One of the major strengths of LSE is its international community with students, staff, and faculty coming from a wide range of different countries. Everyone in the LSE community bring their own unique experiences and perspectives, which all serve to enhance the shared academic community we belong to.
What is the ACE PGR Initiative?
As part of the overall plan to achieve the goals set out by the LSE 2030 Strategy, LSE is launching a new pilot programme called the Attaining Comprehensive Equality in Postgraduate Research (ACE PGR) Initiative.
ACE PGR is all about LSE taking concrete and tangible steps to help diversify the postgraduate applicant pool. Research shows that there is a need for universities in the UK to strengthen the academic pipeline for BAME students in the UK. Specifically, black students are among the most underrepresented in academia across the UK.
The initial phase of ACE PGR Initiative is focused on improving and increasing access for UK BAME students to postgraduate research at LSE. All self-identifying UK BAME applicants to MRes/Phil and MPhil/PhD programmes at LSE will automatically be included in the scheme unless they choose to opt-out, which can be done on the online application.
Concrete support
The ACE PGR Initiative will provide the following for students:
- Application fee will be waived, which will help encourage students to apply for postgraduate research programmes at LSE (where the application fee may act as a barrier to applying)
- A contextualised admissions process, in line with the Office for Students’ guidance
- An academic staff member in the applicant’s desired department will conduct a 15-minute pre-interview session
- If the applicant is unsuccessful, they’ll be provided with tailored admissions feedback.
Key takeaways
LSE’s international community is strengthened by having a diverse array of students. As a leading UK institution for postgraduate research, the entire university will benefit from the scheme as LSE works to take tangible steps to improve access to postgraduate research programmes for students who have been underrepresented.
ACE PGR Initiative will ultimately focus not only on access for UK BAME students, but also in ways in which LSE can contribute to improving educational experiences and long-term academic success. Additionally, the scheme will provide tangible support to UK BAME students at three different — but equally important — stages within the postgraduate research lifespan: “access” (what the pilot initiative is currently focused on), “student success,” and “career progression.”
This is an exciting programme within LSE dedicated to reducing barriers to higher education in the UK, specifically in the realm of postgraduate research. LSE has ongoing initiatives such as the Access and Participation Plan by the Widening Participation team, which aims to foster increased diversity among LSE’s undergraduate community. The ACE PGR Initiative builds upon this previous and continuing work at LSE to implement support that is specific to postgraduate research applicants and students.
