Our MSc Mindfulness & Compassion is a vocational degree designed to train teachers of mindfulness and compassion and is delivered in conjunction with the Mindfulness Association. Graduates of the MSc will be eligible to be listed on the UK Listing of Mindfulness Teachers administered by the British Association for Mindfulness-based Approaches (BAMBA).
Through a combination of hands-on sessions and online activities, and with the guidance of the Mindfulness Association, you will learn to teach the following eight-week courses: Mindfulness Based Living Course and Compassion Based Living Course. You will develop your own practice in mindfulness and compassion meditation throughout.
This degree has an academic basis in psychology and will develop your understanding of the links between psychology, mindfulness and compassion whilst building on your teaching and practice skills. Through the degree you will develop evidence-based knowledge of psychological wellbeing, biological psychology and consciousness and the relationship of these concepts to mindfulness and compassion. You will frequently reflect on the links between these concepts and your own teaching and practice.
Career Prospects
This is a vocational programme which is explicitly designed to enable graduates to become teachers of mindfulness and compassion. Graduates will be able to join the UK Listing of Mindfulness Teachers administered by the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches. Graduates may wish to use their skills in a range of settings by:
Teaching mindfulness and/or compassion privately or on a freelance basis
Joining or establishing community interest or enterprise companies through which they may deliver teaching
Delivering mindfulness or compassion training within their current workplace,
Seeking new employment opportunities where they can make an evidence-based contribution to the health and wellbeing of staff
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
What qualifications do you need?
We welcome Scottish and UK students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Don’t worry if your qualifications are not listed here, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience.
Academic requirements
Honours degree or a bachelor’s degree with significant and relevant experience – prior to beginning the course applicants must have completed an eight-week mindfulness course which is listed on the UK Good Practice Guidelines for Mindfulness Teachers. Where candidates do not meet the standard entry requirement, they must demonstrate that they have sufficient relevant professional experience to undertake their chosen programme of study.
Course Details
Our Masters degree is delivered part-time on a blended learning basis. Face-to-face learning sessions take place across designated weekends at our London Campus, and online activities are delivered through the virtual learning environment.
To achieve the MSc in Mindfulness & Compassion you must complete four (30 credit) taught core modules as follows:
Psychological Wellbeing and Mindfulness (core, 30 credits)
Mindfulness, Biopsychology and Research Methods (core, 30 credits)
Mindfulness Teaching, Cognition and Consciousness (core, 30 credits)
Research Skills and Compassion Teaching (core, 30 credits)
And the additional research and practice module:
Dissertation Portfolio (core, 60 credits)
To be eligible to be listed on the BAMBA UK Listing of Mindfulness Teachers you must complete all 180 credits. Each module will have two weekends of face-to-face teaching delivered at the UWS London Campus.
To ensure good practice in mindfulness and compassion you are expected to attend an annual residential retreat at Samyeling Tibetan Monastery in Dumfriesshire. You must arrange and pay for your own travel and accommodation for these retreats and for teaching weekends at London Campus.
Teaching & Assessment
You will be engaged in learning and teaching through various face-to-face teaching events and online activities. These include:
Face-to-face
Interactive enquiry
Guided practice
Lectures
Seminars
Self, peer and tutor feedback
Online
Regular practice-focused check-in
Recorded lectures
Synchronous seminars and discussion
Inquiry-based and student-centred asynchronous learning
Assessment for the course will consist of coursework (80%) and practical assessments (20%). Coursework will include reflective and scientific essays, evidence-based reviews and verbal presentations and discussions.
Students on certain degrees will incur some additional costs not covered by their tuition fees. These could be for things like specialist equipment, study materials, work placements, graduation, membership of relevant organisations or costs related to carrying out fieldwork.
For students on course with an element of fieldwork, there may also be extra costs for travel and accommodation.
Please contact the course leader for details of the additional costs associated with this course.
To ensure good practice in mindfulness and compassion you are expected to attend an annual residential retreat at Samyeling Tibetan Monastery in Dumfriesshire.
You must arrange and pay for your own travel and accommodation for these retreats and for teaching weekends at UWS London Campus.
Contact us for more details.
Tuition Fees & Living Cost Support
Tuition Fees & Additional Costs
Tuition fees are calculated based on where you are from and what you are studying. Some courses also involve additional costs, such as mandatory field trips, equipment or studying abroad.
Funding for English, Welsh & Norther Irish Students
English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying at postgraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
EU students studying at postgraduate level of UWS may be eligible for SAAS funding, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
There are several scholarship and incentive schemes available to international students studying at postgraduate level at UWS, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
UWS administer a range of discretionary and childcare funds. These are designed to support students who are experiencing financial difficulty or struggling to meet the costs of childcare.
Becoming a student can have an impact on your entitlement to certain benefits. It may mean you are no longer eligible to claim a benefit you have been receiving, or your new income from student funding may affect the amount you are able to receive.
If there isn’t a statutory source of funding for you or your course, or you are in need of additional financial support, you may wish to consider more alternative sources of funding such as trust funds and scholarships.
Choosing to become a student can have a big impact on your budget and you may need to reassess your spending to account for a reduced income. We’ve put together some guidance to help you manage your money and make the right financial choices for you and your family.
All students should apply directly to the University through our online application system. Before you apply, you should check that you meet our entry requirements and you should have all your supporting documents ready.
The first stage of the process is to create a profile; you don't have to complete the application in one session - you can complete it in stages by saving each section and return to complete it at a later date.
You will need to upload documents with your applications, which may include transcripts and degree certificates.
Most courses don't have a formal closing date, but they will close when they are full; apply early to avoid disappointment. There may also be funding deadlines that apply to you.
We will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.
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