Two years of a business degree under one enrolment, with the Level 4 and Level 5 halves stated unit by unit.
Level, credits, hours, units and Ofqual number are taken from the OTHM specification and the Ofqual register. Duration, study modes, fees and intake dates are set by London School of Planning and Management (LSPM), the approved centre.
The Extended Diploma is the same destination as the 120-credit diploma above it, reached from a different starting point. A learner with a Level 3 qualification, or two A levels, registers once and works through twelve units: six at Level 4, then six at Level 5. At 2,400 hours of total qualification time and 1,200 guided learning hours it is exactly double the single-level programme, and OTHM labels every unit with its level so there is no ambiguity about which half you are in.
The Level 4 stage is foundational in the literal sense. Academic Writing and Research Skills comes first because everything afterwards is assessed by writing; Business Operations, Communication in Business, Finance and Accounting, Leading and Managing Teams and Operating in a Global Context then cover the functions a Level 5 strategist will later be asked to integrate. The Level 5 stage mirrors the standalone diploma: strategy, human resources, marketing, business law, management accounting and the start-up project.
One caution on the data: OTHM's own published unit list spells the first Level 5 unit "Principals and Concepts of Strategy". This site reproduces titles as the awarding body publishes them and we have reported the spelling; the unit content is identical to the standalone diploma's Principles and Concepts of Strategy.
Same awarding body, same sector, same Level 5 outcome. The Extended Diploma includes the Level 4 stage; the Diploma assumes you already hold it.
Choose this if your highest qualification is at Level 3 and you want one enrolment that ends at year-two equivalence.
Choose this if you already hold a Level 4 qualification in a related subject and only need the Level 5 stage.
5 of the Level 5 unit titles appear in both programmes. Whichever route you take, you finish in the same credit position: 240 credits across Levels 4 and 5. The Extended Diploma reaches it under one registration and one certificate; the Diploma assumes a separate Level 4 award came first.
12 × 20 credits.
| # | Unit title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Level 4 stage · 6 units · 120 credits | ||
| 01 | Academic Writing and Research Skills | 20 |
| 02 | Business Operations | 20 |
| 03 | Communication in Business | 20 |
| 04 | Finance and Accounting | 20 |
| 05 | Leading and Managing Teams | 20 |
| 06 | Operating in a Global Context | 20 |
| Level 5 stage · 6 units · 120 credits | ||
| 07 | Principals and Concepts of Strategy | 20 |
| 08 | The Management of Human Resources | 20 |
| 09 | Marketing for Managers | 20 |
| 10 | Business Law for Managers | 20 |
| 11 | Management Accounting for Decision Making | 20 |
| 12 | Business Start-up; Conception to Market | 20 |
| Total credits | 240 | |
Unit titles and credit values from the OTHM specification. The stage grouping follows the level code the specification gives each unit.
How LSPM sequences them. The two halves are taught as distinct stages with a review point between them. Nobody starts a Level 5 unit until all six Level 4 units have been submitted, because the Level 5 assignments assume the research skills and the finance vocabulary from the first stage. Within each stage LSPM runs units in pairs, so a full-time learner is never writing more than two assignments at once.
OTHM's published criteria, quoted as data. London School of Planning and Management (LSPM) checks each applicant against them before registration.
Source: OTHM specification. The formal requirement is a Level 3 qualification or two A levels, with a mature route at 21 or over. In practice LSPM looks for evidence of sustained written work in English, because the first unit assumes you can write 2,000 words to a brief. Applicants who already hold some Level 4 credits are usually better served by the 120-credit diploma with a credit-transfer check, and we say so at enquiry.
Twelve assignments over the programme, each set against one unit. Level 4 assignments are typically 2,500 to 3,000 words with more structured briefs; Level 5 assignments lengthen to 3,000 to 4,000 words and expect independent research. There are no exams at either stage and the qualification is not graded. See how LSPM teaches and assesses for the marking and verification process.
LSPM's tutors mark and give written feedback. OTHM samples marked work before results are ratified. A referred submission can be reworked after feedback.
OTHM Level 6 Diploma in Business Management, which together with this qualification gives 360 credits across three levels.
Direct entry to the final year of a business or management bachelor's degree where a university accepts the 240-credit structure; the unit-level labelling helps admissions tutors map it.
A move into a first management role while the Level 6 stage is still underway, which is how many employer-sponsored learners use it.
The registration is for the full 240-credit qualification, so there is no automatic Level 4 certificate. Where a learner withdraws, LSPM can discuss with OTHM whether the achieved units can be recognised against a Level 4 diploma; that is a case-by-case process and neither LSPM nor we will promise it in advance.
Fees are published on the fees page when confirmed. Structurally it involves one registration fee rather than two and one admissions process, which is the usual source of any saving; the teaching hours are the same.
Because 240 credits cannot all sit at one level in a two-year structure. The qualification takes the level of its highest units. Half the credits are Level 4 and half Level 5, and the transcript shows the level against each unit.
LSPM sets standard durations and we publish them here once LSPM confirms them. The awarding body's figures are 2,400 hours of total qualification time, which is the figure to plan against for your own hours per week; the guide on how long a 240-credit programme takes walks through the arithmetic.
Yes, and it is the unit learners later say mattered most. Academic Writing and Research Skills teaches referencing, structuring an argument and using sources, and its assignment is a short researched piece. Every one of the following eleven assignments depends on it.
Tell us what you hold now and we will say whether you are likely to meet OTHM's criteria; LSPM confirms eligibility and the next intake.