Results from the Postgraduate Survey 2026 show that the School has maintained a strong performance, with Overall Satisfaction remaining high at 87%.

While scores across other areas show a mix of small increases and decreases across compared with last year, several departments have seen notable improvements across a range of categories. 

Response rates up

The survey also saw a significant rise in student participation this year, with the response rate increasing 8 percentage points to 40.4%. Further, 22 out of 24 departments achieved higher response rates than in 2025.

The Postgraduate Survey ran from 8 June to 5 July 2026 and was open to all diploma and taught master’s students with questions broadly aligning with those in the Undergraduate Survey and the National Student Survey (NSS).

Notable highlights

• Response rates: an increase in the School response rate by 8.6ppt compared to last year (from 31.8% to 40.4%), with 22 of 24 departments recording higher response rates
• Overall Satisfaction: Overall Satisfaction held steady (down 1ppt on last year to 87%)
• 90%+ scores across categories: the following categories scored 90%+ at the school level: Teaching on my programme, Academic Support, Learning Resources, Freedom of Expression, and Programme Delivery
• Assessment and feedback: scores have increased for 4 of the 5 Assessment and Feedback questions
• Mental health and wellbeing: Mental Wellbeing Services scored strongly at department and School levels (88-90%)
• Department improvement: several departments saw widespread improvements, including Media and Communications which increased scores in 15 categories, Social Policy which increased scores in 14 categories, and Government, Management, and Law which increased scores in 13 categories each.

Other insights

• ‘Closing the feedback loop’ remains our weakest question at PGT level (68%)
• School-wide scores decreased slightly, by 1 to 3ppt, in the following categories: Overall Satisfaction, Academic Support, Organisation and Management, Learning Resources, Student Voice, Freedom of Expression, Sense of Belonging, Personal Development
• Sense of Belonging scores decreased in 3 of 4 questions. The question that improved was 'I made the right decision in choosing to study at this university' which increased by 0.1ppt. The biggest fall in the Sense of Belonging questions was 'I see myself as part of the university community' which fell by 2.2ppt. 

For visuals of the School wide results, view the summary slide deck of the Postgraduate Survey 2026 results (PDF).

Themes from student comments

The School again used StudentVoice.ai, an AI-powered analysis tool, to summarise themes arising from student comments. These are largely similar to last year.

Key areas of strength identified by students include:

• Course content and teaching
  Students praise the rigorous and challenging curriculum that encourages critical thinking and evidence-based analysis, and value the integration of innovative academic research into the curriculum, including opportunities to develop their own methodological skills. However, they would like more real-world application and the opportunity to develop practical, industry-ready skills through their course
• Variable academic and personal support
  Many comments praise knowledgeable, passionate and supportive lecturers, supervisors, and professional services colleagues. However, students also report difficulties accessing support, obtaining timely responses, securing office hours, and accessing mental health services, particularly at peak times
• Dissertation
  Students want more supervisory support, better topic-supervisor matching, and improved timing to reduce overlap between dissertation work and examinations
• Assessment, marking, and feedback
  Students frequently raise concerns about heavy reliance on high-stakes exams, delayed feedback, unclear expectations, inconsistent, lack of transparency in marking, and limited opportunities to act on feedback before subsequent assessments
• Programme organisation and communication
  Students frequently report confusion around course choice, assessment requirements, timetables, deadlines, programme structures, course changes, and where to find information. Communication is often described as fragmented, delayed, or unclear
• Workload and stress
  Stress is often linked to clustering of exams, recruitment activities occurring alongside assessments, and heavy workloads concentrated into specific periods
• Students want their feedback to have a more visible impact
   A recurring theme is that students do not always feel heard, acted upon, or adequately consulted, particularly regarding programme management, assessments, and broader student experience issues
• Career-focused learning
  Students frequently want greater real-world application of theory, more industry engagement, practical skill development, placements, case studies, and assessments that better reflect professional practice
• Sense of belonging
  Social events, departmental activities, and cohort interactions help build belonging, yet some students report isolation, difficulties integrating socially, or challenges for those with responsibilities or different social preferences
• Course choice
  Students value flexibility and breadth of options but frequently describe course selection as competitive, stressful, and constrained by limited capacity

Our Education and Student Experience work 

The results of the Postgraduate Survey 2026, along with those from the Undergraduate Survey and National Student Survey (NSS), highlight the impact of work underway across the School to improve and enhance education and student experience, and will also inform activity moving forward, including addressing areas where scores are lower.

You can read more about LSE’s Education and Student Experience strategy plus explore Insights for staff webpage, which includes the data, surveys and insight that underpins the School’s ESE work.