MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

at London School of Economics

Compulsory core courses (3 units)

(* denotes a half unit)

 

Social innovation design:

 

Two core courses will focus on understanding and design of solutions for social challenges. These courses draw on the LSE Department of Management's 10 years of experience in conducting research projects and field design programmes with an ecosystem of local partners in South Asia, Africa and South America.

 

Understanding Social Problems for Innovation and Entrepreneurship*
This course focuses on designing an effective social enterprise, which can range from a start up (e.g. a new local business or NGO) to a new socially-focused unit within a large organisation (e.g. a multinational company or global NGO/foundation). The course begins with an understanding of the causes of poverty and inequality in situ for a specific target group, and develops a core understanding of a wide variety of social problems from economic, psychological and sociological perspectives. Students will have the opportunity to engage in a field trip to an emerging market, where they will explore in depth the root cause of a social challenge in the local context, undertaking initial data collection and defining a pressing problem they wish to address in the Social Innovation Design course (below).

 

Social Innovation Design*
This course takes the social problem identified in the Understanding Social Problems for Innovation and Entrepreneurship course above as a starting point, and provides a rigorous overview of insights, concepts, frameworks, methods and tools for designing and scaling up a new social enterprise, ranging from business model innovation to crowd funding and impact assessment. A key component of the course will be a social enterprise design project where student groups are provided with a step-by-step methodology and coaching to develop a comprehensive enterprise solution to the problem highlighted during their field trip.

 

Core management fundamentals:

Two core courses will focus on the fundamentals of organisational management, with concepts, terminology and frameworks in marketing, organisational behaviour, economics, accounting and quantitative research. This is designed to build students' ability to make good judgements and better business decisions, and ask the right questions to critically assess issues in the in building, deployment and scaling of their social enterprise. 

 

Organisational Behaviour and Marketing for Social Entrepreneurs*
This course focuses on building an essential knowledge of organisational behaviour (such as leadership, teams, motivation) and marketing, to provide the managerial skills required to catalyse the changes required to launch and lead successful entrepreneurial ventures in social innovation.

 

Managerial Economics and Quantitative Measurement for Social Entrepreneurs*
This course provides a fundamental grounding in economics, accounting and quantitative research methods, tailored to meet the needs of social innovators and entrepreneurs.

 

Dissertation:

Learning from all core courses will be brought together with a dissertation at the end of the programme, with the opportunity to conduct an individual capstone project bringing together a well-rounded understanding of social problems, techniques to develop innovative solutions, and entrepreneurial or managerial skills.

 

Dissertation

Students have three options for the dissertation:

1. An individual design project for a new social enterprise, producing a sound and viable business model, a compelling plan for achieving long-term sustainability, and a detailed and convincing impact assessment.

2. An individual consulting project to solve a real-world issue for a client organisation. Project themes can be extremely wide-ranging across areas of specialisation and regions, all with a significant, tangible business problem to be solved. Past sponsors have included IMB (big data in Brazil), Riders for Health (healthcare transport in Africa) and Rickshaw Bank (business model renewal in India).  

3. Students can also seek approval to undertake a research dissertation, conducting an empirical research project to develop new knowledge in the field of social innovation. 

Entry requirements for MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

 

• undergraduate degree at 2.1 level or above, or international equivalent. See international entry requirements. Applicants from any academic background are welcomed. 
• students admitted to the programme would normally have 2 or more years' relevant work experience. However applicants with less experience (for example an internship) are also welcome to apply. Please detail any relevant experience in your application.
• a GMAT or GRE score is not required, but a strong result from either of these tests may benefit applicants
• English language requirements

Every graduate student is charged a fee for their programme.

The fee covers registration and examination fees payable to the School, lectures, classes and individual supervision, lectures given at other colleges under intercollegiate arrangements and, under current arrangements, membership of the Students' Union. It does not cover living costs or travel or fieldwork.

 

Tuition fees 2022/23 for MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Home students: £33,084
Overseas students: £33,708

Career development with the MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurships offers the opportunity to develop your career as a talented, insightful and entrepreneurial manager. 

 

The programme will provide the knowledge, skills and networks you need to take the next step in your career, whether this will be to launch or grow your own socially-focused entrepreneurial venture, drive forward your career in your current organisation, or find a route to transition into social innovation from another sector.

 

Graduates from the LSE Department of Management are highly sought-after in the job market, and go on to successful careers in a range of leading organisations worldwide. Many of our graduates have also launched successful start-up ventures.