Fees and funding

Each year LSE offers generous scholarships to its graduate students. There are also funding opportunities from external organisations, research councils and governments around the world.

Every graduate student is charged a fee for their programme. If you receive an offer, you will be informed of the relevant tuition fee amount in your offer letter.

Tuition fee amounts

Tuition fee amounts are listed on the individual programme pages. The table of fees shows the latest tuition amounts for all programmes offered by the School.

Fee status

In some cases the amount 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 or Overseas student, otherwise known as your fee status.

LSE assesses your fee status based on guidelines provided by the Department of Education.

Further information about fee status classification.

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 per cent of the fee. Some programmes, such as executive programmes, are excluded from this fee reduction.

Further information

Alumni discount
Fees and Student Finance
LSE Student Fees Policy

We broadly estimate that you should allow about £1,300-£1,500 per month for all living expenses, including accommodation, travel, food, laundry, study costs, and other personal expenses. This will vary depending on your lifestyle and requirements, so it's important you do your own research.

Please note that if you will be applying for a visa, you will have to provide evidence of sufficient funds, and these amounts may vary.

More details on living costs and making a budget.

Country based awards

The School makes available scholarships for students from specific regions of the world:

How to apply

See Applying for an LSE scholarship

For 2026 entry, LSE will be offering studentships to new PhD students in the form of LSE PhD Studentships and ESRC Studentships.

These awards are open to high calibre students of all nationalities studying across all research areas at the School.

LSE PhD Studentships

LSE PhD Studentships are tenable for four years and cover full fees and an annual stipend. They are available for UK, EU and international students undertaking research in any LSE discipline, with annual renewal subject to satisfactory academic performance.

These awards will be made solely on the basis of outstanding academic merit and research potential. This relates both to your past academic record and to an assessment of your likely aptitude to complete a PhD in your chosen topic in the time allocated.

ESRC funding

LSE has an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) and has ESRC studentships in a number of programmes across 19 departments. These studentships are available for students of all nationalities.

The structure and duration of the studentship offered will depend on a candidate's previous academic experience, and social research training & experience. ESRC studentships are applicable to both full-time and part-time study. We can discuss part-time options with you if you are interested in applying. They cover full fees (for international students, LSE will cover the difference between UK and overseas fees) and an annual stipend.

Individual programme entries detail which programme are eligible for ESRC funding.

LSE CSC Scholarship

LSE is proud to partner with the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to offer the LSE-CSC Scholarship. This prestigious scholarship supports outstanding students from China in pursuing their research degree at LSE.

LSE is pleased to offer up to eight scholarships each academic year. These scholarships are tenable for up to four years and recipients must be enrolled in a full time study mode.

Department-specific funding

Check the programme-related funding page for PhD funding opportunities.

How to apply

Academic departments nominate students for the funding opportunity they may be eligible for. There is no separate application for LSE, ESRC and department-specific studentships. To be considered for this funding, you must submit your complete application for admission to LSE by a specific date. This date differs by academic department.

Deadline for research programmes in the Department of Government for 2026 entry: 10 December 2025
Deadline for research programmes in the Department of Economics, Department of Sociology, Department of Gender Studies, Department of International Development and The Law School for 2026 entry (including all eligible funding opportunities): 10 December 2025
Funding deadline for first round of PhD Studentships and for ESRC funding for 2026 entry: 14 January 2026
Funding deadline for second round of PhD Studentships for 2026 entry (some departments only): 27 May 2026

Please note that if you secure funding via an organisation that does not already administer their funding through LSE, you will need to make arrangements for the funding organisation to pay you directly. External funding cannot be paid out to you via LSE.

Postgraduate master's loan

A postgraduate master's loan from the UK government is available for eligible students.

Postgraduate doctoral loan

A postgraduate doctoral loan from the UK government is available for eligible students.

External Private Loans

LSE has agreements with three loan providers who offer various packages dependent on your nationality, chosen programme of study, financial status and future earnings. The Lenders are Lendwise, Future Finance and Prodigy.

More information can be found here