Offer Holders
Congratulations on your offer to study at LSE's School of Public Policy (SPP) in September 2026!
As a student at SPP, you will join an active community of peers from around the globe, all sharing a passion for public policy and shaping the world for the better. We look forward to welcoming you and getting to know you in person on campus in Autumn Term.
To help make your journey to join us as easy as possible, we have prepared some useful information below. This information includes:
- The next steps for you to accept your offer and prepare to join us.
- Links to further information about visas, accommodation and LSE Graduate Admissions.
- Preparation materials to help you feel ready for your studies.
We look forward to welcoming our new students to LSE School of Public Policy in September 2026. Find out more information below about the next steps to complete your admission, connect with us over the next few months and prepare to join us in September.
Key Dates and Next Steps
Please read the details in your offer letter carefully. You will have been sent your offer letter by email from LSE Graduate Admissions.
Whether you have a conditional or unconditional offer, there will be things that you will need to do including:
- Meeting conditions and providing documents to confirm your offer
- Finding out about accommodation and visas
Online Events
Spring and Summer
- Offer holder events, including taster lectures and information sessions (details in 'connect with us' section below)
- Optional readings available
June
- Online learning materials - information regarding the optional maths and stats pre-learning materials will be made available
August
- Online pre-enrolment- TBC. Details will be sent by central LSE teams.
- SPP Welcome information will be sent to offer holders
- Master of Public Policy - pre-arrival online course, Introduction to Statistics, will run for five weeks from late August
In person (LSE Campus)
September
- On-campus enrolment and SPP welcome weeks
- MPA in Data Science for Public Policy - First day: 2 September 2026
- MPA and MPA double degrees - First day: 14 September 2026
- Master of Public Policy - First day: 15 September 2026
After the welcome period, the MPA, MPP, MPA DSPP and MPA Double Degree programmes follow the LSE term dates.
LSE Fees and Funding
LSE offers a number of needs-based awards, including the , , and .
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 is 23 April 2026.
SPP awards
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. The School of Public Policy (SPP) offers programme and country specific scholarship awards Applicants who wish to apply for an SPP scholarship must submit a complete programme application by 22 January 2026 and complete LSE's Graduate Financial Support Application (GFSA) form via the Graduate Application Portal by 19 February 2026. Find out more about SPP specific awards and how to apply.
Find answers to your FAQs about admissions timelines and next steps on our FAQs page
If you have further admissions queries you can refer to the Graduate Admissions Knowledge Baseor book a zoom call with our Premium Admissions Service Manager.
You will find answers to lots of questions on our SPP FAQs page or the Graduate Admissions Knowledge Base.
Confirming Your Offer:
Graduate Admissions processing times:
English Language Requirements:
Student Advice and Engagement Team (visas): https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/student-services/Student-Advice-and-Engagement
Fees and Funding:
Programme information and preparation
First day and campus enrolment: 14 September 2026
Detailed curriculum information:Master of Public Administration
Pre-arrival preparation
Prior to your arrival at LSE, you will receive details about optional readings and online learning materials which are designed to help you to prepare for the programme.
First day and campus enrolment: 15 September 2026
Detailed programme and curriculum info: Master of Public Policy
Pre-arrival preparation
Prior to your arrival at LSE, you will receive details about optional readings and online learning materials which are designed to help you to prepare for the programme.
In addition, MPP students will have the opportunity to study a pre-arrival online course 'Introduction to Statistics'. This is designed for all incoming MPP students, but is aimed especially at those with limited or no prior experience of learning statistics for social sciences, or who have not worked with or used statistics for a long time. It will provide foundational knowledge that will help students transition into the MPP core course Quantitative Methods for Public Policy (PP402). This online pre-arrival course will run for five weeks from late August, and you will receive further details in June/July about the course.
Hear from our students
about our students and recent graduates and their experience at the LSE School of Public Policy.
First day and campus enrolment: 2 September 2026
Detailed programme and curriculum info: MPA in Data Science for Public Policy
Pre-arrival preparation
Prior to your arrival at LSE, you will receive details about optional readings and online learning materials which are designed to help you to prepare for the programme.
Hear from our students
about our students and recent graduates and their experience at the LSE School of Public Policy.
First day and campus enrolment: 14 September 2026
Detailed programme and curriculum info: Master of Public Administration (Toronto DD)
Pre-arrival preparation
Prior to your arrival at LSE, you will receive details about optional readings and online learning materials which are designed to help you to prepare for the programme.
Hear from our students
about our students and recent graduates and their experience at the LSE School of Public Policy.
First day and campus enrolment: 14 September 2026
Detailed programme and curriculum info: Master of Public Administration (Columbia DD)
Pre-arrival preparation
Prior to your arrival at LSE, you will receive details about optional readings and online learning materials which are designed to help you to prepare for the programme.
Hear from our students
about our students and recent graduates and their experience at the LSE School of Public Policy.
Connect with SPP - Events and social media
Upcoming Offer Holder Events
We will be planning a number of online events for our offer holders which will usually take place from April-July. In the meantime you can catch up on our recent information sessions and sign up for upcoming information events on our recruitment events webpages.
We will also be hosting an online SPP student panel event on Thursday 15 January which is an opportunity for our prospective students and offer holders to hear directly from our current students.
Admissions drop-in sessions
Our Graduate Admissions Premium Service Manager will be hosting individual online drop-in sessions for our offer holders to help to answer your specific admissions queries. Appointments are available to book up to 14 days in advance and more dates will be released each week. Sign up here.
Find out more about our amazing campus and how you can visit us, including how you can register for campus tours hosted by LSE students (every Wednesday during term time), on .
You can also take a self-guided tour using the information here.
Advice from our students and recent graduates
Get organised early in terms of accommodation. Rooms run out fast so book as early as you can. If you will not use student accommodation, there are other rented accommodations around London and you can start making inquiries early.
If you are able to arrive early in London, please do so to give yourself time to settle in before the programme begins. It can be flustering, trying to settle when term time has already begun.
Be open to new experiences, but keep a piece of home. For me, cooking a home dish every week made me feel less far from home.
Finally, find your community, people with shared interests who you can get to explore London with or just do fun stuff. They will be your support system.
London is an incredible and exciting city, but the weather can be very unpredictable. My advice is to always carry a raincoat in your bag, just in case.
To make the most out of your time here, try to explore as much of the city as you can. There are so many free museums, beautiful parks, and cultural events happening all the time. Walk around different neighbourhoods, try food from all over the world, and take advantage of everything LSE and London have to offer, both academically and socially. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
To those of you who’ve taken the leap and committed to the MPA, congratulations! Don’t stress too much about preparing for coursework; some light reading on topics you’re interested in exploring during the programme will suffice. What’s more important is reminding yourself that you’re here for a reason. Focus on mentally preparing to learn, work hard, and collaborate with your cohort.
One tip I wish someone had shared with me: if there are any treats or little luxuries you can’t easily find in London, save some room in your luggage to bring them along. You’ll thank yourself later!
Get a student oyster card as soon as possible – even if you want to take some time in deciding on whether you want to get a bus pass or a travel card, the waiting times for the card become a lot longer from mid-September onwards. Also investigate student accommodation: Sidney Webb halls and Goodenough College halls are great for postgraduate students.
Get involved from day one. There are so many spaces beyond the classroom, such as social events and student societies, where you can learn, connect, and grow. Do not hesitate to ask for help or guidance. The SPP community, including students and alumni, is very supportive.
In addition to our LSE SPP students, LSE student bloggers and student vloggers share some helpful advice on student life at LSE:
LSE Student Blogs:
LSE Student Vlogs:
SPP student and graduate profiles
Hear what our students have to say about their time at LSE School of Public Policy.
