European Studies

Entry requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this programme is a taught master’s degree (or equivalent), with a minimum of Merit or equivalent , in a related discipline.

Months of entry

September

Course content

About the MPhil/PhD prorgamme

The European Institute’s MPhil/PhD programme offers students the opportunity to undertake a substantial piece of work worthy of publication, and which makes an original contribution to the study of contemporary Europe. We offer particular expertise in the subfields of Political Economy; Politics and Policy; Culture and Society; and Migration.

The MPhil/PhD in European Studies welcomes applications for multi-disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary research. Students begin on the MPhil, and are upgraded to PhD status once the requirements are met. The School has a long history of research expertise, with European Institute research students having won the prestigious UACES doctoral prize four times.

After graduating, our students have successfully pursued a variety of academic and non-academic careers, in both cases benefitting from the skills, knowledge and contacts built up during their time at LSE.

The MPhil/PhD programme provides a range of opportunities for learning research design and methodological skills, and guides students through the process of defining their topic and pursuing research in a variety of areas. The closeness of the research student community, which meets weekly to discuss students’ projects, and the close involvement of the faculty, make the European Institute a very special place to learn the craft of academic research.

You will benefit from access to outstanding academic facilities and have the added advantage of being situated in a world-class social science institution with a powerful public profile. The European Institute alone typically offers more than 50 public lectures and seminars per year, and organises events for the world of policy practitioners which provide students invaluable networking opportunities.

European Institute

The European Institute is one of the largest, if not the largest, centres for the study of European anywhere in the world.

The European Institute’s core work centres around three key areas: research, teaching and learning, and public events.

The work of the EI's faculty, research staff, and our highly active doctoral community focuses on our four key research themes: Political Economy, Politics & Policy, Culture & Society, and Migration.

One of the hallmarks of the European Institute is our strong external profile. We host dozens of events a year, with an outstanding cast list of high-level speakers from politics, public administration and EU institutions, including presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, finance ministers, distinguished scholars and influential commentators.

Information for international students

LSE is an international community, with over 140 nationalities represented amongst its student body. We celebrate this diversity through everything we do.

If you are applying to LSE from outside of the UK then take a look at our Information for International students.

Fees and funding

Fees

Every graduate student is charged a fee for their programme. Visit the website for more information about the fees.

Funding

The School recognises that the cost of living in London may be higher than in your home town or country, and we provide generous scholarships each year to home and overseas students.

LSE offers studentships to new PhD students in the form of LSE PhD Studentships, LSE ESRC Studentships, LAHP AHRC Studentships and LSE & III PhD Studentships on Analysing and Challenging Inequalities.

These awards are open to high calibre students of all nationalities studying across all research areas at the School.