Dr. Melissa Sands

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Melissa Sands joined the Department of Government at the London School of Economics in 2021 as an Assistant Professor. She previously served as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Merced. Sands holds a PhD from Harvard University, where she studied in the Department of Government, completing her degree in 2017. Additionally, she earned a Master of Public Administration from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Her research interests focus on the consequences of context in political civic behavior, and she employs methodologies such as field experiments, causal inference, and geographic spatial analysis to explore these topics. Her work has been published in respected journals including the American Political Science Review, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, among others. Sands teaches courses including Introduction to Political Science and Quantitative Analysis in Political Science, emphasizing data science applications within the political sphere.

Research Interests

Courses

GV101: Introduction to Political Science GV330: Data Science Applications in Politics GV481: Quantitative Analysis in Political Science

Requirements for London School of Economics

Master Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3.5
GRE General
Quantitative
Required:164
IELTS
Listening
Required:6.5
Reading
Required:6.5
Writing
Required:6.5
Speaking
Required:6.5
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Advanced Calculus Linear Algebra Econometrics and Statistics Intermediate Macroeconomics Intermediate Microeconomics
Application Checklist
  • Transcripts
  • Statement of Academic Purpose
  • Two academic references
  • CV
  • GRE scores (if non-UK degree)
Specialization Notes

Department of Economics