Is the Certificate in Communication and Media Practice recognised by UK employers?

Yes — it is a UK higher-education credential at entry level and aligned with the daily practice press offices and in-house comms teams recruit on. As with any communications qualification, your portfolio of published work carries weight alongside the credential itself.

Do I need a degree to enrol in the Certificate in Communication and Media Practice?

No. The Certificate is open to anyone over 16 with a secondary-school qualification. Working communicators take it as CPD; career-changers take it as a fast credential before applying for their first comms role.

What is the next step after the Certificate in Communication and Media Practice?

Credit counts toward LSJHML's Diploma in Digital Communication or Diploma in Strategic Communication. Many students continue directly, while others take a year of working comms experience first before stepping up to the Diploma level.

Certificate in Communication & Media Practice | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Certificate in Communication and Media Practice at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a short, practical UK course for people working in or moving into junior communications roles. Over three to six months you will learn how to draft a press release that gets used, brief a spokesperson, write social posts that earn attention rather than buy it, and avoid the basic legal pitfalls that catch out junior press officers.

This Certificate is built for execution, not strategy. It exists to make you useful from day one in a press office, charity comms team or in-house communications function — and to give you a recognised UK credential to back it up.

Key Features

UK-recognised entry-level credential in communications and media practice.
Press release workshop — write, distribute and follow up with journalists.
Spokesperson briefing module — prepare a colleague for an interview without scripting them out of their humanity.
Social copywriting clinic — voice, platform conventions, accessibility, basic analytics literacy.
Basic media-law primer — defamation, copyright, embargoes, the Editors' Code from the comms side.
Three study modes — on-campus, online and distance learning with structured deadlines.

What You Will Learn

The Certificate in Communication and Media Practice is structured around the daily working life of a junior communications person — drafting, distributing, briefing, monitoring and the basic legal and ethical literacy that keeps the function safe. You finish able to step into a junior comms role and contribute on week one.

Press release writing — newsworthy angles, structure, attribution, embargo conventions.
Media relations basics — pitching journalists, distribution lists, building a press contact book.
Spokesperson preparation — message-house construction, awkward-question coaching, on-the-record protocols.
Social copywriting — platform conventions, voice consistency, accessibility (alt text, captions).
Internal communications basics — staff updates, change announcements, executive messages.
Basic media law for communicators — defamation, copyright, image rights, embargoes.
Media monitoring — basic analytics, coverage logs, simple reporting.
Crisis basics — holding lines, escalation triggers, when to bring in senior support.

Who This Course Is For

New press officers and junior communications staff wanting to ground their practice in recognised standards.
Charity and NGO staff whose role has expanded to include communications without formal training.
Career-changers from teaching, sales or administration moving into junior comms roles.
Students considering a longer programme in communications who want to test the field first.

Career Pathways

The Certificate in Communication and Media Practice is a foundation credential. Graduates typically use it to strengthen an application for a first or second comms role, or to formalise practice they have already built up informally. Typical first or next destinations include:

Press Officer (charity, public body, small agency)
Communications Assistant (corporate in-house team, FTSE comms function)
Junior Account Executive (PR consultancy, public-affairs agency)
Social Media Coordinator (cultural institution, NGO)
Internal Communications Assistant (corporate, public sector)
Content Writer (digital publisher, in-house content team)

Credit from this Certificate counts toward LSJHML's Diploma in Digital Communication and Diploma in Strategic Communication for students who continue.

Entry Requirements

Minimum age 16.
Secondary school qualification (GCSE/O-Level or international equivalent).
IELTS 5.5 (or equivalent) for non-native English speakers.
No prior comms experience required.

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.