What form can the final project take on the Higher Diploma in Storytelling and Narrative Studies?

Any narrative form — a feature screenplay, a novel partial, an audio drama, a longform podcast structure, an interactive narrative game design document. The form is your choice, agreed with your tutor; the assessment criteria are adapted to the form.

Is the Higher Diploma in Storytelling and Narrative Studies a screenwriting course?

Screenwriting is one of several core narrative forms covered. The course is broader, covering literary, screen, oral, interactive and applied (brand, documentary) narrative. Choose a dedicated screenwriting course if your interest is exclusively screen-focused.

Does the Higher Diploma in Storytelling and Narrative Studies cover narrative for games?

Yes. Interactive and game narrative is a dedicated module covering choice architecture, branching, environmental storytelling and the working relationship between narrative designer and game designer. The course is not a games design course; it focuses on the narrative craft within games.

Higher Diploma in Storytelling & Narrative Studies | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Higher Diploma in Storytelling and Narrative Studies at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a fifteen-to-eighteen-month UK qualification for Advanced Diploma graduates and working narrative practitioners — story editors, narrative designers, brand storytellers, documentary writers and content strategists — ready for near-degree-level work with a direct top-up route into a UK Bachelor's. You will study narrative theory across literary, screen, oral and interactive traditions, build a portfolio of original narrative work, and complete a sustained final project under tutor supervision.

The Higher Diploma in Storytelling and Narrative Studies takes storytelling seriously as a craft that crosses screen, page, audio, brand and game. By graduation you can analyse a narrative on its own terms, design one to a brief, and explain to a commissioner or product team why structure A works better than structure B.

Key Features

Narrative theory seminar across literary narratology, screenwriting structure, oral storytelling traditions and interactive narrative.
Story design workshop — building narratives across screen, page, audio, brand and interactive forms.
Applied storytelling track covering brand storytelling, documentary narrative, podcast longform and narrative game design.
Sustained final project — a substantial original narrative work in a form of your choice, supervised across the year.
Industry-led masterclasses from working story editors, narrative designers, screenwriters and brand storytellers.
Direct top-up into the final year of a UK Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing or Narrative Studies at LSJHML or a partner university.

What You Will Learn

The Higher Diploma in Storytelling and Narrative Studies is structured around three interlocking strands — narrative theory, story design and applied practice. You graduate able to analyse a complex narrative across forms, design a narrative to a working brief, and defend your structural choices in a commissioning or product meeting.

Narrative theory — narratology, structuralist and post-structuralist approaches, cognitive narrative theory.
Screenwriting structure — three-act, five-act, episodic structure, the writers' room.
Literary narrative — point of view, narrative voice, structure across short and long forms.
Oral storytelling traditions — the storyteller-listener relationship, performance, traditional structures.
Interactive and game narrative — choice architecture, branching, environmental storytelling.
Documentary narrative — structuring true stories, contributor-led narrative, longform podcast.
Brand storytelling — narrative for organisations, the brand-narrative ethics question.
Story design workflow — concept, treatment, beats, draft, revision, pitch.
Narrative ethics — representation, ownership, the responsibility of telling other people's stories.

Who This Higher Diploma Is For

Advanced Diploma graduates in creative writing, screenwriting or related fields ready for near-degree-level work.
Working narrative designers, story editors and content strategists building toward senior practitioner roles.
Documentary writers, podcast producers and longform journalists wanting structured narrative training.
Brand storytellers and content marketers moving into senior narrative-strategy roles.

Career Pathways

Narrative work is a growing portfolio specialism across UK screen, audio, gaming, publishing and brand sectors. Higher Diploma graduates typically progress into senior practitioner or specialist narrative roles, with a direct top-up route into a UK Bachelor's degree for those continuing. Typical destinations include:

Narrative Designer (gaming studio, immersive experience company)
Story Editor (television drama, longform podcast, factual entertainment)
Brand Storyteller (in-house content, agency-side narrative team)
Documentary Writer (television documentary, audio documentary)
Story Consultant (independent practice, multi-client work)
Senior Content Strategist (publisher, platform, brand)

The Higher Diploma articulates directly into the final year of a UK Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing or Narrative Studies at LSJHML or a partner university.

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, CV and a short narrative portfolio.
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.