The following are some of the most frequently asked questions received by LSE Careers Service about graduate destinations. These questions should give you a clearer idea about the type of information we do and don't hold. It is important that you read through these questions carefully before submitting a new question.
Admissions-related questions
We cannot help with admissions-related questions however the answers provided below should point you towards relevant resources and departments within LSE to ensure you find the information you are looking for.
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Which degree programme would you recommend I apply to?
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I want to know more about the content of a particular degree programme
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I want to know whether I meet the admissions criteria
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I want to track the status of my application to LSE
Careers-related questions
The Graduate Destinations web pages are updated regularly with the latest available destinations information and graduate profiles. We often get asked for more specific information such as:
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What are my job prospects with a degree from LSE?
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Can you put me in contact with some current LSE students and recent graduates?
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I am a non-EU/overseas student. What are my chances of remaining in the UK to work after graduation?
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Can you tell me about the destinations of LSE graduates by nationality?
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How much work experience do those going into full time employment after graduation typically have?
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How can I find out what graduates from an individual degree programme are doing?
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Why don't you provide average starting salary by degree programme?
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Can you tell me how quickly LSE graduates find work?
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Does LSE Careers Service place graduates with employers?
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Do you have Information on what graduates are doing several years after graduation?
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The profiles on this student are of alumni that graduated a while ago. Are they out of date?
Admissions-related:
Which degree programme would you recommend I apply to?
We receive lots of questions from applicants asking for advice on which is the best degree programme at LSE and which programme they should apply to based upon their interests, qualifications and experience. Unfortunately these are difficult questions to answer however we can offer you advice on where to look to find out more about studying at LSE and the range of careers open to you as an LSE graduate.
Firstly if you are considering studying at LSE, we strongly advise that you do some independent research into the range of degree programmes we offer. Read the undergraduate prospectus| for undergraduate degrees or the graduate prospectus |for taught master's and research degrees. The prospectus will give you more advice on choosing a degree programme, admissions requirements and how to apply.
Once you have identified the degree(s) that match your interests, visit the relevant academic department's| website to find out more about the content of individual degree programmes. It goes without saying that if you enjoy your degree then you are more likely to remain motivated throughout your studies.
Finally, the Graduate Destinations website provides useful information about the more general employability skills you will develop through studying in each academic department at LSE alongside typical jobs that previous graduates have entered. Whatever career or further study opportunities you are interested in pursuing, LSE Careers Service| has resources and events to help you with your job search and throughout the recruitment process. Back to questions |
I want to know about the content of a particular degree programme
As stated above, once you have identified a degree programme that matches your interests, you should visit the relevant academic department's website| to find out more, including a basic outline of different courses offered as part of that degree programme, who teachers each course, how the course is taught and assessed, and a suggested reading list. Back to questions |
I want to know whether I meet the admissions criteria
If you have a query about LSE's entry requirements and admissions process you should refer initially to the undergraduate prospectus| or graduate prospectus| for guidance.
Further information can be found on the Undergraduate Admissions| and Graduate Admissions| web pages. Back to questions |
I want to track the status of my application
LSE's online admissions enquiries system provides details on how to track the status of your application|. Back to questions |
Careers-related:
What are my job prospects with a degree from LSE?
The Graduate Destinations website provides a range of statistical data about the destinations of LSE graduates as well as information about typical jobs and employers that graduates have gone on to work for after graduation. Overall the School is heavily targeted by employers, and graduates from LSE are in great demand even during times of recession, resulting in a low unemployment rate amongst our graduates.
We can't, however, tell you what job you'll get when you leave LSE. We can't tell you about your likelihood of success as this will depend entirely upon you, your applications, your skills, your experience and your suitability for your chosen job. LSE Careers Service are here to help you learn the life-long skills to empower you to obtain the career you want. When you have enrolled, we can help you analyse your skills, learn how to write outstanding CVs and application forms and perfect your interview technique. Back to questions |
Can you put me in contact with some current LSE students and recent graduates?
For data protection reasons the School is unable to give out contact information for current students or recent graduates. Instead visit our LSE graduate profiles| to read more about the personal experiences of LSE alumni.
If you would like to contact alumni about their experiences as LSE graduates, consider contacting one of LSE's many alumni groups.|
If you are a current LSE student you may also be eligible to contact LSE alumni via the Alumni Professional Mentoring Network|. Back to questions |
I am a non-EU/overseas student. What are my chances of remaining in the UK to work after graduation?
The regulations surrounding visas and work permits is a very complex area and there are no 'general rules'. Therefore LSE Careers Service never offer general advice about how easy it will be for you to gain a work permit when you have graduated. The LSE Students' Union provides an Advice & Welfare Centre|, whose staff are trained to offer visa advice; you can use their services when you have enrolled as a student.
At present we do not have any statistics available on the number of non-EU/overseas students who remain in the UK to work after graduation. We hope that in the future we will be able to use the data we collect on the employment locations of our graduates to provide an indication of the geographic destination of our students. Back to questions |
Can you tell me about the destinations of LSE graduates by nationality?
With students from over 150 countries graduating from LSE, analysing graduate destinations by nationality is a difficult task. In particular, publishing information on graduates by country may risk making some graduates more easily identifiable contrary to the Data Protection Act 1998.
We do however recognise that this information is of interest to many prospective students. We are looking at ways that we might be able to produce additional destinations information and therefore are particularly keen to encourage overseas alumni to contribute to our graduate profiles project. Back to questions |
How much work experience do those going into full time employment after graduation typically have?
We collect the majority of our first destinations data from the national DLHE survey. Designed by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, this survey does not ask questions about the amount of previous work experience our graduates had before they went into full-time employment. Similarly it isn't possible for the School to keep a full career history for each of our graduates and, with students from a wide variety of backgrounds studying at LSE, it is impossible to generalise about how much work experience they may have.
Overall employers are looking for well-rounded applicants, i.e. those with strong academic performance alongside extracurricular and work experience. Getting involved with student societies, doing part-time/vacation work or making the most of volunteering and internships opportunities whilst at LSE helps our students to develop a set of highly desirable, transferable skills. Back to questions |
How can I find out what graduates from each individual degree programme are doing?
In the vast majority of cases we have organised the graduate destinations information on this website by department rather than by individual degree programme. One reason for doing this is to avoid graduates from particularly small degrees from being easily identifiable, contrary to the Data Protection Act.
In addition, in many departments, students enrolled on different degree programmes will be eligible to take some of the same individual courses and will study alongside each other. As a result, we feel that the information we hold on the destinations of all graduates from a single department are equally relevant to you, regardless of which specific degree you are considering. Back to questions |
Why don't you provide average starting salaries by degree programme?
The surveys we run asks all graduates to provide details of their annual salary for statistical purposes. For all the surveys we run this is an optional question and not all graduates feel comfortable disclosing this type of personal information. As a result for some degrees we only have a small number of graduates providing salary data, which doesn't allow us to produce meaningful, representative average salaries by degree programme.
Instead we provide average salary data based upon all the salary information we receive from all LSE undergraduate and postgraduate leavers for each survey we run. This data should give you an indication of the earning capacity of LSE graduates however shouldn't be taken as a guarantee of how much you can expect to earn. This will depend upon a range of variables, including which job sector you work in, which employer your work for, which country you work in and how much experience you have. Back to questions |
Can you tell me how quickly LSE graduates find work?
The DLHE survey continues to illustrate that just six months after graduation the vast majority of LSE graduates are in employment or have gone on to further study, while some have opted to take time out after completing their degree. Read more in the short-term destinations section.
Exactly how much time it takes for an LSE student/graduate to find employment is difficult to predict. Some students will start applying for jobs early in their final year, particularly if they are hoping to be accepted to a graduate recruitment scheme with an early closing date. Other students will start later, with some students waiting until their examinations are over before fully launching their job search.
The Careers Service is open throughout the year and offers a wide range of services to facilitate LSE students and alumni in finding and applying for work and further study opportunities. Back to questions |
Does LSE Careers Service place graduates with employers?
Like other UK university careers services, we do not find students work, 'place' them with employers or arrange work permits/visas. Instead the UK job market requires students to be proactive and self-motivated in finding and securing employment. We do however recognise that the recruitment processes used by different employers can be complex and time-consuming therefore we have a range of services and events to help LSE students acquire the skills, and access the resources, necessary to find employment after graduation. Back to questions |
Do you have information on what graduates are doing several years after graduation?
At present we are running a separate graduate destinations research project, which aims to capture the destinations of LSE graduates three years after graduation. More information about these projects can be found under the About LSE graduate destinations| section and you can read the results of the last several past years' surveys three years on|. Back to questions |
The profiles on this student are of alumni that graduated a while ago. Are they out of date?
No! Almost all of our profiles are taken from volunteers who have filled in our longitudinal survey, which is taken three years after graduation, and this is why their graduation dates do not seem recent. They make the best case studies as they have progressed in their career since leaving LSE, and have more experience to share.
