MSc in Professional Communication and Leadership
Course Overview
The MSc in Professional Communication and Leadership at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a one-year UK master's for senior communicators moving into leadership seats — a director of communications at a UK plc, a head of corporate affairs in a regulated sector, or a communications leader inside a UK public-sector organisation. Sitting in the Entrepreneurship & Executive Studies faculty, the course combines executive counsel with corporate reputation, integrated communications leadership, communications-team building and applied research.
The MSc runs one year full-time (two years part-time via online or distance routes). Students complete a substantial dissertation supervised by a working senior communicator, run a sponsor consulting project with a UK organisation, and defend a corporate-affairs strategy in front of a working chief communications officer. Delivery is on-campus in central London, fully online with cohort calls scheduled across UK and APAC time zones, and by distance learning.
Key Features
- Curriculum reviewed against CIPR Chartered Practitioner and CMI Level 7 senior-leadership competencies.
- Three study modes — central London campus, fully online with UK/APAC cohort calls, or distance learning.
- Sponsor consulting project with a UK organisation.
- Practitioner-led seminars from CIPR Fellows and chief communications officers.
- Dissertation supervised by a working senior communicator.
- Structured executive-application coaching in the final term.
What You Will Learn
The MSc organises communications leadership around the working questions a UK chief communications officer actually owns: which narrative, which channel mix, which measurement, which capability, and which conversation to have with the CEO before events overtake it.
- Executive counsel — advising CEO, chair, general counsel in real time.
- Corporate reputation strategy — narrative architecture, licence to operate.
- Integrated communications leadership — earned, owned, shared, paid at plc scale.
- Crisis communications leadership — pre-empt, hold, respond, recover with rehearsed rhythms.
- Financial and regulatory disclosure — FCA DTR, LSE listing rules, RNS discipline.
- Communications-team building — hire, coach, distribute, measure, retain.
- Change communications at senior level — leading through S-curve resistance.
- Applied research — reputation audits, sentiment analytics, employee voice.
- Measurement leadership — AMEC, Barcelona Principles, CFO-ready ROI.
- Ethics under CIPR, PRCA, Ofcom and IPSO at senior-adviser level.
Who This Course Is For
- Senior communicators moving into head-of-function or director-track seats.
- Chiefs of staff owning executive communications formalising senior credentials.
- Corporate-affairs professionals stepping into director-level accountability.
- Public-sector communications leaders preparing for senior civil-service tracks.
- Consultants building a senior UK communications-advisory practice.
Career Pathways
Graduates typically progress into communications leadership roles across UK plcs, financial services, regulated sectors, public sector and third sector. The MSc supports applications but does not by itself guarantee job offers or visa outcomes.
- Director of Communications
- Head of Corporate Affairs
- Chief of Staff (comms-heavy)
- Head of Corporate Reputation
- Head of Investor Communications
- Head of Public Affairs
The MSc is a strong signal for CIPR Chartered Practitioner application, IABC senior track and CMI Chartered Manager application.
Entry Requirements
- A UK 2:2 honours degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent international qualification. Applicants with three years of substantive corporate-communications experience may apply on a portfolio route.
- GCSE English Language at grade 5/C (or equivalent) 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); a portfolio including a senior-audience writing sample is encouraged.
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 Professional Communication and Leadership
Step into the senior track with the MSc in Professional Communication and 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.
