Great Degree for Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Officers: How to Launch Your Career

To become an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) officer, you must be passionate about working with people from diverse backgrounds, promoting awareness about discrimination, equal rights and opportunities and representing the rights of minority groups.

A diversity office designs, implements and monitors programmes for social inclusion in communities, workplaces, government bodies and learning environments.

At LIS, we provide an interdisciplinary bachelor's degree programme that helps students learn critical skills in core areas. Our approach ensures you have complete flexibility and control over your career journey.

This guide explores how to become an EDI officer, a selection of excellent degrees to get you started, and the job outlook.

Table of Contents

• What is an EDI Officer?
• Do You Need a Degree to Become an EDI Officer?
• Great Degree Pathways for an EDI Officer
• How to Launch Your Career as an EDI Officer?
• How to Choose the Right Degree for EDI Officers?

An equality, diversity and inclusion officer implements strategies to nurture a positive workplace, eliminating discrimination and promoting employee unity. These professionals work with the needs of minority groups to develop a diverse and inclusive workforce.

As a diversity officer, you may work in businesses, schools, universities, or many other professional settings, in both public and private sectors, to promote good relationships between various groups of people.

Here is what EDI officers do regularly:

• Deal with conflicts within communities and workplaces.
• Create and implement specialised training programs.
• Research and implement diversity initiatives.
• Raise awareness about the impact of discrimination in businesses, schools, communities and universities.
• Assess community needs and develop strategies accordingly.
• Stay updated with anti-discrimination legislation.
• Write and present reports on how to improve diversity and inclusion efforts.

A bachelor's degree is recommended to become an EDI officer. Successful completion of a degree programme ensures students have the skills and training they need to launch a career in EDI.

However, there is no specific degree programme for aspiring EDI officers. Instead, students can complete a degree in any of these fields:

• Human Resources
• Community Development
• Social Work
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Business Administration
• Law

Any degree in these fields covers the fundamental knowledge students need to become EDI officers. Students can also choose to further their studies and achieve a master's degree. This qualification will give them a significant advantage in the job market and help them secure high-level positions, such as chief diversity officer. However, with enough experience, they can also achieve top job roles without a master's degree. 

Finding the right degree to become an EDI officer can be challenging. To help you get started, we've outlined some standout degree programmes, their tuition fees, and how they can help you launch your career. 

Arts and Sciences: Interdisciplinary Problems and Methods (BASc) – The London Interdisciplinary School 

Aspiring EDI officers can study for a BASc degree at the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) for three years. This degree pathway helps them gain interdisciplinary skills in core areas. Unlike traditional degree programmes, the BASc degree prepares students for various career paths, giving them maximum flexibility over their professional journeys.

Students will gain insights and perspectives from diverse industry experts, including journalists, philosophers, and philanthropists. This exposure exposes students to unique problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities and prepares them for working with a diverse range of people. 

In addition, LIS brokers summer internships for eligible students. They can work alongside world-renowned brands for at least five weeks every year. 

Key Curriculum:

• Problems 1A: Focus on inequality, including significant gaps in wealth, income, housing, education, and health. 
• Qualitative Methods 1A - Language and Communication: Understand a piece of writing or interaction's emotional impact on others. 
• Design Thinking: Learn to observe, speculate, respond, test, apply, evaluate and refine solutions to problems to improve life for people and the planet.
• Capstone Project: Choose any problem you are most passionate about and develop a capstone project throughout your programme to showcase your skills. 

Fees:

• £9,000 / a year for home students
• £17,000 / a year for international students

Financial Aid:

• Financial Support Bursary: Qualifying students can apply for annual financial assistance between £1,000 and £7,000. 
• Hardship Grants: These grants are available on a case-by-case basis to students who face sudden economic difficulties and find it difficult to fund their studies. 
• Income from Internships: Students who join internships that pay a minimum of the London Living Wage can also apply for financial aid.   

Key Takeaways:

• Students can gain interdisciplinary skills for various careers, giving them more flexibility and opportunities than traditional degrees. 
• There are internships students can participate in to gain hands-on skills.
• LIS provides extensive career and wellbeing resources to develop a positive student learning environment. 

Community and Youth Work BA (Hons) - The University of Sunderland

The University of Sunderland offers the Community and Youth Work BA (Hons) degree programme for three years of full-time study. Students will learn the fundamentals of working with young people and communities. This programme reveals young people's challenges and how professionals can provide resources and support to make education, wellbeing and career programmes more accessible.

Students will have dedicated one-on-one support from a personal tutor throughout the programme. They will also gain practical experience working with companies in this field while participating in group discussions and presentations. 

Key Curriculum:

• Introduction to Community Development and Youth Work
• Theoretical Frameworks for Practice
• Exclusion, Subjugation and Inequalities
• Research in Action

Fees:

• The tuition fees for this degree programme have yet to be disclosed.

Financial Aid:

• University of Sunderland Scholarship: First-year students may be eligible to receive £3,000 toward their degree programme. 
• We Care Bursary: This bursary awards £2,500 cash for every year of study. 
• International Scholarship: Students who meet the qualification requirements can apply for a £5,000 tuition fee reduction. 

Key Takeaways:

• There are many scholarships and bursaries available for international and home-fee-paying students.
• This is an ideal degree pathway for students who want to work with youth and communities.
• Having a dedicated tutor can make it easier to progress through this programme. 

Sociology BSc (Hons) -  University of London

The Sociology BSc (Hons) degree from the University of London is an excellent choice for aspiring EDI officers who want to focus on understanding broader society. 

This is a three-year full-time degree, or students can study for four years and complete a work placement or study abroad year. Students will learn about local and global factors that impact and define society. The assessment methods are group presentations, research reports, and final-year projects. 

After completing this programme, you will develop data literacy and quantitative skills, strategic thinking methods, and practical experience through work placements or internships. 

Key Curriculum:

• Sociology and Criminology in Higher Education
• Learning from Social Data
• Understanding Social Change
• Global Media and Sport

Fees:

• £9,250 / a year for home students
• £20,300 / a year for international students

Financial Aid:

• Bayes undergraduate scholarships for Black British students: Qualifying students can apply for funding to cover their tuition fees and provide a £6,000 annual stipend for three years. 
• Bayes Business School International Scholarship: Eligible students may receive one of 20 scholarships based on their academic performance. 
• City Cares Bursary: This bursary helps students leaving local authority care with £3,500 per academic year. 

Key Takeaways:

• Students can gain a competitive edge in the job market by completing a work placement or internship.
• There are many bursaries and scholarships available.
• The University of London provides ample career resources to make finding a job easy after graduation. 

Human Resource Management BSc (Hons) - University of East London

Another exceptional EDI officer degree is the Human Resource Management BSc (Hons) from the University of East London. This programme requires three years of full-time study. Students can opt to study for four years and gain real-world experience by completing a job placement. You can work with companies to understand how to apply EDI in human resources environments.

The core expertise students will cover includes organisation laws, marketing, and how to develop positive employment relationships. In addition, students will have opportunities to establish industry connections through networking events and can access wellbeing resources throughout their studies. 

Key Curriculum:

• Fundamentals of Economics
• Foundations of Marketing
• Employment Law
• Employee Engagement & Employment Relations

Fees:

• £9,250 / a year for home students
• The fees for international students are still yet to be published.

Financial Aid:

• International Scholarships: The University will award qualifying international students a bursary of up to £5000.
• Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship: Eligible students who reflect the University's values can apply for up to £27,750 over three years as a fee waiver or cash award. 
• Dean Scholarship: Students with an excellent academic record and financial need may be eligible for a scholarship of up to £13,500.

Key Takeaways:

• There are opportunities to gain practical training through internships and job placement.
• Students can participate in career coaching, employer events and workshops.
• This programme is ideal for students who want to specialise in HR and become EDI officers. 

BA (Hons) Education - University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham offers the BA (Hons) Education degree programme for students who want to learn about inclusive excellence in educational settings. Students can opt to study for three years and gain insights into how education impacts the world as human, cultural, economic, and social development.

During their second year, students can study overseas at one of the University of Birmingham's partner universities. They can also apply for a year abroad or participate in a vocational placement. 

Key Curriculum:

• Introduction to Developmental Psychology
• Philosophy of Education
• Education Policy and Social Justice 
• Professional Development

Fees:

• £9,535 / a year for home students
• £24,470 / a year for international students

Financial Aid:

• The Chamberlain Award: This bursary is available to students who experience extreme financial hardship. They can receive between £1,000 and £2,000.
• The Enhanced Chamberlain Award: Students leaving local authority care can apply for this bursary to fund their accommodation. They can receive a £3,000 cash reward. 
• Care Leaver Scholarship: Eligible students from local authority care apply for £2,000 per academic year and £500 on graduation. 

Key Takeaways:

• A wide variety of scholarships and bursaries are available to help students from all backgrounds.
• Students can gain practical skills throughout their programme.
• There are opportunities for students to complete a placement year or study overseas.

To launch your career as an EDI officer, you must develop the key skills employers are looking for. 

Here are the top skills for aspiring EDI officers and their job outlook.

Key Skills for EDI Professionals

To secure a job as an EDI officer, you should work to acquire the skills that are in demand on your resume. This makes it easier to land a job after graduation and show potential employers how you can add value to their organisations.

• Project Management: EDI officers will design and implement inclusion initiatives, making it imperative for them to have expert project management skills.
• Communication: Interacting with people from different backgrounds requires EDI officers to have excellent interpersonal and communication expertise and to be able to communicate with relevant stakeholders. 
• Team Leadership: EDI professionals must understand how to lead teams to success. These officers will spend much time working with individuals from all backgrounds to achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
• Compliance: As diversity officers, students must know how to help organisations, schools, and universities uphold inclusion compliance and foster healthy relationships between individuals. 
• Change Management: Diversity officers must know how to design, deploy, and track strategies for promoting inclusion and equity in various environments. 

The Average Salary for EDI Officers

The average annual salary for EDI officers in the UK is £34,967. Entry-level salaries are approximately £29,918, while professionals with extensive experience can secure jobs paying £42,500.

To optimise their earning potential, students should expand their expertise and knowledge and gain as much practical training as possible.

Will EDI Jobs Market Grow?

According to data from Glassdoor, there has been a 106% increase in online job postings for diversity and inclusion-related roles.

To stay competitive in this industry and land a job after graduation, professionals must have the skills most employers need and stay ahead of industry trends. 

These are the top factors to consider when choosing the right degree for your EDI career. 

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Tuition

Tuition fees are significant before choosing the right degree for your EDI career. Studying for a bachelor's degree is expensive, and students must determine how to fund their studies. If you choose to extend your program by another year to complete a work placement or study abroad, you must have the resources to afford this. Students should also evaluate their living and accommodation costs and assess their affordability. 

Financial Aid

The more financial support you can receive to afford your degree programme, the better. Consider degree pathways that provide various scholarships and bursaries to help you afford your studies. Self-funding or opting for student loans can cause intense financial distress, and you want to avoid this as much as possible for your EDI degree programme.

Career Resources

The degree programme you choose must offer extensive career resources. Students must have access to career support tools to help them land a job after graduation. These tools may include internships, networking events, resume building, and interview preparation. 

Practical Training

To become an EDI officer, your degree programme must offer practical training to expose you to gain real-world experience. Practical training is also a great way to impress potential employers and show them how you can add value to their businesses. 

Study with LIS and Become an EDI Officer Today?

A career as an EDI officer is ideal for those who are passionate about working with people from diverse backgrounds and promoting awareness about discrimination. These professionals support healthy relationships between various groups of people in communities, businesses, schools, universities, and other environments. 

To choose the right EDI bachelor's degree, students must evaluate the tuition costs, available financial aid, career resources and practical training. At LIS, we provide students with all the resources they need to launch successful EDI careers. Our interdisciplinary approach equips students with critical skills in core areas, giving them complete flexibility over their career journeys.

Ready to become an EDI officer? Contact LIS to get started.