How long is the Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication?

The Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication runs for 15 to 18 months, with central London evening blocks, online live crisis simulations or a distance route with mentor supervision.

Can I study the Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication online?

Yes. The Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication is offered fully online with live crisis simulations, or as distance learning with structured mentor supervision.

Is the diploma recognised by UK communications employers?

The Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication is aligned with CIPR, PRCA and AMEC frameworks — the standards UK in-house corporate-affairs teams use to benchmark practice.

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

A Level 5 diploma, HND or Foundation Degree (or three years' comms/marketing/business experience), and IELTS 6.0 for non-native English speakers.

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

Fees vary by route. The Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication offers an in-house communicator bursary each intake — contact admissions for the current fee schedule.

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

Course Overview

The Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication at the London School of Commerce and Technology (LSCT) is a 15 to 18-month qualification for working PR practitioners, in-house communicators and marketing professionals stepping into corporate-affairs senior-operational roles. The diploma is shaped by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) standards, the PRCA professional charter and the AMEC measurement framework. It is taught from our central London base alongside online and distance routes.

You will produce strategic communications artefacts under deadline — investor narratives, internal comms plans, crisis statements, AMEC-mapped measurement frameworks — supervised by serving corporate-affairs practitioners. Assessment combines a workplace strategic-communications project, a crisis simulation and a measurement-and-evaluation submission.

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

UK-aligned Higher Diploma mapped to CIPR, PRCA and AMEC frameworks.
Three study modes — central London evening blocks, online with live crisis simulations, or distance learning with mentor supervision.
AMEC integrated-framework lab for measurement discipline.
Crisis simulation built around current UK reputation cases.
Internal communications module covering employee voice and change.
Capstone workplace project as the final assessment.

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 builds four corporate-affairs operational capabilities UK directors expect — clean strategic writing, crisis composure, measurement honesty and stakeholder fluency.

Corporate-communications strategy and planning.
Crisis and issues management.
Internal communications and change.
Investor and analyst communications basics.
Media relations and political engagement.
AMEC measurement and evaluation.
Communications ethics and CIPR code of conduct.
Stakeholder mapping and engagement.

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

Working PR and communications professionals moving into senior operational roles.
In-house communicators stepping up into corporate-affairs functions.
Marketing managers adding strategic-communications depth.
International communicators targeting UK in-house roles.

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 feed into UK corporate-affairs functions. Typical destinations include:

Corporate Communications Officer (Senior)
Internal Communications Manager
Press Officer
Reputation Manager (junior)
Stakeholder Engagement Officer
PR Account 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 Higher Diploma sits as a credit-recognised bridge into a BA in Media Studies or an MA in Communication Studies.

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

An Advanced Diploma (Level 5), HND, Foundation Degree, or equivalent prior study in communications, marketing or business.
Three years' relevant work experience considered in lieu of academic prerequisites (mature applicants).
English language: IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
A personal statement 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. The media faculty teaches measurement honestly — using the AMEC integrated framework rather than vanity metrics — because UK boards are increasingly sceptical of unmeasured spend.

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 Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication

Close the gap to a Bachelor's degree with the Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication. Click Enrol Now to apply; admissions confirm your credit-transfer route within one working day.

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.

The team can discuss study-mode flexibility between cohorts and pre-arrival orientation for international students taking on the central London on-campus route.

Cohort sizes remain deliberately small so editorial feedback is detailed and immediate, and current students consistently report the working-practitioner tutors as the strongest feature of the LSCT media programme.

Course handbooks, assessment criteria, the academic calendar and the named tutor for each cohort are shared at induction so every learner knows exactly how their progress is measured from the first day. The LSCT student experience team is available throughout the programme for academic and pastoral support, and assignment turnaround times are published in the handbook rather than left to ad-hoc practice. Cohorts move through the syllabus together and stay in touch as alumni once they finish, which is part of how the LSCT community sustains its professional networks year on year.