Join LSE Methodology's World-Leading PhD Programmes
Study your PhD at LSE’s Department of Methodology, a world-leading, unique, and multidisciplinary department committed to quantitative, qualitative, and computational methods.
Each year, the department runs PhD programmes in Demography (Social/Formal), Social Research Methods, and Computational Social Science.
Recent graduates from our PhD programmes are pursuing academic careers, postdoctoral fellowships, senior consultancy roles, and INGO and government jobs in the UK and overseas.
Visit the respective webpages for our courses to discover more about the process, FAQs, key dates and top tips:
- MPhil/PhD in Demography (Social/Formal)
- MPhil/PhD in Social Research Methods
- MPhil/PhD in Computational Social Science
We strongly advise all applicants to review our staff and current PhD student profiles before submitting an application. This will give an idea of what to include in the research proposal and gain insight into potential supervisors for your PhD, as well as valuable insights from those already in the academic field.
Dr Ryan Hübert, Deputy Head of Department for Research and Doctoral Programme Director, said:
"Our PhD programmes are vital to the department. Doctoral researchers often work at the methodological frontier, bringing new questions and approaches into our shared intellectual life, and they carry that work into the debates of their own fields of study.
"We are committed to helping our PhD students become rigorous and independent researchers who can lead their own investigations, meet the high standards expected of LSE scholars, and reach the scholarly communities that matter most for their own work.
"As a relatively small department, we work closely with our doctoral researchers. We take their ideas seriously and engage with them candidly, and our size makes for an informal and lively intellectual culture in which demanding research can flourish.
"A strong supervisory relationship is the foundation of a successful PhD. The strongest applications come from candidates who have identified a member of our academic staff who shares their research interests and has agreed to supervise the project. We encourage candidates to get in touch with potential supervisors well before applying.
"Several funding streams are open to doctoral candidates in the department, including LSE studentships and external awards. These are well worth pursuing and many carry their own deadlines, so we encourage candidates to look into them early and to ask us if they are unsure where to start.
"We hope to see you in 2027/28!"
Further information:
If you cannot find the answers to your questions, please feel free to contact the team at methodology.research@lse.ac.uk .