London School of Economics Acceptance Rate, Admission, Scholarships
The London School of Economics (LSO) is one of the world’s leading universities. It has a rich history and a wealth of knowledge that can be applied to a variety of fields. LSO offers students a wide range of ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as world-class research opportunities. You’ll also find the school to be friendly and welcoming, with an easy-going environment that will help you make the most of your time at LSO.
London School of Economics (LSE) is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. It’s a public school, which means that it’s open to everyone. As an applicant, you have a lot to gain by applying to this esteemed institution.
But what if you don’t have the money? What if you don’t have a good enough academic record? No problem! The LSE accepts applications from all corners of the world, so you don’t need to be wealthy orhave a perfect resume to apply. In fact, many of the top schools in the world only require an application fee and a letter of recommendation.
To get into LSE, you just need to bring your passion for learning and your willingness to work hard. And we can tell you that applying is definitely not as hard as it seems!
As a business school, LSE has an acceptance rate of over 90%. But what does this mean for you? Well, if you’re looking to apply to our esteemed institution and want an idea of how likely you are to be successful, our data is worth taking a look at. Our data covers all types of applications (from undergraduate to postgraduate), so you can see how your application compares to other schools. Plus, as an added bonus, we’ve put together a guide on how to get the most out of LSE’s application process.
About London School Of Economics
LSE is the only university in the United Kingdom dedicated solely to the study and research of social sciences. LSE awards a range of academic degrees spanning bachelor’s, master’s, and PhDs.
The School offers over 140 MSc programs, 5 MPA programs, an LLM, 30 BSc programs, an LLB, 4 BA programs (including International History and Geography), and 35 Ph.D. programs in the following subjects anthropology, criminology, social psychology, sociology, and social policy and international relations.
Courses are split across more than thirty research centers and nineteen departments, plus a Language Centre. In conjunction with NYU Stern and HEC Paris, LSE also offers the TRIUM Executive MBA. This was globally ranked third among executive MBAs by the Financial Times in 2016.
LSE has academic partnerships in teaching and research with Columbia University in New York City, University of California in Berkeley, Peking University in Beijing, the National University of Singapore, the University of Cape Town, and Sciences Po in Paris.
Together they offer a range of double or joint degree programs including an MA in International, World History with Columbia University, and an MSc in International Affairs with Peking University, with graduates earning degrees from both institutions.
The School also offers joint degrees for specific departments with various other universities including Fudan University in Shanghai, USC in Los Angeles, and a Global Studies program which is offered with a consortium of four European universities; Leipzig, Vienna, Roskilde, and Wroclaw.
LSE offers a Dual Master of Public Administration (MPA) with Global Public Policy Network schools such as Sciences Po Paris, the Hertie School of Governance, and the National University of Singapore.
The school also runs exchange programs with the Cornell University – Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, University of Chicago – Booth School Of Business, the University of Texas at Austin – McCombs School of Business, Emory University – the Goizueta Business School University of Michigan – Ross School of Business, Yale University – School of Management, Duke University – Fuqua School of Business Peking University – Guanghua School of Management, HEC Paris, Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management through the Global Masters in Management program and an undergraduate student exchange program with the University of California, Berkeley in Political Science.
LSE is the only UK member school in the CEMS Alliance, and the LSE Global Master’s in Management is the only program in the UK to offer the CEMS Master’s in International Management (CEMS MIM) as a double degree option, allowing students to study at one of 30 CEMS partner universities.
LSE is famous for its program of public lectures organized by the LSE Events office, which are open to students, alumni, and the general public.
Leading academics and commentators, speakers frequently include prominent national and international figures such as ambassadors, CEOs, Members of Parliament, and heads of state are invited to speak.
Recent prominent speakers have included Kofi Annan, Ben Bernanke, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Noam Chomsky, Bill Clinton, Philip Craven, Niall Ferguson, Vicente Fox, Milton Friedman, Muammar Gaddafi, Julia Gillard, Alan Greenspan, Tenzin Gyatso, Lee Hsien Loong, Boris Johnson, David Harvey, Jean Tirole, Angelina Jolie, Paul Krugman, Dmitri Medvedev, Mario Monti,
George Osborne, Robert Peston, Sebastián Piñera, Kevin Rudd, Jeffrey Sachs, Gerhard Schroeder, Carlos D. Mesa, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Aung San Suu Kyi, Amartya Sen, George Soros, and Rowan Williams. Previously, the School has hosted figures including Nelson Mandela and Margaret Thatcher.
LSE Summer School
The LSE Summer School was established in 1989 and currently offers over 70 three-week courses in accounting, finance, economics, English language, international relations, government, law, and management each July and August.
It is rated as the largest and one of the most well-established university Summer Schools of its kind in Europe. The School has expanded its summer schools both abroad and into executive education with the LSE-PKU Summer School in Beijing run with Peking University, the LSE-UCT July School in Cape Town run with the University of Cape Town and the Executive Summer School at its London campus.
In 2011, it also launched a Methods Summer Programme. Each year over 5,000 participants from about 130 countries around the world, as well as professionals from several multinational institutions.
Participants are housed in LSE halls of residence or their overseas residential halls, and the Summer School provides a full social program including guest lectures and receptions.
London School Of Economics Admissions And Acceptance Rate
Admission to study at LSE is highly competitive and all undergraduate applications, including international applications, are made through UCAS. LSE had the 4th highest average entry qualification for undergraduates of any UK university in 2015-16, with new students averaging 537 UCAS points, equivalent to just below A*A*A*A in A-level grades.
The university gives offers of admission to 37.0% of its applicants, the 3rd lowest amongst the Russell Group.
Postgraduate students at the LSE are required to have a first or upper second Class UK honors degree, or its foreign equivalent for master’s degrees, while direct entry to the MPhil/Ph.D. program requires the UK taught master’s with merit or foreign equivalent. London School of Economics Admission to the diploma requires a UK degree or an equivalent plus relevant experience.
The intake to applications ratio for postgraduate degree programs is very competitive; the MSc Financial Mathematics had a ratio of just over 4% in 2016.
London School Of Economics Tuition Fees
Undergraduate
Every undergraduate student is charged a fee each year of their program.
The London School Of Economics Tuition fee covers registration and examination fees payable to the School, lectures, classes and individual supervision, lectures given at other colleges under intercollegiate arrangements, and, under current arrangements, membership of the Students’ Union. It does not cover living costs or travel or fieldwork.
Fees are fixed each spring for the following session only and will be published in the Table of Fees.
All queries regarding your fees and fee payments are dealt with by the Fees Office.
Fee status classification
On receipt of your UCAS form, the School carries out an assessment of your fee status determining the amount you are likely to pay at Registration. This decision is based on guidelines provided by the Department of Education: Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 2007.
Further information on fee status classification
UK and EU students
Entry in September 2022
The London School Of Economics Tuition fee for new UK and EU students starting in 2021 is £9,250. Also, the fee may rise with inflation in the subsequent years of your study.
The UK Government confirmed in July 2018 that the fee level for EU undergraduate new entrants in 2021/21 will be the same as Home UK for the duration of their undergraduate degree program. Further information can be found on the gov.uk website.
Channel Island students
Entry in September 2022
For 2021 the LSE tuition fee for new undergraduates ordinarily resident in the Channel Islands is £9,250 for the first year but may rise in line with inflation in subsequent years.
Overseas students
Entry in September 2022
The LSE tuition fee for new overseas (non-EU) undergraduates in 2021 is £19,920 for the first year.
Overseas students are required to pay this fee in installments or in full at the start of each year. The overseas fee usually rises by between 2.5 percent and 4 percent each year.
Graduate
Every graduate student is charged a fee for their program.
London School Of Economics Tuition Fees covers registration, teaching, first entry to examinations, the use of the Library and membership of the Students’ Union. They also normally cover teaching and the use of student common rooms at other colleges of the University of London, if your program has intercollegiate arrangements. If you receive an offer, you will be informed of the relevant tuition fee amount in your offer letter.
Tuition fee amounts
London School Of Economics Tuition fees are listed on the individual program pages. You can also refer to the table of fees.
Fee status
In some cases, the number of tuition fees you will need to pay, and any financial support you are eligible for, will depend on whether you are classified as a home (UK/EU) or overseas student, otherwise known as your fee status.
LSE assesses your fee status based on guidelines provided by the Department of Education.
The UK Government has confirmed that the fee level for EU graduate new entrants in 2018/19 will be the same as Home UK for the duration of their degree program. Further information can be found on the gov.uk website.
Fee Reductions
Students who completed undergraduate study at LSE and are beginning taught graduate study at the School are eligible for a fee reduction of 10 percent of the fee. Some programs, such as executive programs, are excluded from this fee reduction.
London School Of Economics Scholarships
The LSE and the external organizations offer several scholarships to African students to study at the LSE. The value of the aid varies from 10% of enrollment fees to full compensation and a maintenance bonus.
Approximately 19% of the Master’s holders successfully obtained financial support from the School.
Below you will find a list of some of the scholarships available to African citizens.
Note: although this list includes scholarships offered by external organizations, it may not be exhaustive and other awards may be available that are not mentioned here.
London School Of Economics Scholarships for Undergraduate Program
London School Of Economics Scholarships for Masters and Diploma Program
London School Of Economics Scholarships for Research Program
London School Of Economics Scholarships from External Organizations
London School Of Economics Ranking
In the subject area of social science, LSE is ranked second in the world in the QS Rankings, tenth in the Rankings, and eighth in the Academic Ranking of World Universities. LSE is ranked among the top fifteen universities nationally by all three UK tables and ranked internationally in the top 50 by two of the three major global rankings.
In overall national rankings, the LSE consistently places as a top 15 University, ranking 3rd in the Complete University Guide 2017, 12th in the Guardian University Guide 2017, and 8th in the Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017, placing it 7th in the Times Higher Education Table of Tables 2017.
LSE is one of only eight universities (along with the other members of the G5, Bath, St Andrews, and Warwick) to have never left the top 15 in one of the three main domestic rankings between 2008-2017.
The QS World University Rankings for 2015-16 ranked LSE 35th globally in the overall ratings and keep its number one position in the UK and second in the world for social sciences. The 2016–17 rankings placed LSE at 6th for employer reputation. LSE is ranked 53rd in the world and 7th in the UK in the 2017 Round University Ranking.
The 2016-17 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked LSE 25th globally and placed it 5th in the country.
Times Higher Education ranks LSE at 15th globally and 4th in the country in social science. LSE was also ranked 24th for reputation by Times Higher Education in 2016.
The Academic Ranking of World Universities placed the LSE 151–200 and 16–21 nationally for 2016–17, while the US News & World Report Best Global Universities 2017 placed it 261st globally and 30th in the UK. The citation-based CWTS Leiden Ranking placed LSE 90th worldwide and 16th in the UK.
The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017 ranks the LSE second in the world for Social Sciences and Management, and individual LSE departments third in the world for Geography, Communication and Media Studies, Politics, and Social Policy and Administration.
It is ranked in the top ten for Anthropology, Development Studies, Accounting and Finance, History, Philosophy, Law, Economics, and Business and Management Studies, in the top 30 for Psychology, and the top 40 for Statistics. Mastwrs7 US News & World Report ranks LSE 261st in the world.
London School Of Economics Courses
Undergraduate courses offered at LSE include; Anthropology and Law, Geography, History, Social Anthropology, Accounting and Finance, Actuarial Science, Business, Mathematics and Statistics, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics Economics, Economics and Economic History, Economics with Economic History, Environment, and Development,
Environmental Policy with Economics, Geography with Economics, Government, Government and Economics, Government and History, International Relations, International Relations, and History, Management, Mathematics and Economics, Mathematics with Economics, Philosophy and Economics, Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, Politics and Philosophy, Social Anthropology, Social Policy, Social Policy, and Criminology, Social Policy and Economics, Social Policy and Sociology, Social Policy with Government, Sociology, Statistics with Finance, LLB Bachelor of Laws
London School Of Economics Masters
Master’s degree courses offered at LSE include; Psychology of Economic Life, Environment and Development, Environmental Policy and Regulation, Applicable Mathematics, Financial Mathematics, Risk and Stochastics, Statistics, Financial Statistics, Management, Information Systems and Digital Innovation (MISDI), Economics and Philosophy Local Economic Development, Population and Development, Development Management, Economics, Econometrics, and Mathematical Economics,
European Studies: Ideas, Ideologies and Identities, Political Economy of Europe, Conflict Studies, Political Science and Political Economy, International Relations Theory, International Migration, and Public Policy, Social Research Methods, Political Sociology, Human Rights, Culture and Society, Sociology, Economy, Risk and Society, Inequalities and Social Science, Social Policy and Planning, Health, Population and Society, Criminal Justice Policy, Social Policy, City Design, and Social Science, International Health Policy (Health Economics), Global Health, China in Comparative Perspective Social Anthropology (Religion in the Contemporary World), Social Anthropology,
Anthropology and Development Management, Social and Cultural Psychology, Organisational and Social Psychology, Social and Public Communication, Environmental Economics and Climate Change, Real Estate Economics and Finance, Regional and Urban Planning Studies, Urbanisation and Development, African Development, Human Geography, and Urban Studies International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies, Finance and Economics, Comparative Politics Social Policy and Development, Public Policy and Administration, Global Politics, International Relations, International Political Economy, Politics, Political Theory, European Studies, LLM, Regulation, Law, Anthropology and Society, Law and Accounting, Health Policy,
Planning and Financing, Management and Strategy, Management, International Management, Management Science (Operational Research), Economics and Management Management, Organisations and Governance, Public Management and Governance, Finance, Finance, and Private Equity, Accounting and Finance, Risk and Finance, Accounting, Organisations, and Institutions,
Human Resources and Organisations (International Employment Relations and Human Resource Management), Human Resources and Organisations (Organisational Behaviour), Media, Communication and Development, Media and Communication Governance, Media and Communications, Politics and Communication, History of International Relations,
Theory and History of International Relations, Economic History, Global History, Political Economy of Late Development, Empires, Colonialism and Globalisation, Quantitative Economic History, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Philosophy and Public Policy, Gender, Development and Globalisation, Gender, Policy and Inequalities, Development Studies, Gender, Media and Culture, Anthropology and Development
London School Of Economics Notable Alumni
LSE has produced numerous notable alumni in the fields of law, history, economics, philosophy, psychology, business, literature, media, and politics. Alumni and staff include 53 past or present heads of state or government and 20 members of the current British House of Commons. As of 2017, 26% of all the
Nobel Prizes in Economics had been awarded or jointly awarded to LSE alumni, current staff, or former staff, making up 16% of all laureates.
LSE alumni and staff have also won 3 Nobel Peace Prizes and 2 Nobel Prizes in Literature. Out of all European universities, LSE has educated the most billionaires according to a 2014 global census of U.S dollar billionaires.
LSE has a long list of notable alumni and staff, spanning the fields of scholarship covered by the school. Among them are eighteen Nobel Prize winners in Economics, Peace, and Literature.
The school has over 50 fellows of the British Academy on its staff, while other notable former staff members include Brian Barry, Maurice Cranston, Anthony Giddens, Harold Laski, Ralph Miliband, Michael Oakeshott, A. W. Philips, Karl Popper, Lionel Robbins, Susan Strange, Bob Ward, and Charles Webster. Mervyn King, the former Governor of the Bank of England, is also a former professor of economics.
Business tycoons who studied at LSE include the CEO of AirAsia Tony Fernandes, former CEO of General Motors Daniel Akerson, Director of Louis Vuitton Delphine Arnault, founder of EasyJet Stelios Haji-Ioannou, CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch Michael S. Jeffries, Greek business magnate Spiros Latsis, American banker David Rockefeller, CEO of Newsmax Media Christopher Ruddy, founder of advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi Maurice Saatchi, hedge fund managers George Soros and Michael Platt.
In the political scene notable alumni and staff include, Virginia Bottomley, Yvette Cooper, Edwina Currie, Frank Dobson, Margaret Hodge, Robert Kilroy-Silk, former UK Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, Brazilian defense minister Celso Amorim, Costa Rican President Óscar Arias, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, an architect of the Indian Constitution and eminent economist
B. R. Ambedkar, President of India K. R. Narayanan, President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen, Italian Prime Minister and President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, French Foreign Minister, and President of the Constitutional Council Roland Dumas, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Tharman Shanmugaratnam all studied at LSE.
A notable number of LSE students have also played a role in the Barack Obama administration, including Pete Rose, Peter R. Orszag, Mona Sutphen, Paul Volcker, and Jason Furman.
Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1945–1951), Jomo Kenyatta, President of Kenya (1964–1978), Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy (1996–1998, 2006–2008) and President of the European Commission (1999–2004),
B. R. Ambedkar, father of modern India, polymath, jurist, economist, politician, and social reformer, Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada (1968–1979, 1980–1984), Alaa Murabit, United Nations High-Level Commissioner, Sustainable Development Goal Global Advocate (2015–present),
Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore (1959–1990), Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (1973–present), Kim Campbell, Prime Minister of Canada (1993),
Heinrich Brüning, Chancellor of Germany (1930–1932), Kamisese Mara, founding father and Prime Minister (1970–1992) of Fiji, Amartya Sen, Indian economist, former Professor and Nobel Laureate,
Karl Popper, reader in logic and scientific method at the LSE, George Soros, billionaire investor, philanthropist, and political activist, Oscar Arias Sanchez, former President of Costa Rica (1986–1990, 2006–2010) and Nobel Peace Prize (1987), Juan Manuel Santos, former President of Colombia and recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize,
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2010–2016) and leader of the Paris Agreement negotiations, Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China (2016–present),
Tony Fernandes, Chief Executive Officer of the low-cost carrier, AirAsia, Carlo Cottarelli, former director of the International Monetary Fund, Fadli Zon, Indonesian politician and the current deputy speaker of the Indonesian People’s Representative Council.
