Politics and Philosophy

Politics and philosophy is a pairing with a long and distinguished intellectual history, bringing together two disciplines that both ask fundamental questions about power, value, and how human life should be organised. Politics examines how government policies and decisions are formed, how power is distributed and contested, how democracies function, and what forces drive political change at national and international levels. Philosophy provides the tools of rigorous argument and conceptual analysis to interrogate the foundations of political life, examining ethical theories, questions of justice, rights, liberty and equality, the philosophy of mind, and the nature of knowledge itself.

At the London School of Economics and Political Science, this three-year full-time programme is taught by one of the world's leading institutions for the social sciences, with a faculty that includes some of the most eminent scholars in both political science and philosophy. You will explore how government policies and decisions are formed and examine challenging philosophical questions on ethics, human rights, justice, and many other topics, developing both the analytical depth that philosophy demands and the empirical and theoretical grounding in political science. A year abroad is available, giving you the opportunity to engage with politics and philosophy in another intellectual and cultural tradition.

With a typical entry tariff of 200 UCAS points, this is among the most competitive undergraduate programmes in the UK. Graduates are exceptionally well positioned for careers in politics and public life, the civil service, journalism, law, international organisations, think tanks, academia, banking and finance, management consultancy, and the many sectors that value the combination of analytical rigour and political intelligence the degree develops. Many continue to postgraduate study in political science, philosophy, law, international relations, or public policy.