If you are unable to pay either the reinstatement or application fee you can request a waiver to allow your application to be considered by the department. Please provide as much information as possible in order that we may consider your request.
We normally only waive the administrative fee for students who are faced with persistent financial hardship, particularly those students who are resident in countries where armed conflict is prevalent and / or who are unable to gain access to banking services. We are unable to waive the fee for students with sufficient savings / income or who are facing temporary cash flow issues. Refugees, asylum-seekers, individuals with humanitarian protection and discretionary leave to remain and stateless persons are encouraged to submit an application for a fee waiver.
If your request is granted you will then be able to submit your application online without paying the fee. In some cases we may request documentary evidence to support your waiver. Please do not submit this form until you have uploaded all the required documents to your application.
The information submitted in this form will only be used for the purposes of assessing your administration fee waiver request. It is not used to assess your application, nor your eligibility for scholarships etc. The information is retained solely for the use of the person who makes the waiver decision.
ACE PGR Initiative
LSE is an international community of talented individuals with impactful ideas. As we look to increase the diversity of our student body and faculties, we are taking concrete steps to fulfil the diversification and inclusion goals of the LSE 2030 Strategy by launching a pilot scheme, Attaining Comprehensive Equality in Postgraduate Research Initiative (ACE PGR Initiative), during the 2023/24 academic year. Further details regarding the ACE PGR Initiative can be found here.
In the initial phase, the pilot scheme will concentrate primarily on increasing UK BAME access to postgraduate research (PGR) study. The application fee will be waived for all self-identifying BAME applicants of UK nationality who apply to a MRes/PhD or MPhil/PhD programme at LSE. Please note this excludes the Department of Finance.
If you self-identify as a UK BAME applicant and you wish to reinstate your application or add a new PGR programme choice which is eligible for the ACE initiative, please email ard.gao.officemanager@lse.ac.uk indicating the programme you wish to apply to so that the corresponding reinstatement/new choices fee can be waived.
When to apply
Applications for entry in 2025/6 opened on 8 October 2024.
There is intense competition for admission; early applications have a greater chance of being successful and of meeting financial support/scholarship and visa deadlines.
Many scholarships, however, especially for research programmes, have early deadlines. See individual programme pages and the fees and funding page for details of particular deadlines.
Please ensure that you submit your administrative fee waiver request in good time, at least 10 working days before any application/funding deadlines.
Current processing times
Last updated: 16 December 2024
We are currently processing administration fee waiver requests received on:
16 December 2024