Masters 2027 Application Rounds: HEC, Bocconi, LSE, LBS and Oxford

The 2027 masters cycle has passed its first checkpoint. HEC Paris closed its round 1 on 7 October and published its admissibility results on 26 October. Bocconi’s first MSc window closes today, 29 October, at 3 p.m. Italian time, and its round 2 opens tomorrow. The LSE is taking applications on a rolling basis, London Business School is open for its August 2027 intake, and Oxford’s graduate deadlines fall in December and January. Here is the calendar as the five schools publish it today, and how to decide whether to file now or aim for the next round.

Updated 29 October 2026

Key facts and figures

• Bocconi MSc round 1 closes today, 29 October 2026, at 3 p.m. Italian time, and round 2 runs from 30 October 2026 to 26 January 2027 with results on 4 March 2027 (unibocconi.it, read 29 October 2026).
• Bocconi publishes four selection rounds for international candidates in 2027-2028, each closing at 3 p.m. Italian time, with results on 17 December 2026, 4 March, 13 April and 10 June 2027 (unibocconi.it, read 29 October 2026).
• Bocconi: 100 euros application fee, up to five programmes per application, no two rounds at the same time and two applications maximum per academic year (unibocconi.it, read 29 October 2026).
• Bocconi’s own wording on early rounds: slots for the most sought-after programmes and the majority of scholarships are more likely to be allocated in the earlier rounds (unibocconi.it, read 29 October 2026).
• HEC Paris round 2 closes on 26 November 2026 at 12pm (noon) CET, admissibility results no later than 21 December 2026, admission results on 1 February 2027 at 6pm, application fee 180 euros (hec.edu, read 29 October 2026).
• HEC rounds 3 and 4 close on 17 February and 28 April 2027, both at noon; the Join a School in France route is separate, costs 250 euros and closes next on 7 January 2027 at 6pm Paris time (hec.edu, read 29 October 2026).
• LSE taught masters are mostly rolling: a programme closes once all of the available places have been filled, and a decision takes an average of eight weeks. Previous applicants have until 16 November 2026 to reinstate a file for 2027-2028, for 95 pounds (lse.ac.uk, read 29 October 2026).
• London Business School: Masters in Management August 2027 intake open, 125 pounds to apply, submissions by 11.59pm UK time on the day of your chosen deadline, scholarships by Monday 8 March at the latest (london.edu, read 29 October 2026).
• Oxford: one deadline covers the funding too. For the majority of Oxford scholarships, the Clarendon Fund included, you only submit your graduate application by the December or January deadline of your course, with no separate scholarship application. The university expects to offer over 1,100 full or partial graduate scholarships for new students in 2026-27 (ox.ac.uk, read 29 October 2026).

Bocconi: Round 1 Closes Today at 3 p.m., Round 2 Opens Tomorrow

In Milan, Bocconi’s official MSc timeline for the 2027-2028 academic year, checked today, puts round 1 from 1 October to 29 October 2026. The detail that catches candidates out is the time of day: the admissions page states that each round closes at 3 p.m. Italian time on the date indicated, not at midnight. If your file is still open this afternoon, you have a few hours, not a full evening.

Results for round 1 land on 17 December 2026, and the enrolment window then runs to 14 January 2027 at 3 p.m. Round 2 takes over from 30 October 2026 to 26 January 2027, with results on 4 March 2027, then round 3 from 27 January to 11 March 2027 with results on 13 April, and round 4 from 12 March to 29 April 2027 with results on 10 June. The fee is 100 euros per application.

Bocconi applies the same criteria at every round, and its page is careful about this: you are judged against the other applicants of your own round, for the places available in that round. What it does say plainly is that slots for the most sought-after programmes and the majority of scholarships are more likely to be allocated in the earlier rounds. Two practical rules matter as much as the dates: you may name up to five programmes in a single application, and you may apply at most twice in one academic year, the second time only if you were not admitted and only if something in your profile has actually improved.

A decision on 17 December also arrives before most French and British answers, which is worth planning for if you are running several countries in parallel. For the bachelor route into the same university, see our Bocconi application guide.

HEC Paris: Round 1 Is Closed, Round 2 Closes on 26 November at Noon

HEC’s official Master in Management admissions page, checked today, confirms the direct application calendar for the September 2027 intake. Round 1 closed on 7 October 2026 at noon and its admissibility results were published on 26 October, with admission results due on 19 November at 6pm. The next deadline is round 2, on 26 November 2026 at 12pm (noon) CET, followed by 17 February and 28 April 2027. Admissibility results for round 2 come no later than 21 December 2026 and admission results on 1 February 2027 at 6pm. The direct application fee is 180 euros.

Two points of precision that the HEC page makes and that candidates often blur. First, this calendar is the Master in Management one: the specialised MSc programmes publish their own admissions pages, so check the dates of the exact programme you are targeting rather than assuming a single HEC calendar. Second, Join a School in France is a separate route with its own sessions, the next closing on 7 January 2027 at 6pm Paris time, and a 250 euros fee. You must choose one route only, and HEC states that both are treated equally and fairly.

Applying in an early round earns no scoring bonus, and HEC publishes no claim to the contrary. What changes is your position: an answer in February lets you weigh your offers calmly. Conversely, if your file is still incomplete, say your GMAT or GRE is not yet done or your English score sits below your potential, you are almost always better served by February than by a weakened submission in November. Our GMAT versus GRE comparison helps you decide which test to finish first, and HEC’s masters sit at the top of the main European tables, as our review of the QS Business Masters Rankings 2027 sets out.

LSE, LBS and Oxford: Three Different Calendar Logics

The LSE works almost without rounds. Its guidance for 2027-2028 entry states that only a few programmes have deadlines and that decisions are mostly made on a rolling basis, which means a programme will close once all of the available places have been filled. Expect an average of eight weeks for a decision on a taught masters, counted from the moment the school confirms your application is complete. The LSE also publishes dated deadlines that are easy to miss because they are not about taught admissions: 3 December 2026 and 13 January 2027 for research funding, and 16 November 2026 for previous applicants who want to reinstate a file for 2027-2028, at a cost of 95 pounds.

At London Business School, applications for the Masters in Management August 2027 intake are open and staged: you choose one of the published deadlines and submit by 11.59pm UK time on that day, for a fee of 125 pounds. The school applies the same selection criteria throughout the cycle but says competition is often intense in the final months, and it sets one clear line for funding: apply by Monday 8 March at the latest to be considered for an LBS scholarship, which for the August 2027 intake means 8 March 2027. For reference on cost, the published tuition is 52,950 pounds for the 2026 intake, plus a 200 pounds student association fee; no 2027 figure is published yet.

Oxford works differently again. Almost all graduate courses carry a December or January deadline, and the university states that for the majority of its scholarships, the Clarendon Fund included, you only need to submit your graduate application by that deadline: there is no separate scholarship application and no extra supporting documents. The exact date belongs to your course, so read your own course page rather than a general calendar. The scale is real: Oxford expects to offer over 1,100 full or partial graduate scholarships to new students for 2026-27, and a Clarendon award covers course fees in full plus a living grant, at least 20,780 pounds for a full-time scholar in 2025-26. December and January sound distant, but the academic references and the written work many courses require make these files slower to build than a business school application.

Your November Checklist

If you are targeting 2027 entry, these are the questions to settle in the next three weeks:

• Are your test scores where they need to be? A GMAT Focus, a GRE or an English test can be retaken. If your current score sits below your target programme’s range, February with a better score almost always beats November with an average one.
• Are your references underway? Professors receive dozens of requests between October and January. Briefing them now, with your CV and your target programmes, protects your December deadlines.
• Have you checked the closing time, not just the date? Bocconi closes at 3 p.m. Italian time, HEC at noon, London Business School at 11.59pm UK time. Three different hours on three different days.
• Is your list balanced? Rankings calibrate ambition, they do not choose for you. The FT Masters in Management Ranking 2026 gives you the photograph, to be crossed with each programme’s real placement outcomes. Our guide to Masters in Management admissions details what the most selective programmes expect.
• Is every file specific? An HEC essay recycled for Bocconi is spotted immediately. Three excellent applications beat six average ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Bocconi’s MSc round 1 close?

Round 1 for the 2027-2028 academic year runs from 1 October to 29 October 2026 and closes at 3 p.m. Italian time on 29 October. Bocconi’s admissions page states that each round closes at 3 p.m. Italian time on the date indicated, so a file submitted late on the closing evening is simply not considered.

What happens if I miss Bocconi’s round 1?

Round 2 opens on 30 October 2026 and closes on 26 January 2027, with results on 4 March 2027. Round 3 runs from 27 January to 11 March 2027, results on 13 April, and round 4 from 12 March to 29 April 2027, results on 10 June. Bocconi publishes four selection rounds for international candidates for 2027-2028.

Does applying to Bocconi early improve my chances?

Bocconi does not promise an easier admission in round 1, but its admissions page states that slots for the most sought-after programmes and the majority of scholarships are more likely to be allocated in the earlier rounds. Your file is also compared with the other applicants of your own round, for the places available in that round.

How many programmes can I choose in one Bocconi application?

Up to five programmes within a single application through the standard rounds. You cannot apply to two rounds at the same time, you may apply at most twice for the same academic year, and a second application is only allowed if you were not admitted and if at least one element of your profile has been updated or improved. The application fee is 100 euros.

When is HEC Paris’s next masters deadline?

Round 1 closed on 7 October 2026 and its admissibility results were published on 26 October. The next direct deadline is round 2, which closes on 26 November 2026 at 12pm (noon) CET, with admissibility results no later than 21 December 2026 and admission results on 1 February 2027 at 6pm. Rounds 3 and 4 close on 17 February and 28 April 2027, both at noon.

Is it better to apply to HEC directly or through Join a School in France?

HEC states that both methods are treated equally and fairly, and that you must choose one only. The two routes have different calendars and different costs: 180 euros for a direct application, 250 euros through Join a School in France, whose next session closes on 7 January 2027 at 6pm Paris time.

Does the LSE use application rounds?

Mostly not. The LSE states that only a few programmes have deadlines and that decisions are mostly made on a rolling basis, which means a programme will close once all of the available places have been filled. Expect an average of eight weeks for a decision on a taught masters, counted from the acknowledgement that your application is complete.

Are there dated deadlines at the LSE for 2027 entry?

For taught masters the LSE publishes no general closing date and refers you to each programme page. Its dated deadlines concern research funding, 3 December 2026 for departments that set an early panel and 13 January 2027 for the main one, and previous applicants, who have until 16 November 2026 to reinstate an application for 2027-2028 for a fee of 95 pounds.

What is the London Business School deadline for scholarships?

The Masters in Management intake of August 2027 is open and applications are staged. LBS strongly encourages you to apply by Monday 8 March at the latest to be considered for a school scholarship, which for this intake means 8 March 2027. Submissions are due by 11.59pm UK time on the day of your chosen deadline and the application fee is 125 pounds.

Which deadline do I need to meet for an Oxford scholarship?

The December or January deadline of your own course, and nothing more. Oxford states that for the majority of its scholarships, the Clarendon Fund included, you only need to submit your graduate application by that deadline, with no separate scholarship application and no extra supporting documents. The dates themselves are published on each graduate course page.

Talk It Through with a YDS Coach

Every year we guide candidates into HEC, Bocconi, LSE, LBS, Oxford and Europe’s other most selective programmes. Round strategy, programme selection, test preparation, essays and interviews: our premium admissions coaching builds a realistic calendar with you, round by round. Since 2018 we have guided more than 1,300 students, who have collected 1,100+ offers of admission from 107 universities. With 160+ Google reviews and a 5/5 rating on Google, Your Dream School is the reference consultancy for international admissions. Book your strategy call to review your 2027 masters plan before the November deadlines.

Figures taken from our admissions database, 2019 to 2025 intakes. They are minimums: the 2017-2018 and 2025-2026 intakes are not yet consolidated.

Official sources reopened on 29 October 2026: unibocconi.it (MSc selection rounds and timeline for a.y. 2027-2028, round 1 from 1 to 29 October 2026 closing at 3 p.m. Italian time, results 17 December 2026, enrolment to 14 January 2027, rounds 2 to 4 closing 26 January, 11 March and 29 April 2027, 100 euros application fee, five programmes per application, early-round wording on slots and scholarships), hec.edu (Master in Management direct admissions calendar, round 1 closed 7 October 2026 at noon, round 2 on 26 November 2026 at 12pm CET, rounds 3 and 4 on 17 February and 28 April 2027, admissibility and admission results dates, 180 euros fee, Join a School in France route at 250 euros closing 7 January 2027 at 6pm Paris time), lse.ac.uk (rolling admissions for taught masters, eight weeks on average, research funding deadlines 3 December 2026 and 13 January 2027, reinstatement by 16 November 2026 at 95 pounds), london.edu (Masters in Management August 2027 intake open, 125 pounds application fee, 11.59pm UK time, scholarship line of Monday 8 March, 52,950 pounds tuition for the 2026 intake) and ox.ac.uk (graduate application by the December or January course deadline for the majority of scholarships including Clarendon, over 1,100 full or partial graduate scholarships expected for 2026-27, Clarendon fees in full plus at least 20,780 pounds in 2025-26 for a full-time scholar). The QS and FT placements mentioned above come from our own published reviews of those tables and were not reopened today.

Author

About Adam Girsault

With a Bachelor's (LLB) from UCL and Assas, and the Grande Ecole program at HEC Paris, Adam co-founded Your Dream School in 2018. Since then the company has coached more than 1,000 students through university admissions and interview preparation for top global institutions.

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