Course overview
This master’s is for anyone looking to pursue careers or problems related to the complex dynamics of human behaviour – or, simply put, anyone working with people. This pathway helps you to understand how complex organisations of all sizes — from football teams to companies to societies — succeed in impacting on the world. You will use insights from numerical, linguistic, and media-focused disciplines to model different kinds of data and make informed decisions about how organisations can be optimised for performance.
Study method
- In-class
- Online
- Blended
Locations
- England
- London
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Entry requirements
The minimum entry requirement for our MASc programme is a 2:1 or above in an undergraduate degree from the UK (or the international equivalent) in any subject. If you are unsure whether your degree is equivalent to a 2:1 undergraduate degree from the UK.
Applicants who do not fulfil the normal entry requirements but have extensive professional experience in a related area are considered on an individual basis. These applicants should ensure that they have attached their most recent CV as part of the application process.
Can I apply as an international student?
Yes. We’re able to accept students with pre-settled and settled status through the EU settlement scheme.
Professional recognition
LIS has been granted new degree-awarding powers for Level 7 (Taught Master’s) awards by the Office for Students (OfS).
The Master’s programme was previously entitled “Interdisciplinary Practice” and will change to “Interdisciplinary Problems and Methods” pending approval by the Office for Students.
We continue to develop pathways subject to demand and our internal approval processes.
The Climate and Biodiversity pathway is subject to our programme approval process and alignment with our Degree Awarding Powers (DAPS) Plan.
Assessment
As well as completing all modules, students are required to complete the Capstone Project.
Delivery
LIS master’s students have two study options:
- Campus-first: Full-time and in-person with online self-paced learning
- Remote-first: Part-time and online with optional on-campus meet-ups and workshops
Whether you study full-time or part-time, you’ll still be able to access campus facilities throughout the duration of your studies (should you wish); whether you want somewhere quiet to work on an assignment, or to meet up with a faculty member to discuss a topic in more detail.
Subjects
Culture emerges within the complex system of an organisation. How do these phenomena interact to distribute value within an organisation? How are norms established? Understand the academic theory behind what we observe in practice. Perspectives will derive from the natural sciences and the qualitative social sciences as appropriate, with specific areas of inquiry being selected based on topicality and relevance.
Acting Human deals with human social technologies. How do we successfully coordinate our individual interests with those of larger groups like families, organisations, states, and other social coalitions? An important strand of the module will look at how imaginative culture (novels, films, dramas) both derives from and expands our powers of social processing.
Cracking the Code teaches Python through data science. Students will learn to code by engaging in practical applications of Python libraries as they relate to data science problems.
Everything Counts is a quantitative module that acquaints students with different approaches to statistics (Bayesian and Frequentist).
Re:Form will teach students how to understand visual thinking and the ways in which media (photography, 3D modelling, illustration) help us communicate.
The Right Word aims to demonstrate how language can be produced and analysed using insights from linguistics. The module will also explore narrative as a powerful tool in communication e.g., storytelling.
This module will introduce students to the topic of complexity as it is understood in the quantitative sciences. Students will be exposed to concepts from cellular automata, dynamical systems and information theory.
The Capstone Project is where students pursue an original area of research on a problem of their choosing. Students will identify a problem and a set of strategies to tackle it, before creating a professional or industry-standard product to communicate what they have found.
About The London Interdisciplinary School
Why We Are Here
Global events show that the world is complex.
Leaders in politics, business and academia need knowledge that spans beyond the siloed nature of our current higher education system. We’re building a brand new university that will give students the knowledge and skills needed to address social and global problems in an increasingly interconnected world.
Complex Problems
The problems facing humanity are more complex, interconnected, and urgent than ever before. The modern workplace needs people who can tackle these kinds of issues and make a real impact on the world. The current university system can’t evolve quickly enough, so we need a new solution.
A Team of Polymaths
We place a premium on teaching rather than research. We’ve brought together a diverse and outstanding group of academics, entrepreneurs, and educationalists. The LIS team includes philosophers, epidemiologists, artists, journalists, behavioural scientists, and mathematicians, as well as entrepreneurs and professionals.
Interdisciplinary
The magic of collective intelligence is the key to unlocking interdisciplinarity. The sharing of mental models from across boundaries of expertise can create new and relevant modes of understanding and experiencing the world. Interdisciplinarians join forces to achieve more together than disconnected minds can do on their own. The future is interdisciplinary (ID). You will be at the forefront of the ID movement—challenging what is possible, being able to cut across disciplinary boundaries, make new connections, and find new solutions.
