London School of Economics Direct Enroll

More Information on the London School of Economics Direct Enroll Program

The General Course is LSE’s study abroad programme. It allows students from overseas universities to spend a full academic year at LSE. We don’t offer any single semester/term options, largely due to the fact that most of our modules span the full year, but also because we feel you need at least a year to get the most out of LSE and London! During your year at LSE you will have access to a full calendar of social events, specially designed and subsidised exclusively for General Course students. LSE is just one of many reasons to choose London, the best student city in the world.

You will be joining a culturally diverse population of 12,000 students, around 70% of whom join us from outside the UK, representing over 140 countries.

Read more about the General Course here, or view the comprehensive brochure here.

LSE offers no single semester study options. You spend a full academic year at the School, helping you integrate into the LSE community and make lasting friendships.

Academic year: September to June

Verify the exact dates for each academic year here.

You must meet the admissions standards outlined by the program to which you are applying. Requirements vary; review LSE's requirements to ensure that you meet them before applying.

MISTI applicants need to:

Have a GPA of 4.0 or above
In good academic standing
In good judicial standing
Up to date with the Communication Requirement
Up to date with HASS courses

Contact MISTI if you have questions about your particular situation.

Application process is a two-part process:

Apply directly to the London School of Economics by the stated deadline for the program/term you wish to study abroad. Remember that you can only apply for LSE's General Course program which runs for the full academic year.
Apply through MISTI for approval to study abroad. Apply by the deadline for the term in which you plan to study abroad.

Study Options

See the Course Guide for a full list of the 300+ courses available to you.

Courses at LSE are either a Full Unit (1.0), or Half Unit (0.5). Full unit courses run across the whole year, whereas half unit courses will typically take place in one term only, either Autumn Term (AT) or Winter Term (WT). As a General Course student, you must select four units’ worth of courses, or the equivalent in half units. You should take no more than four half units, combined with two full units, and these should ideally be balanced between the two terms.

In selecting your courses, you should be aware of any pre-requisites in order to be eligible to enrol. In addition, because of the tightly constrained nature of degree regulations at LSE, many 300 level courses have ‘unspoken’ or ‘assumed ’pre-requisites where the material covered in 200 level courses is simply taken as a ‘given’ starting point for the 300 level course. This means that General Course students predominantly take 200 level courses, and we do not usually recommend that students take more than one or two 300 level courses as they are exceptionally demanding.

See more tips on course selection here.

Transfer Credit

Information on the transfer credit process at MIT can be found here.

Grades for the academic year are released in July; see the exact date and more information on the publication of results here.

For this program, you will pay for tuition, accommodation, and other living expenses directly to the London School of Economics or in-country (depending on the category of expense) and not to MIT.

Financial aid is portable for this program. A few months before departure, SFS and MISTI will share with students the most up-to-date budget for participation on the program based on an agreement with the London School of Economics.

Admitted students who receive financial aid should make an appointment with the financial aid representative to whom they are assigned to discuss the particulars.

University housing is guaranteed to all General Course students. View more details here.

UK Visa

More information about the visa requirements can be found here: UK Visa Information.

UK ETA

Starting January 8th 2025, US passport holders (and many other nations) will need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation in order to enter the UK. It typically takes 3 business days to process (but be prepared in advance, because it occasionally takes longer).

Do not simply google “UK ETA” and click on the first sponsored link, as this will take you to third party services which will charge you an exorbitant and unnecessary fee to process. Rather, please visit this UK government website, download the UK ETA app on your smartphone, and follow the instructions. The cost is $13/£10.

Once approved, you will get an email confirming you have got an ETA. It will be linked to the passport you applied with. Your ETA lasts for 2 years. You can enter the UK as many times as you want during that time, up to 6 months stay.