Higher Diploma in Professional Academic Practice
Course Overview
The Higher Diploma in Professional Academic Practice at LSLPE is a UK Level 5 qualification running 15 to 18 months across on-campus, online and distance-learning routes, with structured articulation into a UK Bachelor's top-up in education studies or interdisciplinary academic practice. The programme is aligned with Political Studies Association benchmarks on teaching political science, Royal Economic Society guidance on undergraduate curriculum design, Advance HE fellowship framework references and Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy public sector education standards.
By graduation you will have designed a full undergraduate module descriptor, produced a case-room seminar plan, delivered a mock assessed teaching observation and completed a substantial capstone or workplace project on a live teaching problem.
Key Features
- Curriculum aligned with PSA teaching benchmarks, Royal Economic Society undergraduate guidance and references to the Advance HE fellowship framework.
- Case-room seminars using Political Studies Association Teaching Working Group materials and Royal Economic Society Undergraduate Curriculum papers.
- Assessed teaching observation with structured feedback.
- Named programme-tutor support across all three study modes.
- Capstone or workplace project on a real teaching challenge.
- Confirmed credit transfer into a UK Bachelor's top-up at enrolment.
What You Will Learn
- Curriculum design and the constructive alignment framework.
- Assessment design including formative and summative approaches.
- Case-room and Socratic teaching methods used in law schools and Oxford tutorials.
- Inclusive pedagogy and the decolonising the curriculum debate.
- Feedback practice and rubric design.
- Digital learning environments and blended delivery.
- Programme-level design and quality assurance.
- Research on teaching and learning.
Who This Course Is For
- FE lecturers moving into HE teaching.
- Working tutors and research assistants in universities.
- Professional trainers in law, politics or economics organisations.
- Aspiring HE lecturers preparing for the Advance HE fellowship route.
- International applicants moving into UK-facing HE teaching.
Career Pathways
- Programme Manager in an HE department
- Public Sector Consultant in education policy
- Think Tank Researcher on higher education
- Policy Adviser on curriculum reform
- Public Leadership Fellow in an academic institution
- Civic Innovation Analyst on university engagement
- Development Analyst on international education partnerships
- Strategy Adviser on teaching quality
The LSLPE careers service holds at least one careers day each academic year connecting Higher Diploma in Professional Academic Practice students with universities, FE colleges, education think tanks and professional-body training arms.
Entry Requirements
- A relevant Diploma (Level 4), Advanced Diploma or comparable qualification.
- GCSE English at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C or equivalent.
- IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
- One academic or professional reference.
- Working professionals moving from teaching, tutoring or professional training roles are welcomed.
Why Study at LSLPE
LSLPE is the specialist law, politics and economics division of Harold International College of London, teaching in small tutor-visible cohorts within a short tube ride of the University of London's Senate House and the professional-body education arms of Chancery Lane. The Higher Diploma in Professional Academic Practice is grounded in the case-room and Oxford-tutorial traditions and their modern digital equivalents.
Three parallel study modes let progressors, working practitioners and portfolio-route applicants complete the Higher Diploma without leaving employment, and the LSLPE careers service refreshes curriculum annually against Political Studies Association, Royal Economic Society and Advance HE-adjacent guidance.
Apply for Higher Diploma in Professional Academic Practice
Applications for the Higher Diploma in Professional Academic Practice open with rolling intakes and admissions responds within one working day. Complete a Higher Diploma at LSLPE and articulate into a UK Bachelor's top-up in the same discipline with credit transfer confirmed at enrolment, and take a credentialed UK step into higher education practice. Enrol Now
