PhD Economics admissions FAQs

For entry to the PhD Economics programme there is an application deadline of 10 December 2025. Complete applications must be received by the LSE Graduate Admissions Office by 23.59hrs (UK time) on 10 December 2025. We will not be able to accept any materials that arrive after the deadline; only complete applications supplied with all required supporting information by 10 December 2025 will be considered.

Applications must be submitted via LSE’s Online Application System and are processed through LSE’s central Graduate Admissions Office. All applicants are advised to read the Department of Economics 2026 prospectus page (for entry in 2026).

The deadline to submit an application is 23.59hrs (UK time) 10 December 2025. Candidates are encouraged to apply early rather than wait until very close to the deadline to avoid unforeseen circumstances (eg. technical issues) preventing timely submission. Applicants who are considering re-taking the GRE test to improve their scores should do so in time to submit their new scores by the application deadline. The Department cannot accept new GRE scores after the application deadline.

Entry requirements for the PhD Economics are stated on the departmental prospectus page. See also the including .

For details about the programme itself, see the and the prospectuspages. See also details of the .

Your application should include:

• An application form
• Application fee
• Statement of academic purpose
• CV
• Transcripts
• Two academic references
• GRE scores
• Research statement (see guidance on the Research statement below)
• A separate list of all the courses you are currently taking and/or will be taking (if you are currently undertaking a degree programme)
• English language test scores (if applicable - see)

For a full explanation of what you need to supply, please see Graduate Admissions advice on How to Applyand guide to .

Questions about the mechanics of the application process should be submitted to LSE’s central . See how you can .

A full range of Graduate Admissions guidance and information is available via their Graduate Knowledge Base page. If you do not find the answer to your question there, please follow the "I Need Help" link which allows you to contact the Graduate Admissions Office by email or Live Chat.

No, applicants to the PhD Economics are not required to submit a sample of their written work. We will, however, require a research statement.

Yes, the Statement of academic purpose is a school-wide requirement as it helps our academic selectors understand your personal motivation for undertaking the programme and gives you the opportunity to explain your academic strengths, relevant interests and tell us what you can bring to the programme. This Statement can be brief (ideally not exceeding 1000 words).

Your Research statement should be submitted in place of the Outline research proposal, along with your application form and other required supporting documents, via the LSE online application system.

Please answer the following questions clearly and concisely. Max 200 words per question.

1. Why do you want to do research in economics?
2. Can you explain how your studies and experience make you suitable to do research in economics?
3. Which aspect of the PhD do you think you will like the most? Which will you dislike the most? Why?
4. Tell us about your favourite paper in economics. What do you like about it? How would you improve it?
5. Write a comment for a general audience on ONE of the following topics
   (i) Is inequality good for growth?
   (ii) Do immigrants take the jobs of native workers?
   (iii) Is CEO compensation excessive?
   (iv) Is universal minimum income a good idea?
   (v) Overall, has central banks' move to inflation targeting been a success?
   (vi) Is culture an important determinant of differences in income per capita across countries?
   (vii) Markets function well as information is aggregated efficiently through prices.
   (viii) Elections are effective at disciplining politicians who do not have the public interest as their main goal.

If you have served as research assistant for an economist please ask that person to write a letter focussing on your research skills and describe your experience – reference point 2 (above) of the research statement.

If not, please list any evidence you think would be valuable. Examples include but are not restricted to: experience working autonomously under stress without any guidance, demonstration of creativity in any form, experience of writing original research.

LSE is committed to building a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive university, a vision the Department of Economics fully supports. We believe strongly in expanding the diversity of our graduate student body and invite you to share your experiences, values, perspectives, and/or activities that shape you as a PhD candidate and align with these commitments as part of your statement of academic purpose.

Should a candidate submit a diversity statement as part of their statement of academic purpose the information provided will help the selection committee to contextualise the application; however, it will not play a part in assessing a candidate’s suitability for the MREs/PhD Economics programme.

This is neither necessary nor desirable. Applicants must submit a complete application by the published deadline. There is a formal review process whereby the Department will decide if we can offer candidates a place on the programme. The allocation of a supervisor is done after completion of Year 1 of the programme, based on each student's area of interest and availability of faculty. There is no presumption that a student will be allocated the supervisor of their own choice, or any member of faculty they may have contacted before/during the application process.

All applicants must have taken the GRE General Test and must include the test score with their application. For details of how to take the test, see the ETSwebsite. The GRE has three sections: Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical. High GRE scores, especially in the Quantitative section, will further strengthen a good application. Most successful PhD Economics applicants have scores of 166 or more in the quantitative section. Applicants must enter their full and percentile GRE scores for all three sections. The test scores should be less than five years old on 1 October 2025.

GRE is a compulsory requirement, irrespective of the MRes/PhD Economics applicant’s academic background. Normally, no GRE waiver is possible. However, applicants faced with exceptional and unavoidable circumstances may submit a waiver request by email, with relevant supporting information, to the Department’s admissions team. The Selection Committee will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis and the GRE waiver cannot be guaranteed. NB. Please note that booking a late GRE test date will normally not be considered sufficient grounds for a waiver.

No, the MRes is an integral stage of the PhD Economics programme, and may only be taken by students who are committed to completing a PhD, subject to satisfying progression requirements.

Applicants who commence/are already undertaking a PhD programme in another institution will not normally be allowed to transfer directly into a later stage of our PhD Economics. Such applicants would be expected to submit a full application to the programme like any other candidate and, if offered a place, would be required to undertake all parts of the course from the start of the programme, i.e. they would be registered as MRes students and undertake both years of the taught MRes programme along with the rest of the cohort. Exemption from parts of the PhD Economics, on grounds of having studied certain topics at a previous institution, will not normally be permitted.

If you have a query about our postgraduate Economics programmes that is not addressed above, or on the departmental website, contact the Department of Economics postgraduate admissions team. Please note that we are not able to reply to questions that constitute a request for an informal assessment. Applicants who have questions about their eligibility should consult the Department of Economics prospectus page.

All enquiries about the application process must be addressed to LSE’s central .

As part of our recruitment process successful offer holders are invited to attend an Open Day where they will be able to meet and network with faculty and current MRes/PhD Economics students.

Applicants are, of course, very welcome to visit LSE on their own and attend a guided or self-guided tour – see more details about a .

LSE also has many public events which are often open to all, although some do require a ticket. There are also LSE Virtual Open Day events - for more information and to register your interest please visit the .

1. Receipt of application by the School’s central Graduate Admissions Office
   During this phase, the Graduate Admissions team conducts checks to ensure you have included all of the required documents with your application. Please note, the Department will not receive your application until you have supplied all of the required documents, which must be submitted by the application deadline.
2. Receipt and consideration of documents by the Department
   
   Once the deadline passes and the Department receives all complete applications the Selection Committee begins its review of all applications, until they arrive at a final shortlist of candidates. This process usually takes around 4 weeks at the end of which the Committee holds its final meeting to decide on who to make an offer to.NB: The Department of Economics does not hold interviews as part of its selection process.
3. Consideration for funding
   After the Selection Committee meeting, all applicants who are offered a place on the PhD Economics programme are reviewed by the Funding committee for consideration of all funding at our disposal. The Department cannot guarantee that all of those offered places to study will also be offered funding.
4. Offer and post-offer
   From early March onward, formal offers will be sent out by the LSE Graduate Admissions Office after carrying out its standard checks. The Department will also contact candidates to whom we wish to offer a place on the PhD Economics. At that stage, each candidate will be advised if they have been awarded funding or waitlisted for a place and funding.
5. Unsuccessful applications
   Candidates who are unsuccessful will be informed of the final decision by the Graduate Admissions Office. We typically expect this decision to be communicated to you around the beginning of March.

Admissions decisions will be made by a committee in the Department of Economics. Applicants will be informed of the decision by early March 2025. If your application is successful, we expect you to let us know by 15 April 2025 whether you are planning to enrol.

The admission committee reviews all applications and offers a place to those candidates with sufficient research potential.

Applicants who have questions about their eligibility for applying to research programmes at LSE should consult the and the page for the programme to which they intend to apply. Also see . Meeting the minimum requirements is not a guarantee of admission. In fact, most successful candidates exceed one or more of the requirements.

We regret that we cannot provide any further information or comment on an individual's chances of admission prior to receiving a complete formal application. The committee will make their decision based on all the information submitted with the application, which should be submitted online to the central .

There is no separate process to apply for any funding which is administered and awarded by LSE - as a matter of normal procedure, all applicants who are offered a place on our PhD Economics would be considered for all types of funding at our disposal and for which they are eligible, on the basis of the information submitted in their application - see

As competition for places is very high and competition for funding is even more intense, we may not be able to offer funding to all PhD Economics students, hence applicants are advised to actively explore all sources of potential funding – see information in the School's pages (please check regularly for 2025 information updates).

Offer holders are expected to only take up a place on the PhD Economics if they have funds in place to finish their degree; please be aware that it's very unlikely there will be any funding available from the Department of Economics to fund PhD Economics students after they have started their degree. While there might be limited sources of funding at later stages of the PhD, e.g. from teaching or research assistant positions, these cannot be guaranteed nor can specific amounts (if any) be estimated at this stage.

Admissions decisions are made on the basis of academic merit alone, without any reference to an applicant’s financial situation. Applicants who are able to fund themselves or succeed in securing a scholarship or sponsorship from any source will be considered for entry to the programme in exactly the same way as applicants who have no funding in place. The same procedures and standards apply to all applicants competing for entry.

See the prospectuspage for the PhD Economics programme – section "Programme Content". The PhD Economics programme is grounded in two years of coursework through the MRes component followed by three to four years of research through the PhD.

Also see the LSE Academic Calendar for all Research Studentsat LSE, where clicking on "Programme Regulations" and "Research Course Guides" will give you detailed insight into the topics covered in each programme of study.

The PhD Economics is only offered on a full-time basis.

The programme has the standard structure of top US programmes with compulsory coursework in the first two years and research thereafter. As in most US programmes, students take core courses in year one and field courses in year two.

There will no longer be automatic and direct progression from any LSE programme into our MRes/PhD Economics from the 2024/5 academic cycle. Students registered in the LSE Department of Economics who wish to be considered for 2025 entry to the MRes/PhD Economics would need to submit the standard full application package by the deadline for 2025 entry (18 December 2024). All applicants - including LSE students - will be given equal consideration, as part of the MRes/PhD Economics' standard process for admission as well as funding.