MScCityDesignHandbook 2009-2010

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MSc City Design and Social ScienceHandbook 2009 2010

Cities ProgrammeDepartment of Sociology


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Contents

Page Number

Significant dates 3

Welcome 4

The Cities Programme 5

Core teaching faculty 6

Associated and visiting faculty 8

MSc City Design and Social Science: Course requirements 10

Core courses 10

Option courses 13

Formal assessment 14

Regulations on assessment offenses 14Assessment criteria 15

Postgraduate mark frame 17

General info and contacts (Sociology dept) 18

LSE School facilities A - Z: 19

Accommodation - Catering 19

Chaplaincy - Disability 20

Equality Financial Support Office 21

Health and welfare 22

Internships Library 23

LSE for You - Moodle 24

Nursery References 25

Student Services Centre 26

School regulations Student tutoring scheme 28

Students Union 29

Student study support - Timetables 30

University of London facilities Volunteer to represent LSE 31


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Significant Dates 2009-2010

Cities Programme induction 28 September 1 October

Start of Michaelmas Term 1 October

Start of teaching 5 October

Candidate examination numbers allocated November/early December

End of Michaelmas Term 11 December

Start of Lent Term 11 January 2010

MSc thesis workshop 1 February

Provisional abstract of thesis due 15 February

End of Lent Term 19 March

Announcement of examination timetable End of Lent Term

Start of Summer Term 26 April

Examination period Mid-May-June

Final City Design Studio Review 29 June

End of Summer Term 2 July

Submission of dissertation Tuesday 31 August

Results published Mid-November

Graduation ceremony Mid-December


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Welcome

Welcome to the Cities Programme in the Department of Sociology at the London School of

Economics and Political Science. Congratulations on your success in gaining the opportunity tostudy city design in the context of the most exciting specialist university institution for the socialsciences in the world. As a student at the LSE, you will be brought into direct contact with themost advanced contemporary research and scholarship in urban and social issues.

This handbook provides an introduction to the Cities Programme and the facilities available in theSchool. It is also designed to help you understand the requirements of this Masters programme,and plan your course of study.

The LSE environment

The School is located in a complex of buildings in the centre of London, near the Aldwych. It is

close to the Royal Courts of Justice, the BBC World Service and the financial heart of the City ofLondon. West End theatres are all close by, along with the shops and markets of CoventGarden. The National Gallery is a short walk down the Strand, while the South Bank Artscomplex (including the Royal Festival Hall, the Hayward Gallery, the National Theatre and theBritish Film Institute) and Tate Modern are located on the opposite bank of the river. Within theSchool there is an exciting mix of students from all over the world and this generates a great dealof intellectual energy and excitement.

The geography of the School can seem complicated at first, but you will find direction signsspread around the buildings, and maps and diagrams in various School publications. See thispage on the LSE website for maps of the campus and surrounding area:http://www2.lse.ac.uk/mapsAndDirections/Home.aspx

A year is a short time

A one-year Master's programme is intense, and it is recommended that you begin serious studyat the outset of the programme. Previous students have gained the most from the Mastersprogramme by starting their reading and writing as soon as courses begin.

If you need help

All students are allocated a personal tutor for the year. If you find that you need help, it is mostimportant that you talk over your problems with your personal tutor or with the MSc Convenor.Tutors are intended to have a pastoral as well as an academic role. You can meet with your tutoron a drop-in basis during their weekly office hours, or by appointment. You should feel that you

may, if you wish, discuss anything with your tutor that affects your ability to benefit academicallyfrom your time with us. You should certainly keep him or her informed of any medical difficultiesor illness that may prevent you from studying or may affect your academic performance. If youhave difficulties of a personal nature that you do not wish to discuss with your tutor, you may wishto make use of the Schools Student Health Centres counselling services, or the Advisors toWomen Students and to Male Students.

If you have difficulties, the golden rule is to tell someone within the Cities Programme or theSchool - they will usually know who to put you in touch with.


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The Cities Programme

Location and Facilities

The Cities Programme is located on the third floor of St Philips Building South. The studio andteaching rooms are Y303 and Y315. All core courses for the MSc in City Design and SocialScience are taught here. Other courses are held in various rooms throughout the campus.

Computers are available for the specific use of the Cities Programme students in Y303. You willreceive instruction in the use of these as part of the Design Studio course.

The Student Salon in Kings Chambers (K building) is also available for study and the gathering ofsmall groups of students for the purposes of studying.

Contact information

Address: Cities ProgrammeLondon School of Economics and Political ScienceHoughton StreetLondon WC2A 2AEUnited Kingdom

Tel No: (+44) (0)2079556828 Fax No: (+44) (0)2079557697 (sociology dept.)

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/cities/

Specific questions pertaining to the Cities Programme or MSc City Design & Social Scienceshould be directed to the MSc Administrator, Anna Livia Johnston, Room Y312 or [email protected]


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Core teaching faculty

Ayona Datta: is Lecturer in the Cities Programme, Admissions Tutor for the MSc City Design and

Social Science, and convenor of the Cities core course on Urban Environment. She has aninterdisciplinary background in architecture, environmental design and planning. Her researchinterests include gender, space, and power; home, migration, and the city; urban politics andsocial agency; and politics of sustainability. She recently completed a British Academy Researchon gendered agency, space and power in squatter settlements. Another research area exploreshow notions of home and the global city are shaped through the building activities of EastEuropean migrant workers arriving in London after EU expansion in 2004. Her most recentproject explores the politics of mobility and sustainability along high-speed transportnetworks. Research in this area has been done in Turkey and further research will be undertakenin 2010 on the Mumbai-Pune expressway in India. She has published in a number of refereed

journals and is currently completing a book on gender, place, and social agency in squattersettlements in Delhi. Another co-edited book Translocal Geographies: Spaces, Places,Connectionsis due out with Ashgate in 2010. She is on the editorial board of ACME: an

international e-journal for critical geographiesand of Open House International.

Juliet Davis: is Cities Studio Tutorial Fellow, and a chartered member of the RIBA (2005). Shewas previously Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Interiors at the Canterbury School ofArchitecture, University College for the Creative Arts (2005-7), ran the first year of the BA (Hons)Architecture at Cambridge University, 2004-5, and lectured in architectural theory on the sameprogramme in 2006 and 2007. Between 1999 and 2005 she worked in practice as ProjectArchitect with Eric Parry Architects. Her recent publications include (Re)imagining BishopsgateGoodsyard, Architectural Research Quarterly (ARQ), vol. 12, 2008: 12-25; Liverpool findsEnergy in Art, Building Designno. 1740, September 29 2006: 20-21; Mastering his Universe,Building Designno. 1673, May 13 2005: 12; she has pieces forthcoming in ARQand UrbanStudies. Her current research in the Cities Programme focuses on the construction of theLegacy masterplan for the London Olympics, 2012.David Frisby: is Professor of Sociology and member of the Cities Programme, where heconvenes the core course on Foundations of Urban Studies. His research interests focus uponmetropolitan modernity, architecture and urban cultures, German social theory in the latenineteenth and twentieth centuries and the social theory of Georg Simmel. He maintains aninterest in critical social theories of modernity, originally developed in his Fragments of Modernity(Polity, third printing 2003) and elsewhere. His recent publications include Georg Simmel in Wien(WUV Universittsverlag, 2000), Cityscapes of Modernity(Polity, 2001), Georg Simmel. RevisedEdition(Taylor and Francis, 2002). He is the editor of the third enlarged edition of SimmelsPhilosophy of Money(Routledge, 2004) and of volume 18 of Simmels collected works (2008).Current projects include a forthcoming study of Otto Wagners Vienna and, with Iain Boyd Whyte,a sourcebook on Berlin: 1890-1940.

Suzanne Hall: is Cities Studio Tutorial Fellow, and has practiced as an architect and urban

designer in South Africa, starting a practice a Cape Town in 1997. She has taught on the AsiaLink Studio: Sustainable Human habitat in Developing Contexts in the Department ofArchitecture at the University of Cambridge (2005-6), and was course convenor of theIntroduction to settlement planning and design in theDepartment of Architecture and Planning,University of Cape Town (2001-3), where she was also Studio Tutor in Architecture and UrbanDesign between 1997 and 2003. Her projects considering the role of market places, transportinterchanges and inner city housing have recently been published and exhibited in 1001 BuildingsYou Must See Before You Die, (M. Irving, ed.) Quintessence Books, 2008: p.828; Urban Magic.A responsive approach to urban placemaking in a Cape township, in Matthew Barac (guesteditor), South Africa, Architectural Review, vol. 221, no. 324 (2007): pp. 64-65; and BetweenOwnership and Belonging: transitional space in the Post-Apartheid metropolis, curated byMphethi Morojele as part of the 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale onCities, Architecture and


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Society, subsequently exhibited at the RIBA in 2007. Her current research in the CitiesProgramme focuses on the ethnographic exploration of everyday experiences of identity andplace on a South London street, and her recent publications include Narrating the City: diverse

spaces of urban change, South London, Maurice Mitchell (guest editor), Open HouseInternational, vol.33 no.2 (2008): pp.10-17; and Urban Dialogues: Visions and Positions forMumbai, in Urban Age Bulletin, January 2008.

Philipp Rode: is Executive Director of the Urban Age research programme, and co-convenes theLent term Studio on City-making: The Politics of Urban Form. As a researcher and consultant heis involved in interdisciplinary projects comprising urban governance, transport, city planning andurban design. Rode organised the Urban Age conferences in partnership with Deutsche BanksAlfred Herrhausen Society in New York, Shanghai, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Berlinand Mumbai, bringing together political leaders, city mayors, urban practitioners, private sectorrepresentatives and academic experts. Recent London-focused research includes Density andUrban Neighbourhoods in London (2005) and A Framework for Housing in the London ThamesGateway (2004). In 2007, Urban Age undertook a research programme in Mumbai, Kolkata,

Delhi and Bangalore followed by the Urban Age India Conference in Mumbai, to understand andassess how these cities are responding to the challenges of growth, and to compare theseapproaches to those adopted in other cities throughout the world: the findings are collected in thereport on Integrated City Making: governance, planning andtransport, co-authored by PhilippRode with Julie Wagner, Richard Brown, Rit Chandra and Jayaraj Sundaresan (www.urban-age.net/india_report/_ICMR.html). He has previously worked on several multidisciplinaryresearch and consultancy projects in New York and Berlin and was awarded the Schinkel UrbanDesign Prize 2000.

Robert Tavernor: is Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Cities Programme. He isan architect with an active London-based urban planning consultancy advising on major urbandesign projects. His essay, From Townscape to Skyscape, (The Architectural Review, March2004) summarises his recent urban research on the visual impact of tall buildings in London. Hisbooks focus on the classical tradition of European architecture and cities, body and building, and

on the urban development of London. They include translations and introductions to the keyarchitectural and urban treatises by Vitruvius (Penguin Classics, 2009), Alberti, and Palladio (TheMIT Press). He is the author of Palladio and Palladianism(Thames & Hudson, 1991); On Albertiand the Art of Building,and Smoot's Ear: The Measure of Humanity(Yale UP, 1998 and 2007);and co-editor of Body and Building: Essays on the changing relation of Body to Architecture(TheMIT Press, 2002).

Fran Tonkiss: is Director of the Cities Programme and Convenor of the MSc City Design andSocial Science. She convenes the City Design Research Studio and the core course on Cities byDesign. She is Reader in Sociology, with core research interests in urban and economicsociology. In the field of urban studies her focus is on urban development, design andgovernance; space and social theory; social and spatial divisions. Her work in economicsociology is concerned with issues of globalisation; inequality and economic governance; trust

and social capital; markets and marketisation. She is the author of Contemporary EconomicSociology: Globalisation, Production, Inequality(Routledge, 2006) and Space, the City and SocialTheory(Polity, 2005), the co-author (with Don Slater) of Market Society: Markets and ModernSocial Theory(Polity, 2001), and the co-editor of Trust and Civil Society(Macmillan, 2000). Sheis an editor of the British Journal of Sociology.

Savvas Verdis: has been teaching in the Cities Programme since 2001, first with ProfessorRichard Sennett and currently with Professor David Frisby and Philipp Rode in subjects thatinclude urban history, urban politics and urban economics. He co-convenes the Lent term Studioon City-making: The Politics of Urban Form. His studies and research in architectural history atCambridge University, political philosophy at the New School for Social Research and urbaneconomics at University College London look at major economic and political reforms in urbanhistory. These include contemporary cities under structural adjustment, the urban reformers of


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Victorian London, Hausmans 19th century Paris and Cleisthenes geopolitical reforms in classicalAthens. Savvas is also the founder & director of Property Analytics Ltd, Londons leading propertyranking company. He has been an Onassis Public Benefit Foundation scholar on two occasions

and has previously managed a $50 million cultural framework for the opening and closingceremonies of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Associated and visiting faculty

Ricky Burdett: is Director of the Urban Age programme and Centennial Professor in Architectureand Urbanism, and founding director of the LSE Cities Programme. He is Principal DesignAdviser for the London 2012 Olympics, and previously was architectural adviser to the Mayor ofLondon (from 2001 2006), a member of the Greater London Authority's Architecture + UrbanismUnit, and sat on the City of Barcelona's Quality Committee. In 2007 he co-curated the GlobalCities exhibition at the Tate Moderns Turbine Hall, London. Burdett was founder of the 9HGallery and the Architecture Foundation in London. He was Director of the 2006 ArchitectureBiennale in Venice on the subject of Cities: architecture and society, and is co-editor (with DeyanSudjic) of The Endless City(Phaidon Press, 2008).

Adam Caruso: is Cities Programme Visiting Professor and the founding partner of theinternationally acclaimed London-based practice Caruso St John Architects(www.carusostjohn.com). He has been Visiting Professor in Mendrisio, Switzerland; Bath,England; and taught at the GSD Harvard in 2005. He is currently Visiting Professor at ETH,Zurich.

Kees Christiaanse: is Cities Programme Visiting Professor, Professor of Architecture and UrbanDesign at the ETH Zurich, and the founder of KCAP, with offices in Rotterdam, Zurich andLondon (www.kcap.nl). He is a member of the Mayors Design for London Advisory Group and iscurator of the 2009 International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam, on [limited access] or the

open city?.

Gerald Frug: is Cities Programme Visiting Professor, and the Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Lawat Harvard Law School. Specialising in local government law, he is the author of numerous worksin the field includingCity Bound: How States Stifle Urban Innovation(Cornell, 2008 co-authoredwith David Barron), and City Making: Building Communities without Building Walls(Princeton,1999). Professor Frug is Advisor and Contributor to the Urban Age research programme.

Mark Kleinman: is Cities Programme Visiting Professor, and Director of London City Charter. Hewas previously Director of Regional, Urban and Economic Policy at the Department ofCommunities and Local Government (CLG), Head of Housing and Homelessness at the GreaterLondon Authority and Senior Policy Analyst in the Prime Ministers Strategy Unit. Prior to hismove into government, Mark taught and researched housing, urban and social policy at the

University of Cambridge, the London School of Economics, and was Professor of InternationalSocial Policy at the University of Bristol. He is the author or co-author of more than 100 books,articles and papers, including Housing, Welfare and the State in Europe: a comparative analysisof Britain, France and Germany(Edward Elgar, 1996) and Working Capital: Life and Labour inContemporary London(Routledge 2002).

Richard Sennett: is Professor of Sociology at the LSE and New York University and BemisProfessor of Social Sciences at MIT. Three of his recent books are studies of modern capitalism:The Culture of the New Capitalism(Yale, 2006), Respect in an Age of Inequality, (Penguin, 2003)and The Corrosion of Character, (Norton, 1998). Most recently, he has explored more positiveaspects of labour in The Craftsman(Yale/Penguin 2008). Professor Sennett has been awardedthe Amalfi and the Ebert prizes for sociology. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts


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and Sciences, the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Society of the Arts, and the AcademiaEuropea. He is past president of the American Council on Work and the former Director of theNew York Institute for the Humanities.

Edward W. Soja: is Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning at UCLA, and teaches in theCities Programme in Michaelmas term. Professor Soja has focused his research and writing overthe past 20 years on urban restructuring in Los Angeles and more broadly on the critical study ofcities and regions. His wide-ranging studies of Los Angeles bring together traditional politicaleconomy approaches and recent trends in critical cultural studies. His major publications includePostmodern Geographies(Verso, 1989), Thirdspace(Blackwell, 1996), and Postmetropolis(Blackwell, 2000).

Cities Visiting Fellows

Aysegul Baykan: is Senior Visiting Fellow from September 2009 to August 2010. ProfessorBaykan is on sabbatical from her post as Chair of the Department of Humanities and SocialSciences, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul.

Catharina Gabrielsson: is a post-doctoral Visiting Fellow who arrived in September 2008 andwill be here until August 2010. Dr Gabrielsson received her professional diploma in Architecturein 1992, and her PhD in 2007, both from the KTH School of Architecture, Royal Institute ofTechnology in Stockholm, Sweden.As a cultural critic and senior lecturer, she has published andlectured extensively at sites of higher education and in different media since the mid 90s.Herpresent research, funded by the National Swedish Research Council (2008-2010) is a post-docproject tentatively called Beginnings: on the origin, creation and affects of architectural space.

More information on Cities Faculty and Visiting Fellows can be found on the Cities Programme

website.


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MSc City Design & Social Science

Degree Programme Course Requirements

Duration of course of study: 12 months full-time; 2 or 3 years part-time.

Degree requirement: A total of four units comprising three unit taught core courses:SO450 Foundation of Urban StudiesSO451 Cities by DesignSO452 Urban Environment

One 1 unit design-based studio course:SO448 City Design Research Studio

AND one other whole or two half unit options (refer to Option Courses below)

Core Courses

SO450 Foundations of Urban Studies (Half Unit)Teacher responsible: Professor David Frisby, Savvas Verdis

Core syllabus: This course introduces key issues relating architectural and urban design to thesociology, politics and economics of cities. Although the emphasis is not on a literature review ofurban studies, some of the major approaches to the study of cities will be presented. The coursewill focus upon how sociological analysis, broadly conceived, can contribute to the study of urbanspaces, processes and formation. In so doing, it will explore major problems and difficulties thatarise when we seek to connect physical design to social realities.

Content: The course explores the relationship between the city and urban experience. Thenature of the city is initially examined through modes of experiencing the citys architecture andspaces. The notion of the city as text and imaginary raises issues of mapping and legibility ineveryday life and in planning and design, as well as a presumed primacy of vision over tactileexperience of the city and its built environment. The production of that environment generatesissues of urban capital, boundaries between public and private spheres and boundaries ofdifference and flows. The city as system of circulation will be explored both in relation to thenature of the street and the circulation of individuals, commodities and images, and thetransformation effected by information flows and the global city. The regulation of movementrequires a broader examination of regulatory practices that condition the parameters of social andpolitical space in the city.

Teaching: Teaching consists of ten one-hour lectures and ten two-hour seminars in MT. Topicscovered in the lectures will be used as the basis for student presentations in the seminarsessions.

Reading list: M Weber (trans D Martindale & G Neuwirth), The City, London, 1966; D Frisby & MFeatherstone (Eds), Simmel on Culture, London, 1997; W Benjamin, The Arcades Project,Cambridge MA, 1999; L Mumford, The City in History, London, 1961; H Lefebvre, The Productionof Space, Oxford, 1991; H Lefebvre, Writings on Cities, Oxford, 1966; D Harvey, Paris Capital ofModernity, ,London,2003; I Susser (Ed), The Castells Reader on Cities and Social Theory,Oxford, 2002; S Sassen, The Global City, Princeton, 2001; G E Frug, City Making, Princeton,1999; N Leach (Ed), Rethinking Architectural Theory, London, 1997; R Sennett, The Fall of PublicMan, Cambridge, 1977; R Sennett, Flesh and Stone, London, 1994; D Frisby, Cityscapes ofModernity, Oxford, 2001; S Kostof, The City Shaped, London, 1991; J Rykwert, The Idea of a


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Town, London, 1976; C Calhoun (Ed), Habermas and the Public Sphere, Cambridge, Mass,1992. Readings may vary from year to year.

Assessment: Assessment is by one 5,000 word essay to be submitted no later than 4.00pm onthe first Tuesday of LT, two hard copies to be handed in to the Cities Administration Office, Y312;a third copy to be posted to Moodle.

SO451 Cities by Design (Half Unit)Teacher responsible: Dr Fran Tonkiss

Core syllabus: The course examines city design and development in its social and politicalcontexts. The course requires students to engage with critical issues in spatial design, planningand policy in different urban settings. The assessment brings together theoretical, policy andresearch literature with visual material including maps, photographs and drawings, planning anddesign documents. Lectures and seminars will consider a range of urban contexts, with a focuson contemporary issues in Londons development and design, and on international issues inurbanism in the last part of the course.

Content: Understanding city design; urban spaces and urban users;; contemporary urban designand development in London; current challenges of international urbanisation; inequality andinformality in cities.

Teaching: 10 lectures/seminars in MT.

Coursework: One 1500-word formative essay to be submitted in MT

Reading list: Carmona, M., Heath, T., Oc, T., and Tiesdell, S. (2003) Public Places UrbanSpaces: the dimensions of urban design. London: Architectural Press; Larice, M. and Macdonald,E. (eds) (2007) The Urban Design Reader. London and New York: Routledge. A detailed reading-list will be distributed at the beginning of the course.

Assessment: An illustrated course essay of not more than 5,000 words to be submitted by4.00pm on the first Tuesday of LT, two hard copies to be handed in to the Cities AdministrationOffice, Y312; a third copy to be posted onto Moodle.

SO452 Urban Environment (Half Unit)Teacher responsible: Dr Ayona Datta,

Core syllabus: To develop a critical understanding of the conditions and the politics ofsustainability that shape the urban environment.

Content: This is an interdisciplinary course that introduces students to a critical understanding ofthe conditions that shape urban environments. It makes connections between the social,physical, and environmental aspects of cities through a broad range of topics. The course isstructured around four key themes: Conceptualisations of urban environments, Environmentaland spatial justice, Politics of infrastructure, and Approaches to sustainable urban environments.The aim of the course is to introduce the students to the range of scales and social actors whoimagine different kinds of urban environments, and the issues at stake for 'sustainability' in theseimaginings.

Teaching: Teaching consists of ten one-hour lectures and ten one-hour seminars in LT.

Formative Coursework: A compulsory formative essay of no more than 2,000 words to besubmitted in Week 8 of LT.


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Reading list: Key texts include: Harvey, D (1996) Justice, Nature, and the Geography ofDifference, Oxford: Blackwell; Heynen, N., Kaika, M., and Swyngedouw, E. (2006) In the Nature

of Cities: Urban Political Ecology and the Politics of Urban Metabolism, London: Routledge; RRogers, (1998) Cities for a Small Planet, London: Faber press.; Barry J, Environment and SocialTheory1999, London: Routledge.

Assessment: A course essay of not more than 5,000 words on an approved topic to besubmitted at the beginning of the ST. Two hard copies of the essay should be submitted to theCities Administration Office, Room Y312, no later than 4.00pm on the first Tuesday of theSummer Term; a third copy to be posted to Moodle.

SO448 Research Studio (One and a Half Units)Teacher responsible: Dr Fran Tonkiss

Core syllabus: The City Design and Social Science Research Studio course is the central unit ofthe MSc programme, linking the theoretical issues raised in the core and optional lecture courses,with the practical analysis of issues of city design and development processes. The courseaddresses design as a mode of research and practice that shapes urban environments, respondsto urban problems, and connects visual, social and material forms in the city. It aims to integratethe economic, social political and cultural aspects of the city and demonstrate ways tocommunicate these visually, textually and verbally. The Studio course is closely co-ordinatedwith the other core courses, S0450 Foundations of Urban Studies, SO451 Cities by Design andSO452 Urban Environment.Content: The Studio is divided into three parts.

In the first term, the course explores key approaches to spatial and social analysis inurban contexts with a practical focus on London. This includes methods for analysingdesign contexts and problems; social research methods; and methods of visualrepresentation and documentation.

During the second term, students continue to work independently in project teams withtutors on specific design, social and spatial issues in the London site, while formalteaching is centred on the Studio seminar in City-making: the politics of urban form(SO465) which examines urban politics and planning through a range of internationalcases. This term includes an international Studio field-trip.

In third term, students complete independent design theses or research dissertations,either individually or in small groups.

For students with a background in architecture and design, the course will provide an opportunityto apply their understanding of the built environment to social issues that relate not only to asingle building or development, but also to wider urban contexts. Students with a background insocial science and related disciplines will develop their visual and conceptual literacy in urbandesign. The course will help all students to develop their visual, verbal and writtencommunication skills as they relate to the urban design and development process. Theacquisition of skills in interpreting and describing the city will equip students for more effectivecommunication with urban designers, planners and policy-makers, to critically investigate therelationship between the built environment and social issues, and to engage in debates on thefuture of cities worldwide.

Assessment: The course carries a weight the equivalent of 1.5 units, out of a total of 4 units forthe MSc degree. Overall assessment is based on the following submissions:

1. London Studio project (30%)2. City-making project (20%)3. 10,000 word Research/design thesis (50%)

Design or Written Thesis submission date: Tuesday 31 August 2010


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Option courses

We encourage our students to investigate the academic content of potential optional coursesduring the first couple of weeks of term. You will need to make a formal decision on whichoptions you will take by the third week of October 2009. There is a list of approved optionalcourses (see below or go to the LSE Calendar webpage MSc City Design and Social Science)but you are allowed to apply to other courses that interest you, subject to the approval of therelevant course tutor and the Programme Convenor of the MSc City Design and Social Science.You are not allowed to take any optional programme that clashes with the timing of thecore courses of the Cities Programme. If you are not sure about your selection please consultyour personal tutor.

Approved optional courses 2009/10 :

EC436 The Economics of Regional and Urban Planning (H)

GY410 Economics of Local and Regional Development (H)GY430 Cities, Space and SocietyGY438 Cities and Social Change in East Asia (H)GY444 Environmental Assessment (H)GY446 Planning for Sustainable Cities (H)GY455 Economic Aspects of Project Appraisal (H)SA429 Social Exclusion, Inequality and the 'Underclass' Debate (H)SA4A3 Social and Political Aspects of Regional and Urban Planning (H)SA4F9 Housing, Neighbourhoods and Communities (H)

The approved optional courses for the MSc City Design and Social Science are taught in theDepartments of Economics, Geography, and Social Policy:

While these courses have been approved by the relevant convenors for the MSc City Design andSocial Science, in certain cases where course are over-subscribed, priority will be given tostudents on other programmes for which these are core units or options; in these cases CitiesProgramme students may take these options subject to places being available. Please consultthe course convenor.

You may take other courses in the Department of Sociology, or other departments, by agreementwith the course tutor and the Programme Convenor, MSc City Design and Social Science.


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Formal assessment

Submitting Assessed Essays, Studio projects and the Research/Design Thesis

For your core courses in the Cities Programme you will be asked to prepare essay, project orthesis work of a specific number of words, along with a specific deadline for each piece of work.This word count excludes tables, figures, appendices and bibliography but includes endnotes andfootnotes. Two word-processed copies of the completed essay, project or thesis should begiven by you in person to the Cities Programme Administrator, Room Y312. All deadlines arenon-negotiable. You should see that your Examination Candidate Number,but NOT yourname or your student ID, appears clearly on the front of the essay, project or thesis, along withthe word count.

Moodle: Unless otherwise advised you will be required to upload a copy of your essayelectronically on to Moodle so that it may be submitted to plagiarism-detection software.

NB For SO448 City Design Research Studio you may be required to submit work in a differentformat and to submit a CD in addition to hard copies. You will be advised in advance of theprecise requirements for each piece of project work.

Coursework Submission Form and Plagiarism Statement: You will be asked to complete andsign a form entitled Coursework Submission Form and Plagiarism Statement. The bottom partof this form is also your receipt. Plagiarism (unacknowledged borrowing and quotation) is anexamination offence and carries heavy penalties. The form you will be asked to sign states thefollowing:

I declare that, apart from properly referenced quotations, this dissertation is my own workand contains no plagiarism; it has not been submitted previously for any other assessedunit on this or other degree courses.

I have read and understood the Schools rules on assessment offences as stated in theGraduate/Undergraduate School Calendar.

REGULATIONS ON ASSESSMENT OFFENCES: PLAGIARISM

Preamble

Assessment is the means by which the standards that students achieve are made known to theSchool and beyond; it also provides students with detached and impartial feedback on theirperformance. It also forms a significant part of the process by which the School monitors its ownstandards of teaching and student support. It therefore follows that all work presented forassessment must be that of the student.

What is Plagiarism?

All work for classes and seminars as well as scripts (which include, for example, essays,dissertations and any other work, including computer programs) must be the student's own work.Quotations must be placed properly within quotation marks or indented and must be cited fully.All paraphrased material must be acknowledged. Infringing this requirement, whetherdeliberately or not, or passing off the work of others as the work of the student, whetherdeliberately or not, is plagiarism.

For detailed information, please access this link:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/schoolRegulations/regulationsOnAssessmentOffences-Plagiarism.htm


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It is suggested that, for your own records, you prepare and retain copies of your coursework andyour portfolio, since the submitted copies will not be returned to you.

Assessment of outside options: Your option courses will be assessed according to therequirements of the relevant course and department regulations. Please consult courseconvenors and administrators in the relevant department for information on assessmentrequirements, submission procedures and examinations.

Late submission: Essay, project or thesis work submitted after the deadline will be subject to thepenalty of a deduction of 5 marks out of a possible 100 marks available for this piece of work perday or part thereof of the late submission. Late submissions may be accepted without penaltywhere there are verifiable extenuating circumstances (e.g., shown by a medical certificate),subject to final confirmation by the Chair of the MSc City Design and Social Science Sub-board ofExaminers. Applications for consideration of a late submission should be made in the firstinstance to the administrator of the MSc Programme, and a mitigation form should be completedvia the Student Services Centre. Further information is available at:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/studentServicesCentre/examinationsAndResults/Mitigation.htm

Candidates using word-processing equipment during the preparation of their work are stronglyadvised to make frequent back-up copies of their text. Disk, computer or printer failure willnot be regarded as a legitimate excuse for late submission of a piece of course work.

Please note that the MSc Examination Sub-Board meets only once a year in mid-October for thepurpose of determining degree results; if you do not submit your thesis or other pieces of work intime for it to be assessed, you will have to wait until the following year to receive your degree.

Exam results are released by the School in late November after the final Exam Board. You canthen access LSE For You to see your results. External (non-LSE) examiners participate in all

stages of the examining process, including vetting examination papers, reviewing exam scripts,dissertations and course work as is usual in all British universities.

Assessment Criteria

Each candidates performance shall be assessed across four modules, or module equivalentscomprising of half-units (hereinafter referred to generically as modules). Marks for pairs of half-units shall be combined and percentaged as module equivalents (given the possible maximum offour half-units) by combining the best two half-unit marks, and then (if relevant) the remainingtwo. In such calculations and all others involving compositing to a full module, a result with atrailing fraction of exactly 0.5 shall be rounded to the whole number immediately above. Trailingfractions below and above 0.5 should be rounded respectively downward and upward.

Schemes for the Award of a Taught Masters Degree

These schemes should be read in conjunction with the Regulations for Taught Masters Degrees,the programme regulations for the Masters degree on which the candidate is registered, therelevant on-line Taught Masters Course Guides and the Code of Good Practice for TaughtMasters Programmes: Teaching, Learning and Assessment.

The link for students entering in 2009 is:Regulations for Taught Masters Degrees for students entering in 2009/10 and after(http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar/academicRegulations/regulationsForTaughtMastersDegrees.htm)


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Please note, that in the Department of Sociology, each candidate shall be given an overall resultfor each course as follows:

Mark Grade

0 39% Bad Fail

40 - 49% Fail

50 - 59% Pass

60 - 69% Merit

70% and over Distinction

Dissertations that are generally satisfactory but fall short of the required standard of presentationmay be referred for emendation within one month of the examiners meeting. Please note therequirement that in order to pass your whole MSc, you must pass the dissertation with a mark ofat least 50.

Feedback on Assessed Essays

The School recommends that no feedback be given on assessed essays, however, it does notprevent individual departments from doing so. Within the Sociology Department is it left up toindividual lecturers to decide whether feedback will be given. This feedback can be helpfulwhether you are preparing for another piece of assessed coursework or a sat exam in thatparticular course or any other. It is not a custom at the School to supply formal feedback onexamination performance.

Overleaf is a general mark frame which illustratesthe assessment criteria that your courseteachers are employing.


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Postgraduate Mark Frame

Distinction (70 per cent or higher)

This class of pass is awarded when the essay demonstrates clarity of analysis, engages directlywith the question, and attempts an independent and critical interpretation of the issues raised byit. The essay shows exemplary skill in presenting a logical and coherent argument and anoutstanding breadth and depth of reading. The essay is presented in a polished and professionalmanner, and all citations, footnotes and bibliography are rendered in the proper academic form.Essays in the upper range of this class (80 per cent and higher) may make an original academiccontribution to the subject under discussion.

Merit (60-69 per cent)This class of pass is awarded when the essay attempts a systematic analysis of the issues raisedby the question and shows some signs of independent thought. The essay shows some skill in

presenting a clearly reasoned argument, and draws on a good range of relevant literature. Theessay is well-presented and citations, footnotes and bibliography are rendered in the properacademic form.

Pass (50-59 per cent)This class of pass is awarded when the essay shows an awareness of the issues raised by thequestion, but relies primarily on description rather than on analysis. There may be someinconsistencies, irrelevant points, and unsubstantiated claims in the argument and the essaydraws upon a limited range of literature. Presentation and referencing is adequate but maycontain inaccuracies.


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General Information and contacts

Key Departmental staff

In the first instance, your contact person for the course will be the Cities MSc ProgrammeAdministrator, Ms Anna Livia Johnston (Room Y312, ext 6828). Only if the Administrator cannotdeal with your question/problem, should you contact the MSc Programme Director, Dr FranTonkiss or the Departmental Manager in Sociology. The Sociology Departments Administratorsare Ms Tia Exelby (MSc programme) and Ms Frances Hewson (BA and PhD programmes), inroom S219A.

The Head of Department of Sociology is Professor Judy Wacjman, who is in Room S203. TheHead of Department is responsible to the School for the running of the Department.

The Sociology Departmental Manager is in Room S204, is responsible for much of the day-to-dayadministrative work and works closely with the Convener and other academic officers of the

Department.

Communication

You are expected to check your email regularly (using your School-supplied email address), sinceboth academics and administrators routinely use this medium in order to communicate withstudents.

Change of address

If you change your term-time address you must inform the Student Services Centre and yourpersonal tutor or the Cities administrator. This change can be made by you, using LSE for You,located on the front page of the LSE website. Your address is protected information and will not

be disclosed to a third party without your permission unless it is for reasons of official Schoolbusiness. It is important that you keep us informed of your private address (and telephonenumber).

Staff/Student Committee

This Committee is a forum to discuss appropriate matters of concern to students and staff onMSc programmes across the Department of Sociology. Membership of this Committee on thestaff side comprises the Programme Conveners of each of the Departments MSc programmes.Membership on the student side comprises up to two students from each MSc programmeelected by their fellow students on the respective programme in order to attend meetings and putforward their views. Meetings of the Committee are held at least once a term, and morefrequently if necessary. All members, including staff, are asked to confirm to Tia Exelby([email protected]) their intention to attend a meeting after she has circulated (by email) detailsof its time and venue and a request for agenda items. In addition, the 2 students representativesfor the MSc City Design and Social Science will be invited to meetings held internally to the CitiesProgramme on a regular basis (approximately every term). These meeting provide theopportunity for students to voice direct concerns pertaining to the MScprogramme.

The Cities Programme also holds regular internal staff-student meetings to address issuesrelating specifically to the MSc City Design and Social Science.


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School Facilities A-Z

Accommodation Office

http://www.lse.ac.uk/accommodation

The LSE Accommodation Office (V210, Tower 2) can provide advice on finding accommodationin London for you and your visitors. You can e-mail [email protected] or telephone 0207955 7531.

Alumni Serviceshttp://www.alumni.lse.ac.uk/olc/pub/LHE/homepage.cgi

LSE's 92,000 alumni in over 190 countries worldwide provide a lifelong network of support to

each other and to LSE. They are a key part of the LSE community and serve the School bymaking available their time, expertise and networks. They participate in Court, Council andSchool committees as well as speaking and chairing events in the Public Lectures programmeand at careers, departmental and student society events, organising and supporting LSE's 72alumni country and special interest groups and networks.

Alumni offer the School financial support through the Annual Fund for unrestricted giving andthrough major gifts for School projects such as the New Academic Building. The Annual Fundsupports School projects such as departmental initiatives, research and teaching, the Students'Union, student support, events and campus facilities that would not otherwise receive funding.The new Chair of African Development in DESTIN, academic trips for the Grimshaw Club LSESUSociety, student hardship and welfare funds, the annual Ralph Miliband lecture series in LSE'sPublic Events programme and the external caf furniture for the forecourt in the New Academic

Building. If you would like to find out more about LSE's alumni, please contact us at:[email protected] or visit our website.

Cities Programme alumni also keep in touch via a Facebook network. The Programme organisesan annual alumni event so that current students can meet with graduates of the MSc.

Careers Servicewww.lse.ac.uk/careers

LSE Careers Service offers support and guidance for all stages of your future career via acomprehensive annual programme of careers fairs, presentations, forums, seminars, alongsideindividual careers advice and extensive information resources. The Careers Service website is

the first place to check for up to date information on all events and services.

The Cities Programme holds a series of Careers surgeries over the academic year, and adedicated Careers workshop in Lent Term.

Cateringhttp://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/cateringServices/venues/Default.htm

For details of catering facilities located around the School, please see the above website. LSECatering Services became the first London university to achieved Fairtrade status in 2004.Fairtrade refreshments are available in all the School's catering outlets.


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Chaplaincy

The Chaplaincy at LSE is there for everybody, of whatever national, political or indeed religious ornon-religious background. You will always be welcome and listened to. Whilst it is certainly truethat the Chaplaincy has a core Christian identity, with opportunities for prayer, study andsocialising, it also hosts an extensive interfaith programme of events and values its friendshipwith all the religious societies at the School. We can put you in touch with local mosques,synagogues and temples. It is also a place where students of no faith are welcome to come forconfidential conversations and, if they so wish, to explore religious faith. It also providesopportunities for retreats, for visits to Londons many tourist attractions and to meet otherstudents from all over the world. The Chaplaincy is situated in room G9 of 20 Kingsway, the doorto which is directly opposite the Peacock Theatre on Portugal Street. There is a full time AnglicanChaplain, who is the Revd David Peebles ([email protected]) and a part-time Roman CatholicChaplain, Fr Iain Matthews and part-time Free Church Chaplain, the Revd John Scott. Thetelephone number is 020 795 57965. We look forward to meeting you!

Course/Module Capping

A full list of capped graduate courses can be found at:http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/studentServicesCentre/courseChoicePg/cappedCourses2009-10.htm

Any student wishing to take a capped course outside the Department must collect a Request totake a capped course form from the department and obtain the approval/signature of therespective Course Convenor/Teacher Responsible, following the instructions given at the linkabove.

Course Choice

Details of syllabus and content of all graduate courses offered at LSE are available online at:http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/calendar/courseGuides/graduate.htm

Disability Equalityhttp://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/disabilityOffice/

Including students with long-term medical conditions, dyslexia and other disabilities.

If you think you may need specific arrangements in order fully to access your programme of

study at LSE, then do contact the Disability and Well-being Office, if you have not already

done so and arrange to see one of the advisers. Together, you can draft an Individual

Student Support Agreement which will set out what reasonable adjustments need to be put

in place and by whom. This includes any alternative arrangements for exams and

assessment, alternative resources for fire alarms, emergency evacuation of buildings,

hearing support systems, rest rooms, study support and assistance in the library. Practical

study and social support for students with disabilities can be provided through peer group

support co-ordinated by LSE Circles Network.

Confidentiality: information regarding disabilities will not be shared without the explicit, signed

permission of the student. You are urged to make an initial appointment with the Disability Office

to discuss any disability-related concerns: you should note that it may not be possible to make

reasonable adjustments for you unless key personnel are made aware of your situation, but every

effort will be made to maintain anonymity and discretion.


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The Disability and Diversity Consultative Forum meets termly to monitor and advise on disability-

related issues as part of the LSEs commitment to working towards disability equality and

fulfilling the duties required by public bodies in the disability discrimination legislation. (DDA,

2005). We are always interested to know how practice and provision can be improved fordisabled students and staff, so please make your comments and suggestions known through

your student representatives.

Contact details:email: [email protected]

Sue Haines, Disability and Well-being Officer manager: 0207 955 7767SU Education and Welfare, [email protected] Disability Officer, [email protected] Advice Centre: 0207 955 7145Medical Centre: 0207 955 7016Advisor to staff with disabilities: 0207 955 6672

Equality and diversityhttp://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/raceEquality/faq.htm

The Department and the School are committed to promoting equality and diversity in order todeliver the best possible service to its students, staff and the wider community, in accordancewith LSEs Articles of Government.

Equality of opportunity means that the School views the diverse origins and backgrounds of itsemployees positively; and that it seeks to become as varied an employment community as it can.In recognising that everyone is different, equal value is given to the unique contribution that allemployees' skills, knowledge and experience enable them to make.

The School will seek to ensure that people are treated equitably, regardless of age, disability,race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, personalcircumstances, political affiliation or trade union membership.

Financial Support Office (FSO)www.lse.ac.uk/financialSupportOffice/

LSE expects all students to make adequate arrangements for their maintenance and the paymentof their fees before they register. There is no provision to assist students who knowingly registerunderfunded.

Funds are available to assist students who register with sufficient funds for both their tuition fees

and living costs but who subsequently experience unforeseen financial difficulties.

Hardship Funds Available to Registered StudentsFull information about the funds that we administer for current students is available at:https://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/studentServicesCentre/financialSupportOffice/internal/supportForRegisteredStudents.htm (LSE username and password required)

Students who wish to apply for hardship assistance during their programme should complete theIn-course Financial Support application form, available online and from the Student ServicesCentre.

The Schools two main hardship funds are as follows:


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Student Support FundStudents who have registered with sufficient funding but who later experience unforeseen

circumstances which leave them in financial difficulty can apply for help from t the StudentSupport Fund. Unforeseen circumstances can take a range of guises, but in all cases applicantsneed to provide supporting documentation. In cases where a student has knowingly registeredunder-funded, support from a students department and/or tutor does not tend to have a bearingon the outcome of the application since this depends solely on whether or not the student canshow that their difficulties are unexpected.

PhD students who are in the very final stages of their programme are also eligible to apply to theStudent Support Fund since the School recognises that many PhD students will have exhaustedthe funding source(s) they originally planned to use to finance themselves and that somestudents need slightly longer than three years in which to complete their thesis.

Access to Learning Fund

This is designed to assist Home UK students with their living costs. Funds are limited and priorityis given to undergraduates, students with children, disabled students, and final year students.

The Students Union Advice and Welfare Centre also administer a number of specific funds, andthere is more information about these at the following link:http://www.lsesu.com/pages/advice_and_support/advice_centre/financial_help.html

Short Term Loan facilityA Short Term Loan facility is available for students who are experiencing acute cash flowdifficulties whilst awaiting a guaranteed source of funds (e.g., a loan or salary payment).Students may borrow up to 500, repayable within 4 weeks. Short Term Loans normally takebetween 24 and 48 hours to process and are given in the form of a cheque. Emergency funds ofup to 50 cash can be released on the same day.

Drop in sessionsRegistered students are welcome to attend a Financial Support drop in session to discuss theirsituation with a member of staff from the office. These sessions are held every day during termtime and every other day (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) during vacations. No appointment isnecessary, Sessions are held in the Student Services Centre between 1 and 2pm.

Health and welfare serviceshttp://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/medicalCentre/

St Phillips Medical CentreThe Medical Centre is a general NHS practice which LSE students can use if they live within thepractice's catchment area. The Centre also provides dental facilities, an osteopath, an

acupuncturist, and more general first aid, vaccination, travel and contraceptive advice. Registeronline at: www.spmc.info for NHS registration.

LSE student counselling servicehttp://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/studentCounsellingService/

There are counselling and psychotherapy services available to all students, including anemergency drop-in service. Further information can be found under counselling on the A-Z ofServices on the Centres web page. Full details are available on registration. The Health Centrealso runs Examination Stress Workshops during the exam period each year. You can find detailsof these on posters displayed around the School during the exam period.


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Advisor to women studentsThe Advisor is available to discuss issues of concern to women students in the School and tooffer advice and support to women students with personal problems. (Dr Shani Orgad, S106B,

ext 6493, [email protected])

Advisor to male studentsThe Advisor is available to discuss issues of concern to male students and provides a confidentialpoint of contact. (Dr Matthew Engelke, A609, ext 6494, [email protected])

Internshipshttp://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSEInternships

Internships are an important part of university life, and opportunities can vary from sector tosector. However, you should be careful not to work more than 15 hours per week during termtime and if you are in the UK with a student visa you should ensure that you do not breach theconditions of your visa.

IT ServicesStudents are encouraged to make full use of the Schools computing and word processingfacilities. LSE has over 1000 computers in computer classrooms, open access computer areasaround the School and the student residential halls' computer rooms. All public computer roomsand areas have printing facilities. The opening hours of these rooms and areas vary, but aredetailed on the IT Services website. The IT Help Desk is located in the Library on the LowerGround Floor and details of computer courses for new and continuing students are posted onnotice boards. To access IT facilities at LSE you need a Usernameand Password. Followingregistration, all students can obtain these from the IT Help Desk. The School offers IT training inword-processing, use of email, spreadsheets, graphics packages and the common statisticalprogrammes.

Language support

http://www2.lse.ac.uk/language/Home.aspx

If English is not your first language the Language Centre is on hand to give you advice andsupport throughout your time at LSE. The support is free and starts as soon as your main coursestarts. There are specific classes for academic units and information sessions are held during thefirst days of term to advise you on the most appropriate classes to take. Classes begin in week 2of the Michaelmas Term.

Along with LSE Careers and the Teaching and Learning Centre the Language Centre alsocontributes to the Study Skills Programme. This programme, including advice on how to prepare

for examinations and how to write essays is aimed at those whose first language is English orhave no real problems. See their webpage:http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/learningSupportAndCareerDevelopmentSkills/studySkills.htm

The Librarywww.lse.ac.uk/library/

LSE Library is the worlds largest social sciences library, with over four million printed items and1,740 study places including 450 networked PCs and over 200 laptop drop-in points. The wholeLibrary is a wireless zone.

Library collections include the Main Collection, and the Course Collection. The Course


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Collection includes essential texts from course reading lists with texts set aside for short-termloans allowing better access to key titles. Loan periods for the Course Collection vary from oneweek to 24 hours. The loan periods are the same regardless of who is borrowing and some of

the fines for special Course Collection books (set texts) can be high, and so be sure to payattention to the loan labels when you begin to use this collection.

The Library houses 32,000 past and present journal titles in print and also subscribes to over20,000 online journals. The Library website provides the gateway to a wide range of electronicresources .

Special short courses are available in the Library on reference skills (e.g. Endnote bibliographicsoftware, accessing e-journals, using government materials etc.). Check with the Help Desk onthe first floor or on the Librarys website for more information. A series of Library Companionsare also available via Moodle. The Library is open in the evenings and at weekends, includingduring vacation. 24 hours opening is available during Lent and Summer terms.

The Shaw LibraryThis is a small lending collection of general literature, daily newspapers and magazines, and asubstantial collection of recorded music. It is housed in the Founders Room on the sixth floor ofthe Old Building, serving as a quiet room where lunchtime concerts are held on Thursdays in theMichaelmas and Lent terms.

LSE for You

LSE for You is an online facility that enables students to view or update their personal detailsfrom inside or outside the School. Access is controlled and available content determined byemploying the individuals network login. This safeguards their data from other users.

LSE for You enables students to access a wide range of facilities such as searching foraccommodation, paying fees online, registering for courses, checking examination timetables andresults as well as finding study rooms, and requesting certificates and transcripts. It is accessiblevia any of the LSE web pages.

Moodlehttp://moodle.lse.ac.uk

Moodle is a type of Virtual Learning Environment, which allows for each course to have aprotected website bringing together a range of resources and tools. It is available anytime andfrom anyplace via the Internet. Moodle is flexible and the way individual lecturers use it will varyfrom course to course. Common features include:

- Course information and reading lists- Access to electronic readings- Discussion boards- Online quizzes- Multimedia content including video

Please note:Not all LSE courses use Moodle. If your course(s) use Moodle you will be notifiedby your lecturers or class teachers or you can check at the website above.


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Nurseryhttp://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/nursery/

LSE runs a Nursery for babies and children of staff and students from six months to school age.Contact the Nursery directly to discuss fees and access/waiting lists. Demand for places isusually very high. The University of London Union (ULU) also runs a nursery.

Office hours

All members of LSE teaching staff hold weekly term-time office hours in connection with eachcourse they teach. This represents a means of additional guidance and support to individualstudents taking their course(s), and may be used for queries on assessed coursework.Sociology staff will post their office hours on their doors and inform you in class.

Paid employment during your studies

Having to take paid employment during the academic year will not normally be accepted byexaminers as a legitimate mitigating circumstance in the event of a performance at a lesser levelthan could otherwise have been expected. In the event that a student has no choice but to takesome paid employment, under School regulations the total hours cannot exceed 15 per week (fora full-time student).

Photocopying pools

Sometimes, if there are only one or two copies of a book in the Library and the whole class isexpected to read a particular chapter, it can be helpful for students to organise themselves so thateveryone can have access to the required reading. Classes in the past have used a number ofmethods successfully. One suggestion is that everyone contributes money to a 'class'

photocopying card, with one person each week making enough copies for all the class to haveone. Alternatively, the class can split into two or more 'teams' - the first person in Team A and thefirst in Team B each make two copies. They keep one copy for themselves and pass the secondto the next person in their team, who makes one copy and passes the other on, and so on,cascading the copies down a list of students until everyone has a copy.

Public lectureshttp://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSEPublicLecturesAndEvents/

Throughout the year there are special School lectures, often featuring high-profile speakers, opento everyone. Upcoming lectures are advertised on the large computer screens around the Schooland on the School homepage under Events. You can also keep up to date with the latest

information through the LSE Events email information service which enables you to receive emailnotification of new events and public lectures at LSE when they are announced.

References

If you are asking an academic to write a reference for you, you should be aware of thefollowing guidelines:

- Please give referees at least three weeks notice before the reference is due. Seniormembers of staff in particular may well be asked to write scores of references every term.Often each reference requires updating or adaptation to a specific job or scholarship. It isin your own interest to give the referee enough time to do it justice.


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- Never put down someones name as a referee without asking them in advance.- Provide all the information needed to write the reference. Make sure that you have filled

out your part of any form you submit.

- It is helpful if you include all the information your personal tutor will need in a single email,with a clear subject line. You might, for example, wish to remind your personal tutor ofscholarships awarded or internships undertaken.

- Sometimes an application requires a reference from the programme convener. If so, theusual practice is for your personal tutor to produce a draft which the programme convenerwill then sign.

- Once someone agrees to be a referee, he or she has the obligation to do the job on time.Inevitably, busy people writing scores of references sometimes forget so gentle remindersare worthwhile.

- By putting your CV on the CV builder on LSE for You, your referee will be able to see yourwork experience and extra curricular activities, so enabling them to write a fuller referencefor you. You should not normally name your personal tutor as a referee for a job unlessyou have first discussed the matter with him or her, although a general discussion mayresult in a blanket permission to use his or her name as a referee if you are applying for anumber of jobs.

Student Services Centrehttp://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/studentServicesCentre/

The Centres main functions are as follows:

RegistrationThe SSC is responsible for registering students on their degree and diploma programmes. If youwant to apply to change your programme or mode of study, request leave of absence of interruptyour studies, you will need to complete the relevant form which you can download from the SSCwebsite.

New ArrivalsThe SSC website provides information for all new students which will help you to settle in andmake the transition to studying at the LSE. A number of induction events and activities are puton for new students at the beginning of each academic session, and you can find out about theseon the SSCs website.

FeesYou can enquire about your fees, make a payment, or collect a cheque from the Centre. TheFees Office is part of the Finance Division and holds drop-in sessions in the SSC every day interm time, and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during vacations for more complex enquiries.For more information, visit the SSC homepage and go to Fees Office or visithttp://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/financeDivision/

Financial SupportThe Financial Support Office (FSO) is responsible for administering School funds and a variety ofscholarships, studentships, prizes and awards. Students who register to study at the School areexpected to ensure that they have secured adequate funding for their fees and living costs. TheFSO cannot normally assist students who knowingly register under-funded. However, studentswho have registered with sufficient funding but who later experience unforeseen circumstanceswhich leave them in financial difficulty can apply for help from the School.

Course ChoiceStudents are required to take the number of courses prescribed by their programme regulationswhich is normally the equivalent of four full units per year. All courses are subject to approval.Selection of any course is also subject to availability and timetabling constraints. You can


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choose and register for courses online using LSE for You. Look at the course guides and makeyour selection.

Certificate of RegistrationCurrently registered students can print off a Certificate of Registration which is useful for a varietyof purposes, e.g. for council tax, visa extensions or your bank. You can generate a Certificate ofRegistration immediately via LSE for You. Simply log into LSE for You and select the Certificateof Registration option. To get your certificate validated, take it to the SSC counter where amember of staff will sign and stamp it. If you try this and you cannot print a certificate, or needone with additional information, please email [email protected].

Class ChangesClasses are allocated by the Student Services Centre or by the department depending onwhether you are an undergraduate or graduate student. If you need to change class you willnormally need the permission of your department.

Examinations and ResultsYou can obtain your unique candidate number and personal examination timetable via LSE forYou from the end of the Lent Term. Examinations for all courses take place during the summerterm (May/June). There are a few exams held outside this period and you will be informed if thisapplies to any of your courses. The examination timetable will be available at the end of the LentTerm. You must be available to sit your examinations and answer any queries about your scriptup to the end of the Summer Term (early July).

To help you prepare effectively for your examinations you should make yourself fully aware of theformat and syllabus to be covered in the examinations. Specimen papers or guidelines to anychanges are provided where appropriate and permitted materials specified early in the year. Pastpapers can be found at Past Exam Papers (access restricted to LSE network only).

Students who have failed an exam or assessment cannot retake it until the following year. There

are no re-sit examinations. Separate regulations apply to students studying for the LLB.Students cannot re-sit any exam that they have already passed.

Presentation CeremoniesPresentation ceremonies are held in the Peacock Theatre, in Portugal Street, in mid-July forundergraduate students and nine-month MSc programmes, and in mid-December each year fortwelve-month MSc programmes. Each ceremony is followed by a reception held at the Schoolfor students and their guests, giving the opportunity for you to mix with fellow graduates andacademic staff from your department.

Transcripts and Degree CertificatesA transcript and degree certificate are automatically sent to every student at their permanenthome address after the exam results have been ratified by the School Board of Examiners.

Registered students and alumni can order subsequent transcripts through LSE for You.

Student Visa Applications and AdviceThe Visa Office can assist students with visa extension applications. The SSC offers adviceabout visa extensions, and will check your application and send it to the UK Border Agency foryou.

Information, Advice and GuidanceThe Student Services Centre is accredited by matrix for its information, advice and guidanceservices. If you are uncertain who to contact about an issue affecting your studies, please take alook at the SSC homepage (http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/studentServicesCentre/) or visit theCentre in person on the Ground Floor of the Old Building.


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they leave school, and increase the amount of contact time they experience in the classroom.The personal benefits for the Student Tutors include developing their communication,organisational and problem-solving skills, gaining important work experience and taking part in a

valuable community programme.The scheme has proved to be a great success over the years and all pupils, teachers andstudents involved have found it helpful, enjoyable and rewarding.

The LSE Coordinator is Joanna Tolfree ([email protected]). If you are interested in finding outmore, please contact Joanna via email. Alternatively, further details of how to apply and dates offorthcoming information sessions will be emailed to all students in mid-October. There will alsobe a stall at the Freshers Fair in October where you can pick up information and speak to Joannain person.

LSE Students Unionhttp://www.lsesu.com/

LSE Students Union is dedicated to the welfare and representation of its 9,000 students.Responsible not only for representing students, it also runs numerous commercial services, anAdvice and Counselling Centre and is home to a vast array of sports clubs and societies. Inessence its responsible for almost every aspect of the social experience at LSE.

Every LSE student is a member and with that membership comes the ability to get involved in allaspects of the Students Union. Even if politics isnt your thing, you can still hold officers toaccount and make sure theyre representing you on the issues you care most about at the weeklyUnion General Meeting, the only one of its kind in the country. Beyond this your membershipgives you opportunities to write for our weekly newspaper, The Beaver, join societies, or play forany of the sports clubs.

Campaigns

The Students Union aims to improve the day-to-day lives of students through lobbying theSchool. Recent successes include getting a commitment from the LSE to invest an extra 2m inorder to improve teaching standards across the university as well as pressuring the LSE to delivermuch needed improvements to the library.

LSE is famous, or perhaps infamous, for the political activism of its students. Many formerstudents maintain that they learn more discussing in the bar and the Quad then they ever did inclass. The crucible for debate is the weekly Union General Meeting where left, right and centrecompete for the hearts and minds of the uncommitted few students can resist at least one visitto this hotbed of revolution, reaction and intrigue.

Student activitiesWith over 170 societies in the Students Union, you can be sure that there is something to cater toyour interests. From Knitting to Business, the variety of societies and activities change with theinterests and initiative of each new group of students. The diverse nature of the LSE studentbody is also reflected in the wide range of national and cultural societies on offer. The StudentsUnion also runs a weekly newspaper, a radio station, TV network and journal.

SportsSports enthusiasts wont be disappointed by the activities on offer. Our Athletics Union is hometo some 30-plus clubs covering a wide range of sports. The standard of sport is high, with teamsregularly reaching the final stages of the national BUCS leagues.

Many use the School's 25 acre sports ground at New Malden, Surrey, a short train journey awayfrom campus. There are pitches for football, rugby, hockey (both men's and women's), cricket,together with a multi-use games area and grass tennis courts, plus a restaurant and well


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appointed bar are open on match days. On campus, there are facilities for judo, table tennis,floorball, karate and boxing; a gymnasium and three squash courts. Nearby, there are facilitiesfor basketball, rowing, cricket and swimming.

Not for profit, just for studentsOne of the most visible aspects of the Students Union is its commercial services andentertainments. The gym, bars, shops and cafs serve a dual function: to provide every one ofour members with cheap, friendly and convenient services and - just as importantly - to generateadditional money to reinvest in the wide range of welfare services we provide that aim to help andsupport you through your time at LSE. On Friday nights, the bars provide a venue for one ofLondons top student nights, Crush, which is a popular, cheap and fun night out.

Student welfareThe combination of living in London and studying at a world class institution can at times be astressful business. The Advice & Counselling Centre is here so that if the worst does happen,there is someone to help you out. From problems with your course and exam results to issues

with accommodation and immigration, the ACC is there to offer free and confidential advice andsupport whenever you need it most.

Student Study Support

The Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) offers a popular series of lectures throughout theacademic year on subjects such as essay writing, dissertation planning, time management andmemory techniques. Usually on Wednesday afternoons, these sessions are geared towardsundergraduate and MSc students in all departments. A full schedule of events is available on theMoodle course Learning World (LW). Students are encouraged to register for this course fromthe beginning of the academic year and to regularly check LSE Training (http://training.lse.ac.uk/)for full details of resources and courses to support their learning. TLC sessions are listed in thecentral LSE timetable under the course code SS (Study Skills) and posters are put up around the

School to advertise events. A hard copy of the schedule is available from the TLC (5th

Floor, GBuilding) and the Students Union (SU).

TLC also offers one-to-one study support concerning problem-solving, essay writing, readingskills, exam preparation, etc. Group sessions are available for some topics. Experienced andsympathetic, advisers Dr Tony Whelan (quantitative) and Lynne Roberts offer confidential tutorialsessions independently of departments. Students are expected to contact the TLC with specificissues they need help with, having spoken with class teachers/lecturers first. The advisers candirect students to other professionals within the LSE should further assistance be required. TheTLC is also pleased to offer one-to-one writing tutorials with the Royal Literary Fund Fellow SarahSalway. Ms Salway is a published writer who expertly assists students in finding the best way toexpress their thoughts and ideas. If students have any difficulties expressing themselves inwriting, then they may benefit from a session (or two).

To book an appointment with one of the advisers, email [email protected] or call TLCreception on 020 7852 3627. Students are also welcome to come to the TLC reception (GBuilding, 20 Kingsway) in person. Please note that there is high demand for this service andthere may be a wait for an appointment.

Timetableshttp://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/timetables/

Timetables for all courses are available on the LSE Website, listed according to course code.


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University of London Facilities: Lectures and LibrariesThe LSE is a part of the University of London, and as such has links to some University ofLondon libraries. If the need should arise to research special topics that go beyond the LSE

Library collection, students are advised to check if Senate House or School of Oriental andAfrican Studies libraries hold the required items. Readers tickets are available by filling out aform distributed through the Library information desk (first floor). Both libraries are within walkingdistance from the LSE (Russell Square tube station).

Students in the past have enjoyed special lectures held by various University of London hosts.Whilst you are studying at LSE, it is worth investigating if there are any particular lectures beinggiven by Goldsmiths, School of Oriental and African Studies or University of London departments

VacationsDuring LSE vacation periods, academic staff will not be available to meet with students. It isimportant that you organise your workload to allow time to see your tutor during term-time,especially for dissertation supervision during the summer term. Administrative staff are availableall year round, but generally do not hold official office hours during vacations.

LSE closes for a few days over Christmas and Easter. During this time, all the Departmentsoffices will be closed, and there will be minimal facilities available throughout the School. Detailswill be published online closer to the time.

Volunteer to represent LSE

Although your graduation day may seem a long way off, over the next year or so your thoughtsmay turn to what you will do after you leave LSE. Before you forget about your days onHoughton Street, you may be interested to know that, as an alumnus / alumna, you can use yourown experience of studying at the School to help advise prospective LSE students. The Student

Recruitment Office runs an Alumni Recruitment Volunteer (ARV) programme which supports anetwork of LSE alumni around the world who have volunteered to offer information to prospectivestudents on what it is like to study at the School, to live in London and the UK and to answergeneral enquiries on particular courses of study. Opportunities for volunteering range fromdelivering a presentation to students at your old school or university to representing LSE at arecruitment fair.

We hope that you will enjoy your time at LSE and that you will want to recommend studying at theSchool to other potential students. If this is the case, please visit the Alumni RecruitmentVolunteers website and complete the application form to join our worldwide network of volunteers:http://www.lse.ac.uk/AlumniRecruitmentVolunteers

While every effort has been made to ensure the information in this handbook is as accurate aspossible, there may be inadvertent errors or changes may occur over the course of the year. Ifyou are unsure about something, or find conflicting information, do check with a member of LSEstaff.


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MScCityDesignHandbook 2009-2010

Documents

Transcript of MScCityDesignHandbook 2009-2010