This has recently changed from a Master’s degree to a Postgraduate Diploma. This course has been designed to give a strong experiential and theoretical knowledge base, together with a full training, in teaching Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) within the student’s own professional context. The course cannot be accredited because there is no regulatory body for teaching mindfulness, but for qualified health, social care or education professionals it gives the opportunity to gain both an academic award, and in addition a Certificate of Competence in Teaching Mindfulness-Based Courses, which is awarded by the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, internationally acclaimed for standards of excellence in this field. The course programme consists of four compulsory modules, Foundation, Teaching 1, Teaching 2, and Assessed Teaching Practice. All have to be taken sequentially over 4 years, the first three being delivered on Saturdays, while the teaching element of the final module is given in a 7-day residential block. From the first year’s experiential and theoretical foundation in the practice and principles of mindfulness as taught in MBCT and MBSR, the programme gives students the opportunity to gain increasingly in-depth levels of understanding and practice in teaching the 8-week mindfulness course; also to be assessed on practical skills learned within the teaching group, as well as on their understanding and skills in critical analysis of the theories and rationales underlying mindfulness-based courses. In the final module, Assessed Teaching Practice, students are assessed through their recordings of teaching a mindfulness-based course within their own professional context, as well as through written work. Students are expected to start teaching mindfulness-based courses under supervision, during years 2 and 3 of the programme, and must have taught at least three such courses before embarking on the fourth module – Assessed Teaching Practice. In individual circumstances, it may be possible to change from the Postgraduate Diploma in TMBCs to the MA/MSc in MBAs. In such a case, a student would have to forego the award of Postgraduate Diploma in TMBCs and transfer credits obtained to the Master’s in MBAs programme. Students would then need to complete the compulsory Master’s Research module before registering and completing the research dissertation.

A postgraduate diploma course provides you with specialist knowledge and advanced grounding in your chosen field, enhancing your employment and career prospects in today’s increasingly competitive job market.