If your first language or if the language of instruction of your previous degree is not English, we ask you to provide evidence of your command of English. The minimum requirements are listed below. You may need additional language instruction before you register in order to be confident that you can participate fully in your programme. Experience has shown that students who are fully proficient in English are best placed to make the most of all that LSE has to offer, both academically and socially. The LSE Language Centre| offers courses in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) to support you both prior to and during your studies.
Undergraduate programmes
Although it is not necessary to have the required grade in an acceptable English Language qualification when you make your application to LSE, if you are made an offer of a place and English is not your mother tongue, it is likely that you would be asked to obtain an acceptable English Language qualification as a condition of your offer.
The following qualifications are acceptable to LSE:
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GCSE English Language with a grade B or better.
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International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) English as a First Language with a grade B or better including the Speaking and Listening coursework component (Edexcel) or grade 2 in the optional speaking test (CIE).
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International English Language Testing Service (IELTS) academic test with a score of 7.0 in all four components.
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Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum score of 627 in the paper test including 5.5 in writing and 50 in TSE, or 107 in the internet based test with a minimum of 25 out of 30 in each of the four skills.
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Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) with grade B or better.
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Cambridge Advanced Certificate of English (CACE) with a grade A.
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Cambridge English Language (1119) conducted overseas by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate: B4 or better.
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O level (1120 Brunei, 1125 Mauritius A, 1127 Singapore) grade B or better.
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Singapore Integrated Programme (IP) Secondary 4 English Language grade B or better.
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Pearson Test of English (General) with a distinction at level 5 in both the written and the oral test.
Exceptions
If students offer the IGCSE in English as a First Language or O level (other than those specified above) and have been educated in the medium of English during their five most recent years of study (prior to 1 September 2011), then we will accept the qualification as sufficient evidence of English Language proficiency.
Please note that test scores must be achieved from one sitting of the relevant qualification. We will not accept individual component scores from multiple tests.
Graduate programmes
English Language Requirements
If English is not your first language, you may be required to provide evidence of English language ability. The most common qualifications are the IELTS| or TOEFL| tests. You do not need to have the required marks when you apply, but they would form a condition of any offer that you received, and would have to be achieved before your arrival at LSE. In each case we require the test of English for Academic Purposes. Your test should be no more than two years old by 1 October in the year you intend to start your programme. If you are entering the UK on a student visa (tier 4), your language test scores must meet not just LSE's requirements, but also those of the UK Border Authority (UKBA). UKBA's requirements have recently changed, and our requirements have been amended where applicable to match their new requirements.
If your previous degree has not been taught entirely in English, you will usually be required to provide evidence of your English language ability. There are standard and higher requirements, and you must check which applies to your programme. The Law Department has its own requirement.
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Standard: 6.5 in IELTS (at least 5.5 in each section) or 100 in the internet-based TOEFL test (at least 17 in listening and writing, 18 in reading and 20 in speaking)
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Higher: 7.0 in IELTS (at least 5.5 in each section) or 107 in the internet-based TOEFL test (at least 17 in listening and writing, 18 in reading and 20 in speaking)
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Law Department: 7.5 overall in IELTS (at least 7.0 in listening and writing and 5.5 in reading and speaking) or 109 in the internet-based TOEFL test (with listening and writing not lower than 24, 18 in reading and 20 in speaking)
Other test scores may be acceptable if you have already obtained them. You should supply evidence of your English test with your application and if you are made an offer we will indicate whether we will accept your score or if we require one of the tests above. You may be required to achieve a higher score at the discretion of the selectors. If you have not yet taken any English test, we recommend that you take the IELTS or TOEFL test.
These are minimum requirements. You may need additional language instruction before you register to be confident that you can participate fully in your programme. Experience has shown that students who are fully proficient in English are best placed to make the most of all that LSE has to offer, both academically and socially. Please see the LSE Language Centre| pages for more information.