The sources of potential financial aid open to you are heavily dependent on whether you are classified as a home or overseas student. The definition of home or overseas students is governed by Fees and Award Regulations passed by Parliament. Please note that the basic definition relates to a required period of residence in the UK (or in some cases the EU) rather than citizenship of the UK or an EU country. For further details about this, please visit the British Council's Education UK site.

Statutory support from the UK government

Home UK students can apply to Student Finance for assistance with their tuition fees and living costs. This should be done as early as possible to avoid any delays with payment at the start of the academic year. You will also need to re-apply every year for support from the government.

Applying for statutory support from the UK government via Student Finance is also the way to apply for an LSE Bursary (see below). Student Finance, provided you have not refused consent, will share the information you provide with LSE. There is no separate application form.

More information about Financial support from the UK government

Download (pdf) an overview of the support available for Home UK and Home EU students who choose to study outside of the country they are normally domiciled in.

EU students can apply for assistance with their tuition fees only.

LSE Bursaries

The School is committed to ensuring that students from all social and economic backgrounds continue to apply to LSE and that no-one is deterred from doing so because of financial considerations in relation to top up fees. To this end, around a third of the additional fee income generated will be reinvested in student support measures.

More information about LSE Bursaries

Scholarship opportunities for Home UK/EU applicants

Thanks to the immense generosity of private donors, a range of LSE scholarships are available for Home UK/EU applicants and the School is very keen to invite applications.

More information about LSE scholarships.

An academic reference must normally be submitted. The reference must be from someone who has present or past experience of your academic work (not a prospective LSE tutor). In cases where it is not possible to submit your application form and reference at the same time, your referee can send a reference directly to the Financial Support Office.

It is advisable to submit a reference specifically written for your scholarship application form, rather than re-using one used on your application for admission.

Applicants who are offered a place by the LSE and accept the School as their first choice institution will be given priority over those who select the School as their insurance choice. How and when to reply to your offers (UCAS).

Once registered on a programme of study at the School, you will not be able to apply for an LSE scholarship for years 2 and 3 of your programme.

Useful websites

The following websites provide more information for prospective university students:

Moneysavingexpert - LSE alumnus Martin Lewis has also published a number of YouTube videos about student funding and money matters. See the link above for a video of a talk he gave supported by Universities UK.

Student finance

GOV.UK

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Students from Northern Ireland

www.studentfinanceni.co.uk

Students from Scotland

www.saas.gov.uk/

Students from Wales

www.studentfinancewales.co.uk