- published: 26 Nov 2015
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The London School of Economics and Political Science (informally the London School of Economics or LSE) is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidney Webb, Beatrice Webb and George Bernard Shaw, LSE joined the University of London in 1900 and degrees were first issued to its students in 1902. Despite its name, it conducts teaching and research across the entire range of the social sciences - accounting and finance, anthropology, applied statistics, actuarial science, economic history, economics, geography, government, history, international development, international relations (which LSE pioneered as a study), law, management, philosophy, politics, psychology, social policy and sociology - as well as in logic and the scientific method, mathematics and statistics.
LSE is based in Westminster, central London, on the boundary between Covent Garden and Holborn in an area historically known as Clare Market. It has around 8,700 full-time students and 1,300 academic staff and had a total income of £220.9 million in 2009/10, of which £23.9 million was from research grants and contracts. LSE is organised into around 25 academic departments and 15 research centres. LSE's library, the British Library of Political and Economic Science, contains over 4.7 million volumes and is the world's largest social and political sciences library. LSE was found to have the highest percentage of world-leading research of any British university in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.
London i/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.