Does the Higher Diploma in Professional Communication and Leadership cover crisis communication?

Yes — at leadership level. The crisis leadership module covers pre-crisis preparation, in-crisis decision-making and post-crisis recovery, with recorded scenario work. The Higher Diploma in Professional Communication and Leadership treats crisis as a leadership test, not just a technical comms challenge.

What fees and instalment options are available?

Fees vary by mode and intake. LSJHML offers an instalment plan across the academic year and a small employer-sponsorship discount where your employer funds the course. Contact admissions for the current schedule.

Higher Diploma in Professional Communication and Leadership | LSJHML

Course Overview

The Higher Diploma in Professional Communication and Leadership at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a fifteen-to-eighteen-month UK qualification at near-degree level for senior communicators ready to step into leadership roles. The course is built in dialogue with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the International Association of Business Communicators.

You will work through senior-track strategic communications, executive-presence development, leadership communication and stakeholder management at board level, and produce a near-degree-level capstone of 10,000–12,000 words on a leadership-communication question from your own setting.

Key Features

Near-degree-level depth in senior-track communications and leadership practice.
Senior strategy module covering board-level communications, change leadership and reputation management.
Executive presence clinic with recorded practice and structured feedback from senior communications directors.
Stakeholder management at board level — investor relations, regulator engagement, executive team management.
Leadership communication module — chief executive voice, change communication, crisis leadership.
Capstone of 10,000–12,000 words on a leadership-communication question, supervised by a named tutor.

What You Will Learn

The Higher Diploma in Professional Communication and Leadership is structured around the working life of a senior communications leader — set strategy, develop executive presence, manage stakeholders, lead change, communicate in crisis. You finish able to set communications strategy at board level, coach senior leaders, and lead a communications function through difficult change.

Senior strategic communications — board-level planning, reputation management, change leadership.
Executive presence — voice, structure, authority in high-stakes communication.
Stakeholder management — board, investor, regulator, employee, customer audiences.
Leadership communication — chief executive voice, internal communications, change communication.
Crisis leadership — pre-crisis preparation, in-crisis decision-making, post-crisis recovery.
Communications team leadership — structure, roles, performance, development.
Reputation measurement — sentiment analysis, share-of-voice, board reporting.
Communications ethics at senior level — Nolan Principles, GCS standards, professional codes.

Who This Higher Diploma Is For

Advanced Diploma graduates in communications or journalism ready for near-degree-level leadership content.
Senior communicators in in-house teams or agencies stepping up to head-of-function or director-level roles.
Civil servants and public-sector communicators working at senior level in Government Communication Service-aligned roles.
Career-changers from senior roles in journalism, public affairs or campaigning moving into corporate or in-house communications leadership.

Career Pathways

The Higher Diploma in Professional Communication and Leadership supports progression into director-level communications roles, and articulates into a Bachelor's top-up year or directly into a Master's. Typical roles include:

Director of Communications (corporate, public sector, charity)
Head of Internal Communications (corporate, NHS trust, regulator)
Strategy Adviser (consultancy, in-house leadership team)
Engagement Director (large organisation, multi-site operation)
Executive Communications Lead (chief executive office, senior leadership team)
Chief of Staff (with communications-led mandate)

The Higher Diploma articulates into the final year of a UK BA in Strategic Communication or related discipline at LSJHML or a partner university, or supports direct application to a Master's in Strategic Communication.

Entry Requirements

An Advanced Diploma (Level 5) or equivalent in a related subject, OR a Diploma plus two years of relevant work experience.
IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
Personal statement and CV.
Mature applicants (25+) without standard qualifications may apply with significant senior-track 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.