PhD Application FAQs

The deadline to apply to the programme for October 2025 entry is Wednesday 15 January 2025.

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.

No. Your priority should be to submit your application and research proposal. Unfortunately, our academics time is very limited, and regrettably, they cannot respond to all requests.

You will be ‘matched’ with your main Supervisor who will guide you through the various stages of your research and form the consistent point of contact during your time in the Department.

We recommend having a look at our faculty research webpages so you can see the range of research interests and specialists 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.  

Students are expected to complete their PhD thesis within four years of registration and an MPhil within two years.

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 and/or health/disability adjustments. 

No, this is not available. 

Submit your application via LSE’s Online Application System.

Read guidance on the application process here. 

The School’s Graduate Admissions Office will handle your application.

Before contacting the Graduate Admissions Office with queries, check if the information you are looking for can be found on:

• LSE's Graduate Study page 
• Graduate Admissions Office’s guidance page for Prospective Applicants 
• Use the ‘How Do I' page to carry out the most common tasks online.
• Further details on how to apply

The online application will require you to provide:

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

See the full detail on all required documents here. 

In the application form, students are required to produce a research proposal, setting out the context for their proposed research, specifying the initial questions, demonstrating familiarity with the relevant literature, and showing how they would investigate their chosen topic or field.

In general, a preliminary research proposal should consist of at least a description of the planned area of research, and an indication of proposed/completed reading as related to the area. You should address subjects such as:

• What is your general topic?
• What questions do you want to answer?
• What is the key literature and its limitations?
• What are the main hypotheses of the work?
• What methodology do you intend to use?
• What are your case studies, if any, and what are your case selection criteria?
• Timetable of research
• Bibliography

You should try to keep your proposal concise, and if possible, limit it to no more than four sides of A4 (not including the bibliography). 

The Eden Centre at LSE has developed guidance on how to write a research proposal. 

The online application will prompt you to upload a copy of your transcript for each qualification you mention in the Education tab.

If your documents are not in English, you must upload a translation carried out by an accredited translator (e.g. the British Council).

Please ensure that scanned documents are clear and legible: failure to do so will result in delays to the processing of your application. You should also scan the reverse of your transcript if the mark scheme is explained there.

The application assessment fee is £95. You must pay using the website (credit or debit card) in order 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 if you change your mind once your application has been acknowledged.

A proportion of the application fee income that we receive each year is used to give financial support to LSE students.

LSE’s Attaining Comprehensive Equality in Postgraduate Research (ACE PGR) Initiative has been designed to improve the educational experiences and student outcomes of BAME candidates at PGR level. As part of the initiative, the application fee will be waived for all self-identifying BAME applicants of UK nationality who apply to MRes/PhD and MPhil/PhD programmes at LSE.  All self-identifying BAME applicants will be automatically included in the scheme unless they use the opt-out option on the online application.

We follow the LSE requirements for a postgraduate degree. Graduate programmes at LSE are demanding and you will need to demonstrate that you have a high level of English language proficiency before you embark on your studies.

Yes! LSE is an international community, with over 140 nationalities represented amongst its student body.  

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.

All applicants to the programme are considered for LSE PhD Studentships, and LSE Doctoral Training Partnership Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding. Selection for these studentships is based on receipt of an application for a place, including all documents before the funding deadline.

All completed applications received by the deadline will be considered for this funding.

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.

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. 

The table of fees shows the latest tuition fees for all programmes.

You're charged a fee for your programme. Your tuition 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 doesn't 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.

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. 

Candidates can expect to hear back in April.

Find out the status of your application via Track your Application.

This webpage provides you with general information about the interview and what to expect. Interviews are intended to be an opportunity for information exchange between you and the academic department. 

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 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.  

You can find out more about our current PhD cohort and their research on our people page.

Our PhD programme has been running since 1994 and we have awarded over sixty PhDs since 1999. A full list of our previous PhD candidates and their dissertation titles can be found here.

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.