The London School of Economics and Political Science (commonly referred to as the London School of Economics or LSE) is a public research university located in London, England which specialises in social sciences, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidney Webb, Beatrice Webb, Graham Wallas andGeorge Bernard Shaw, LSE joined the University of London in 1900 and first issued degrees to its students in 1902. Despite its name, LSE conducts teaching and research across a range of social sciences, as well as in mathematics, statistics, media, philosophy and history.
LSE is located in Westminster, central London, near the boundary between Covent Garden and Holborn. The area is historically known as Clare Market. It has around 9,500 full-time students and just over 3,000 staff and had a total income of £263.2 million in 2012/13, of which £23.7 million was from research grants. The School is organised into 24 academic departments and 19 research centres.
LSE is considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in the world. The 2015 QS World University Rankings, for instance, place LSE in the global top five of seven subject areas within the Social Sciences discipline.
