How long is the MSc in Executive Leadership?

One year full-time, with a two-year part-time route via online or distance learning. The MSc in Executive Leadership closes with a sponsor consulting project for a UK executive committee.

What are the entry requirements for the MSc in Executive Leadership?

A UK 2:2 honours degree in a relevant discipline, or three years of substantive UK senior management experience on the portfolio route, plus IELTS 6.5 for non-native English speakers.

How much does the MSc in Executive Leadership cost?

Tuition varies by route and domicile. Contact LSIBM admissions for the current schedule and postgraduate bursary eligibility for the MSc in Executive Leadership.

MSc in Executive Leadership | LSIBM London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The MSc in Executive Leadership at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a one-year UK Master's for candidates preparing for director, general-manager and chief-of-staff roles inside UK corporates, PLCs and public bodies. Sitting in the Entrepreneurship & Executive Studies faculty, the programme covers board-level leadership, UK corporate governance, executive presence, boardroom finance and a sponsor consulting project delivered for a UK executive committee.

The MSc is designed for senior managers preparing for director roles, high-potential mid-career leaders, and chiefs of staff preparing for principal roles. Content is aligned with the IoD directorship foundations, the CMI Chartered Manager senior competencies and Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland practice, and study is available on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC cohort calls, or by distance learning. Content references the IoD Chartered Director framework, the UK Corporate Governance Code, FRC Guidance on Board Effectiveness, and Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland practice — the standards a UK executive stepping toward director-track roles is expected to work within.

Postgraduate teaching runs at senior-practitioner tier with a diagnostic in week one, weekly research-informed seminars led by working senior practitioners (Big Four partner, PLC non-executive, CIPD or CIM Fellow, CFA charter-holder), a fortnightly practitioner clinic and a summative dissertation, sponsor consulting project or applied capstone defended in front of a UK professional panel. Every route is mapped to UK professional-body competencies and closes with executive-application coaching in the final term. Online cohorts share the same intake calendar and supervisor allocation as the on-campus route.

Key Features

Curriculum aligned with the IoD directorship foundations, the CMI Chartered Manager senior competencies and Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland practice.
Three study modes — central London campus, fully online with UK / APAC cohort calls, or distance learning.
Sponsor consulting project delivered for a UK executive committee each cohort.
Fortnightly senior-practitioner clinic with a UK PLC non-exec and a working chief of staff.
Executive-application coaching for director and general-manager roles in the final term.
Executive coaching credit — every MSc student is allocated a working coach at cohort start.
Structured route toward IoD Chartered Director preparation and Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland qualifications.
Assessment combines a rolling board-simulation portfolio with a summative dissertation or sponsor consulting project.

What You Will Learn

The MSc teaches the emerging director's craft — running a UK board pack, holding the audit-committee conversation, and defending a sponsor consulting project in front of an executive committee.

UK corporate governance — Corporate Governance Code, audit committee, Companies House.
Boardroom finance — reading and challenging a management pack at director level.
Directorial duties — Companies Act, Section 172, fiduciary responsibility.
Executive presence — the boardroom conversation, the corridor conversation, the difficult conversation.
Strategic risk, ESG and board oversight.
Advanced people management — succession, calibration, executive coaching frames.
Stakeholder management at board level — shareholders, non-execs, regulators.
UK employment law at director level — TUPE, redundancy, discrimination.
Media and crisis communications for executives.
Sponsor consulting project delivery and defence.
Reading and challenging a UK PLC management pack at audit-committee level.
Preparing a board-quality strategic review for a UK executive committee.
Applying UK Corporate Governance Code Section 172 duties to a live board decision.
Running a boardroom crisis-communications simulation aligned with UK PLC reporting expectations.
Writing a defensible dissertation on a UK executive-leadership research question.

Who This Course Is For

Senior managers preparing for director roles.
High-potential mid-career leaders.
Chiefs of staff preparing for principal roles.
Family-business successors preparing to take a board seat.
International candidates preparing for a UK-anchored senior executive career.
Mid-career leaders at UK PLCs and public bodies preparing for a first non-executive appointment.

Career Pathways

Graduates typically progress into director, general-manager and chief-of-staff roles across UK PLCs, mid-market firms and public bodies. The MSc supports applications but does not by itself confer director-level appointments. Typical destinations include:

Head of Department (senior)
Director (mid-market)
General Manager
Chief of Staff
Board Adviser (junior)
Executive Programme Lead
Non-Executive Director (associate)
Head of Strategy (junior)

The MSc articulates directly into the IoD Chartered Director route or a taught DBA route.

MSc graduates progress toward IoD Chartered Director recognition, Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland qualifications, and senior in-house UK executive-leadership roles recognised by board-search recruiters.

Entry Requirements

A UK 2:2 honours degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent international qualification. Applicants with three years of substantive UK senior management experience may apply on a portfolio route.
GCSE English Language at grade 5/C (or equivalent) is required for domestic applicants; international applicants meet the language rule below.
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
A short statement of intent (600 words) explaining research or applied interests, plus two references (one academic, one workplace or professional-body).

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. Postgraduate cohorts run in small tutor-visible groups, are shaped by working senior practitioners (partner-level at a Big Four firm, Fellow-level at CIM or CIPD, CFA charter-holders in investment routes) and close with a substantial dissertation, sponsor consulting project or applied capstone defended in front of a working panel.

London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England, the West End and the major consulting, banking and multinational headquarters within a short tube ride of every classroom. LSIBM postgraduates attend a fortnightly senior-practitioner clinic and a structured executive-application coaching programme in the final term.

Apply for the MSc in Executive Leadership

Step into the senior track with the MSc in Executive Leadership. Click Enrol Now and admissions will reply within one working day with intake dates, dissertation supervisor allocation guidance and the current fee schedule. LSIBM postgraduates are supported by dedicated executive-application coaching in the final term.