LSE PhD Studentships at the London School of Economics 2027/2028

About this scholarship

Funded PhD places at the London School of Economics and Political Science, open to all nationalities in every LSE research area, with study starting in September 2027. There is no separate studentship application.

Funding type

Covers: full tuition fees and a yearly stipend for 4 years, renewed each year if your progress is satisfactory. The stipend was GBP 23,805 a year for 2026 entry. The 2027 amount is not yet on the studentship page. Some departments ask for teaching. For example, the Law School asks for about 100 hours of classroom teaching over the PhD.

Tuition fees

Covered

Living costs

Covered

Travel

Not specified

Insurance

Not specified

Eligibility requirements

Nationalities

All nationalities

Residence condition

No residence condition

Open to all nationalities starting a new PhD at LSE in any research area Awards are made only on outstanding academic merit and research potential Entry requirements depend on the programme. For example, Sociology asks for a Merit (65+) in a taught master's and a 2:1 bachelor's Your application must be complete by your programme's funding deadline

Minimum grade

Not stated

Work experience asked for

Not stated

Return condition

Return condition not stated

How to apply

With the admission application

Language requirements and exemptions

Language test required IELTS TOEFL iBT PTE Academic Cambridge English Waiver possible

Most MPhil/PhD programmes use the LSE Research level: IELTS Academic 7.0 overall with 7.0 in reading and writing and 6.5 in listening and speaking, or TOEFL iBT 100 with 25 reading, 22 listening, 27 writing and 22 speaking, or 5.5 overall with 5 reading, 5 listening, 5.5 writing and 4.5 speaking on the updated TOEFL scale. Law, Statistics and some other programmes use other levels, so check your programme page.

University admission details

Admission included in application?

There is no separate studentship application. Departments nominate applicants to a School panel from the complete admission applications received by the funding deadline. The funding deadline depends on the programme. It is 3 December 2026 for Economics, Economics and Management, Gender Studies, International Development, International Relations, Law, Political Science and Sociology, for the Management tracks in Employment Relations and Human Resources, Information Systems and Innovation, Marketing and Organisational Behaviour, and for funding in Anthropology. It is 13 January 2027 for many others, such as Social Policy, Philosophy, Media and Communications and International History. The time is not stated. One line on the Sociology page gives 3 December 2027 as the funding deadline, but the same page says its application and funding deadline is 3 December 2026, so go by the earlier date. Some programmes accept admission applications until 27 May 2027. The LSE deadlines page says studentships not yet awarded may still go to applications made by that date, but the programme pages say you must apply by the funding deadline to be considered, so go by the funding deadline. Shortlisted applicants may be interviewed. There is an application assessment fee.

Required documents

CV Statement of academic purpose Degree transcripts Two references Research proposal of the length your programme sets Sample of written work GRE or GMAT scores if your programme asks for them, for example GRE for Economics

Application steps

Choose your LSE PhD programme and check the funding deadline on its page. Prepare the research proposal and the other documents the programme asks for. Apply online and make sure both references and all documents arrive by the funding deadline. You do not need a separate studentship form.

Requirement checklist

Scholarship contacts

LSE Financial Support Office enquiry form: Contact form (opens in a new tab)

Universities and contacts