Can I request new exams for January 2026?
The January exam period is currently full. Requests for new January exams can only be considered in accordance with the ‘one-in-one-out’ policy.
In the meantime, please provide any expressions of interest for new January exams on this spreadsheet by the end of Spring Term 2025. This will help us assess the level of unmet demand and scope out options. This should not be considered as a first-come-first-served waiting list, although we will of course consider these expressions of interest should additional capacity be secured.
Work is ongoing to consider whether further expansion of the January period can be achieved, and the outcome of that work is scheduled for consideration in Autumn Term 2025. If agreed, any change to the January exam period capacity is not likely to come into effect until January 2027 at the earliest.
Can I request new exams for Spring 2026?
Although the ‘one in, one out’ policy is still in place, it is not currently being applied to new Spring exams. Departments are free to add new Spring exams for 2026 during the annual course guide review or as part of a new course proposal, without seeking approval.
The number of Spring exams will be kept under review and it may be necessary to return to applying ‘one-in-one-out’ to new Spring exams in future.
When adding new Spring exams, Departments should bear in mind the following:
-
Exams may be scheduled any point in the six-week exam period. With more exams in the Spring period, inevitably more of them must be scheduled in the later weeks of the period. Although in Spring Departments may make timetabling requests to schedule particularly large courses, which are meeting the UG or 9/10-month MSc mark submission deadline, early in the period, this can’t be guaranteed.
-
With more exams overall, and more unique course/exam combinations, the chances of individual students having a ‘challenging’ exam schedule increases (e.g. two exams in one day, exams on consecutive days, multiple exams in a week, etc). Departments should be ready to manage student expectations on this.
What steps do I take if I would like exams to be delivered as e-Exams?
Departments may opt to have existing exams in the January period, and existing or new exams in the Spring period, delivered as e-Exams. E-exams are in-person invigilated exams completed by students on their own device, using the software Digiexam according to the School’s agreed standard settings.
For more information about e-Exams please refer to the e-Exam staff guidance and student guidance or contact ssc.exams@lse.ac.uk.
Requests for centrally scheduled e-Exams or online exams which are 24 hours or shorter can be made by selecting the appropriate exam option in the ‘Mode’ field in Akari during the Annual Course Guide Review process (Deadline 6th May 2025).
As a reminder, the following types of online assessment will be scheduled centrally alongside in-person exams:
- Assessments which are 24 hours or shorter, of one of the following types:
- 24-hour window online assessment, with a shorter expected effort time within this
- Time-limited online assessment with a common start time for all students
- Time-limited online assessment to be taken at any time within a 24-hour window
- This will apply only to assessments of the above types which take place in the January or Spring exam periods, and these same assessments when they occur in the August UG IRDAP and PGT January RDAP or May/June RDAP2.