Overview

The Department is home to by far the largest group of researchers in economic history in the UK and one of the largest in the world. This is a pluralistic Department which encourages different approaches to the discipline: quantitative economic history; global history; history of economic thought; historical demography; historical economic geography; international economic history; business history; financial and monetary history; and social history. We also offer a wide chronological and geographical coverage of economic history, with specialists in almost every continent and any historical period from the medieval age onwards. For this reason, the Department is able to supervise a wide range of topics, in line with the research interests of the teaching staff.

We particularly value a comparative outlook on research, and the fruits of our research have been used by international agencies, such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, government departments and local communities. Our faculty have included among their research commitments the editorship of The European Review of Economic History and Economic History of Developing Regions.

All the students in the Economic History programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science are expected to gain a broad knowledge of the subject from graduate level course-work in the first year which complements the deeper knowledge gained from intense thesis research. In addition, many of our research students take the opportunity to gain valuable teaching experience on undergraduate courses.

Careers

Graduates of the programme have gone into a wide variety of careers, including university teaching and research posts, as well as jobs at international economic agencies such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

Top 5 sectors our students work in:

Financial and Professional Services
Education, Teaching and Research
Government, Public Sector and Policy
Accounting and Auditing
Consultancy

Programme Structure

Courses include:

Approaches to Economic and Social History

Historical Analysis of Economic Change

Research Design and Quantitative Methods in Economic History

Quantitative Analysis in Economic History

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 36 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2026-09-29 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-04-25 00:00:00

Language

English

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

London, United Kingdom

Disciplines

Economics History View 134 other PhDs in History in United Kingdom

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Academic requirements

GPA

Required

English requirements

We are not aware of any English requirements for this programme.

Other requirements

General requirements

Merit in LSE's MSc Economic History (Research). Direct entry for applicants with a merit in an master's in economic history or a similar field (Economics, History, and so on) subject to sufficient knowledge of Economic History, will be considered.

Students are also accepted for the so-called 1+3 programme, a one year MSc in Economic History (Research) followed by a three year research programme.
Competition for places at the School is high. This means that even if you meet our minimum entry requirement, this does not guarantee you an offer of admission.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

23500 GBP / year

≈ 23500 GBP / year
Domestic Applies to you

Applies to you

Citizens or residents

5006 GBP / year

≈ 5006 GBP / year

Living costs

London

United Kingdom

1137 - 2157 GBP / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

The School recognizes 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.Find out more about financial support.

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find PhD's scholarship opportunities for Economic History.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

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