How long does the Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies take to complete?

The Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies runs 9 to 12 months across on-campus, online and distance routes. Part-time study extends the Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies where field work or care commitments require it.

Can I study the Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies online?

Yes. The Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies is delivered on-campus in central London, online and by distance learning, and each mode shares the same weekly seminar structure.

Is the Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies UK recognised?

The Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies is a UK Level 4 award aligned with BISA and PSA international-studies guidance, and it articulates into Advanced and Higher Diplomas at LSLPE.

What are the entry requirements for the Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies?

Applicants need a Level 3 qualification or an LSLPE Certificate, GCSE English and Maths at grade 4/C, and IELTS 5.5 where required. NGO or field experience supports the Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies application.

How much does the Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies cost and is funding available?

Tuition varies by mode. LSLPE admissions publishes current fees at offer stage and discusses instalment plans, employer sponsorship and scholarships for the Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies on request.

Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies | LSLPE | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies at LSLPE is a UK Level 4 practitioner foundation running 9 to 12 months across on-campus, online and distance modes. The programme reads conflict as a political, economic and legal phenomenon simultaneously: it examines the causes of contemporary war, the machinery of mediation and peacekeeping, and the reconstruction politics that follow ceasefires. It is aligned with the guidance of the British International Studies Association and the practice standards of the United Nations Association UK.

By graduation you will have produced conflict analyses on live cases, drafted mediator briefing notes, contributed to negotiation simulations, and completed a supervised case study on a specific peace process from the past two decades.

Key Features

Taught by former field officers, mediators and NGO conflict-response staff.
Curriculum aligned with BISA and PSA international-studies guidance.
Live conflict-analysis exercises against publicly available data.
Negotiation and mediation simulation weeks.
Guest seminars from Chatham House-adjacent researchers.
Named programme-tutor support across every study mode.

What You Will Learn

Theories of conflict causation across identity, resource and institutional accounts.
International humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict.
Mediation, negotiation and Track One and Track Two diplomacy techniques.
UN peacekeeping mandates and their operational limits.
Post-conflict reconstruction, transitional justice and DDR processes.
Conflict-sensitive programming for NGOs and donors.
Early-warning analysis and horizon-scanning methods.
Case-study construction from primary and secondary conflict data.

Who This Course Is For

NGO staff moving into conflict-response, peacebuilding or humanitarian access roles.
Junior diplomats and FCDO desk officers building specialist evidence.
Journalists and communications professionals covering conflict.
International applicants from conflict-affected or post-conflict states.
Career changers moving into humanitarian and international-body work.

Career Pathways

International Development Officer at a bilateral donor.
NGO Programme Officer supporting field operations in conflict-affected states.
Political Analyst covering conflict for a research house or newsroom.
Human Rights Officer at an international body or advocacy organisation.
Foreign Policy Adviser inside a Whitehall department.
Development Diplomat pipeline at the FCDO or a European foreign ministry.
Political Communications Officer supporting mediation and peace-process teams.

The LSLPE careers service maintains standing conversations with recruitment leads at conflict-response NGOs, UN agencies and Whitehall's international-affairs units.

Entry Requirements

A Level 3 qualification (A-levels, BTEC, Access to HE) or equivalent, OR a relevant Certificate at LSLPE.
GCSE English at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C or equivalent.
IELTS 5.5 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers, or equivalent.
A personal statement outlining your interest in conflict and peace practice.
Applicants with humanitarian, journalism or field experience are encouraged to reference it at application.

Why Study at LSLPE

LSLPE is a specialist division of Harold International College of London that reads conflict as inseparable from law, politics and economics. The Diploma in Conflict and Peace Studies is delivered in small, tutor-visible cohorts using the case-room and select-committee tradition, so evidence is argued in public and mediation is rehearsed in role.

Central London places the FCDO, Chatham House, the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the leading humanitarian NGO headquarters within a short tube ride of every classroom. Online and distance students join the same weekly seminar structure with named programme-tutor support.