Applications, fees and funding

The opportunity to undertake advanced legal research at one of the world's best law schools.

PhD admission requirements

Our normal entry requirement is an average of 70 per cent in an LLM or equivalent qualification. If you do not meet this requirement, you may still be admitted where there is strong, alternative evidence of your suitability for our PhD programme. On the other hand, if you do meet this requirement, you should be aware that there is no guarantee of admission. We typically receive many more applications with an LLM average of 70% or over than we have places available.Your application should state the general area in which you wish to undertake research, and should provide a detailed outline (three or four pages) of the specific questions you intend to investigate within that field. You should indicate in what ways your proposed study would be a significant and original contribution to knowledge. Finally, you should tell us about the materials you expect to need, where you expect to find them, and the methods and/or framework of analysis you propose to use.

Types of Study

LSE has developed graduate programmes to fulfil your needs whether you intend to pursue a career in industry, business, government, NGOs or academia, and whatever your background. Read more about different types of study here.

English language requirements

If your first language is not English or if the language of instruction of your previous degree is not English, we ask you to provide evidence of your command of English. We require the following minimum scores in IELTS (International English Language Testing System):

7.5 overall in IELTS (at least 7.0 in listening and writing, 6.5 in reading and 6.0 in speaking)

A postgraduate degree taught in English at an institution in a majority English speaking country will meet our English language requirements.

Funding

LSE offers studentships in the form of LSE PhD Studentships, LSE ESRC DTC Studentships and Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholarships. There is no separate application process; applicants who have been offered a place in our doctoral programme will be automatically considered for funding.