Is this Advanced Diploma recognised in the UK?

Yes. The Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies is a UK Level 5 qualification aligned with CompTIA senior topics and IET telecoms competencies.

What are the entry requirements for the Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies?

You need a Level 4 Diploma, Foundation Year or two years of network engineering experience. IELTS 6.0 overall is required for non-native English speakers.

What are the fees and funding options?

Fees for the Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies are quoted per intake and include instalment plans. LSCE admissions reviews employer sponsorship and vendor-lab discounts at application.

Adv Diploma Routing and Switching Technologies | LSCE | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies is a UK Level 5 senior-track qualification lasting twelve to fifteen months covering senior-track competence in campus, WAN and data-centre network design. The programme concentrates on OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, VLAN and STP configuration, SDN principles, VRF and MPLS overlays, telemetry and packet capture, and the syllabus is aligned with (ISC)², International Information System Security Certification Consortium guidance and reference materials from ISACA. Delivery is available on-campus in central London, fully online with the same lab and tooling provisioning, or by distance learning, and every route joins the same intake cohort with weekly tutor visibility and named programme-tutor support.

By graduation from the Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies you will be a network engineer able to specify, deploy and troubleshoot production routing estates, with senior applied practice with real-world responsibility for design decisions demonstrated through a portfolio of coursework, applied labs and, at the closing stage, sustained coursework, an applied capstone and a scenario-based examination. Every learner leaves the Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies with a documented body of work suitable for UK employer conversations across telecoms, managed-service providers, public-sector network teams and City network engineering practices, and with a clear progression route into the next step of the LSCE ladder. Coursework is scheduled around working professionals so that part-time and full-time routes share the same weekly seminar, the same assessment rubric and the same tutor group.

Key Features

Cohort teaching in small tutor-visible groups at the LSCE central London campus, online, or by distance learning.
Curriculum aligned with (ISC)², International Information System Security Certification Consortium guidance and referenced against ISACA and CREST (Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers) materials.
Applied labs covering OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, VLAN and STP configuration, SDN principles, VRF and MPLS overlays, telemetry and packet capture.
Weekly clinic sessions where tutors work through problem sets, code review or design critique with you on your own coursework.
Assessment structured as sustained coursework, an applied capstone and a scenario-based examination rather than a single high-stakes final paper, so progress is visible throughout the Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies.
Careers-service introductions to London employers active in telecoms, managed-service providers, public-sector network teams and City network engineering practices, with dedicated CV and portfolio review sessions.
Structured articulation route within the LSCE ladder from a UK Level 5 senior-track qualification lasting twelve to fifteen months into the next level of study or straight into employment.

What You Will Learn

Configure OSPF, EIGRP and BGP on a mixed multi-vendor lab topology.
Design VLAN, trunking and spanning-tree topologies for a campus estate.
Deploy MPLS L3VPN with VRF separation in a small provider lab.
Automate switch configuration with Python and Ansible against network APIs.
Read packet captures to diagnose control-plane and data-plane issues.
Design QoS marking and queuing for latency-sensitive traffic.
Deploy SDN concepts using a controller and forwarding-plane abstraction.
Document a network estate for audit, change and disaster-recovery use.

Who This Course Is For

Diploma progressors moving into senior-track practitioner responsibility in enterprise routing and switching.
Working practitioners with two or more years of relevant experience formalising a senior credential.
Portfolio-route applicants able to evidence their applied practice at review.
International applicants seeking a UK Level 5 senior-track credential in enterprise routing and switching.
Consultants and contractors selling advisory services in telecoms, managed-service providers, public-sector network teams and City network engineering practices.

Career Pathways

SOC Analyst
Security Engineer
Digital Forensics Investigator
Network Security Engineer
Cloud Security Engineer
GRC Analyst
Incident Responder
Network Engineer

The LSCE careers service supports Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies graduates with structured CV clinics, portfolio and mock-interview sessions and named introductions to hiring managers across telecoms, managed-service providers, public-sector network teams and City network engineering practices. Every student meets a named careers adviser in the final stage, and alumni continue to receive careers coaching, job-alert access and application review after graduation. Where the Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies offers a placement or capstone with an employer sponsor, the careers team helps you shape that engagement into a portfolio entry recruiters can validate.

Entry Requirements

A relevant Diploma (Level 4), Foundation Year, or at least two years of relevant professional experience.
GCSE English at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or equivalent).
IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
One academic or professional reference.
Applicants with a portfolio, GitHub repositories, or working project experience are encouraged to include these.

Why Study at LSCE

The London School of Computing and Engineering is a specialist division of Harold International College of London teaching in small, tutor-visible cohorts. LSCE partners with UK professional bodies including (ISC)², International Information System Security Certification Consortium, and central London places the Alan Turing Institute, the NCSC, the ICE, IMechE and IET, and the City's engineering and technology employers within a short tube ride of every classroom.

Every intake, on-campus or remote, joins the same weekly seminar structure with named programme-tutor support. Three parallel study modes let Diploma progressors, working practitioners and portfolio-route applicants complete the Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies without leaving employment, and the LSCE careers service runs at least one industry-careers day each academic year to connect students with employers active in telecoms, managed-service providers, public-sector network teams and City network engineering practices. Curriculum alignment is refreshed each year against (ISC)², International Information System Security Certification Consortium and ISACA guidance so that graduates leave with a syllabus that reflects current UK sector expectations.

Apply for Advanced Diploma in Routing and Switching Technologies

Step up into the Level 5 senior track with LSCE. Click Enrol Now, admissions will respond within one working day with intake dates and credit-transfer guidance. Rolling intake dates mean early applications receive the widest choice of tutors, elective modules and supporting information, and international applicants are supported through visa, accommodation and English-language guidance in the same first response. Enrol Now