FAQs for students

Your teaching and learning in Michaelmas Term 2021

Our expectation for the 2021/22 academic year is that all LSE students will be in London and studying on campus, where many of your learning experiences will be in-person, supplemented by some online elements. This approach has been informed by our student and academic community, building upon the innovations and improvements we have put in place over the past year.

From the start of Michaelmas Term 2021, we anticipate the following to be in place:

• We will deliver all compulsory teaching and learning activity in person, including seminars, tutorials, workshops, classes and Harvard style teaching sessions. However, there may be occasional rare circumstances which must be well-justified where we may need to move an activity online.
• We are not planning to have mandated social distancing in classrooms. However, we are prepared to reintroduce this if the need arises.
• The standard expectation is that other types of staff-student engagement will take place in-person on campus. These include office hours, academic mentoring and dissertation/thesis supervision.
• Some other aspects of your programme may also be online but when this happens, we will always prioritise on-campus opportunities for interactive engagement.

Lecture arrangements for Michaelmas Term

• Lectures, which are non-compulsory, will normally be delivered online - either synchronously or asynchronously. We will aim to deliver a small number of lectures in-person.
• All lectures, whether in-person or online, will be recorded for your benefit.
• It may be possible to deliver more lectures in-person in Lent Term and we will continue to explore this.
• This approach towards lectures means that, should we need to reintroduce social distancing measures, we would be able to continue providing face-to-face class and seminar teaching for a much larger number of courses in-person on campus. This will also enable us to use these spaces for community building, networking activities as well as peer and faculty engagement while these measures are not in place.

Returning to campus for Michaelmas Term

• We expect you and all fellow students to join us on campus in London to study from the start of term, Monday 27 September.
• However, we understand that due to exceptional circumstances outside of your control, such as visas or local COVID challenges, you may not be able to arrive at this time.
• If this is the case, we will continue to support you remotely during the first few weeks of term before your arrival. We will aim to offer hybrid teaching to ensure your experience at LSE is maintained despite other delays outside of your control.
• You will still need to come to London so that you can complete your studies which will include in-person components for all students, and you should aim to arrive within a few weeks of the start of term, enrolling by  22 October at the latest.

Find out more information on the UK government website.

It's essential to follow England and LSE's rules, to help us resume in-person activities safely and maintain a low-risk environment. We all have a role to play and everyone’s efforts can make a huge difference.

Take a look at our self-isolation guidance for information and support if you need to self-isolate.

If you're staying in halls, our halls of residence webpages provide more information on the health and safety measures we have put in place for COVID-19.

Our International Student Visa Advice Team (ISVAT) have a dedicated FAQ page for coronavirus (COVID-19) immigration advice for current and prospective students.

If your question is not answered in their FAQs, use their query form to contact the team for advice.

Applying for deferred payment for hotel quarantine

If you will find it difficult to pay for the Managed Quarantine Package fee of £1,750 immediately, you can apply for ‘deferred payment due to financial hardship’ as a student with a visa to study in the UK. To find out how to do this, please click on the link at the very bottom of the quarantine hotel booking page. This is the section of the Booking page which says: If you are facing financial hardship and unable to pay immediately - find more details here.

On arrival, you must quarantine in the hotel you’ve booked for 10 days. If you test positive for COVID-19 while in quarantine, you may need to quarantine for longer.

You should book your quarantine package in good time so that you can campus enrol at LSE for the start of your studies.

Means-tested financial support for students from red list countries

LSE has a means-tested In-Course Support fund available for registered students who face unexpected financial hardship once they have enrolled at the School. Students from red-listed countries who face financial difficulties, as a result of paying for the hotel quarantine arrangements, can apply to this fund during their studies should they need to do so. It is not possible to apply for funding prior to campus-enrolling at the School.

Your health and safety is paramount. Across campus and halls of residences we have introduced enhanced health and safety measures. Where appropriate it is likely that we will go beyond government guidance, based on scientific advice and the expertise of our academic faculty. 

To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, everyone on campus must adhere to the following requirements:

Testing: Staff, students and visitors coming to LSE buildings must be tested regularly, with evidence of a valid negative COVID test taken within the last 4 days. At present, this is also required for those who have received both vaccinations

More information on testing and booking

Mask wearing: Masks must be worn in all lifts on campus and for teaching and learning activities during the Summer School period (until 20 August),  unless they are exempt from doing so for medical or disability related reasons.

We strongly encourage all staff, students and visitors to wear masks in all LSE buildings, especially in high-traffic or ocnfined areas, for the safety of our community.

Social Distancing: Until 20 August, we will require social distancing in classrooms, where Summer School and Executive programmes are taking place. We also encourage everyone on campus to maintain a respectful distance from others when possible to help minimise the risk of asympromatic spreading of the virus.

Self-Monitoring: Anyone coming to campus must self-monitor for symptoms and stay at home if they have potentially been exposed to COVID-19 or have had any symptoms over the past two weeks. Anyone with symptoms should self-isolate and get tested for coronavirus. For further guidance on symptoms and related matters please see this NHS page.

Track and Trace: We ask that you use our LSE Trace system to enable us to look after your health, safety and wellbeing, as well as that of other members of our community.

COVID-19 Reporting: If you test positive for COVID-19 you must self-isolate as per the NHS guidance and inform the School via our LSE trace system as soon as possible.