How long is the Higher Diploma in Business Communication?

The Higher Diploma in Business Communication runs over 15 to 18 months with full-time, part-time and online routes. Distance learners follow the same intake calendar as on-campus cohorts.

Can the Higher Diploma in Business Communication be studied online?

Yes. The Higher Diploma in Business Communication runs on-campus in central London, fully online and by distance learning, assessed against the same capstone reputation project.

Is the Higher Diploma in Business Communication recognised by UK employers?

The Higher Diploma in Business Communication is designed around CIPR Chartered Practitioner competencies and IABC senior practice, so UK corporate affairs teams and agencies recognise it.

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

A relevant Level 5 Advanced Diploma, HND, HNC or three years of comms experience, GCSE English at grade 5/C, and IELTS 6.0 for international applicants.

How much does the Higher Diploma in Business Communication cost?

Tuition varies by mode and domicile. Contact LSIBM admissions for the current fee schedule and instalment options for the Higher Diploma in Business Communication.

Higher Diploma Business Communication | LSIBM | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Higher Diploma in Business Communication at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) sits at the near-degree tier for senior comms leads, associate directors and heads of function preparing a Bachelor’s top-up or a move into director-track comms roles. It deepens strategy, measurement and executive-comms craft with a capstone dissertation on a live communications question. The syllabus is refreshed each cohort to sit alongside the CIPR State of the Profession benchmarks and the UK Corporate Governance Code’s expectations on stakeholder voice, so classroom debates and case work track the questions UK employers are asking this year rather than last decade’s textbook.

You will build a measurement framework using AMEC Integrated Evaluation, run a board-level executive-comms simulation, and defend a capstone paper. Curriculum is reviewed against the CIPR Diploma and the IABC Certified Communication Professional (CCP) route. Across the 15 to 18 months, you sit alongside a small tutor-visible cohort, work through applied case studies drawn from London-facing employers, and close with an assessment mix that mirrors the situations working practitioners actually face on the job. The Higher Diploma in Business Communication runs on-campus in central London, fully online, or by distance learning, so applicants pick the study pattern that fits the rest of their working week.

Key Features

Level pitched at UK Higher Diploma standard with tutor-visible small cohorts and a single intake schedule.
Three study modes — on-campus in central London, fully online, or by distance learning.
Message-architecture workshops with London press-office practitioners.
Structured route toward the CIPR Foundation and Advanced Certificate with tutor mock-marking.
Assessment blend — stakeholder map, holding statement, campaign plan and mock press briefing rather than a single long paper.
Structured over 15 to 18 months, with fortnightly practitioner clinics and defined assessment milestones.
Bachelor’s top-up route with confirmed credit transfer to LSIBM undergraduate finals.
Careers support covering CV clinics, mock interviews and warm introductions through fortnightly practitioner sessions.
Cohort networking across a single intake schedule, with London evening events at the CMI, IoD Pall Mall clubhouse and relevant professional-body chapters.

What You Will Learn

The Higher Diploma sits at near-degree tier. You will graduate able to write a strategy paper, defend a capstone project in front of a working practitioner, and step directly into a UK Bachelor’s final year on the articulation route.

Audience analysis and stakeholder mapping in a UK plc setting.
Message architecture — key message, proof point, sound bite and executive quote.
Internal communications — engagement surveys, all-hands, listening groups and pulse programmes.
Press office and media relations under the CIPR Code of Conduct.
Investor relations under UK Listing Rules and Financial Promotions norms.
Executive communications and speech coaching for board-level speakers.
Crisis communications — holding statements, playbook design and dark-site drills.
Content and channel design across intranet, email, LinkedIn and internal video.
Measurement using AMEC Integrated Evaluation and the CIPR Prove It framework.
Ethics, DE&I in comms and inclusive-language guidance.
Data-protection basics for the comms team under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who This Course Is For

The Higher Diploma in Business Communication is designed for a mix of new entrants and working professionals. The five audience segments below are the ones we most often see on the Higher Diploma intake list, and the tutor team tailors examples so every segment is visible in the classroom.

Recent graduates targeting a first press-office or internal-comms role.
Administrative staff at PR agencies moving into an account-executive seat.
Career switchers from journalism, teaching or events into corporate communications.
In-house HR or marketing staff who own an internal-communications channel.
International applicants preparing a UK-facing CV for London comms roles.

Career Pathways

Graduates typically move into senior-specialist and lead roles, or transition into a UK Bachelor’s final year. The Higher Diploma strengthens applications but does not by itself guarantee job offers or visa outcomes. Typical destinations include:

Internal Communications Officer
Business Communications Executive
Corporate Comms Coordinator
PR Assistant / Account Executive
Press Officer
Investor Relations Assistant
Employee Engagement Officer
Comms Content Producer

The Higher Diploma in Business Communication is a natural runway toward a UK Bachelor’s top-up in Communications or the LSIBM BSc with confirmed credit transfer. Graduates leave with a portfolio of applied work, a written credential UK employers recognise, and enough classroom rehearsal of the discipline-specific conversations that a first interview panel or a promotion window feels familiar rather than intimidating. The LSIBM careers office also runs an alumni-referral programme and structured warm introductions in the closing term, so applicants leave with a working London network rather than only a certificate.

Entry Requirements

A relevant Advanced Diploma (Level 5), HND, HNC, or three years of substantive corporate communications experience.
GCSE English Language at grade 5/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or equivalent); strong written English is essential for the capstone.
IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
A short statement of intent and two references — applicants presenting CIPR Diploma or IABC senior membership are particularly welcome.

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. Higher Diploma cohorts sit at the near-degree tier — small groups, tutor visibility every week, curriculum reviewed against ACCA, CIMA, CIM, CIPD, CMI and IOE&IT competencies so graduates walk into a UK Bachelor's top-up with confirmed credit transfer.

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. Higher Diploma students attend at least one working practitioner clinic per fortnight and complete a substantial capstone project defended in front of a working professional.

Apply for the Higher Diploma in Business Communication

Move onto the top-up track with the Higher Diploma in Business Communication. Click Enrol Now and our admissions team will respond within one working day with intake dates, credit-transfer guidance for UK Bachelor's top-up routes, and the current fee schedule. Higher Diploma graduates articulate into LSIBM's Bachelor's final year with confirmed credit transfer at enrolment.