Set in the heart of London, equidistant from parliament and the City, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is Britain’s social sciences powerhouse, and this year it takes the top spot in The Sunday Times rankings of UK universities, beating St Andrews, Oxford and Cambridge.
Improving rates of student satisfaction have been key to LSE taking first position, as has its stellar record of helping graduates launch straight into professional careers. This year it comes second in our analysis of graduate prospects, with 92.5 per cent of its leavers in highly skilled jobs 15 months after finishing their degree. It builds into most of its courses opportunities to network with employers, take an internship or otherwise engage with the world of work.
The university’s overarching intellectual motivations impact life far beyond the campus: Professor Larry Kramer, the president and vice chancellor of LSE, says it has an important role to play in helping to solve some of the most significant global challenges of our time.
“The world is in really bad shape — we are looking at democracy in retreat everywhere and governments not delivering what populations need,” Kramer says. “Fresh-water supplies are collapsing, new technology is creating big headaches as well as huge benefits, and climate change. All around the LSE there is work being done on these huge issues. My goal is to make sure we do more of this crucial work and that it gets out there. We have ideas and research and they can help governments work out what could be done better.”
What is LSE’s reputation?
In 1895 LSE’s Fabian Society founders dreamt of an institution to get at the “concrete facts of industrial life and the actual working of economic and political relations”. Today the curriculum has more than 40 undergraduate programmes, and LSE was named top in Europe and second in the world for social sciences and management over nine consecutive years in the QS World University Rankings. In the latest subject list, for 2024, it is sixth in the world.
The university’s outstanding contribution to the social sciences was evident in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), in which 93 per cent of its submission was judged world-leading or internationally excellent, the top two categories, placing it third in the UK for research in our analysis. The best results were in economics; anthropology; social policy; health policy; and media and communications.
A sharper focus on mental health and wellbeing support has been part of the improvements made to boost the undergraduate experience, and efforts to collaborate with students include the Change Makers programme, which provides opportunities for them to influence change at LSE through team-based independent research. The result of such initiatives has been healthy increases in rates of student satisfaction, as recorded in successive National Student Surveys (NSS). Our analysis of the feedback ranked LSE 112th for the broad experience as recently as five years ago; it rose to 65th in 2021, then to 44= last year and for 2025 occupies 40th position. Students’ evaluation of teaching quality has improved too, if a little less dramatically, with LSE up seven places this year to rank 70=. This matches its upgrade from bronze to overall silver in the government’s latest Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023).
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
No undergraduate programmes are being introduced or withdrawn in 2024 or 2025.
What are LSEs entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?
Competition to study here is fierce — and global. LSE is one of the few universities not to enter clearing. Offers start at AAB and rise to A*AA. Contextual offers (usually one grade, sometimes two grades lower than standard) may be made to eligible UK applicants, such as those from deprived areas, or who are leaving care or taking part in an LSE or Sutton Trust Pathways access programme — but any maths requirements must be met. Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of the 2023 intake of home students received a contextual offer. LSE attracted more than 26,200 applications and accepted 1,815 entrants, 935 of them international students.
What are the graduate prospects?
In a word: excellent. LSE has risen from fifth place in our previous edition to second in our analysis of the latest Graduate Outcomes survey. It continues to innovate on employability, providing students with extra ways to find paid work experience during their studies via micro-internships. Career-building opportunities are a feature of most degrees, aided by the university’s links with a range of organisations, policy institutes and government departments.
What is LSE's campus like?
Based behind Aldwych in central London, the campus incorporates historic alleyways and newly pedestrianised areas. Each department has common rooms and study spaces set in one building. The Norman Foster-designed LSE Library is one of the largest in the world devoted to the economic and social sciences and contains unique historical collections. The Marshall Building is the newest addition to the estate: it opened in 2022, adding a sports centre and café, academic departments, music practice rooms and study spaces on one of London’s oldest squares — the 17th-century Lincoln’s Inn Fields. The developments have been achieved without compromising on sustainability: LSE is ranked 25th in People & Planet’s 2023-24 league table of universities, based on their environmental and ethical performance.
Everything you need to know about LSE’s student life and wellbeing support
More than 200 societies and 40 sports clubs keep things lively on top of everything that London has to offer. The Three Tuns bar at the students’ union is a popular evening hangout, and there is a programme of alcohol-free events held on Wind Down Wednesdays. Cultural life on campus includes art exhibitions in the Atrium Gallery, lunchtime concerts and photography competitions. LSE Chill is a free performance night for poets, comedians and musicians.
Seven football pitches and floodlit multi-use areas at the 23-acre sportsground in New Malden, southwest London, complement the comprehensive indoor sports facilities available on campus, which include squash courts and a dance studio. Meanwhile, investment in mental health services has increased the number of wellbeing and disability advisers, improved access to counsellors and extended 24/7 support through a partnership with the Spectrum.Life online service.
What do the students say?
“To be a student at LSE is to be a part of a dynamic, global community full of history and opportunity. Renowned academics deliver intellectually stimulating lectures, seminars and classes, often fostering lively discussions and debate. The LSE experience transcends the classroom, with the vibrant hub for student life being the students’ union, which facilitates over 3,000 events.”
James Relf, students’ union general secretary, mathematics and economics graduate
What about student accommodation at LSE?
There are more than 4,100 university-owned or endorsed rooms, about 40 per cent of them catered, and accommodation is guaranteed to first-years who apply by the June deadline. Prices range from £137.55 a week for a bed in a triple room at Passfield Hall in Bloomsbury to £469 a week for a single studio at Urbanest Westminster Bridge.
How diverse and inclusive is LSE?
Work to reduce the black awarding gap (minus 5.7 per cent) over the years has paid off, and LSE sits within the top ten in this measure. It aims to attract the most capable students from a wide range of backgrounds and has the 12th-highest levels of ethnic diversity. But with only 53.4 per cent of its students coming from non-selective state schools it places 100th overall in our social inclusion index.
As part of its LSE 2030 strategy the university has committed itself to diversifying its intake from underrepresented groups by enhancing widening participation programmes. These include a student-shadowing scheme for UK sixth-formers and the Pathways to Law and Pathways to Banking and Finance programmes, run in collaboration with the Sutton Trust.
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at LSE
About a quarter of the intake claim some form of financial aid. Awards include means-tested bursaries of £500 to £4,000 a year. Means-tested scholarships are available in specific subjects, and can vary depending on the generosity of donors.
