For more information about tuition fees and entry requirements, see the fees and funding and assessing your application sections.

Minimum entry requirements

We welcome applications from all prospective students who meet the mininum requirements for this programme.  We seek to recruit students with the very best academic merit, potential and motivation, irrespective of their background. We carefully consider each application on an individual basis, taking into account all the information presented on your application form, including your: 

• Academic achievement
• Academic Statement of Purpose
• Two academic references
• CV
• Additional test scores

See further information on supporting documents

You should note that there are always many more applications than places available and possession of the minimum entrance requirements does not guarantee that you will be offered admission.

When to apply

Applications for this programme are considered on a rolling basis, meaning the programme will close once it becomes full. There is no fixed deadline by which you need to apply, however we encourage you to apply early. Details on how to apply.

To be considered for any LSE funding opportunity, you must have submitted your application and all supporting documents by the funding deadline. See the fees and funding section for more details.

LSE is an international community, with over 140 nationalities represented amongst its student body. We celebrate this diversity through everything we do.  

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

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 International Students section 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.

Tuition fees 2023/24 for MSc Finance and Economics

Home students: £33,480
Overseas students: £34,128

Table of fees

Every graduate student is charged a fee for their programme. The 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 does not cover living costs or travel or fieldwork.

Fee status

The amount of tuition fees you will need to pay, and any financial support you are eligible for, will depend on whether you are classified as a home or overseas student, otherwise known as your fee status. LSE assesses your fee status based on guidelines provided by the Department of Education.

Further information about fee status classification.

Fee reduction

Students who completed undergraduate study at LSE and are beginning taught graduate study at the School are eligible for a fee reduction of around 10 per cent of the fee.

Scholarships and other funding

The School recognises that the cost of living in London may be higher than in your home town or country, and we provide generous scholarships each year to home and overseas students.

This programme is eligible for needs-based awards from LSE, including the Graduate Support Scheme, Master's Awards, and Anniversary Scholarships. 

Students on this programme are also eligible for the Sudipto Bhattacharya Scholarships.

Selection for any funding opportunity is based on receipt of an offer for a place and submitting a Graduate Financial Support application, before the funding deadline. Funding deadline for needs-based awards from LSE: 27 April 2023.

In addition to our needs-based awards, LSE also makes available scholarships for students from specific regions of the world and awards for students studying specific subject areas. Find out more about financial support.

Government tuition fee loans and external funding

A postgraduate loan is available from the UK government for eligible students studying for a first master’s programme, to help with fees and living costs. Some other governments and organisations also offer tuition fee loan schemes.

Find out more about tuition fee loans

Further information

Fees and funding opportunities

Programme overview

The Department of Finance enjoys a pre-eminent reputation for the excellence of its teaching and research. Our diverse faculty and student body come from across the globe, providing a rich environment in which to research and study finance, ensuring that we continue to rank alongside the most highly-rated Departments in the world.

Students on the MSc Finance and Economics programme are required to complete courses to the total value of four full units, comprising three full-unit core courses and two half-unit elective courses.

Pre-sessional programme

All registered students will participate in a compulsory pre-sessional programme in August 2023. This combines academic preparation with professional development workshops and events.

Academic training
Students will take part in the EC400 Introductory Course in Mathematics and Statistics (before the main term-time teaching programme starts). The course includes treatment of dynamic programming, continuous time dynamic optimisation, quadratic forms, Kuhn-Tucker theorem, joint and conditional probability distributions, Gauss-Markov assumptions and maximum likelihood estimation, amongst other topics.

Professional development
Students will participate in careers skills development sessions delivered by in-house and external professionals. The programme also includes networking and social events with alumni, a City Speaker Series of interactive talks from leading finance professionals and preparation for technical finance interviews. The programme is designed to enable students to be ready for the competitive financial services sector job market.

Courses

Students take three units’ worth of compulsory core courses and choose two half-unit elective courses from a range offered within the Department, enabling them to tailor the programme to their interests.

Core courses (full unit each)

Financial Economics (taught entirely in Autumn Term)
Examines investors' behaviour, market equilibrium and asset pricing. Includes a mandatory preparatory course in stochastic calculus and accounting in Week 6.

Financial Econometrics (taught in Autumn and Winter Terms)
Looks at the techniques of empirical investigation in economics and finance.

Either
Microeconomics (taught in Autumn and Winter Terms)
Develops the basic tools for analysing problems of resource allocation used by economists.
Or
Microeconomics for MSc F&E* (half unit, taught in Autumn Term)
Develops the basic tools for analysing problems of resource allocation used by economists working in research, government and business.
And
Macroeconomics for MSc F&E* (half unit, taught in Winter Term)
Focuses on the main characteristics of business cycle fluctuations with a special emphasis on what happened during the financial crisis and different macroeconomic models to study business cycles.

*Students with relevant credentials can apply to replace the full unit of Microeconomics with a half-unit of Microeconomics and a half-unit of Macroeconomics

Courses to the value of one unit from a range of options

Elective courses (half unit each)

Dedicated courses (Finance students only)

Advanced Financial Economics
Fixed Income Securities and Credit Markets
Topics in Portfolio Management
Financial Engineering
Risk Management in Financial Markets
International Finance A

Non-dedicated courses (open to non-Finance students)

Quantitative Security Analysis
Applied Corporate Finance
Sustainable Finance and Impact Investing
Entrepreneurial Finance

You will complete a 6000 word structured project in place of an exam in one of your elective courses.

MSc comparison: view an overview of all of the Master’s programmes in the Department of Finance

For the most up-to-date list of optional courses please visit the relevant School Calendar page. 

Please note that, while care has been taken to ensure that this information is up to date and correct, a change of circumstances since publication may cause the School to change, suspend or withdraw a course or programme of study, or change the fees that apply to it. The School will always notify the affected parties as early as practicably possible and propose any viable and relevant alternative options. Note that the School will neither be liable for information that after publication becomes inaccurate or irrelevant, nor for changing, suspending or withdrawing a course or programme of study due to events outside of its control, which includes but is not limited to a lack of demand for a course or programme of study, industrial action, fire, flood or other environmental or physical damage to premises.

You must also note that places are limited on some courses and/or subject to specific entry requirements. The School cannot therefore guarantee you a place. Please note that changes to programmes and courses can sometimes occur after you have accepted your offer of a place. These changes are normally made in light of developments in the discipline or path-breaking research, or on the basis of student feedback. Changes can take the form of altered course content, teaching formats or assessment modes. Any such changes are intended to enhance the student learning experience. You should visit the School’s Calendar, or contact the relevant academic department, for information on the availability and/or content of courses and programmes of study. Certain substantive changes will be listed on the updated graduate course and programme information page.

Teaching 

The format of teaching for MSc Finance and Economics courses varies. Some courses may have two-hour lectures followed by a separate class; others may have three-hour interactive sessions. Teaching sessions can vary in size depending upon the course. Some classes may be taught by Graduate Teaching Assistants. Students on the MSc Finance and Economics programme have on average 11 hours of contact time per week during the teaching terms.

Assessment methods

Examinations: MSc Finance and Economics students have two exams in Week 0 of Winter Term. The Summer Exam Period takes place from late April until early June. The exam timetable changes each year and is published by the school at least six weeks before the start of the exam period.

Summative work: Some Finance courses contain a coursework element which contributes to the final course grade. At LSE this type of coursework is called 'summative assessment'. Different courses set different types of summative work. Some courses require weekly submission of problem sets which all make up a small percentage of the final grade. Summer Exams in some elective courses are replaced by In-Class Assessments, which can take place from the end of Winter Term.

Formative work: At LSE, any work which is set but does not contribute towards the final course mark is known as formative work. The purpose of formative work is to inform students of their progress on the course and whether they are understanding the concepts taught in lectures. Some formative work is informal, via the setting of problems sets that the teacher will work through with the class, however most courses will also ask for a piece of work to be submitted and then graded.

Academic support

All academic faculty schedule weekly office hours in which any student may visit them to discuss academic issues. In some cases students may be able to arrange a time to meet with a member of faculty outside their office hours.

The MSc Finance & Economics Associate Programme Director will also be your Academic Mentor. Her role is to keep an overview of your academic progress and overall wellbeing during your time at the School. In addition, she has extensive experience of the financial services sector, enabling her to provide a high level of careers support.

There are many opportunities to extend your learning outside the classroom and complement your academic studies at LSE. LSE LIFE is the School’s centre for academic, personal and professional development. Some of the services on offer include: guidance and hands-on practice of the key skills you will need to do well at LSE: effective reading, academic writing and critical thinking; workshops related to how to adapt to new or difficult situations, including development of skills for leadership, study/work/life balance and preparing for the world of work; and advice and practice on working in study groups and on cross-cultural communication and teamwork.

LSE is committed to enabling all students to achieve their full potential and the School’s Disability and Wellbeing Service provides a free, confidential service to all LSE students and is a first point of contact for all disabled students. It is a first point of contact for all students with physical impairments, long-term health conditions, mental health conditions, specific learning difficulties, and autistic spectrum conditions.

Overview

The Department of Finance runs an extensive Professional Development Programme alongside the Academic programme in order to support and prepare students to enter the job market. Starting in the pre-sessional course in August, students are given a wide range of careers support, from CV workshops and application advice to sector overviews and opportunities to meet and network with recent alumni who are working in London.

We run a number of events to best prepare students for the competitive financial services sector job market:

Technical Interview Prep Workshop

This workshop is designed to introduce students to the corporate valuation methodologies that are most often presented to them during finance interviews.  Using an intensive exercise-based approach, the workshop covers finance concepts, reinforces them through problems, and then integrates them into interview question drills.

All students are given access to crash courses in accounting and excel, which is particularly helpful for students who have not had internship experience. The course also provides a useful grounding for the “Theories of Corporate Finance” part of the FM436 Financial Economics course.

Presentation Skills Workshop

Delivered by a professional corporate coach who is also a comedian, this interactive workshop gives students the tools to communicate with impact, influence and confidence.

PhD study

Each year a number of graduates are accepted into top PhD programmes in the UK, US and Europe. Some students choose to take a pre-doctoral research position after graduation and commence a PhD later. Students considering the PhD route will be able to discuss this with the Associate Programme Director and faculty members.

Selected institutions for PhD study (last 3 years)

Departmental Careers Support

The Department of Finance offers an in-depth Professional Development Programme for our students to help develop your skills and assist you in your job search. See the Professional Development Programme section on this page.

Graduate destinations

Graduates of the MSc Finance and Economics programme go on to work in challenging jobs in a variety of organisations around the world. Examples of the types of organisations include investment banks, central banks, economic and strategy consulting firms, professional services firms and financial boutiques.

In addition to the internationally recognised research environment and academic rigour of its teaching programmes, a great advantage of studying at LSE is the reputation it holds amongst employers for producing high level graduates. 

Selected employers over the past three years

Selected employment locations

Departmental Careers Support

The Department of Finance offers an in-depth Professional Development Programme for our students to help develop your skills and assist you in your job search. See the Professional Development Programme section on this page.

LSE Careers

LSE Careers has a worldwide reputation. It offers a wide range of resources and events to registered students and alumni. These include:

LSE Careers attracts top recruiters in many sectors, who actively target our students. It provides an LSE-exclusive vacancy board full of graduate positions, jobs for experience hires, internships, voluntary and part-time work.

As a student at LSE you’ll be based at our central London campus. Find out what our campus and London have to offer you on academic, social and career perspective. 

Student societies and activities

Your time at LSE is not just about studying, there are plenty of ways to get involved in extracurricular activities. From joining one of over 200 societies, or starting your own society, to volunteering for a local charity, or attending a public lecture by a world-leading figure, there is a lot to choose from. 

The campus 

LSE is based on one campus in the centre of London. Despite the busy feel of the surrounding area, many of the streets around campus are pedestrianised, meaning the campus feels like a real community. 

Life in London 

London is an exciting, vibrant and colourful city. It's also an academic city, with more than 400,000 university students. Whatever your interests or appetite you will find something to suit your palate and pocket in this truly international capital. Make the most of career opportunities and social activities, theatre, museums, music and more. 

Want to find out more? Read why we think London is a fantastic student city, find out about key sights, places and experiences for new Londoners. Don't fear, London doesn't have to be super expensive: hear about London on a budget. 

We’re here to help and support you throughout your time at LSE, whether you need help with your academic studies, support with your welfare and wellbeing or simply to develop on a personal and professional level.

Whatever your query, big or small, there are a range of people you can speak to who will be happy to help.  

Department librarians – they will be able to help you navigate the library and maximise its resources during your studies. 

Accommodation service – they can offer advice on living in halls and offer guidance on private accommodation related queries.

Class teachers and seminar leaders – they will be able to assist with queries relating to specific courses. 

Disability and Wellbeing Service – they are experts in long-term health conditions, sensory impairments, mental health and specific learning difficulties. They offer confidential and free services such as student counselling, a peer support scheme and arranging exam adjustments. They run groups and workshops. 

IT help – support is available 24 hours a day to assist with all your technology queries.  

LSE Faith Centre – this is home to LSE's diverse religious activities and transformational interfaith leadership programmes, as well as a space for worship, prayer and quiet reflection. It includes Islamic prayer rooms and a main space for worship. It is also a space for wellbeing classes on campus and is open to all students and staff from all faiths and none.  

Language Centre – the Centre specialises in offering language courses targeted to the needs of students and practitioners in the social sciences. We offer pre-course English for Academic Purposes programmes; English language support during your studies; modern language courses in nine languages; proofreading, translation and document authentication; and language learning community activities.

LSE Careers ­– with the help of LSE Careers, you can make the most of the opportunities that London has to offer. Whatever your career plans, LSE Careers will work with you, connecting you to opportunities and experiences from internships and volunteering to networking events and employer and alumni insights. 

LSE Library – founded in 1896, the British Library of Political and Economic Science is the major international library of the social sciences. It stays open late, has lots of excellent resources and is a great place to study. As an LSE student, you’ll have access to a number of other academic libraries in Greater London and nationwide. 

LSE LIFE – this is where you should go to develop skills you’ll use as a student and beyond. The centre runs talks and workshops on skills you’ll find useful in the classroom; offers one-to-one sessions with study advisers who can help you with reading, making notes, writing, research and exam revision; and provides drop-in sessions for academic and personal support. (See ‘Teaching and assessment’). 

LSE Students’ Union (LSESU) – they offer academic, personal and financial advice and funding. 

PhD Academy – this is available for PhD students, wherever they are, to take part in interdisciplinary events and other professional development activities and access all the services related to their registration. 

Sardinia House Dental Practice – this offers discounted private dental services to LSE students. 

St Philips Medical Centre – based in Pethwick-Lawrence House, the Centre provides NHS Primary Care services to registered patients.

Student Services Centre – our staff here can answer general queries and can point you in the direction of other LSE services.  

Student advocates and advisers – we have a School Senior Advocate for Students and an Adviser to Women Students who can help with academic and pastoral matters.

Find out what some of our recent graduates have to say about the programme, studying at LSE, life in London, and much more here.

If you have any questions about the academic programme or admissions process please check our frequently asked questions page, or contact the Department of Finance Admissions team at finance.admissionsenquiries@lse.ac.uk.

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Come on a guided campus tour, attend an undergraduate open day, drop into our office or go on a self-guided tour. Find out about opportunities to visit LSE. 

LSE visits you

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