Teaching and assessment

LSE Summer School courses are full-time, intensive programmes, and consist of at least 54 contact hours over the three-week period, generally taking the form of 36 hours of lectures and 18 hours of tutorial or seminar-based classes.

Due to the intensive nature of the programme, students are expected to spend a full day on campus. Lectures are attended by all students on the course, and take place either in the morning (10am - 1pm) or afternoon (2pm - 5pm), at the same time each day. They are supplemented by small 1.5 hour classes, during the following afternoon or morning. These are an opportunity to work through problem sets or case studies, or present and discuss seminar papers. In addition, students are recommended to spend 2-3 hours per day in self-guided study.

Timetables are issued at the beginning of the programme. It is not possible to know the expected hours of a particular course before the programme starts. It is not possible to change either the lecture time or the allocated class time, however, course changes are permitted within the first two days of the session.

Exams

Assessment for Summer School courses is based upon the results of either two formal examinations or a combination of formal examination and assessed work. Examinations are two hours in length and are conducted under standardised LSE examination regulations.

Exams are not compulsory. Students who attend at least 75% of classes (9 out of 12 classes) and do not sit the final exam will receive an Attendance Certificate. Students must note that an Attendance Certificate is not the same as a Pass/Fail grade and is unlikely to be able to be used for credit

Credit

If you wish to receive credit for your Summer School course/courses you will need to contact either your Study Abroad Office or the office in your university that deals with external credit. We strongly advise you to do this before you apply.

It is up to your home institution to decide how much credit is awarded as credits are not printed on LSE Summer School transcripts. The Summer School Office is however happy to provide any necessary information to your registry or academic advisor, to help them evaluate the courses. Summer School contact hours can be found under the tab ‘Structure’.

Each Summer School course is equivalent to one course from an undergraduate degree. Generally, our courses receive 3-4 credits in the US system and 7.5 ECTS in the European system.

University of London EMFSS students who take two Summer School courses at LSE can now transfer credit to their EMFSS Degree. Read our guidance for EMFSS Students on selecting courses.

Certification

All students will receive a digital copy of their transcript that will include their name, course(s) and grade(s), after the programme has finished. Students will also be given the opportunity to request a physical copy of their Summer School transcript and/or certificate which will be posted to their chosen address. 

For students who choose not to be assessed in the final exam there is an option of an Attendance Certificate (providing that you have attended at least 75% of classes). The Attendance Certificate will state your name and your course, but will say ‘Attended’ rather than give a grade. Find out more in our FAQs.

Digital transcripts will be made available shortly after the programme has ended.