How long is the Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication?

The Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication runs for 12 to 15 months, with central London tutorial blocks, online crisis simulations and a distance-learning route.

Can I study the Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication online?

Yes. The Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication is offered fully online with live crisis-room exercises, or as distance learning with timed assessment windows.

Is the diploma recognised by UK communications employers?

The Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication is aligned with the CIPR professional standards and PRCA charter — the credentials UK in-house and consultancy hiring panels look for.

What are the entry requirements for the Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication?

A Level 4 diploma, foundation year or two years' PR/communications experience, GCSE English and Maths at grade 4/C, and IELTS 6.0 for non-native English speakers.

What does the Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication cost and are scholarships available?

Fees vary by route. The Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication offers a returner-to-work bursary each intake — contact admissions for the current fee schedule and eligibility.

Advanced Diploma Corporate Communication London | LSCT | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication at the London School of Commerce and Technology (LSCT) is a 12 to 15-month qualification for senior PR practitioners, in-house communicators and marketing professionals who want to operate at board-adjacent level. The diploma is taught from our central London base alongside online and distance routes, and is built around the standards published by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the PRCA professional charter.

You will work the corporate-communications agenda end-to-end — from a CEO's positioning brief and an investor-day messaging matrix through to a hostile-media crisis exercise that runs in real time. Assessment combines a strategic communications plan, a crisis simulation and a stakeholder-research paper supervised by a serving director of communications.

You will publish or broadcast to a real audience from the first term, with editorial standards set on day one and applied consistently across all student output. The faculty maintains active newsroom and agency contacts across UK media so guest practitioners drop into seminars regularly and feedback loops back from the industry into the syllabus continuously.

Key Features

CIPR-aligned senior diploma mapped to the PRCA professional charter.
Three study modes — central London tutorial blocks, online with live crisis simulations, or distance learning with timed assessment windows.
Live crisis-room exercise run against a moving scenario each cohort.
Investor and analyst-communications module for listed-company practice.
Internal-communications track covering employee voice, ESG narrative and change.
Capstone communications plan assessed by a working London corporate-affairs director.

The programme is scheduled around the rhythm of a working media operation — newsdays mid-week, longer-form work over the weekend — so students experience the cadence as well as the craft. Editorial standards are set on day one and applied consistently across every piece of student work.

What You Will Learn

The diploma trains four capabilities corporate-affairs directors hire for — strategy, judgement under pressure, financial and ESG literacy, and the ability to chair a room when the news is bad. You will graduate able to write a board-grade communications strategy, run a crisis bridge and defend a position in front of investors and the press.

Reputation strategy and stakeholder mapping.
Crisis communications and issues management.
Investor relations and listed-company disclosure obligations.
ESG, sustainability and purpose-led narrative.
Internal communications and change management.
Media relations and political-engagement craft.
Measurement, evaluation and the AMEC integrated framework.
Communication ethics and the CIPR code of conduct.

Modules are assessed by working practitioners as well as academics, which means feedback reads more like an editor note than a marker comment. Students leave with cuttings, packaged work and a portfolio that can be sent straight to a hiring desk.

Who This Course Is For

PR and communications managers moving into director-track roles.
In-house communicators stepping up into corporate-affairs functions.
Marketing professionals expanding into reputation and stakeholder remits.
International communicators targeting UK listed-company practice.

Working journalists adding a specialism are welcome and the media department offers flexible scheduling for those filing daily. International applicants seeking UK media credentials are supported through the post-Brexit publishing landscape and IPSO regulatory framework.

Career Pathways

Graduates move into the senior tier of UK corporate-affairs functions across listed companies, the public sector and consultancy. Typical destination roles include:

Corporate Communications Manager
Head of Internal Communications
Investor Relations Manager
Crisis and Issues Lead
ESG Communications Adviser
Public Affairs Manager

Recent destinations include desks at UK regional and national titles, in-house communications teams at FTSE-listed firms, the press functions of public-sector bodies, charity communications, and independent podcast and digital-publishing operations. The placements team supports portfolio review, pitch practice and direct introductions where appropriate.

The diploma sits as a credible precursor to an MA in Communication Studies or chartered status with CIPR.

The media department maintains an active alumni network across UK newsrooms, agencies and in-house communications functions, with former students regularly returning as guest tutors and direct referrers for current cohorts.

Entry Requirements

A relevant Diploma (Level 4), Foundation Year, or at least two years of professional experience in PR, communications or marketing.
GCSE English Language at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or equivalent).
English language: IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
A short statement of intent and one professional reference, ideally from a senior communicator.

Mature applicants with newsroom, agency or in-house communications experience may apply with a CV and a small portfolio rather than the formal qualifications listed above. International applicants are supported through pre-arrival orientation and CAS issuance, and the media department offers tutorial support for those building UK-context portfolios.

Why Study at LSCT

The London School of Commerce and Technology (LSCT) is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. We teach in small cohorts so every student is visible to their tutor, run a single intake schedule that students can rely on, and partner with UK professional bodies so qualifications carry weight with employers. London puts Whitehall, the City, Silicon Roundabout, the Royal Courts of Justice, the West End and the NHS estate within a short tube ride of every classroom — and our students use that proximity in their projects, placements and graduate job hunts. Our media and communications faculty includes serving heads of corporate affairs at FTSE-listed firms, so crisis simulations track current UK reputation cases rather than retrospective textbook ones.

The media department brings practitioner panels into every cohort — from working journalists who file daily to PR directors who handle current FTSE reputations — which keeps the syllabus connected to the live UK industry. Students publish to a real audience under their own bylines from the first term.

Apply for Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication

Step up into the senior track with the Advanced Diploma in Corporate Communication. Click Enrol Now and our admissions team will respond within one working day with intake dates and credit-transfer guidance.

Admissions on the media programme respond within one working day with intake confirmation and a short portfolio review where applicable. Tuition discussions and any relevant industry-progression bursaries are flagged privately by the team during enrolment.