Will I publish work during the Diploma in Feature Writing?

Yes. Pitching to working publications is part of the course, and several pieces from each cohort are commissioned and published in UK magazines or longform digital outlets each year. Unpublished pieces are tutored to publishable standard for your portfolio.

Do I need prior journalism experience to enrol in the Diploma in Feature Writing?

No. The Diploma is open to anyone with strong writing and the willingness to report. A short writing sample is part of admission so we can place you accurately. Working specialists from outside journalism are very welcome.

Does the Diploma in Feature Writing cover digital long-form?

Yes. Long-form digital publishing is one of three core publication contexts in the course (alongside consumer magazine and B2B), with attention to the structural and audience differences between print and digital long-form work.

Can I study the Diploma in Feature Writing online?

Yes. The online route runs the same weekly pitching and craft workshops over video. Distance learners set their own pace within structured deadlines and submit portfolio pieces in three windows across the year.

Is the Diploma in Feature Writing recognised by UK magazine employers?

The Diploma is a recognised UK qualification at Level 5 and is structured around the skills magazine commissioning editors look for. As with any writing credential, your published portfolio carries equal weight with the qualification itself — which is why a working portfolio is the course's main output.

Diploma in Feature Writing in London | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Diploma in Feature Writing at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a nine-to-twelve-month UK qualification for writers and reporters who want to specialise in magazine and long-form journalism. You will pitch, report and write features across consumer, B2B and digital long-form, study the structures the best long-form work uses, and finish the course with a portfolio of at least four publishable pieces.

Feature writing is journalism with room to breathe. The Diploma in Feature Writing teaches you to use that room well — to find the angle, do the reporting, build the structure, sustain the voice over 2,000 to 6,000 words, and deliver copy a commissioning editor can publish without rewrite.

Key Features

Weekly pitching workshop — research, frame and pitch feature ideas to working commissioning editors.
Long-form structure module — the profile, the reported essay, the explanatory feature, the narrative non-fiction piece.
Interview craft for features — long-form interviewing, on-the-record management, profile-building, source diversification.
Voice and style workshop — first-person reporting, the writer's voice, the discipline of restraint.
Media law module covering defamation, contempt and privacy for long-form work.
Published portfolio — at least four pieces across consumer, B2B and digital long-form, with industry editor sign-off.

What You Will Learn

The Diploma in Feature Writing is structured around the working cycle of a feature writer — idea, pitch, commission, report, draft, edit, publish. You graduate able to pitch credibly to a magazine commissioning editor, report a substantial feature ethically, and write copy that survives the line-edit with the writer's voice intact.

Pitching — angle development, editor-targeted pitching, the pitch letter, follow-up etiquette.
Long-form research — interview planning, source diversification, document and archive work.
Interviewing for features — long-form planning, building rapport, on-the-record management, profile interviewing.
Long-form structure — Hampton Sides on structure, the nut graf, scene-and-summary alternation.
Voice and style — first-person reporting, the limits of voice, when to step back.
The profile — what good profiles do, the access problem, the ethics of representation.
The reported essay — argument as structure, integrating reporting and reflection.
Media law for features — defamation, privacy, contempt risk over a multi-month piece.
Editing — accepting line-edits, structural rewrites, working with a commissioning editor.

Who This Diploma Is For

Junior news reporters wanting to add feature writing to their working toolkit.
Career-changers from writing-adjacent fields (PR, content marketing, blogging) moving into commissioned magazine work.
Bloggers and substack writers wanting industry-recognisable feature craft and a route to commissioned publication.
Working specialists (academics, lawyers, doctors, scientists) writing for general-audience magazines as a sideline or career change.

Career Pathways

Feature writing is a varied UK market — consumer magazines, B2B trade titles, longform digital publishers, Sunday papers and the magazine ecosystem of national newspapers. Diploma graduates typically progress into staff or freelance feature roles. Typical destinations include:

Magazine Features Writer (consumer magazine, trade title)
Section Editor (women's, lifestyle, special-interest sections)
Long-form Journalist (digital longform publisher, Sunday paper magazine)
Commissioning Editor (assistant level; senior with experience)
Freelance Feature Writer (multiple-title contributor)
Branded Content Writer (in-house long-form, brand newsroom)

The Diploma is the natural prerequisite for the Advanced Diploma in Magazine Journalism and pairs well with the BA Multimedia Journalism or BA Creative Writing for students who continue.

Entry Requirements

Completion of secondary school (A-Levels, BTEC, or international equivalent).
IELTS 5.5 overall (no band below 5.0) for non-native English speakers.
Personal statement.
A short writing sample (one feature pitch and one 800-word piece) is part of admission.
Mature applicants (21+) may apply with two 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.