MPhil / PhD Admissions and Funding

Identifying supervisors

The department welcomes applications for research programmes that complement the academic interests of members of staff in the department. We recommend that you investigate staff research interests before applying.

Please note: Prospective candidates are not expected to contact potential supervisors in advance of their application. Due to the high volume of enquiries, potential supervisors are unlikely to be able to provide feedback on all enquiries and outline proposals.

Completing your application

The Department of Geography and Environment offers five PhD programmes. Programme details and general application requirements can be found below:

• MPhil/PhD Economic Geography
• MPhil/PhD Environmental Economics
• MPhil/PhD Environmental Policy and Development
• MPhil/PhD Human Geography & Urban Studies
• MPhil/PhD Regional and Urban Planning Studies

Full information on how to apply.

For more information on our Visiting Research Scheme, please see the ‘Visiting Research Scheme’ section below. All prospective research students must apply using the LSE Online Application System.

Alongside your application form, you must include:

• details of academic achievement (including existing and pending qualifications)
• a statement of academic purpose
• a CV
• a sample of written work
• an outline research proposal
• 2 academic references

When completing your application and supporting documents, please follow the guidance listed on the School’s .

English language requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English, or who have not been taught entirely in English at degree level, are required to provide evidence of their English language ability. The most common qualifications are the IELTS or TOEFL tests.

Applicants do not need to have the required marks when they apply, but successful award of the qualification would form a condition of any offer issued and would have to be achieved before registration. For research level, candidates are expected to meet the research programmes requirement. See our .

Application and funding deadlines

Applications for the MPhil/PhD programmes will open in early October 2025 and close at the end of May 2026. For any prospective applicants that wish to be considered for funding, please note the deadline below. All application materials must be received by this deadline, including references. For this reason, we recommend you reach out to your referees well in advance of the below deadline.

Funding deadline: 14 January 2026

Please note: There is no separate application for funding. Funding is allocated by nomination and all applicants will automatically be considered for every award they are eligible for, provided they submit all application materials by the funding deadline.

Interviews

Interview invitations are sent directly by the faculty members who will be conducting your interview. If you are invited to interview, this means that the department is strongly considering you as a potential candidate for doctoral study. All potential students are interviewed, regardless of any previous association with potential supervisors, the department, or LSE.

Interviews will generally be conducted remotely, by telephone or VOIP. Interviews will generally last 20-30 minutes but may last longer than this. Interviews are not recorded, but your interviewers are required to record their assessment of your interview using a departmental interview record form. All interviews will conform to the expectations described .

Admissions and funding outcomes

We aim to process all complete applications in a timely manner, however the application process for research programmes can take up to three months. This is to enable the department to make an informed decision about your proposal and to establish if there is appropriate supervision available for your research.

Admissions and funding outcomes are decided separately, therefore you should expect to receive an outcome on your application for admission before receiving an outcome on the allocation of funding. The Department of Geography and Environment Research Degrees Funding Panel (‘the department panel’) normally convenes in February, and funding outcomes are communicated shortly thereafter.

Eligible applications received by the funding deadline will be considered for the opportunities below. The number of scholarships awarded for previous years is indicative information only, and should not be take to mean that the same number of awards will be made during the upcoming academic year.

LSE PhD studentships

Application deadline: 14 January 2026

Allocation method: Department Funding Panel direct allocation

Number of scholarships awarded for 2023/24 entry: x5
Number of scholarships available for 2024/25 entry: x5
Further information: LSE PhD Scholarships

For these scholarships, the department makes awards and reserve nominations. Offers will generally be made by LSE’s Financial Support Office, on the department panel’s behalf. If award offers are declined, they are re-offered to reserve candidates. The department does not rank its reserve candidates, as these decisions are affected by a number of factors, with an overarching focus on ensuring that each of the department's PhD programmes is able to recruit at least one School-funded student. In addition, as other scholarships decisions are made elsewhere in the School and by external funding bodies at a variety of different points in the year, we cannot guarantee that any declined LSE PhD scholarships will be immediately re-offered.

ESRC PhD studentships

Application deadline: 14 January 2026

Allocation method: Department Funding Panel nomination to Central Monitoring Panel

Number of scholarships awarded for 2023/24 entry: x1
Number of scholarships available for 2024/25 entry: x1

Further information: ESRC studentships

For these scholarships, the department makes 1-2 nominations to be put forward to the Central Monitoring Panel. Offers will generally be made by LSE’s Financial Support Office. As other scholarships decisions are made elsewhere in the School and by external funding bodies at a variety of different points in the year, we cannot guarantee that any declined ESRC Studentships will be immediately re-offered to another applicant in our Department.

Silvretta PhD Scholarship Programme

This scholarship has been made available through a generous donation, establishing the Silvretta PhD Scholarship Programme, which will support one new PhD student every four years.

To be eligible for consideration for this award, you must meet the following criteria:

• Hold an offer for an MPhil/PhD programme within the Department of Geography and Environment.
• Have Home fee status.
• Preference will be given to applicants whose research focuses on environmental economics, related disciplines, or current environmental issues of concern.

Selection for this scholarship is based on outstanding academic merit and research potential.

More information.

Bloomberg Philanthropies PhD Studentship in Cities

For 2026 entry, Bloomberg Philanthropies PhD Studentships in Cities will be available for a number of programmes across the Departments of Government, Geography and Environment, Management and Sociology. Students of all nationalities are eligible for this funding. Co-supervision is available by LSE Cities faculty and encouraged where possible.

The award is for students in the MPhil/PhD Programmes in Human Geography and Urban Studies and Regional and Urban Planning Studies. Research will be highly contemporary, informed by concerns of the contemporary European city and focussing on essential future agendas for European cities.

Bloomberg Philanthropies PhD Studentships in Cities provide fees, a stipend and additional support to engage with city administrations and academic urban governance networks.

More information.

ESRC 1+3 studentships for prospective MSc applicants

Students may wish to apply for one of the below programmes, as appropriate, with a view to applying for an ESRC 1+3 research studentship. If successful in obtaining an ESRC grant, a student would be entitled to continue to the relevant MPhil/PhD programme upon satisfactory completion of the Master’s.

• MSc Real Estate Economics and Finance
• MSc Local Economic Development
• MSc Environmental Economics and Climate Change
• MSc Environmental Policy and Regulation
• MSc Environment and Development
• MSc Human Geography and Urban Studies (Research)
• MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies

Information about how to apply for an ESRC 1+3 scholarship can be found here. 1+3 scholarships are only offered by the ESRC. It is therefore not possible to apply for 1+3 admission on a self-funded or externally funded basis.

Application deadline: 14 January 2026

Please note:

• Admissions and scholarships processes in the Department of Geography and Environment are entirely separate. This means that you will only be considered for an ESRC 1+3 scholarship if you are offered a place to study with the Department on one of our MSc programmes first.
• MSc offer holders who are being considered for an ESRC 1+3 scholarship will be interviewed. Further guidance can be found here.
• If you are admitted to one of our MSc programmes, but are not offered ESRC 1+3 funding, your admissions offer will still be valid.
• If you accept your offer of a place to study on one of our MSc programmes without securing ESRC 1+3 funding, you will be able to apply for admission to one of our PhD programmes while studying.
• Guidance about research proposals for ESRC 1+3 applicants can be found here.

For a list of frequently asked questions, please see our FAQs PDF.

The Visiting Research Student (VRS) scheme allows research students from other universities to spend up to 3 terms in the Department of Geography and Environment. Visiting research students are normally research and doctoral students registered at overseas universities wishing to undertake some aspect of their research in the UK. The department offers the following VRS programmes:

• Visiting Research Student in Economic Geography
• Visiting Research Student in Environmental Economics
• Visiting Research Student in Environmental Policy and Development
• Visiting Research Student in Human Geography and Urban Studies
• Visiting Research Student in Regional and Urban Planning

An advisor is assigned to every VRS and advice and direction offered as necessary. Note that Visiting Research Students do not have access to any LSE taught courses.

How to apply

The procedure and requirements for the VRS programmes are the same as for the MPhil/PhD programmes. Please refer to the ‘Application guidance’ section above.

Standard offers will be from September for three terms. If you intend to visit on ‘non-standard’ dates, please include the intended start and end dates of your visit in your statement of academic purpose.