Does the Advanced Diploma in Portuguese Language Studies focus on European or Brazilian Portuguese?

Both. Every module is taught in parallel across the European and Brazilian variants. You will be expected to read both fluently by the end and to write in your preferred variant with active awareness of the other.

What Portuguese level do I need to enrol in the Advanced Diploma in Portuguese Language Studies?

B1 (intermediate) on entry, assessed at application. The course takes you to C1 (effective operational proficiency) by completion. Heritage speakers without formal study should still take the entry assessment so we can place you correctly.

Can I focus my Advanced Diploma in Portuguese Language Studies on Brazilian Portuguese alone?

Your translation portfolio and final project can specialise in Brazilian Portuguese, but the core teaching covers both variants. This is a deliberate choice — Lusophone employability often requires comfort with both registers.

Is the Advanced Diploma in Portuguese Language Studies recognised by Instituto Camões?

The course is aligned with Instituto Camões reading and listening materials and prepares students well for Camões certification (CAPLE exams), which is sat separately. The Advanced Diploma is a UK higher-education qualification at Level 5.

Can I complete the Advanced Diploma in Portuguese Language Studies online?

Yes. Live tutorials run in UK working hours with recordings available; distance learners set their own pace within structured deadlines. Speaking assessments are conducted by video with tutors trained in both variants.

Advanced Diploma in Portuguese Language Studies | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Advanced Diploma in Portuguese Language Studies at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a twelve-to-fifteen-month UK qualification that takes students from intermediate Portuguese to a working professional standard — across the European and Brazilian variants — for translation, business and the wider Lusophone world. You will work on text, broadcast and conversation in both Lisbon and São Paulo registers and build a portfolio of translated and analysed pieces.

Portuguese is the official language of nine countries and a working language across the Atlantic. The course treats it as the global language it is, rather than as a heritage option, and prepares you to operate in it at C1 level by the end.

Key Features

European and Brazilian Portuguese taught in parallel — both variants represented in every module.
Translation portfolio module covering news, commercial and literary text PT-EN and EN-PT.
Lusophone business strand — Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, market briefings and commercial correspondence.
Instituto Camões-aligned reading and listening materials updated each year.
Industry-led masterclasses from Portuguese translators, Brazilian journalists and Lusophone business specialists.
Top-up route into the final year of a Bachelor's degree in modern languages or Portuguese studies at LSJHML or partner universities.

What You Will Learn

The Advanced Diploma in Portuguese Language Studies is structured around the Portuguese skills working professionals actually need — accurate reading of business and news Portuguese in both variants, confident speaking and writing, and the cultural literacy to operate across the Lusophone world. You leave at C1 with a translation portfolio.

Advanced grammar — subjunctive, conditional, complex tenses, register, formal/informal address.
Reading — news Portuguese (Folha de S. Paulo, Público), commercial correspondence, literary text.
Listening — Brazilian and European broadcast Portuguese at native speed.
Speaking — formal presentation, meeting Portuguese, negotiation language.
Translation — PT-EN and EN-PT across news, commercial and short literary text.
Lusophone cultural literacy — Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, East Timor.
Business Portuguese — Brazilian and Portuguese commercial practice, contracts, correspondence.
Sociolinguistic awareness — variants, registers, the politics of standardisation.

Who This Course Is For

Diploma-level Portuguese graduates ready for a senior-track UK qualification.
Working translators, business professionals and journalists with intermediate Portuguese moving to professional standard.
Heritage speakers wanting a formal credential and the literacy to work in Portuguese professionally.
Career-changers entering Lusophone markets — Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique — and needing language and cultural depth.

Career Pathways

Graduates of the Advanced Diploma in Portuguese Language Studies move into translation, bilingual editorial work, Lusophone business roles and the wider language industry. Many continue to a Bachelor's degree top-up year. Typical roles include:

Portuguese Translator (agency roster, in-house at a multilingual organisation)
Lusophone Markets Specialist (export team, trade body, consultancy)
Portuguese Teacher (adult education, international school, private tuition)
Brazil-EU Liaison Officer (NGO, professional services firm, embassy)
Bilingual Editor (PT/EN at a content publisher or trade title)
Localisation Specialist (software, gaming, e-commerce with Lusophone markets)

The Advanced Diploma articulates directly into the final year of a UK BA in Modern Languages or Portuguese Studies at LSJHML or a partner university.

Entry Requirements

A UK Diploma (Level 4) or equivalent in a related subject, OR completion of secondary school plus one year of relevant work experience.
Portuguese at B1 level or above on entry (assessed at application).
IELTS 5.5 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
Personal statement and CV.
Mature applicants (21+) without standard qualifications may apply with three years of relevant work experience.

Why Study at LSJHML

The London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London. Our programmes are designed in dialogue with working professionals — journalists, translators, civil servants, academics, broadcasters, editors, publishers and policy researchers — so what you learn in seminar on Monday is what your future employer is using on Tuesday. We deliberately keep cohorts small, give every student named tutor support, and treat employability as a structural part of every programme rather than an optional add-on.

London is the work — politics, courts, capital markets, theatre, broadcasting, publishing, public service, the global press. Your studies are taught in the same square mile where the stories you read about happen. Whether you join us on-campus, online or by distance learning, the city is your classroom and our industry network is your launchpad.