HDip Public Policy & Governance | LSLPE | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Higher Diploma in Public Policy and Interdisciplinary Governance at LSLPE is a Level 5 programme running 15 to 18 months across on-campus, online and distance routes, with structured articulation into a UK Bachelor's top-up in the same discipline. Sitting within PPE and Interdisciplinary Studies, the syllabus is aligned with Institute for Government, CIPFA and Political Studies Association working standards, and reads public policy as a governance craft that must braid legal drafting, political argument and economic evidence together.

By graduation you will have produced a policy option appraisal, a cross-departmental governance memo, an interdisciplinary consultation response, and a supervised capstone project on a live UK policy file.

Key Features

Alignment with Institute for Government (IfG), CIPFA and Political Studies Association (PSA) working standards.
Case sessions on cross-departmental Whitehall files that span law, politics and economics.
Guest input from serving policy directors, senior civil servants and think-tank fellows.
Supervised capstone on a live UK policy file.
Confirmed credit transfer into a UK Bachelor's top-up.
Three parallel study modes so serving officers and progressor students share the same cohort.

What You Will Learn

Framing a policy problem across legal, political and economic dimensions.
Applying the Green Book, Magenta Book and Managing Public Money.
Producing a cross-departmental governance memo.
Handling legislation, delegated powers and secondary-legislation drafting.
Reading select-committee reports and National Audit Office findings.
Running interdisciplinary stakeholder-mapping and consultation exercises.
Writing an interdisciplinary consultation response.
Defending a capstone conclusion in an oral panel.

Who This Course Is For

Serving civil servants, local-authority officers and NHS analysts moving into cross-cutting policy work.
Progressor students from a Level 4 Diploma articulating into a Bachelor's top-up.
Third-sector staff moving from delivery into governance-analyst roles.
International applicants preparing for senior public-service roles in their home ministries.
Career changers moving from law, journalism or consulting into structured governance work.

Career Pathways

Policy Adviser on cross-cutting files
Programme Manager on interdisciplinary governance
Public Sector Consultant
Public Affairs Consultant
Public Leadership Fellow
Development Analyst on multi-donor programmes
Government Affairs Manager
Strategy Adviser

The LSLPE careers service curates introductions across Whitehall departments, local government, the NHS, arm's-length bodies and consultancies, and refreshes curriculum alignment annually against Bar Standards Board, Political Studies Association and Royal Economic Society guidance.

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 paralegal, policy officer, research assistant or public administration roles are welcomed.

Why Study at LSLPE

LSLPE is a specialist division of Harold International College of London teaching in small, tutor-visible cohorts. Central London places Whitehall, Parliament, the National Audit Office, the Institute for Government and the LSE-adjacent think-tank ecosystem within a short tube ride of every seminar room, which matters when the interdisciplinary policy files you will study are drafted a few stops away.

Every intake, on-campus or remote, joins the same weekly seminar structure with named programme-tutor support. Seminars are run in the select-committee tradition, evidence-led and argued in public, and the careers service connects students with employers across Whitehall, local government, think tanks and consultancies.

Apply for Higher Diploma in Public Policy and Interdisciplinary Governance

Applications for the Higher Diploma in Public Policy and Interdisciplinary Governance are open now with confirmed Bachelor's top-up articulation. Complete a Higher Diploma at LSLPE and articulate into a UK Bachelor's top-up in the same discipline with an interdisciplinary governance portfolio. Enrol Now