Applying to LSE

All applications must be submitted via UCAS. We're unable to consider any direct applications.

Applications for entry in September 2025 (or deferred entry in September 2026) will open in September 2024. All applicants, including those applying from outside of the EU, should submit their application by 29 January 2025 at 18:00.

To find out more about completing the UCAS application form, please visit our How to apply webpages.

LSE does not interview candidates, therefore our decisions are made based on academic attainment (predicted and achieved grades), the personal statement and the information supplied in your teacher’s reference. Students applying for certain degree programmes or applying with particular qualifications may be required to take additional tests. Please see the ‘Test’ section below for details.

Programme specific entry requirements and admissions information can be seen on each of our degree programme pages. Please read this information carefully.

Our standard offers are expressed in terms of A-levels or the International Baccalaureate (IB), however these are not the only qualifications accepted for entry.

Use the following links to find out the requirements for your qualification:

• Information for international students including country specific entry requirements
• Information for mature applicants (aged 21+)
• Information for applicants applying on the basis of the International Baccalaureate, European Baccalaureate or other UK qualifications, such as foundation programmes, BTECs, Cambridge Pre-U and more. 

GCSEs: If you have taken GCSEs, these will be taken into account when we assess your application. All applicants are expected to have at least grade B/grade 6 in GCSE English Language and Mathematics.

As competition for places at LSE is intense, we look for applicants who have achieved a strong set of GCSE grades overall, including a majority at A (7) and A* (8-9). Some programmes have additional requirements, and these are outlined in the individual programme pages. More information on GCSEs can be found here.

We will use the information supplied in your teacher’s reference to find out more about your educational and social circumstances, as well as details of any extenuating circumstances.

Home UK students: contextual information will be used to gain a more thorough understanding of your individual circumstances and the educational context you are studying in. This information includes school/college performance, home postcode, participation in an LSE Widening Participation programme, participation in a Sutton Trust Pathways programme, time spent in local authority care and any other extenuating circumstances. 

This information can be used to:

• make an applicant a standard offer where the applicant’s academic record or personal statement may be marginally less competitive than the cohort overall
• to make an applicant a standard offer where the applicant is predicted marginally below the usual entry requirements
• when making confirmation decisions for offer holders that have marginally failed to meet the entry criteria (usually this means one grade below the standard entry requirements).

Eligible students (see criteria here), may be considered for a contextual offer, where the contextual offer is one or two grades lower than the standard offer for the programme. Any Mathematics requirement must still be met.

All academic departments are participating in the contextual offer scheme.

The contextual offer grades are listed alongside the standard offer A-level and IB entry requirements on the relevant programme pages. 

Further contextual admissions information.

Our preference is for a broad mix of traditional academic subjects. We expect applicants to offer at least two full A-levels or IBDP Higher Levels in these subjects, although typically applicants will apply with three or four.

Students offering a narrow combination of subjects may be less competitively considered. Economics, Business Studies and one other, or English Language, English Literature and one other are examples of narrow subject combinations. 

Where we have reason to believe a student has significant prior exposure to a language, we may exclude a language learning qualification from any offer we make. Please see our Language qualifications information.

Several of our degree programmes are highly mathematical and therefore demand evidence of a high level of mathematical proficiency from applicants. A-level or Higher Level Mathematics (or the equivalent qualification) is therefore required for these programmes. Several of our degrees may also require or recommend A-level Further Maths, if it is offered by your school or college. Please see our Admissions information and the ‘Entry requirements’ section on individual degree programme pages for further guidance.

For details of subjects classified as ‘traditional academic/generally preferred’, subject combination guidance and our Mathematics and Further Mathematics requirements, please see our Admissions information webpage.

• Undergraduate Admissions Assessment (UGAA): applicants studying certain qualifications or applying from non-traditional educational backgrounds may be asked to sit this assessment. The assessment is three hours long and includes comprehension exercises, essay questions and mathematical problems. The Admissions team will contact you directly if they would like you to sit the UGAA, you don't need to apply. 
• LNAT: all LLB Bachelor of Laws applicants must take the LNAT. The LNAT is used to provide universities with more information about your aptitude for studying law. At LSE, we currently only use the multiple-choice score in the assessment of applicants however if you are an applicant who would have otherwise been identified as having to sit the UGAA, the selector may also consider your essay. There is no minimum score. Your LNAT performance simply forms part of our holistic assessment process and will be considered alongside all other information supplied on your UCAS application form. Please refer to our LNAT information for additional guidance.
• Test of Mathematics for University Admission (TMUA): applicants to some of our mathematics-related programmes may either be required or recommended to take this test. The test is not compulsory however a good performance may be used to help distinguish between similarly qualified applicants.
• English language requirements: It is not necessary to demonstrate your English language proficiency at the time of application. If you are made an offer and we require an English language qualification, you will be asked to provide this before the deadline in July. See details of our accepted English language qualifications.

As we don't interview applicants at LSE, the personal statement forms a very important part of our assessment process. The majority of candidates who submit an application to study at the School meet or exceed our standard entry requirements and have a strong academic record. The personal statement therefore plays a key role in helping us differentiate between well-qualified applicants and determine their suitability for their chosen programme. 

As we are using the personal statement to select candidates for a specific degree programme, around 80 per cent should be focused on your academic interest in that subject. Details of extra-curricular activities, such as sports, volunteering or music, should take up no more than 20 per cent of the statement. If these activities have helped you develop characteristics, skills or attributes that are desirable for your chosen degree programme, explain how. 

When assessing a personal statement we are looking for evidence of the following: 

• enthusiasm and motivation for study of the subject 
• understanding/experience of the subject 
• academic engagement with the discipline
• relevant knowledge and skills
• originality and independence of thought

Please visit our personal statement webpage for more guidance and resources. Programme specific criteria can be found in the ‘Assessing your application’ section on each of our programme pages.