LSE MSc Finance Scholarships and Funding: What Are Your Options?
Funding questions land in my inbox the moment a candidate finishes reading the LSE MSc Finance fees page. As an INSEAD alumna who has coached Masters applicants through the UK system for years, I know the fee number alone rarely tells the full story. What matters is which funding routes you actually qualify for, and when you need to apply for them. Below are the direct answers I give my own clients, verified against LSE's own programme pages in October 2026 for 2027/28 entry.
One point to fix at the outset, because it decides everything else: the three MSc Finance routes do not share a funding system. The full-time MSc Finance and the MSc Finance and Economics are eligible for LSE's central needs-based awards. The part-time MSc Finance is not. LSE states on that programme's page that it is not eligible for any other LSE financial support beyond the two departmental scholarships described below.
LSE MSc Finance Scholarships Basics
Does LSE offer scholarships specifically for MSc Finance students?
Yes. The Department of Finance funds two named awards for the full-time MSc Finance, each worth up to £25,000, with multiple awards available in each category. The Women in Finance Scholarships are open to all successful female applicants and awarded on merit, with the stated aim of supporting exceptional female candidates to take up their places and build a career in the financial sector. The Antoine Faure-Grimaud Scholarships are open to all successful applicants to the programme and awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
Both are a contribution towards tuition fees rather than a full-fee waiver, and both are awarded on a rolling basis from November onwards. Separately, the full-time programme is eligible for LSE's central needs-based awards, including the Graduate Support Scheme. My advice to clients is to treat the departmental awards as a competitive reduction in your overall cost, not as a discount you can bank on before applying.
How competitive is it to actually win an LSE MSc Finance scholarship?
Genuinely competitive, and I say that from direct experience guiding candidates through the process. LSE states plainly that competition for these awards and scholarships is strong. The programme itself is competitive before funding even enters the picture: LSE reports 1,704 applications for an intake of 160 on the full-time MSc Finance in 2025, a ratio of roughly 11 to 1.
I have seen strong candidates miss out simply because they treated the financial support application as an afterthought rather than a parallel priority to the main admissions form. My structured approach is to build the financial support case with the same rigour I apply to a personal statement, backed by clear evidence of need.
What is the difference between merit-based, needs-based and diversity funding at LSE?
Three different bases, and they sit on different programmes. Merit awards reward academic and professional strength regardless of financial circumstance. Needs-based awards, including the Graduate Support Scheme, are allocated according to demonstrated financial need and require a separate Graduate Financial Support application. Diversity awards, which exist only on the part-time programme, go to offer holders with an excellent academic or professional background who will enhance the diversity of perspectives on the programme.
The practical consequence is that a reader cannot assume the same funding logic applies across the three routes. A part-time applicant has no needs-based option at LSE at all. A full-time applicant has a merit-and-need award open to them, a merit award if they are female, and the needs-based Graduate Support Scheme. The safest way to be considered for all three is a Graduate Financial Support application, including the personal statement, submitted by the funding deadline..
Funding routes by programme format
What funding options exist if I apply to the full-time MSc Finance?
Two routes run in parallel, and one form covers both. The two departmental awards are open to successful applicants and decided on a rolling basis from November onwards. LSE’s guidance is that, unless a scholarship page says otherwise, its scholarships are applied for through the Graduate Financial Support application, so submit it, personal statement included, even if you are only targeting the departmental awards. LSE's needs-based awards, including the Graduate Support Scheme, are different: to be considered you must have an offer of a place and submit a Graduate Financial Support application before the funding deadline, which is 22 April 2027 for 2027/28 entry.
I always tell clients to diarise that second deadline the moment they submit their main application, because missing it rules out needs-based consideration entirely regardless of how strong the candidate is. One further rule catches people out: you cannot apply for the Graduate Support Scheme or an LSE scholarship once you have joined the School.
Is funding different for the part-time MSc Finance route?
Completely different, and this is the single most important thing for a working professional to understand. The part-time programme is not eligible for any other LSE financial support, so the Graduate Support Scheme is off the table. The department will award three scholarships to students starting in 2027/28, each equating to 25% of the total tuition fees for the programme, and they may be awarded on either merit or diversity.
The calendar is rounds-based. Round 1 closes on 15 January 2027, Round 2 on 9 April 2027, Round 3 on 18 June 2027, and Round 4 on 6 August 2027. All offer holders who submit their applications in the first, second or third admissions rounds will be considered for a merit scholarship, and both academic and professional merit may be considered.
The Diversity Scholarship needs one extra step that applicants routinely miss. You must email a written response of up to 500 words to finance.mfinpt@lse.ac.uk by midnight on Friday 18 June 2027, quoting your LSE Applicant ID. The question asks you to reflect on a time when you observed or experienced a lack of diversity or equality, and how that shaped your view of diversity in financial services. That is a piece of writing to plan, not an afterthought on the deadline evening.
Programme | Scholarships available | Basis | Key funding deadline behaviour |
MSc Finance (full-time) | Women in Finance (up to £25,000); Antoine Faure-Grimaud (up to £25,000); Graduate Support Scheme | Merit; academic merit and financial need; financial need | Departmental awards decided on a rolling basis from November; submit the Graduate Financial Support application, with personal statement, to be considered. Needs-based awards require a separate Graduate Financial Support application by 22 April 2027 |
MSc Finance (part-time) | Three departmental scholarships, each 25% of total tuition. No other LSE financial support | Merit or diversity | Tied to admissions rounds. Round 3 (18 June 2027) is the deadline for both; Diversity Scholarship needs a separate 500-word email |
MSc Finance and Economics | Sudipto Bhattacharya Scholarship (three awards, full fees); STEM Conversion Scholarship; Graduate Support Scheme | Academic merit; conversion need; financial need | Named awards are automatic for offer holders and decided throughout the cycle. Needs-based awards by 22 April 2027 |
Are there scholarships aimed at candidates without an economics background?
Yes, and this is one of the most overlooked routes I discuss with career-switching clients. The MSc Finance and Economics offers a Conversion Scholarship for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, available to outstanding offer holders with limited or no economics background. Eligible students are considered automatically.
Be precise about what it pays for, because it is not a tuition discount on the MSc. The award covers the tuition fees of a three-week summer conversion course in EC201 Intermediate Microeconomics and EC312 Advanced Econometrics, or one of the two, and includes a living expenses award for each course. Recipients pay the summer course fees upfront and are reimbursed to their tuition fee account once they register on the programme. If you attend the courses and then do not join, or transfer elsewhere, you do not receive the reimbursement.
One caveat I give every engineer and physics graduate who asks about this route. No economics background is genuinely fine, but the programme still requires a 2:1 or international equivalent in a quantitative subject, typically including at least a year of calculus and a semester of linear algebra, and most students admitted in recent years held first-class honours. The conversion route closes an economics gap. It does not substitute for quantitative preparation.
Common misconceptions about LSE finance funding
Do I need to have my offer before I can apply for a scholarship?
It depends on the award, and getting this wrong costs people money. For LSE's needs-based awards, yes: to apply you must have an offer of a place and submit a Graduate Financial Support application before the funding deadline. You cannot submit that application speculatively.
The departmental awards vary. The Sudipto Bhattacharya Scholarship and the STEM Conversion Scholarship consider offer holders automatically. For Women in Finance and Antoine Faure-Grimaud, LSE does not state that consideration is automatic, so submit the Graduate Financial Support application with its personal statement to be safe.The one departmental award that does need an active submission from you is the part-time Diversity Scholarship, with its 500-word email.
The practical implication is the same in every case: apply to the programme itself with enough lead time to receive an offer and still meet the funding deadline that follows. A late offer can leave no runway at all.
Is it true that scholarships will cover my entire tuition fee?
On the full-time MSc Finance, no, and I think this is the single most damaging assumption applicants make when budgeting. LSE describes both departmental awards there as a contribution towards tuition fees, each capped at £25,000 against a 2027/28 fee of £53,600.
There is one exception worth knowing. On the MSc Finance and Economics, the department offers three Sudipto Bhattacharya Scholarships covering full fees, awarded on the basis of academic merit, with offer holders considered automatically. Decisions are made throughout the cycle, and LSE recommends applying early for the best chance. Three awards against 800 applications and an intake of 44 in 2025 tells you how narrow that route is.
When I build financial plans with clients, I model any scholarship as one component sitting alongside savings, external funding and in some cases employer sponsorship, rather than as the solution. Understanding what the programme really costs is the first step in building a realistic budget that does not rely on a partial award.
Should I wait until Round 4 to apply for MSc Finance part-time if I am relying on scholarship funding?
No. The scholarship window closes a full round before the admissions window does. Round 3 on 18 June 2027 is the deadline for both the Merit and the Diversity Scholarship, while Round 4 on 6 August 2027 exists purely for admission with no scholarship attached.
If funding is a genuine factor in your decision to study at LSE, Round 4 should never be your target round. My general rule with clients is to treat the scholarship deadline, not the final admissions deadline, as the real date that matters.
Deciding how to fund your place
How do I decide whether to rely on LSE funding or look for external sources?
Build a layered plan rather than betting on a single source. LSE's own awards are competitive and, on the full-time route, partial, so I typically map out three parallel tracks with clients.
LSE internal funding. The Graduate Support Scheme and the departmental awards on your specific programme. Check the alumni discount too: LSE undergraduates beginning taught graduate study get a 10% tuition fee reduction, and two or more Summer School courses earn 5%.
External funding. The UK Government postgraduate loan for eligible students on a first master's, sector bursaries, and employer sponsorship where your current firm supports further study.
Personal contribution. Savings, family support, or a structured loan used as the residual gap-filler once scholarship and external funding are confirmed.
Because competition for these awards and scholarships is strong, I never let a client build a budget that assumes scholarship success as the baseline case. Factor the deposit in as well: the full-time programme requires a non-refundable deposit of 15% of the tuition fee, split into two instalments, while the part-time and Finance and Economics routes require 5% and 10% respectively.
Does applying for a scholarship weaken my chances of admission if I am rejected for the award?
No. These are separate assessments. Admissions decisions are made on the strength of your application, and award decisions follow afterwards, once you hold an offer. On some departmental awards, such as the Sudipto Bhattacharya Scholarship, consideration is automatic for offer holders, so there is nothing extra to submit at all.
I make sure clients understand this clearly, because I have seen candidates hesitate to submit a financial support application out of a misplaced fear that it might count against them. It will not. If anything, a complete and well-argued financial support application shows the same diligence a strong admissions file demonstrates.
Is the MSc Finance and Economics funding different enough to affect my programme choice?
The named awards differ materially, so it is worth knowing before you choose. Both programmes route through the same Financial Support Office for needs-based awards, but Finance and Economics has its own full-fee Sudipto Bhattacharya Scholarship and the STEM Conversion Scholarship, neither of which exists on the standard MSc Finance track. The full-time MSc Finance has the two £25,000 departmental awards, which Finance and Economics does not.
I would never recommend choosing between these two programmes on funding alone. They attract different candidates and lead to different places. Knowing the distinct scholarship landscape simply helps you make a fully informed choice.
What can I do now to improve my chances of securing LSE funding?
Start the financial support conversation at the same time as your programme application, not after you receive an offer. Concretely:
Confirm which programme and, for part-time, which round you are applying in.
Check whether that round carries a scholarship deadline attached to it.
Diarise 22 April 2027 if you are applying to a programme eligible for needs-based awards.
Prepare your financial need case, or your Diversity Scholarship response, with the same care you give your personal statement.
Given that competition for these awards and scholarships is strong, a rushed or generic funding application rarely succeeds against candidates who treat it as a genuine second application.
Getting the funding sequence right, alongside a genuinely strong application, is exactly the kind of strategic detail I work through with every client individually rather than leaving to a generic checklist. If you want a direct assessment of your own funding position and application strategy for LSE MSc Finance, book a conversation with me.
