Applications for the Master’s in Finance programme for intake in August 2025 are open!
To help you prepare for your application, the MiF Recruitment and Admissions Team have shared their advice on how you can strengthen your application and improve your chances of being admitted to the programme.
We strongly encourage you to submit your application as early as possible as applications in the later rounds are highly competitive. Submitting within Rounds 1-3 also increases your chances of being considered for our scholarships.
KEY TIPS BEFORE STARTING YOUR APPLICATION
- Download our brochure – familiarise yourself and gain a thorough understanding of the programme
- Read our latest Employment Report – discover key information about the student body and where your career post-MiF could lead to
- Connect with our current Students, Ambassadors and Alumni – advance your understanding of the MiF student experience!
- Attend events – held virtually or in person. Join our Q&A sessions and have one of your questions answered live.
CV & ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPTS
You must include a one-page CV using our recommended LBS approved CV template along with your academic transcripts. We require transcripts from your undergraduate and any postgraduate degrees.
You can access our LBS CV Template in the ‘One-page CV’ of our How to Apply pages.
GMAT/GRE
To assess your quantitative ability and ensure you can handle the rigour of the programme, we require a GMAT/GRE score. We have no preference between GMAT or GRE. A good GMAT score is 650 or above, if you have a valid 10th edition test score. For the equivalent for GMAT Focus Edition, a good score will be 615 and above. For GRE, we look for around 160+ in the quantitative section and 155+ in the verbal section.
TWO ESSAY QUESTIONS
Fundamentally, we are looking for two things in your answers to the two essay questions.
- Firstly, what is it you want to achieve by studying the Masters in Finance? Are you looking to change or accelerate in your career? Acquire a certain knowledge/gain a deeper understanding of finance? Build your network? We strongly encourage you to be specific and transparent about your objectives.
- Secondly, what can you bring to London Business School? What would make you a good student, valued member of the community, alumni network? Are you well-rounded? Do you have interests beyond the classroom? How do you want to get involved in LBS? Do you want to contribute as a Student Ambassador?
There is no right or wrong answer for the essay questions. Our best advice is to mean what you say and say what you mean. We want you to tell us your story and reveal your personality.
REFERENCE
We require one reference from your chosen referee. Ideally, this should be a professional who knows you well and has seen you work under pressure. For most applicants, this might be a current or former line manager or supervisor. If you are not able to ask a current supervisor, other alternatives could be asking a client you work closely with, or even a fellow colleague. The reference is a questionnaire completed by your referee – we will not accept general letters of recommendation.
TESTING YOUR LEVEL OF ENGLISH
You will need to submit an English language test score unless you are a native speaker national of a majority English-speaking country as defined by the UK Visas & Immigration Office.
We ask that you submit a score report with your application and make London Business School the score recipient for your test score so we can verify your scores electronically.
Please note, we will only accept English tests completed within 2 years of the MiF programme start date in August.
We accept these tests:
- TOEFL, including online at home editions
- IELTS, including online at home editions
- CPE – Cambridge English Exam
- PTE – Pearson Test of English
- CAE – Cambridge Advanced Exam
- Duolingo English Test
WAIVERS
We offer waivers for GMAT/GRE to a very small number of candidates. To qualify, you will need to exhibit previous academic excellence and strong quantitative skills. The decision to grant a waiver is made at the discretion of the MiF Admissions Committee. They look for strong grades in previous university studies, particularly in quantitative subjects, and outstanding professional experience in finance. Additionally, professional qualifications contribute to your case for a test waiver, for example, holding a CFA Level 2 or above gives you an automatic GMAT waiver.
Nonetheless, it is important to note having insufficient time to prepare for GMAT/GRE is not considered grounds on which a waiver will be granted. You can try our GMAT Simulator here and our GRE Simulator here.
You can find a deeper insight into requesting a GMAT/GRE waiver for the Masters in Finance pre-application here.
At the discretion of the Admission Committee, the requirement to provide English language test scores may be waived. You can apply for an exemption if you meet one of the following criteria:
- You are currently working in a professional role in a majority English-speaking country. We require at least 2 years of experience.
- You have completed a degree-level course (undergraduate and/or masters) that is either full-time, undertaken entirely in English, in a majority English-speaking country or has been completed in no more than 5 years prior to the course start date.
NEXT STEPS
Once you have submitted your application, our Admissions Team will notify you about whether you have been selected for an interview. Interviews are conducted by our Alumni, usually in your specific region either virtually or face-to-face.
You can watch our MiF Recruitment & Admissions Manager, Rachel DeAngelis, share her insights into strengthening your application and answer questions from our audience of prospective students here.
If you have any questions, the Recruitment Team are here to help and support you across the research and applying stages – please email us at mif@london.edu.
You can submit your profile for review, allowing us to informally assess your eligibility for the programme. We also host one-to-one consultations, where we get the chance to have more in-depth conversations around your experience for us to provide you with tailored application support.
Good luck!