Frequently Asked Questions

Application for 2017/18 entry will open in November 2016 and close on Monday 9 January 2017.

Go to the 'How to Apply' page for further information. 

The MRes/PhD in Political Science is 1 +4 year programme.

Go to the 'About the Programme' page for further details.

The minimum entry requirements for the MRes/PhD in Political Science is a very good undergraduate degree (2:1 or above) and preferably an MA or MSc degree in Political Science or a closely related discipline (such as Sociology, Economics or History). We do not require any GRE/GMAT scores though you will be required to provide this documentation to the School if accepted onto the programme.

Go to the 'Entry Requirements' page for further details.

If your first language is not English and your previous degree was not taught entirely in English, you will be required to provide evidence of your English language ability. Details of language requirements can be found on the LSE Study website (the MRes/PhD requires the scores indicated for research programmes).

We offer the opportunity of a fully funded PhD programme for some students. Election for funding is based on receipt of application to the programme by 9 January 2017. There is no separate application for LSE studentship or ESRC funding. You do not need to inform the Department of your intention to be put forward for funding.

Further information on funding

If you wanted to gauge whether your topic is relevant you may wish to contact a member of the academic staff specifically working in this area. Go to our staff directory to find out more about our academics' research interests.

You may also wish to search the ‘LSE Experts’ directory for academics and researchers across the Department and School. However, please note that the Government Department will ultimately decide who your supervisor will be, should you be successful.

Ideally, we would like to see a writing sample of a marked assignment from your most recent programme of study. This can be in the form of two master degree essays between 3000-5000 words, or an extract from a master’s dissertation.

We recognise that not all applicants will have a writing sample that fulfils these criteria. As a result, applicants should aim to submit a sample that is as close as possible to the following:

• The sample should relate to your proposed research topic (or more broadly to the general area of political science that you are interested in)
• The sample should be in English and must be your own work - if the assignment was not originally written in English, you should translate it yourself.
• The marks/comments of the assessor should be legible if these are available.
• It should be from your most recent period of study.
• No more than 10,000 words. Please note, it is advisable to have a shorter writing sample due to the high number of applications the Department receives.

As highlighted in our entry requirements, we look favourably on applicants who have completed an MA or MSc degree in Political Science, or a closely related discipline, before entry onto the MRes/PhD. However, you are still able to apply and receive an offer if you are currently undertaking a degree and do not have final grades.

If you are currently undertaking a master’s degree, you may wish to consider requesting academic referees include information regarding your performance and predictive grades in reference letters. However, this is entirely at the discretion of your referees.

The MRes year is an integral part of the MRes/PhD in Political Science. It provides an important underpinning in methods and research design to enable students to upgrade to PhD status. It is unlikely that an applicant would be able to skip year one and begin in year two. Any decision regarding this would remain at the discretion of the School after an offer had been made. All applicants need to apply to the 1+4 MRes/PhD in Political Science programme in the first instance. 

No. The deadline of 9 January 2017 applies for all applicants, including current LSE students. 

The Graduate Admissions Office deals with all enquiries regarding applications. For any further queries, including information on references, please visit the Graduate Admissions Website where you can find general information regarding the Graduate Admissions office and find out how to get contact Graduate Admissions.

Please do not contact the Department regarding the status of your application.

We wish you good luck with your application.