Who is the course for?

The School runs diploma courses in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester.

The WSET’s London Wine & Spirit School at the WSET’s head office in Bermondsey Street London is the WSET’s flagship training provider and as such offers Level 4 Diploma courses in a variety of modes of study.

The Diploma qualification is considered by many in the wine business to be the “driving licence” for anyone wishing to work in the business or progress into management level roles and is recognised worldwide as the premium all round wine and spirit qualification. For the serious wine enthusiast the Diploma course will develop a high level of product knowledge and expertise in wine tasting and will build on the knowledge gained at Advanced level, and although the course is challenging it will be equally rewarding. The courses are taught by a team of highly qualified, dedicated and experienced wine and spirit Educators. All are respected specialists in their fields, all will have up to date knowledge of contemporary issues related to wines and spirits, and many are MW’s.

Entry Requirements

The Level 3 Advanced Certificate is the required entry qualification for anyone wishing to enrol on the Diploma course. Students who have studied outside the UK, who hold the WSET International Higher Certificate and the Diploma entry qualification, will be able to join the Diploma programme. No other qualifications are accepted for enrolment on the WSET’s London Wine & Spirit Schools Diploma programme.

Modes of Study

Whatever mode of study is selected students will be expected to commit to substantial amounts of private study. All of the WSET’s London Wine & Spirit Schools courses are supported by an online classroom resource and a dedicated Diploma Programme Manager.

Semester Courses

The daytime attendance courses are divided into two semesters to be studied over two separate academic years and will take two years to complete. The Semester One must be completed first and before enrolment onto the Semester Two course. The Semester One will consist of 9 days attendance plus examination days. Semester Two will consist of 8 days attendance plus examination days.

Day Release Semester Courses

Students will attend 1 day a week, this may be once a week for consecutive weeks or once a fortnight.

Block Release Semester Course

Students will attend two blocks of study for each semester plus the examination days.

The Semester One will have one block of 5 days and a second block of 4 days. Semester Two will have one block of 5 days and a second block of 3 days, there is an optional half day exam technique workshop for Unit 3 at the end of the second block for those who may not be able to attend evening workshops prior to the examination.

The Diploma is available as a block release course in the WSET’s London Wine & Spirit Schools regional centres, they will cover the full Diploma course content. However, they may differ in content and order those studied in London but will, over the two years, be the same in content.

It is strongly recommended that prior study is undertaken before commencing the block release courses and students should book at least 4 weeks ahead of start date.

Evening Course

The course is studied over a period of four terms of 11-13 weeks duration and covers the combined content of Semester One and Two courses. Students are required to attend one evening per week and the classes are of two hours duration. It will take approximately 18 months to complete an evening course (according to start date).

Combined Single Block Attendance and Online Course

New for this year is a one year course that will require full-time attendance at WSET’s London Wine & Spirit School for one month plus revision and exam dates.

The course will require students to attend classes for a 24 day block and will cover the combined content of Semester One and Two. The course will also include visits to an English vineyard (tba) and the UK’s leading University for wine production. Students will be expected to commence online study prior to, during and after the course attendance has completed. Students on this course can satisfactorily complete the course in 1 year as long as they complete online activities.

Bookings for this course will only be accepted prior to the commencement of block A. Students should allow sufficient time for the delivery of course study materials.

Online Diploma Course

The Diploma is available as an online option for full details please refer to the Online Distance Learning Prospectus. 

Wine and Spirit Tasting

Over 250 wines and 50 spirits will be tasted over the Diploma course. All samples are carefully selected to build students analytical tasting skills.

When are the examinations?

The examinations are on fixed days set by WSET Awards. Each course has set examination dates attached to it.

What is included in the fees?

Fees include the semester study pack which includes unit study guides, tasting card and as part of Semester One’s pack the Oxford Companion to Wine. All tuition, online classroom support, samples, examination workshops are also included. Examination fees are included for the first attempt on the courses published examination dates. Resits and transfers are subject to additional fees.

 Diploma Semester 1 Synopsis (399KB)
 Diploma Semester 1 Sample Course Programme (10KB)

 Diploma Semester 2 Synopsis (397KB)
 Diploma Semester 2 Sample Course Programme (10KB)

 Booking Conditions Diploma (393KB)

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  Diploma Specification 2011-12 (2995KB)