will be feeding in their views on the how the programme can be improved in the medium and long term.
d. Annual board meetings with an extensive network of former city leaders and practitioners from LSE Cities’ Urban Age network of conferences.
e. Annual reviews with the Sociology Department that will be hosting this course.
f. Annual surveys with students who have undertaken the course.
g. A central review of departmental taught provision every five years or so, informed by available evidence, including student views, the main purposes being to promote development, identify and disseminate good practice, and to flag any concerns over standards to departments, without adjudicating on them.
School level quality assurance processes include:
1. a system of initial programme approval, with input from the providers of resource-based services (including the Library, IT Services and the Academic Planning and Resources Committee) and including an external assessor's report, to be conducted by the School's central academic bodies;
2. a system of initial course approval, with input from the providers of resource-based services and conducted by the School's central academic bodies;
3. a system of approval of major modifications to programmes and courses, conducted by the School's central academic bodies;
4. a system of central review of departmental taught provision every five years or so, informed by available evidence, including student views, the main purposes being to promote development, identify and disseminate good practice, and to flag any concerns over standards to departments, without adjudicating on them;
5. a system of gaining student feedback on their teaching and learning experience in the School;
6. periodic review by the School's academic bodies of its internal Codes of Practice;
7. due and appropriate consideration of national quality assurance requirements through the School's committee structure; and
8. departments have the following arrangements in place for assuring their quality and standards:
8.1. Staff-Student Liaison Committees for all students that meet regularly, with minutes of meetings produced and circulated to staff and students;
8.2. Departmental Staff meetings that involve all staff, meet at least three times per academic year, and consider information from any other extant departmental committees. Minutes should be produced and circulated to staff;
8.3. A Teaching Committee that involves appropriate departmental staff, meets regularly each academic session and considers all aspects of departmental learning and teaching, including new programme and course proposals. Minutes should be produced and circulated to members;
8.4. A system for ensuring the effective participation in the School's annual programme monitoring exercise;
8.5. A system for considering course and programme results annually, and revising taught provision as appropriate;
8.6. A system for considering student survey course results annually, and revising taught provision as appropriate;
8.7. A system for considering external examiners' reports, and acting on them, on an annual basis, with the School having an associated responsibility (a) to ensure that the system functions and (b) for any School-wide lessons on both good practice and areas of concern from the reports collectively.
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