PhD application FAQs

The final deadline for October 2026 entry including all supporting documentation, such as references and transcripts, is Wednesday 10 December 2025.

The minimum requirement for admission to the MPhil/PhD programme is typically a distinction or a high merit (68%) in a relevant Masters degree programme.

Whilst we will consider applicants not meeting distinction level overall, we would expect to see a distinction mark for the dissertation as part of this.

No. Your priority should be to submit your application and research proposal. Unfortunately, our academics time is very limited, and regrettably, they cannot respond to all requests.

You will be ‘matched’ with your main Supervisor who will guide you through the various stages of your research and form the consistent point of contact during your time in the Department.

We recommend having a look at our faculty research webpages so you can see the range of research interests and specialists in the department, and familiarise yourself with complimentary faculty expertise before applying.

Please note that not all faculty will be able to take on new students each year. LSE Fellows cannot supervise PhD projects.

Students are expected to complete their PhD thesis within four years of registration and an MPhil within two years.

LSE’s PhD model is designed for full-time funded students, and we strongly recommend full-time registration. We do not recommend attempting to pursue a PhD while in full-time employment.

Exceptions for part-time study are considered for people with specific circumstances such as caring responsibilities and/or health/disability adjustments.

No, this is not available.

Submit your application via LSE’s Online Application System.

Read guidance on the application process here.

The School’s will handle your application.

Before contacting the Graduate Admissions Office with queries, check if the information you are looking for can be found on:

• Graduate Admissions Office’s guidance page for
• Use the ‘ to carry out the most common tasks online.
• Further details on how to apply

The online application will require you to provide:

• Transcripts and proof of existing qualifications
• Statement of academic purpose
• Two academic references
• CV
• Research proposal
• Sample of written work

See the .

In the application form, students are required to produce a research proposal, setting out the context for their proposed research, specifying the initial questions, demonstrating familiarity with the relevant literature, and showing how they would investigate their chosen topic or field.

In general, a preliminary research proposal should consist of at least a description of the planned area of research, and an indication of proposed/completed reading as related to the area. You should address subjects such as:

• What is your general topic?
• What questions do you want to answer?
• What is the key literature and its limitations?
• What are the main hypotheses of the work?
• What methodology do you intend to use?
• Bibliography

You should try to keep your proposal concise, and if possible, limit it to no more than 1,500 words (not including the bibliography).

Read a blog from an LSE PhD candidate covering tips for preparing your research proposal for your application.

The online application will prompt you to upload a copy of your transcript for each qualification you mention in the Education tab. See a .

If your documents are not in English, you must upload a translation carried out by an accredited translator (e.g. the British Council).

Please ensure that scanned documents are clear and legible: failure to do so will result in delays to the processing of your application. You should also scan the reverse of your transcript if the mark scheme is explained there.

The application assessment fee is £95. You must pay using the website (credit or debit card) in order to submit your documents and application online.

Under no circumstances should payment card details be sent to LSE by email.

Please note that the application assessment fee is not refundable if you change your mind once your application has been acknowledged.

A proportion of the application fee income that we receive each year is used to give financial support to LSE students.

If you are unable to pay either the reinstatement or application fee you can apply for .

LSE’s has been designed to improve the educational experiences and student outcomes of BAME candidates at PGR level.

As part of the initiative, the application fee will be waived for all self-identifying BAME applicants of UK nationality who apply to at LSE. All self-identifying BAME applicants will be automatically included in the scheme unless they use the opt-out option on the online application.

We follow the for a postgraduate degree. Graduate programmes at LSE are demanding and you will need to demonstrate that you have a high level of English language proficiency before you embark on your studies.

Yes! LSE is an international community, with over 140 nationalities represented amongst its student body.

If you are applying to LSE from outside of the UK then take a look at our .

1) Take a note of the UK qualifications we require for your programme of interest (found in the ‘Entry requirements’ section of this page).

2) Go to the of our website.

3) Select your country.

4) Select ‘Graduate entry requirements’ and scroll until you arrive at the information about your local/national qualification. Compare the stated UK entry requirements listed on this page with the local/national entry requirement listed on your country specific page.

Each year LSE offers scholarships to its graduate students.

All applicants received by the deadline will be considered for an LSE PhD Studentship and, if eligible, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding. There is no separate application for funding. Funding is allocated by nomination, and you will automatically be considered for the award you are eligible for, alongside all applications received by the funding deadline.

In addition to needs-based awards, LSE also offers scholarships for students from specific regions of the world. There may be other funding opportunities available through other organisations or governments and we recommend you investigate these options as well.

The department is pleased to offer a Collaborative Studentship with the Women's Budget Group as part of the LSE ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership, commencing in September 2026. Find full details and guidelines on how to apply here.

The table of fees shows the latest tuition fees for all programmes.

You're charged a fee for your programme. Your tuition fee covers registration and examination fees payable to the School, lectures, classes and individual supervision, lectures given at other colleges under intercollegiate arrangements and, under current arrangements, membership of the Students' Union. It doesn't cover living costs or travel or fieldwork.

Your tuition fees, and eligibility for any financial support, will depend on whether you’re classified as a home or overseas student (known as your fee status). LSE assesses your fee status based on guidelines provided by the Department for Education.

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Learn more about , including external funding opportunities.

Applicants are assessed based on previous qualifications, referees' reports, whether the research proposal demonstrates a good grasp of the chosen field, and whether we can provide appropriate supervisory expertise.

If your application is identified to be of high quality by the Gender Studies PhD Committee, you will be invited for an interview.

Nominations of successful applicants will be forwarded to a School Panel for a final decision.

If you are shortlisted for interview, you will be contacted in January or February. Candidates put forward for scholarship funding can expect outcomes communicated in May.

Find out the status of your application via Track your Application.

You will only be interviewed if you are shortlisted for a place on the programme.

 provides you with general information about the interview and what to expect. Interviews are intended to be an opportunity for information exchange between you and the academic department.

LSE PhDs are examined under LSE research degree regulations.

You will receive core gender theory, epistemology and methodology training in your first year to prepare you for your research and writing, and ongoing training across the period of your studies in and outside the department.

In their first year, students attend (in an auditing capacity) the core course of the MSc Gender: GI424 Gender Theories and GI402 Gender Knowledge and Research Practice.

You will attend GI500, a PhD training seminar for our research students convened by the Doctoral Programme Director, with contributions from other faculty, throughout your main period of study in years 1-3. It is expected that students will prioritise the workshops over any other activities, such as pressures of writing or employment. Permission must be sought from both the Supervisor and Doctoral Programme Director to miss any sessions, and upgrade and annual review are dependent upon satisfactory completion of these aspects of your programme.

You may take courses in addition to those required but you must discuss this with your supervisor. Your Supervisory team will also work with you to put together a specific methodology bundle from courses taught at the department, which will run through your period of registration.

You can read about the LSE PhD Journey from registration to graduation here.

You can find out more about our current PhD cohort and their research on our people page.

Our PhD programme has been running since 1994 and we have awarded over 70 PhDs since 1999. A full list of our previous PhD candidates and their dissertation titles can be found here.

Email gender.phd@lse.ac.uk.

Please note that we are unable to give any kind of informal assessment of your suitability for applying to a programme or speculate on your chances of obtaining an offer.