Entry requirements

If you are interested in applying to study a PhD or the MA by research at Leeds University Business School you must have met the minimum entry criteria before a research proposal will be considered. If you have any queries please see our frequently asked questions or contact the Graduate School at phd@lubs.leeds.ac.uk

PhD

Economics, Management, Marketing and Work & Employment Relations Department

Candidates should ideally have a first-class or at least a good upper second-class undergraduate degree.
Candidates should hold a British Masters degree (or equivalent degree from an overseas university) or an equivalent professional qualification:

  • with a minimum average score of 60 percent (or equivalent); and
  • in an appropriate academic discipline. Appropriate academic disciplines include those directly related to the subject specialisms of the Business School (accounting and finance, economics, international business, management, marketing and work and employment relations) or providing skill sets which are particularly relevant to the PhD research project (for example, social research methods, linguistics, mathematics, statistics, psychology, etc.)

You should also meet our English language requirements (detailed below).


Accounting & Finance and International Business Department

Candidates should ideally have a first-class or at least a good upper second-class undergraduate degree.
Candidates should hold a British Masters degree (or equivalent degree from an overseas university) or an equivalent professional qualification:

  • 70 (or the equivalent at a non-UK institution) in the master’s degree, but exceptional candidates with 65 and above will be also considered.
  • in an appropriate academic discipline. Appropriate academic disciplines include those directly related to the subject specialisms of the Business School (accounting and finance, economics, international business, management, marketing and work and employment relations) or providing skill sets which are particularly relevant to the PhD research project (for example, social research methods, linguistics, mathematics, statistics, psychology, etc.)

You should also meet our English language requirements (detailed below).

MA by Research 

Candidates with a good Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification (for UK students this is usually an upper second or first class honours degree) can apply for the MA by Research.

You should also meet our English language requirements (detailed below).

 

English language requirements

On all research degree programmes a pass in an approved test in English is required for applicants whose first language is not English. The approved tests and minimum required scores are detailed below. Please note that test scores are valid for 2 years.

  • IELTS (Academic) Overall score of at least 7.0 with no less than 6.0 in each section. 
  • TOEFL iBT We require an overall test result of 95 with the following minimum scores required in each of these sections: Listening 19, Reading 20, Speaking 22, Writing 21.

For split-site students, the following English Language requirements apply:

  • IELTS (Academic) Overall score of at least 7.0 with no less than 6.0 in each section. 
  • TOEFL iBT We require an overall test result of 95 with the following minimum scores required in each of these sections: Listening 19, Reading 20, Speaking 22, Writing 21.

Other English language qualifications are also accepted. For a full list please refer to the acceptable English language qualifications listed in the University admissions policy or contact the Graduate School for further details.

Improve your English at Leeds

Adapt to study in the UK and improve your academic English level to meet the standard needed of your postgraduate research degree by taking one of our pre-sessional courses: 

You can also study pre-sessional courses for longer periods – read about our postgraduate research pre-sessional English courses.

If your English language score is lower than the above entry requirements, you may be given a conditional offer based on successful completion of a pre-sessional course. The number of weeks required to study will depend on your current IELTS score.

Please contact the University of Leeds Language Centre to find out more and view entry requirements.