Level 8 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership

The Qualifi diploma is the more compact of the two regulated Level 8 qualifications and the more prescriptive. There are no optional units: everyone in the cohort studies the same eight, and the programme moves as a group through leadership, personal development, three strategy units set in a global context, communication, culture and finally research methods. Qualifi states entry as a Level 7 qualification or a master's degree, which is a clearer threshold than OTHM publishes.

The centre of the diploma is the trio of units on strategy development, planning and direction in cross-border and global organisations. Where the OTHM diploma asks you to become a researcher of your own practice, this one asks you to become a strategist capable of working at doctoral level across national and cultural boundaries. That is a real difference of emphasis and it should decide which of the two you apply for.

The data behind this site is incomplete for this programme in ways we want to be open about. Qualifi's published record gives the credit total of 160 but the programme data does not carry unit-by-unit credit values, total qualification time or guided learning hours. We show the units as listed and refer you to the specification for the missing figures rather than estimate them.

Qualification

Qualifi Level 8 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership

Level

RQF Level 8, the level of a doctorate. A diploma, not a degree.

Credits

160

Total qualification time

Not listed in our data; see the specification

Guided learning hours

Not listed in our data; see the specification

Awarding body

Qualifi, an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation

Ofqual number

601/5362/3

Duration

9 months (standard) or 6 months (fast track) alongside work, as offered by LSPM

Study modes

Online, live seminars; Blended, some seminars in person. Confirm the timetable with LSPM.

Fees

From £999 (9 months, standard) or £1,299 (6 months, fast track); see fees and payment

Next intake

Rolling intake — course starts when the fee is paid

Specification

Qualifi specification

Level, credits, hours and Ofqual number are the awarding body's published values.¹ Duration, study modes, fees and intake dates are set by London School of Planning and Management, the approved centre, and are shown as placeholders until LSPM confirms them.

Qualifi lists the eight units in a fixed order and LSPM, as the approved centre, decides how to timetable them. Learners we have introduced describe Research Methods being introduced in outline early on, so that reading and reflection on method begin long before the unit formally opens, and the three cross-border strategy units being taught as a connected sequence around a single organisation of the learner's choosing, so that the work on development, planning and direction builds into one sustained strategic analysis rather than three separate essays. That is a sensible way to teach the structure; confirm the current arrangement with LSPM.

Qualifi states that entry to this diploma is considered on the basis of:¹

• Level 7 Qualification
• Master’s Degree

How LSPM applies this in practice

Qualifi's stated entry point is a Level 7 qualification or a master's degree, and LSPM applies it as written. LSPM also asks for a CV and a short statement of purpose and, from what applicants tell us, interviews for this diploma even though Qualifi does not require it, because a stated threshold speaks to your past study and not to the time and access you have now. On the advice call we look in particular for current or recent responsibility in an organisation that operates across borders, since the three central units are difficult to complete well without one to write about, and we will say so before you apply.

Each unit is assessed by extended written assignments marked against Qualifi's learning outcomes and assessment criteria, and every criterion must be met for the unit to be awarded. There is no examination and no thesis. Because the three strategy units share a running case, their assignments build on one another, and the Research Methods assignment normally takes the form of a research proposal that could open a doctoral application. Marking is by your LSPM tutor, moderated within LSPM and then verified by Qualifi before results are released. The assessment chapter of the guide explains criterion referencing and resubmission.

Chapter 05: how assessment works at Level 8

The programme data behind this site does not carry a total qualification time or guided learning hours figure for this diploma, so we do not publish weekly-hours arithmetic for it. The ten-hours-per-credit convention used across the framework would put 160 credits in the region of 1,600 hours, but that is an inference, not a published value; the specification is the authority.¹

Delivery is by LSPM, and applicants should ask LSPM how it timetables this diploma: the pattern of seminars, individual tutorials around assignments, and whether sessions are recorded. The chapter on time, cost and commitment sets out how to plan for it.

Qualifi describes progression from this diploma to a DBA at a UK university. We would put it more carefully. Completing the diploma gives you a body of Level 8 work on international strategy and a research proposal, both of which are relevant to a DBA application, and some universities will consider them under their recognition-of-prior-learning rules. Whether that results in admission, in exemption from taught modules, or in neither, is a matter for each university.

For learners whose goal is a senior international role rather than a doctorate, the diploma stands on its own as a regulated qualification at the highest level of the framework, and that is how most who choose it over the OTHM route intend to use it. If you are undecided between the two, the enquiry form has an option for that, and the advice call is where we work it out with you.

Chapter 06: progression to a DBA with advanced standing

The other regulated Level 8 diploma is the OTHM Level 8 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice. The home page sets the two side by side.