Level 6 Diploma in Business Administration
The commercial side of running a business, examined at bachelor's level: how it is controlled, how it sells, how it markets, what the law allows, and how to investigate a question properly. Five units, 120 credits, awarded by Qualifi.
Particulars
| Awarding body | Qualifi Ltd, an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation |
|---|---|
| Level | 6 on the RQF; the level of an honours degree1 |
| Qualification type | Diploma. Not a degree. |
| Credits | 120 |
| Total Qualification Time | See specification 2 |
| Ofqual number | 603/1037/63 |
| Duration | 9 months (standard) or 6 months (fast track) part-time; to be confirmed by LSPM |
| Study modes | Online, Blended, Evening classes (availability per intake to be confirmed) |
| Fees | From £999 (9 months, standard) or £1,299 (6 months, fast track) · how fees work |
| Next intake | Rolling intake — course starts when the fee is paid |
| Assessment | Written assignment per unit; no examinations |
The programmeWhat this diploma is
Where a general management diploma looks at the whole organisation, this Qualifi award concentrates on the machinery of commerce. Management Control asks how a business knows it is on course; Management of Sales Force asks how it wins and keeps revenue; Strategic Marketing Management asks how it chooses whom to serve and how; Business Law sets the boundaries; and a Research Project with Research Methods closes the programme with an extended investigation. Five units rather than six, each correspondingly larger, at Level 6 of the RQF.
It suits administrators, sales and marketing managers, and owner-managers who have grown a business by instinct and now want to understand the instinct. Qualifi's entry wording, which admits on business experience and clear career goals as well as on a Level 5 award, reflects that intended audience. Learners we have placed on it report that the research project was the first piece of extended writing they had done since school, and that the earlier units, taken in order, prepared them for it.
Qualifi does not publish Total Qualification Time or Guided Learning Hours for this award in the specification we consulted, so the particulars show 'See specification' in those rows. The credit total, 120, is published, and this page uses the usual ten hours per credit as a planning guide only.
StructureUnits and credits
Five mandatory units; no optional units. Titles as published by Qualifi.2 Qualifi's specification gives the credit for each unit; the published total is shown in the particulars.
| Unit | Credits |
|---|---|
| 01Management Control | See spec. |
| 02Management of Sales force | See spec. |
| 03Strategic Marketing Management | See spec. |
| 04Business Law | See spec. |
| 05Research Project including Research Methods | See spec. |
| Total | 120 |
Sequencing is LSPM's decision; ask them for the current order. The logic of the units suggests Management Control first, because it teaches learners to read their own organisation's numbers and systems, then Strategic Marketing Management and Management of Sales Force back to back, since the two are halves of one question, then Business Law as a change of register. The Research Project, with its embedded research-methods teaching, sits naturally in the final third.
AdmissionEntry requirements
Qualifi sets the entry criteria; LSPM applies them. As published:2
- Learners who possess Qualifications at Level 5 and/or;
- Learners who have work experience in the business sector and demonstrate ambition with clear career goals;
Qualifi's wording is unusually open, admitting those with business experience who can 'demonstrate ambition with clear career goals'. LSPM treats that as an invitation to talk rather than a formality. Applicants without a Level 5 award are asked to describe their role, their commercial responsibilities and where they intend the diploma to take them; a written statement of a few hundred words, followed by a conversation with LSPM's admissions team, is how it is assessed. A Level 5 award in any business discipline is admitted without the statement.
If you are unsure which route applies to you, enquire and say so; working that out is what the advice call is for.
MethodHow you are assessed
Assignments follow Qualifi's assessment criteria and are set by LSPM as the approved centre. Typical tasks in this diploma are a control-system review of a business unit, a sales strategy or sales-force plan with a justification, a marketing audit and strategic recommendation, and a piece of legal advice on a commercial scenario. The Research Project is a dissertation-style report of extended length, preceded by an approved proposal.
The general arrangements for marking, moderation, feedback and resubmission are described on the how LSPM teaches page.
Time, honestly estimated
Qualifi does not publish a Total Qualification Time for this award; the figures below use the 120-credit convention of ten hours per credit as a planning guide, not a promise.
| If you finish in | Hours per week |
|---|---|
| Twelve months | about 23 |
| Eighteen months | about 15 |
| Twenty-four months | about 12 |
AfterwardsProgression
The natural top-up from this diploma is a business degree with a marketing, sales or general business pathway. Its five-unit structure occasionally prompts a university to ask for the unit specifications alongside the transcript, so that the larger units can be mapped to its own modules; Qualifi's specification is linked from this page and LSPM supplies transcripts. A subject match is not usually in doubt.
A minority of holders move sideways into a specialist marketing qualification with a professional body, for which the strategic marketing unit is a helpful preparation but not a formal credit. Others, having built a business, take the diploma no further and use it as the point at which they stopped running the company on feel.
The mechanics of advanced standing, and the questions admissions tutors ask, are on the top-up degrees page.4 Slot: universities holding a current progression agreement for this award, verified before publication.
Not everyone wants the bachelor's. The other direction from here is a Level 7 diploma, at master's level, described on the companion site for Level 7 diplomas.
FitWho it suits, and who it does not
A good fit if you
- manage sales, marketing, customer or administrative functions and want the commercial theory behind what you do;
- own or run a small business and want to formalise how it is controlled and how it sells;
- prefer five larger units to six smaller ones and want the research project supported throughout.
A poor fit if you
- want operations, HR and finance in equal measure; the OTHM Business Management diploma covers that ground;
- need published TQT and GLH figures for a funding application or an employer's approval process; Qualifi does not publish them for this award;
- hope to avoid extended writing; the research project is a substantial piece of work.
QuestionsAsked about this programme
Why does this diploma have five units when others have six?
Qualifi structures the award that way; the credit total is the same at 120. Each unit therefore carries more credit and its assignment is correspondingly fuller. The specification gives the credit for each unit.
Is the Business Law unit relevant if I am not in the UK?
The framework taught is that of England and Wales. Learners elsewhere often find the comparison instructive, and assignment briefs allow reference to a home jurisdiction where the criteria can still be met.
Can the Research Project be about my own company?
It is the ideal subject, provided you can gather evidence and write about it candidly. The commonest difficulty is framing a question that is answerable in the time available, and that is what the research-methods teaching within the unit is for.
How does this compare with the Qualifi Business Management, Leadership and Innovation diploma?
This award is commercial and administrative: control, sales, marketing, law. That award is strategic and forward-looking: leadership, sustainability, innovation, risk. Both are Qualifi, both 120 credits at Level 6. Choose on the unit titles.
What does 'clear career goals' mean in the entry requirements?
That you can say where you intend the qualification to take you and why this one. It is not a test with a right answer; it is how Qualifi asks centres to make sure that experience-route applicants have thought it through.
Documents and application
Applications are made on London School of Planning and Management's own website, not this site; this site is LSPM's independent recruitment agent. Most people enquire first; the apply link is for those who have already had that conversation.
Brochure slot. The programme brochure (PDF) belongs to LSPM, is to be supplied by LSPM, and will replace this anchor.
Notes and sources
- GOV.UK, list of qualification levels (Level 6 includes honours degrees). ↩
- Qualifi, Qualifi Level 6 Diploma in Business Administration : qualification specification (PDF) consulted 30 September 2026; qualification page at qualifi.net. Source for units, credits, hours and entry wording. ↩
- Ofqual, Register of Regulated Qualifications, qualification number 603/1037/6. ↩
- QAA, Higher Education Credit Framework for England (credit volumes; advanced standing). ↩