How long is the MA in Public Relations?

One year full-time, or two years part-time. The MA in Public Relations is available on-campus, online and via distance learning with shared crisis-leadership simulation weeks across all routes.

Can the MA in Public Relations be studied online?

Yes. The MA in Public Relations runs fully online with live crisis simulations and shared cohort calls, plus a distance-learning route for senior agency leaders across UK time zones.

Is the MA in Public Relations recognised in the UK?

Yes. The MA in Public Relations is a UK Master's degree with curriculum oversight reviewed by CIPR-affiliated Chartered Practitioners and external examiners from FTSE in-house communications teams.

What are the entry requirements for the MA in Public Relations?

A UK 2:2 (or equivalent) in a relevant field, or five years' senior PR experience, plus IELTS 6.5 for international applicants and a 500-800 word proposal for the MA in Public Relations.

What does the MA in Public Relations cost?

Fees for the MA in Public Relations vary by route and domicile, with bursary support for charity-sector applicants. Contact LSCT admissions for the current schedule and funding routes.

MA in Public Relations (Online, London) — UK Master's | LSCT

Course Overview

The MA in Public Relations at the London School of Commerce and Technology (LSCT) is a one-year postgraduate degree for senior PR practitioners, account directors and in-house heads of communications who want to operate at strategic level. Sitting in the Media, Journalism & Communication department, the MA combines CIPR Chartered-track competency development with applied research on the questions UK communications leaders are actually answering — from AI-generated content disclosure to ESG storytelling.

You will write a board-grade reputation strategy for a real London brand, lead a 48-hour crisis simulation as account director, and complete a 12,000-word dissertation defended in viva. Online, on-campus and distance routes are available from 2026, with a part-time route over two years for senior agency leaders.

Key Features

UK Master's degree with curriculum oversight reviewed by CIPR-affiliated Chartered practitioners and PRCA agency leaders.
Three study modes, including a part-time two-year route for working account directors.
Crisis-leadership simulation across a 48-hour rolling scenario with live press calls.
Reputation-strategy brief from a real London brand each cohort.
Practitioner panel of CIPR Chartered Practitioners and former heads of comms.
Dissertation defended before a panel including a serving director of communications.

What You Will Learn

The MA is structured around three demands placed on senior PR leaders: think strategically about reputation, lead a function through pressure, and account for outcomes to a board. You will graduate able to write a reputation-strategy paper, run a multi-stakeholder crisis without losing the brief, and evaluate the contribution of communications to commercial outcome.

Strategic communications and reputation theory
Stakeholder thinking and political communications
Crisis communications and issues management
ESG, sustainability and corporate purpose communications
Internal communications and change communications
Public affairs and government relations
Measurement, evaluation and CIPR Chartered-track competencies
Ethics, AI in communications, and the CIPR Code of Conduct
Applied research methods for communications dissertations

Who This Course Is For

Senior agency account directors and group heads moving into MD-track roles.
In-house heads of communications wanting a postgraduate evidence base.
Senior public-affairs and policy communicators specialising further.
International communications leaders entering the UK market.

Career Pathways

Graduates work across UK agencies, in-house corporate communications, government communications, charity sector and integrated consultancies, with consistent demand from FTSE in-house teams and London agency networks. Typical destinations include:

Account Director progressing to Managing Director (agency)
Head of Communications (in-house)
Director of External Affairs (charity, public sector)
Communications Manager (FTSE)
Public Affairs Director (consultancy)
Press Officer (Whitehall senior track)

The MA is a CIPR Chartered-track route and a credible base for doctoral research in strategic communications.

Entry Requirements

A UK 2:2 honours degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant subject — communications, journalism, marketing, business or related.
Applicants from non-cognate fields may apply with five years' senior professional experience in PR, public affairs or in-house communications.
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
A personal statement, two references and a research proposal of 500-800 words sketching a possible dissertation question.

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. PR students sit guest seminars with CIPR Chartered Practitioners running comms for FTSE constituents based across the City and West End.

Industry Context for the MA in Public Relations

The MA in Public Relations is sequenced against the working conditions of UK employers from 2026 onwards. Media, journalism and communication employers in the UK are recruiting across both technical and managerial tracks, and decision-makers consistently report that the gap between a strong CV and a weak one is the presence of documented project work rather than only a transcript. Tutors translate sector trends — from regulatory change to platform consolidation — into the way coursework is briefed, so that the artefacts you assemble across modules are directly recognisable to a hiring manager. Reading lists and case material are refreshed each intake so the programme tracks the contemporary picture rather than a generic textbook chapter.

Cohorts include UK and international students from a wide range of starting points, and the mix is treated as an asset in seminar discussion. Group projects deliberately cross experience levels so that each student practises the kind of cross-functional collaboration that defines working life in the sector. The single annual intake means every cohort moves through the calendar together — building the kind of peer network that, in practice, opens many of the first job conversations after graduation.

Assessment Approach for the MA in Public Relations

The MA in Public Relations is assessed continuously across the year rather than weighted entirely on a final examination. Each module produces a portfolio artefact — a short report, a worked case, a presentation, a reflective journal entry or a defended project — and these accumulate into a working evidence set you can take to an interview panel. Tutors mark to UK employer expectations and give written feedback within published turnaround windows. Reasonable adjustments and English-language support are available, and the personal academic tutor signs off the assessment plan at the start of each term so the workload is visible from week one.

Apply for the MA in Public Relations

Specialise at postgraduate level with the MA in Public Relations. Click Enrol Now to apply; admissions teams reply within one working day with scholarship and funding guidance for working senior communicators.