Does the Diploma in Magazine Journalism cover digital long-form as well as print magazines?

Yes. Digital long-form titles publish in formats that map closely onto traditional magazine craft, and the Diploma treats them as the same discipline. Your portfolio mixes print-shaped and digital-shaped pieces by default.

Can the Diploma in Magazine Journalism help me launch a freelance career?

Yes. A dedicated module covers the working practice of freelance feature writing — pitching, rates, contracts, kill fees, building a beat — and your final portfolio is structured to be the basis of your freelance pitches once you graduate.

Is the Diploma in Magazine Journalism aligned with the PPA?

The course engages with Professional Publishers Association practice and the editorial standards UK magazines work to. The qualification itself is a UK higher-education credential, not a PPA award, but it sits cleanly alongside the working market the PPA represents.

Do I need to be published already to take the Diploma in Magazine Journalism?

No. The course is designed for writers stepping up to magazine work. You do submit one writing sample at application — a feature or long-form piece, published or unpublished — so admissions can see where you are starting from.

Can I take the Diploma in Magazine Journalism online?

Yes. The online route mirrors on-campus delivery with live workshops, recorded craft seminars and supervised feature work. Distance learners follow structured deadlines and build their portfolios in their own time, with full tutor support.

Diploma in Magazine Journalism in London | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Diploma in Magazine Journalism at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a nine-to-twelve-month UK qualification for writers who want to work the magazine and longform end of journalism — features, profiles, reportage, criticism and the longer formats that survive in glossy, specialist and digital long-form magazines. The course content engages with Professional Publishers Association practice and the editorial standards of the Society of Editors.

You graduate with a portfolio of pitched, written and published feature work plus the commissioning literacy to read a brief, pitch a section editor and turn around a feature on time and at length.

Key Features

Feature-writing studio — three short features, two mid-length, one long-form across the year.
Pitching workshop — write, send, follow up; the working practice of freelance feature pitching.
Commissioning-side module — read briefs, brief writers, give structural and line notes.
Specialist beats rotation across politics, culture, business, science and lifestyle features.
Industry-led masterclasses from working magazine commissioning editors, feature writers and section editors.
Published portfolio on the LSJHML longform site, with anonymised commissioning correspondence.

What You Will Learn

The Diploma in Magazine Journalism is structured around the working practice of magazine writing — the pitch, the brief, the research, the draft, the edit, the published piece — and the commissioning literacy that lets you understand the conversation from both sides.

Feature structure — the lede, the nut graf, the architecture of a 2,000-to-5,000-word piece.
Profile writing — research, observation, interview, the ethics of writing about a person.
Reportage — scene construction, witness work, the demands of long-form reporting.
Criticism — review craft across culture, arts and lifestyle.
Pitching — what an editor reads in the first paragraph, follow-up etiquette, freelance rates.
Commissioning — reading a brief, briefing a writer, giving structural notes.
Media law for features — defamation in long-form, privacy, contributor consent.
The freelance market — contracts, kill fees, expenses, building a beat.

Who This Diploma Is For

News reporters wanting to move into feature and longform work.
Bloggers, Substack writers and online essayists ready to formalise practice and build legal literacy.
Career-changers from teaching, NGO work or research moving into freelance feature writing.
Certificate-level graduates ready for a substantial UK qualification in magazine work.

Career Pathways

Magazine journalism is increasingly a hybrid staff-freelance model, and the Diploma is structured for both. Graduates typically progress into junior staff roles at magazines and longform sites or into the freelance feature market. Typical destinations include:

Magazine Features Writer (consumer magazine, specialist title)
Section Editor (lifestyle, culture, business magazine)
Long-form Journalist (longform digital title, weekend supplement)
Commissioning Editor (small magazine, specialist online publisher)
Freelance Feature Writer (specialist beats, weekend magazines)
Editorial Assistant (national magazine group, weekend title)

Graduates progress to the Advanced Diploma in Creative Media and Publishing or directly to the final year of a BA in Magazine or Feature Journalism.

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 and a writing sample (one feature or long-form piece, 800–2,000 words).
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.