How long is the Diploma in Public Relations?

The Diploma in Public Relations runs for 9 to 12 months. Full-time and part-time evening cohorts share the same closing integrated-campaign assessment.

Can the Diploma in Public Relations be studied online?

Yes. The Diploma in Public Relations runs on-campus in central London, fully online with cohort calls, and by distance learning.

Is the Diploma in Public Relations recognised by UK employers?

Yes. The Diploma in Public Relations is designed around the CIPR Advanced Certificate and PRCA standards and is recognised across UK agencies and in-house corporate teams.

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

A relevant Level 3 Certificate or two years of PR or journalism experience, GCSE English and Maths at grade 4, IELTS 5.5, plus a writing sample for the Diploma in Public Relations.

What does the Diploma in Public Relations cost?

Fees vary by mode and instalment plan. Contact LSIBM admissions for the current schedule and employer-sponsored places on the Diploma in Public Relations.

Diploma in Public Relations | LSIBM London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Diploma in Public Relations at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a Level 4 practitioner qualification for candidates ready to run PR programmes rather than support them — an account manager at a London PR agency, a corporate-comms executive at a UK listed firm, or a senior press officer inside a public-sector organisation. Sitting inside the Marketing, Media & Digital Business faculty, the Diploma covers media relations, campaign design, reputation planning, crisis-comms fundamentals and measurement under UK best practice.

The Diploma runs over 9 to 12 months and is available on-campus in central London, fully online, or by distance learning. Tutors include working PR practitioners drawn from CIPR and PRCA agency networks, and the closing assessment is a full integrated PR campaign for a simulated UK brand launch or reputation reset. The sections below cover modules, audience and progression.

Key Features

Curriculum reviewed against the CIPR Advanced Certificate in Public Relations and PRCA foundation standards.
Three study modes — central London campus, fully online, or distance learning — with the same tutor cohort.
Real-world assessment: an integrated PR campaign for a simulated UK brand launch or reputation reset.
Working practice with Meltwater, Signal AI, Muck Rack and Prowly as UK-standard PR tools.
Direct articulation into the LSIBM Advanced Diploma or Higher Diploma in Public Relations Management.

What You Will Learn

The Diploma builds a working PR practitioner. You will finish able to pitch a UK journalist, plan a multi-week campaign, protect a client's reputation under pressure, and report on outcomes to a chief marketing officer or director of communications.

UK media landscape — nationals, trade press, broadcast and digital-first outlets.
Media relations — pitching, briefing, embargoes and journalist ethics.
Campaign design — objectives, audiences, messages, tactics and measurement.
Reputation planning — issues management and vulnerability audits.
Crisis comms fundamentals — holding lines, statements and social escalation.
Digital PR — SEO earned links, LinkedIn thought leadership and podcast placement.
Measurement — AVE alternatives, AMEC framework, share of voice, sentiment.
Ethics under CIPR and PRCA codes and UK Ofcom, IPSO and ASA rules.

Who This Course Is For

PR account executives ready for account-manager remit at UK agencies.
Corporate comms executives moving into portfolio ownership.
Press officers stepping up to senior public-sector or third-sector comms roles.
Marketing coordinators broadening into earned-media programmes.
Founders of UK SMEs owning their own PR who need agency-standard practice.

Career Pathways

Diploma graduates step into practitioner-level PR roles across UK agencies, corporate in-house teams, public sector and third sector. The Diploma is a working credential — outcomes remain individual.

PR Account Manager
Senior Press Officer
Corporate Comms Executive (senior)
Reputation Analyst
Digital PR Manager (junior)
Public Affairs Executive

The Diploma is a feeder into the LSIBM Advanced Diploma in Public Relations Management and the CIPR Diploma in Public Relations.

Entry Requirements

A relevant Certificate (Level 3) or equivalent — mature applicants with two years of PR, comms or journalism experience are welcomed on a portfolio route with a writing sample.
GCSE English Language at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or international equivalent).
IELTS 5.5 overall (no band below 5.0) for non-native English speakers.
A short statement of intent and one academic or professional reference.

Why Study at LSIBM

The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-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 — CMI, CIM, CIPD, ACCA, CIMA, CFA UK, CIPS and IOE&IT — so qualifications carry weight with employers.

London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England and the West End within a short tube ride of every classroom. Diploma cohorts run structured cohort clinics with working practitioners — a Big-Four tax adviser, a CIM Fellow in marketing, a CIPD-chartered HR director — so students meet professional expectations well before graduation.

Apply for the Diploma in Public Relations

Take the practitioner step with the Diploma in Public Relations. Click Enrol Now and our admissions team will respond within one working day with intake dates, credit-transfer guidance and current fee schedule. Diploma students are eligible for direct progression to LSIBM's Advanced Diploma or Higher Diploma routes on completion.