London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

The London School of Economics and Political Science

Coat of arms of the London School of Economics and Political Science
Motto	Latin: Rerum cognoscere causas
Motto in English	"To Understand the Causes of Things"
Type	Public research university
Established	1895
Endowment	£119.2 million (as of 31 July 2016)
Budget	£330.7 million (2015–2016)
Chairman	Dame Shirley Pearce
Chancellor	HRH The Princess Royal (as Chancellor of the University of London)
Director	Dame Minouche Shafik
Visitor	The Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom As Lord President of the Council ex officio
Academic staff	1,655 (2015/16)
Students	10,440 (2015/16)
Undergraduates	4,700 (2015/16)
Postgraduates	5,740 (2015/16)
Location	London, United Kingdom Coordinates: 51°30′50″N 0°07′00″W / 51.51389°N 0.11667°W / 51.51389; -0.11667
Campus	Urban
Newspaper	The Beaver
Colours	Purple, black and gold
Affiliations	ACU, CEMS, EUA, G5, Russell Group, University of London, Universities UK, Golden Triangle
Mascot	Beaver
Website	lse.ac.uk

The London School of Economics (officially The London School of Economics and Political Science, often referred to as LSE) is a public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidney Webb, Beatrice Webb, Graham Wallas and George Bernard Shaw for the betterment of society, LSE joined the University of London in 1900 and established its first degree courses under the auspices of the University in 1901. The LSE has awarded its own degrees since 2008.

LSE is located in Westminster, central London, near the boundary between Covent Garden and Holborn. The area is historically known as Clare Market. The LSE has more than 10,000 students and 3,300 staff, just under half of whom come from outside the UK. It had a consolidated income of £340.7 million in 2015/16, of which £30.3 million was from research grants. One hundred and fifty five nationalities are represented amongst LSE's student body and the school has the highest percentage of international students (70%) of all British universities. Despite its name, the school is organised into 25 academic departments and institutes which conduct teaching and research across a range of legal studies and social sciences.

LSE is a member of the Russell Group and is generally considered a part of the "Golden Triangle" of universities in south-east England, along with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, University College London, Imperial College London and King's College London. It is second in the world for social sciences in the QS Rankings behind Harvard University, ranked in the top twenty in the THE Rankings and in the top fifty by all four major global rankings. Overall, it is ranked among the top ten universities nationally by two of the three UK tables, while internationally it is ranked in the top 50 by two of the four major global rankings and in the top 100 by a third. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the School had the highest proportion of world-leading research among research submitted of any British non-specialist university. The LSE is also a member of academic organisations such as the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the European University Association.