Diploma in Diplomacy Studies
Course Overview
The Diploma in Diplomacy Studies at LSLPE is a UK Level 4 practitioner foundation running 9 to 12 months across on-campus, online and distance routes. It reads diplomacy as a working craft: protocol, negotiation, drafting, treaty analysis, and the modern practice of the FCDO, the UN and the regional diplomatic academies. The syllabus draws on the Diplomatic Academy tradition and the outputs of Chatham House and the UN Association UK.
By graduation you will be drafting demarches, producing negotiation-preparation papers, running mock bilateral and multilateral scenarios, and completing a supervised portfolio project on a chosen diplomatic question.
Key Features
- UK Level 4 Diploma with articulation into LSLPE Advanced Diploma and Higher Diploma routes.
- Reading list aligned with Political Studies Association (PSA), British International Studies Association (BISA), Chatham House and UN Association UK publications.
- Weekly seminars in central London or live online with named tutor support.
- Applied assignments in demarche, negotiation-prep and scenario format.
- Optional strands in bilateral, multilateral and public diplomacy.
- Portfolio project supervised by tutors with FCDO or multilateral-adjacent backgrounds.
What You Will Learn
- Draft demarches, notes verbales and briefing telegrams.
- Prepare negotiation-strategy papers for bilateral and multilateral talks.
- Analyse treaty text and reservations under the Vienna Convention.
- Read the machinery of the UN, NATO, EU and Commonwealth.
- Compare classical and modern diplomatic practice.
- Design a public-diplomacy communications plan.
- Run a mock multilateral negotiation.
- Present orally in a diplomatic-briefing register.
Who This Course Is For
- New entrants preparing for diplomatic-service application.
- NGO and multilateral programme staff moving into representation roles.
- Career-changers from journalism, teaching or charity work into international affairs.
- International applicants working in foreign ministries or embassies.
- Progressors from LSLPE Certificate routes.
Career Pathways
- Diplomat
- Foreign Policy Adviser
- International Affairs Officer
- International Relations Analyst
- Political Analyst
- Public Affairs Officer
The LSLPE careers service links Diploma in Diplomacy Studies finalists with FCDO recruitment cycles, multilateral internships, Chatham House-adjacent think tanks and NGO representation offices.
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 progression aims in diplomacy or international affairs.
- Applicants with international-affairs, NGO or public-service experience are encouraged to reference it at application.
Why Study at LSLPE
LSLPE reads diplomacy inside a school where public international law, comparative politics and international political economy are taught by staff who work across all three. The Diploma sits in small tutor-visible cohorts drawn from academic, FCDO-adjacent and NGO backgrounds.
Central London puts Chatham House, IISS, the FCDO-adjacent think tanks and the leading embassies within a short tube ride of every classroom. Three parallel study modes let working practitioners continue in employment while completing the Diploma, and the careers service refreshes curriculum alignment annually against PSA and BISA guidance.
Apply for Diploma in Diplomacy Studies
Places are offered across three intake windows. Step up to a UK Level 4 Diploma at LSLPE, three intake windows a year, admissions responds within one working day. Enrol Now.
