Frequently Asked Questions

We welcome applications from all suitably qualified prospective students. To start your application, you need to create an account in the online application system using your email address. You should use the same email address for your application and any enquiries to LSE.  

You must upload all your supporting documents and nominate two referees via the online application system. Your submitted application will not be processed and considered until we have received all the required supporting documents, including a reference from each of the referees you nominate on your online application. 

We carefully consider each application and take into account all the information included on your application form, such as your:

• academic achievement (including predicted and achieved grades)
• statement of academic purpose 
• two academic references 
• CV

All applications must be accompanied by supporting documents. Some of these are required by all applicants, others are only needed for specific programmes. Please visit LSE’s programme pages and find the programme you are interested in to learn more about what your application should include. Please note that once you have submitted your application, you will not be able to add any further documents, including amendments or updated versions.  

You can find guidance and requirements for supporting documents here. 

If you graduated in the last five years you must supply two academic references. If you wish you may also submit a further professional reference. If you graduated more than five years ago you may supply one academic and one professional reference. Applicants who graduated more than ten years ago may supply two professional references if no academic ones are available. 

Ordinarily, you will need an Upper second-class honours degree (2:1) or equivalent in social science or humanities. 

You may also need to demonstrate that you have a high level of English language proficiency before you embark on your studies. You can find out more about English language requirements here.  

Please note that competition for places at LSE is strong. So, even if you meet the minimum entry requirements, this does not guarantee you an offer of a place. However, please don’t feel deterred from applying – we want to hear from all suitably qualified students. Think carefully about how you can put together the strongest possible application to help you stand out from other applicants. 

Yes, the application assessment fee is £95. You must pay using the website (credit or debit card) to submit your documents and application online. 

Please note that the application assessment fee is not refundable if you change your mind once your application has been acknowledged. 

LSE Gender offers an extensive range of over 20 courses. Some of these are just for Department of Gender Studies students, whereas others attract students from a variety of LSE departments. You can find a list of our courses here.  

We give you access to the Graduate Applicant Portal as soon as we have processed your submitted application. We aim to ensure this is no more than 10 working days from when we received your submitted application complete with both references. 

Once we have processed your submitted application, we will send you an acknowledgement email containing your unique application ID number and instructions about accessing the Graduate Applicant Portal (GAP). 

It will take an average of 8 weeks for a decision to reach you if you are applying for a taught master's programme. See individual programme page and fees and funding page for details of particular deadlines.

You're charged a fee for your programme. Please note that this does not cover living costs or travel or fieldwork. The table of fees shows the latest tuition fees for all programmes.  

For LSE Gender programmes, the tuition fee is different for home and overseas students depending on their fee status.  

Fee reduction 

Students who completed undergraduate study at LSE and are beginning taught graduate study at the School are eligible for a fee reduction to the tuition fee. 

Scholarships and other funding 

We offer needs-based awards for LSE Gender programmes, including the Graduate Support Scheme, Master's Awards, and Anniversary Scholarships. To apply for an award, you must have an offer of a place and submit a Graduate Financial Support application before the funding deadline on 24 April 2025. 

In addition to our needs-based awards, we offer scholarships for students from specific regions of the world and awards for certain subjects. 

You can’t apply for a Graduate Support Scheme or LSE scholarship once you’ve joined the School. 

Government tuition fee loans and external funding 

The UK Government offers a postgraduate loan for eligible students studying for a first master’s programme. This is designed 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 

Learn more about fees and funding opportunities. 

The structure of our eight MSc programmes varies slightly. In general, you will take compulsory courses, optional courses and an independent research project (dissertation) unit. You’re encouraged to choose options that will enable you to develop your own gender studies pathway or to focus on key research areas (for example, sexuality, culture, globalisation, development, postcoloniality or gendered politics). You can find out more about programme structures here.  

The Department of Gender Studies is the largest of its kind in Europe and internationally renowned for research and teaching in the field. Our faculty team includes world-class academics and thought leaders. 

We have a vibrant research culture, with resident research fellows, visiting scholars, public lectures and conferences and regular research seminars. 

The department provides a focus for gender research at LSE as well as promoting collaboration between policymakers, practitioners and academics. We work closely with other departments, centres and institutes at LSE and foster strong links with institutions around the globe. 

Our students go on to work in varied career paths: research and consultancy for government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), international organisations,  humanitarian and charity work, personnel work, civil and diplomatic services, representative politics, advocacy, the legal profession, academia, media and communication and in education. 

Further information on graduate destinations. 

Yes, LSE Gender accepts some part-time MSc students each year. A part-time MSc at the department takes 24 months to complete. The application process for part-time and full-time students is the same, however, please select part-time as your desired mode of study when completing your application online. 

Please note that there is no difference in the total number of teaching hours for full-time and part-time students, the teaching hours are just spread over a longer period for part-time students.

A full time MSc degree in the Department of Gender Studies is made up of 4.0 units across the year. You will take a variety of half-unit, and full-unit courses depending on the degree programme structure. On average, you can expect 20-30 contact hours for half unit courses and 40-60 contact hours for full unit courses. This includes sessions such as lectures, classes, seminars or workshops, but excludes independent study time outside of the class.

Email gender@lse.ac.uk 

Please note that we are unable to give any kind of informal assessment of your suitability for applying to a programme or speculate on your chances of obtaining an offer.

We welcome applications for research programmes that complement the academic interests of our staff at LSE. For this reason, we recommend that you take a look at our staff research interests before applying. 

We carefully consider each application and take into account your: 

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

Your application will include supporting documents, which you can find guidance about here.  

The online application will require to to provide:

• Transcript and proof of existing qualifications 
• Statement of academic purpose 
• CV 
• Research proposal 
• Sample of written work

See the full details on all required documents here. 

For details of the application process and to submit your application online visit the graduate study pages. 

Deadlines for the next admissions cycle will be provided in due course.  

You can find more information on our MPhil/PhD webpage.  

The minimum requirement for admission to the MPhil/PhD programme is typically a distinction or a high merit (68%) in a relevant Masters degree programme. 

Whilst we will consider applicants not meeting distinction level overall, we would expect to see a distinction mark for the dissertation as part of this. 

You can read about our English language requirements here.  

It is not necessary to find a supervisor in the department before you apply. Our faculty’s time is very limited and regrettably, they cannot respond to all requests. If successful, you will be matched with your main supervisor before starting your PhD.  

We recommend having a look at our faculty webpages to see the range of research interests and specialisms in the department and familiarise yourself with complimentary faculty expertise before applying. 

Please note that not all faculty will be able to take on new students each year.   

Applicants are assessed based on previous qualifications, referees' reports, whether the research proposal demonstrates a good grasp of the chosen field, and whether we can provide appropriate supervisory expertise.  

If your application is identified to be of high quality by the Gender Studies PhD Committee, you will be invited for an interview. 

Nominations of successful applicants will be forwarded to a School Panel for a final decision. 

The application assessment fee is £95. You must pay using the website (credit or debit card) to submit your documents and application online. 

Under no circumstances should payment card details be sent to LSE by email. 

Please note that the application assessment fee is not refundable. A proportion of the application fee income that we receive each year is used to give financial support to LSE students. 

Find out the status of your application here. 

If you are shortlisted for a place on the programme, you will be invited for an interview. The primary aim of the interview is for you to give further information to selectors/potential supervisors about your motivation, commitment and potential for study at the doctoral level. 

You can find out more about the interview process here.  

If you are shortlisted for a place on the programme, you will be invited for an interview. The primary aim of the interview is for you to give further information to selectors/potential supervisors about your motivation, commitment and potential for study at the doctoral level. 

You can find out more about the interview process here.  

You can find the latest tuition fees for all programmes here. Your tuition fee does not cover living costs or travel or fieldwork. 

Your tuition fees, and eligibility for any financial support, will depend on whether you’re classified as a home or overseas student (known as your fee status). LSE assesses your fee status based on guidelines provided by the Department for Education.  

Further information about fee status classification. 

Learn more about fees and funding, including external funding opportunities. 

All applicants to the programme are considered for LSE PhD Studentships, and LSE Doctoral Training Partnership Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding. All completed applications received by the deadline will be considered for this funding. 

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. 

The department supports applications to the London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP) studentship. 

There may be other funding opportunities available through other organisations or governments, and we recommend you investigate these options as well. 

LSE PhDs are examined under LSE research degree regulations. 

You will receive core gender theory, epistemology and methodology training in your first year to prepare you for your research and writing, and ongoing training across the period of your studies in and outside the department.  

In their first year, students attend (in an auditing capacity) the core course of the MSc Gender,  GI424 Gender Theories: An Interdisciplinary Approach, and the half unit GI402 Gender Knowledge and Research Practice in the Autumn Term. 

You will attend GI500, a PhD training seminar for our research students convened by the Doctoral Programme Director, with contributions from other faculty, throughout your main period of study in years 1-3. It is expected that students will prioritise the workshops over any other activities, such as pressures of writing or employment. Permission must be sought from both the Supervisor and Doctoral Programme Director to miss any sessions, and upgrade and annual review are dependent upon satisfactory completion of these aspects of your programme. 

You may take courses in addition to those required but you must discuss this with your supervisor. Your Supervisory team will also work with you to put together a specific methodology bundle from courses taught at the department, which will run through your period of registration. 

You can read about the LSE PhD Journey from registration to graduation here.   

LSE’s PhD model is designed for full-time funded students, and we strongly recommend full-time registration. We do not recommend attempting to pursue a PhD while in full-time employment. 

Exceptions for part-time study are only considered for people with specific circumstances such as caring responsibilities or health/disability adjustments 

Email gender.phd@lse.ac.uk.  

Please note that we are unable to give any kind of informal assessment of your suitability for applying to a programme or speculate on your chances of obtaining an offer.