Public Affairs Diploma
CIPR Specialist Diploma: Public Affairs
Online Course
About this course
Gain an insight into the process of policy formation, how public affairs relates to PR and corporate communication and the reputational context in which public affairs operates. The CIPR Public Affairs Diploma explores theory while being rooted in practice. Learn how public affairs contributes to organisational success and what is expected of an ethical practitioner in the complex political environment.
This course is taught and assessed at Master’s level. Make sure that this is the right level for you and if you aren’t sure, just get in touch.
Course detail
Course Features
Learn at your own pace
Unlimited tutor support
Individual feedback on assignment ideas to ensure you're on track for success
Specially selected online library
Online learning centre
CIPR accredited
Your investment
PR Academy tuition: £1,550
Our pricing is totally transparent:
CIPR Awarding body fees: £405 (no VAT)
Total: £1,955 (+VAT)
VAT will be calculated upon enrolment depending on your location and situation. VAT inclusive price £2265.
Instalment option
Pay in easy instalments. An initial payment of £465 (payable before course starts) then six monthly payments of £300.
Instalments shown include VAT
Paying by instalment: the first payment is made when you enrol, future payments come out monthly on the same date. For example, if you enrol on the 20th, future payments are made monthly on the 20th.
Who’s this course for?
Public Affairs practitioners. You are an experienced public affairs practitioner or a communication/PR professional working on public affairs activity and looking to gain a specialist qualification to underpin your skills with theory and analysis.
Gain new skills. You want to gain new skills or improve existing skills by learning about the strategic role of public affairs.
Moving into public affairs. You wish to establish yourself as a public affairs practitioner. The course is designed for both generalist public relations practitioners wishing to enhance their understanding of the discipline and also for those intending to specialise in public affairs as a career.
Master’s level. This is Master’s level course so make sure you are ready to study and be assessed at this level.
Learning outcomes
Discover how the public policy environment operates and how to engage in the process. Learn about the psychology of communication, persuasion, rhetoric, engaging the electorate, the role of the media and political marketing.
Take a strategic look at public affairs practice and how it integrates with other broader reputation management. Emerging issues and trends that affect contemporary public affairs practice are discussed together with the strategy and tactics of lobbying and campaigning and the theories underpinning the process.
Research and develop ethical public affairs strategies and plans which confront and manage political and societal issues, change attitudes and influence behaviours, and so achieve strategic objectives.
Download our course brochure for all the course details including:
- Full syllabus
- Assignment details
- Key dates
- Reasons to study
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Why get a qualification?
Studying over a period of time leads to a deep level of learning, helping you to become a more strategic practitioner.
Having the freedom to apply the knowledge gained to an assignment topic relevant to my own work really highlighted the value of the course to my current job and career going forward.
Meet your course tutor Heather Yaxley
I’m a passionate advocate for investment in sustainable professional development and the benefits that effective learning brings to individuals, teams and organisations. At a time of unprecedented change in working practices, we all need to keep up to date with latest thinking, new ideas, and emerging practice.
Learn in the best spaces
Our central London training venue has great facilities and super healthy food.
Your questions answered
For CIPR courses, your course fee is a combination of the PR Academy tuition fee and the CIPR awarding body and registration fee. PR Academy provides all your tuition plus an online learning centre with books and resources and marks your work. If you come to face to face classes we provide you with lots of tea and coffee and a lovely lunch. You don’t really need to buy any books as most resources are online, but you can of course purchase books if you like and we can help you to decide what to buy.
We don't put a limit on support, for some courses we may ask you to book a tutorial and sometimes one of the team in the office can help.
It's great news that your employer is investing in your development. The first thing to do is get a purchase order - you will need it when you enrol. This is really important as without it we aren't able to raise an invoice. Alternatively, you can pay using a company credit or debit card at checkout - that's probably the easiest way.
The second thing is to allow plenty of time! We need payment before the course starts and we know that sometimes company's payment processes can take a while. So act now to get it all sorted in time.
If you need any help or advice, just give us a call and Shelley will help you.
Yes, most of our students are working full time and many have family commitments too. While the courses are demanding – they wouldn’t be of value if they weren’t – the pace of learning and the flexible options make it possible.
They aren't heavily academic. We still discuss theory because that’s what makes us better practitioners, but we show how to apply it in practice. We call it applied learning.
(CIPR qualifications have been refreshed in recent years so they are now much more about applying theory to practice.)
Online learning enables you to study for your qualification from anywhere in the world. Our courses use a mix of live webinars, online discussion and guided reading which we provide. Our blended learning courses mix online with optional face to face sessions.
Your tutor is there to support you and help you to stay on track.
It depends a bit on the awarding body, some have different regulations but in most cases you have a period of time in which to submit and we give you access to the materials for up to a year after the course has finished. If in any doubt, please talk to us.