Course overview
The CIPD Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Learning and Development, designed by the CIPD, is the equivalent to a postgraduate degree.
Providing you with a deep level of understanding and expertise in L&D principles, it supports a transition to senior strategic learning and development roles.
With this Level 7 course, you will study advanced areas of strategic learning and development, including business research and performance-based development strategies, helping you to make an impact on your organisation.
There is no requirement to complete exams for this course. You’ll submit written assignments online for each module that you study, to be marked by our assessors and moderated by CIPD.
Successfully completing the CIPD Level 7 Diploma will lead to Associate Level of CIPD Membership. You will be eligible to apply for prestigious Chartered Status.
Study method
- Online
- Blended
- In-class

coursesonline.co.uk customers are now eligible to apply for an XO Student Discount Card.
Enrol in a course today to unlock exclusive deals.
Duration study load
On average it takes 18 to 24 months to complete.
Entry requirements
There are no formal entry requirements for you to enrol. However, this qualification is designed for learners aged 21+ and you should meet the requirements of the learning outcomes and have the appropriate literacy and numeracy needed to complete the CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma. Previous experience in L&D is recommended.
Course features
- Free live Q&A webinars for additional support
- Affordable payment plans with low deposits and interest-free options to help you get CIPD qualified cost-effectively.
- Immediate starts, so you can start accelerating your career today!
- No exams, eradicating the stress of revision or planning it around a busy schedule
- The free DPG Community, providing access to thousands of other learners and industry experts to support you on your CIPD journey
- Free LPI Membership for exclusive networking and development opportunities
- Handpicked expert facilitators with current industry experience.
- 100% online, safe and virtual
Assessment
You’ll complete written assignments for each module and submit them online to be marked by our assessors. CIPD will review all your assignments before awarding your qualification.
Choosing the right qualification
The Advanced Diploma in Strategic L&D is suited to individuals who are experienced L&D practitioners; are working in a senior role and wish to extend and deepen their skills and understanding to shape strategy and policy; wish to shape L&D creating value for a wide audience.
Subjects
You will develop a distinct and deep level of understanding studying a range of advance L&D principles, progressing your expertise and supporting a transition to strategic roles.
It consists of 4 core units, 3 specialist units and 1 optional unit
This unit extends understanding of the interaction between the commercial business environment and likely future developments in the world of work, employment and the management of people. It discusses the range of people practices that are growing in importance including those relating to ethics and sustainability, employee well-being, equality, diversity and inclusion.
This unit focuses on the importance of evidence-based, outcomes-driven and principles-led practice in support of the core purpose of the people profession. It explores how people professionals create value and deliver outcomes for organisations and employees, and how contributing to the achievement of business objectives improves performance and enhances the employee experience. It also focuses on the need for policy and practice to be delivered coherently, in a way that is integrated and in line with organisational objectives.
This unit is about supporting successful workers and promoting effective and ethical behaviours to champion better work and working lives and develop business acumen. The theories and concepts that underpin this subject are essential for promoting inclusiveness and influencing others through fair and transparent behaviours. Through core skillsets such as perception, critical thinking, communication and teamwork, this unit will promote understanding of how actions and inclusive behaviour impact on ethics and the organisation.
This unit contains the components to enable a systematic approach to define, design and undertake a business research project. It focuses on developing the ability to produce an integrated report based on evidence and to include own recommendations and critical reflection.
This unit focuses on the principles of organisational design and development to achieve strategic goals and support organisational success. It examines the impact of change on organisational forms and deliberates the process of change through which adaptations are made to the ways in which structure, process and people work; the success of each is dependent on each other. It also examines the impact of change on working lives and the strategies for engaging employees and wider stakeholders in successful implementation. The unit also encourages reflection on the personal skills, techniques and behaviour that support effective organisational design and development work.
This unit focuses on the distinction between leaders and managers including how these roles adjust in different contexts. It considers the full range of development interventions to ensure effective impact and how to use learning analytics to capture robust measures which contribute to organisational success. It covers the importance of appraising the complexities of leadership and management development in an international context.
This unit focuses on the significance of learning design and delivery considering the organisational context and the needs to be addressed. It explores the theories and models of learning design, both traditional and contemporary, the range of delivery modes and the impact of the learning experience on the transfer of learning into the organisation. It considers the importance of analysing data from learning interventions resulting in meaningful and purposeful learning design.
Optional Units 1 L7SO1 Advanced employment law in practice
This unit focuses on the major principles that underpin employment law, the defences which are available to employers and the remedies that claimants seek when they bring their cases to court. It examines the more common issues relating to employment law which arise in organisations with a view to preparing a defence or helping to settle claims ahead of a hearing. Integral to this is the legal system, the main sources of law and the evolution of contemporary employment regulation in the UK.
Optional Unit 3 L7SO3 Technology-enhanced learning
This unit considers the role of technology within learning and the use of technology-enabled content and platforms within organisations. It focuses on how data and learning analytics may be utilised by the learning and development function, whilst exploring the implementation of technological systems and considering the potential barriers to success.
Optional Unit 4 L7SO4 Advanced diversity and inclusion
This unit explores strategic workplace diversity and inclusion in terms of communication and training, addressing workplace behaviour and analysis of trends. It focuses on historical and the present-day role of trade unions and line managers in promoting a fair work-place culture key to managing workplace effectiveness. Through the lens of UK legislation, this unit also covers how strategic actions and decisions go beyond legal compliance as it focuses on the well-being and engagement of the workforce and the effects of inequality and segregation.
Optional Unit 5 L7SO5 Managing people in an international context
There can be major challenges and complexities facing organisations when they become international in their scope and activities. Comparative people management practice varies from country to country the reasons for this being partly institutional in nature and partly cultural. This unit explores how and why organisations to trade and operate internationally, the different forms that international business operations take and some of the practical and ethical issues that international organisations face from a people management perspective.
Optional Unit 6 L7SO6 Well-being at work
This unit highlights the importance of well-being in the contemporary workplace to employer and employee outcomes. It provides learners with a comprehensive knowledge of the links between work, health and well-being, and an understanding of the social responsibilities of organisations, based on key theories in this area. The unit develops a critical understanding of how well-being initiatives can be created, supported, and integrated within people practices for strategic benefit and supports learners to engage with key critiques of the well-being agenda.
About DPG
Looking to develop your career in Learning & Development, Human Resources or Leadership & Management? Have members of staff that need training up?
At DPG, we get it. You may be looking for a career change, and unsure of what to do. You may be a Learning & Development or Human Resources manager wanting to move to the next level. Perhaps you’re just starting out in the People Profession.
These days, it can feel like there’s too much choice, can’t it? This is overwhelming. It’s sometimes hard to know where to buy your food, never mind personal development.
We won’t talk about how we’re the best training provider of HR, L&D and L&M courses. How can you believe us? Doesn’t everyone else say that about themselves?
But there’s a reason why we at DPG have been providing training for over 30 years. Our facilitators are experienced professionals in their respective fields. This gives you access to highly skilled people and a glimpse of what a better future could look like for you or your company.
So why wait? Upgrade your career and transform your department with a professional qualification from DPG.