The National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA)

The Școala Națională de Studii Politice și Administrative din București (SNSPA) emerged in the 1990s to train the country's future leaders in the political sciences and business. Today the university is made up of around 6,000 students, with teaching taking place across five unique faculties.

Bucharest is the capital city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. Over recent years the city has seen a surge in tourism and overseas visitors, becoming known as one of Eastern Europe's hidden gems. It is a highly affordable destination for exchange students, with living costs being much lower than those that students in London will be used to.

Find out more about the exchange programme on the SNSPA website.

SNSPA offers courses across several faculty groups: Public Administration, Communications and Public Relations, Management, Political Science, and International Relations and European Intergration.

Alongside academic courses, GO LSE students will also have the option of taking Romanian language and culture classes.

The SNSPA exchange is additional to the requirements of your LSE degree. Having completed the year at SNSPA, you will then return to LSE to study the final year of your programme. Your year overseas will not count towards your final degree classification at LSE, but you will be issued with a separate SNSPA transcript providing details of your results.

The scheme is open to all second year LSE undergraduate students (or third year BSc Philosophy, Politics and Economics students). Generally we require applicants to have passed all of their first year exams (without resits) and to have achieved a 2:1 average across their courses.

Tuition fees

GO LSE students are not required to pay any tuition fees to SNSPA to participate in the exchange. Instead, you will continue to pay tuition fees directly to LSE. Your tution fee while studying abroad is significantly reduced as compared to when you are on campus. For further information, please visit our fees and funding webpage. 

Living costs

The estimated cost of living in Bucharest can range between €500 and €850 per month (or between £425 and £740). This will cover your housing, meals, books, and personal costs, but flights and administrative costs are not accounted for.

Visit the SNSPA website for more information.

Financial support

Please visit our fees and funding webpage for further information.

Travel

GO LSE exchange students are expected to make their own travel arrangements. If you are eligible for Student Finance, you may be able to recoup part of the cost of up to three return journeys between your home and your host institution.

GO LSE exchange students will be covered under LSE's Travel Insurance policy, following completion of the necessary risk assessment document.

Visas

Non-EU students (including British citizens) will need to apply for a long-stay student visa to study in Romania. Citizens of European Union countries do not need a visa to study in Romania.

Please visit our how to apply webpage.