Start Date TBC

This Mindfulness Degree: Studies in Mindfulness, covers our Mindfulness Levels 1 to 3 courses supplemented with an academic exploration of the mindfulness literature and evidence-base.

It enables you to explore how mindfulness practice is applicable to your professional context.

It covers training in research methodology as well as preparation for undertaking a research project or dissertation in the third year

It also offers a teacher training pathway in accordance with the UK Network for Mindfulness Teachers.

This course is unique in that it welcomes applicants from all professions including: physical and mental health, social care and wellbeing; education and learning; business and workplace; and public service sectors such as government and criminal justice.

It is suitable for beginners as well as those who have previous experience of mindfulness and who want to develop their mindfulness practice within their work context.

The course is delivered over residential weekends at Samye Ling Tibetan Centre in South West Scotland with a year-end residential retreat at the Holy Isle retreat centre off Arran in Western Scotland.

The Course Is Modular And Can Be Exited After Each Year:

Year 1 – Mindfulness and Compassion – exit with Post Graduate Certificate;

Year 2 – Insight and Professional Inquiry (research methodology) – exit with Post Graduate Diploma; and

Year 3 – Work Based Research Project or Dissertation – exit with Master of Science.

Find out more here: 

The teaching weekends take place at the beautiful UWS London campus situated in Docklands. We have now held three training weekends at this campus and one of the highlights has been the excellent Greek ice cream shop just around the corner from the campus building – close enough to get a delicious ice cream and coffee in the breaks! On the last weekend I have fond memories of sitting with the students and savouring our ice creams and coffees while looking out across a man-made lake with beautiful red lotus flowers. This reminded me of the lotus of compassion that grows out of the mud of our difficulties and afflictions that is one of the guiding metaphors of the compassion training.

A lovely feature of this programme has been the good humour and close collaboration between students and staff. So far the intakes have been quite small and this has led to a closeness and intimacy between us that is conducive to teaching mindfulness and compassion in the most effective way.

The annual retreats take place at the beautiful Samye Ling Tibetan Centre in Scotland. During our last retreat in August we were graced with wonderful sunny weather and students enjoyed going for afternoon dips in one of the pools on the Esk river that runs alongside Samye Ling. This is one way of clearing the mind! We also went for evening walks in the forests and hills around Samye Ling. This was a great way of connecting with nature and restoring balance after being in the lecture hall all day, and it was also a way of deepening the bonds between all of us on this course – walking and chatting and enjoying the beautiful views of sunshine playing on the green hills of the Scottish lowlands. It was a memorable time filled with laughter and fun and relaxed time together.

The UWS programme offers a hybrid approach of both in-person and online teaching. So for those who cannot attend the weekend teachings in London or the annual retreats in Samye Ling, there is the option of doing the programme online and not missing out on any of the core components of the teaching curriculum.

This MSc is unique because it is the first one in the UK that offers a comprehensive training in teaching compassion as well as a training in mindfulness teaching that meets the requirements of the British Association of Mindfulness Based Approaches (BAMBA). What also makes it special is the thorough grounding in psychological approaches closely attuned to the teaching in mindfulness and compassion. This is further augmented by the close collaboration between teacher and student. In my opinion this is what makes the difference and what makes this training unique and special.

As a Buddhist monk I know that for millennia what has worked best in the teaching of meditation has been a close one-to-one relationship between teacher and student. This synergy of collaboration and trust is what has proven through the ages to be the number one factor in instilling a deep, personal understanding of what mindfulness and compassion meditation is really about. No amount of apps, books and online teachings can compare with this. We live in an age of virtual teaching where teachings are easily downloadable onto our smart phones. All of these methods have their place, but none of them compare with the close collaboration between teacher and student and also between student and student – what has been known in Buddhism as ‘sangha’.

This is what the UWS masters is succeeding in doing – creating bonds of trust and connection and mutual learning that deeply instil and cultivate an experiential understanding of mindfulness and compassion practice. This has been achieved through our small class size, through small tutor groups where we discuss and share practice, and most importantly through 1:1 sessions between the tutors and the students.

Therefore, if you are looking for a programme that genuinely works in learning to teach mindfulness and compassion, then come and join us for our next intake of the UWS Masters that begins in January 2023

Choden

Read more about Choden here

If you want a life changing course – go for this course.

It’s been amazing – the sense of growth from where I came from – it’s been an

amazing journey and I have learned so much from doing it.

It took us several years of hard work with setbacks and fresh starts to find the right partner for this Masters degree, the University of the West of Scotland (UWS).  Working with colleagues at UWS has gone very smoothly, despite the pandemic, and we began our MSc in Teaching Mindfulness and Compassion in February 2021. Our aim was to provide an excellent training for teachers of mindfulness and compassion, grounded in psychology, neuroscience and research and following best practice in the UK. Graduates of the degree will be in a position to join the UK Listing of Mindfulness teachers administered by the British Association of Mindfulness Based Approaches (BAMBA).

Choden and I deliver the experiential training in mindfulness and compassion meditation training as well as training the students to teach and supervising them in their teaching practice. It has been a delight to work with such committed mindfulness practitioners and support them in their beginning teaching practice. Hundreds of people from many different walks of life will benefit from their teaching of mindfulness in the future and it warms my heart to contemplate this.

It’s been amazing – I feel like I have developed so much. The thought of teaching scared me, but now I feel really confident. 

The tutors were fantastic, support was there whenever you needed it.

We work with an excellent team of psychologists from UWS who deliver academic training in psychology and neuroscience as it relates to mindfulness and compassion. They also teach the students to understand and critique the mindfulness and compassion evidence base and prepare them to conduct research themselves.

I’ve learned so much about myself, different aspects of mindfulness and compassion, research and teaching and it’s really helped me grow. 

We were so well supported.

We are now eighteen months in and we have taught the first three modules: Mindfulness Practice and Psychological Wellbeing; Mindfulness Teaching & Research; and Mindfulness Teaching, Cognition and Consciousness. One highlight for me was watching some paired presentations critiquing mindfulness research, with one person supporting the strengths of research and another critiquing weaknesses of the research. I was delighted to observe the clarity and depth of understanding of complex and nuanced aspects of mindfulness research.

The combination of science and psychology and practice is a magic combination that supports your practice and understanding. 

The psychology backed up what we were teaching.

Our first cohort of students have now trained to teach our eight week Mindfulness Based Living Course (MBLC) and have delivered their first courses to groups of participants. Choden and I met with the students regularly in supervision groups while they were delivering their courses. It was beautiful to observe the care and commitment with which the students shared their own mindfulness practice with their participants. It was a big step for them and a privilege to accompany them with our common intention to share the benefits of mindfulness practice.

Leading my first eight week course has been fantastic – I felt that I learnt and grew a lot. 

It was great seeing people open up and enjoy what we were teaching them.

Choden and I journey with these students and get to know them well. The teacher training process can be quite nerve wracking and so we all go through a lot together. What results is a fabulous sense of community, friendship, mutual support and safeness…..and some incredible mindfulness teachers

We had a real sense of community. 

There is a really great sense of community with the University and the Mindfulness Association.

In our next module Teaching Compassion and Research the students will train to teach our eight week Compassion Based Living Course (CBLC). Then next year they will complete the Masters undertaking advanced teaching skills training and the writing of a dissertation. They will teach their second MBLC course and receive a full teaching competency assessment (MBI-TAC – if you know what that is).

It was a delight to sit the five day Samye Ling retreat with this group of mature and committed mindfulness practitioners. A group of friends for life I expect.

It’s just changed my life really, I’m less reactive. 

I’ve become less reactive. Able to take space before responding.

My relationships have got better. I’ve really enjoyed the process of learning again.

Does being a part of this community and learning and training in this way appeal to you?

If so, we are recruiting our next cohort who will begin in January 2023.

For more information you can look here and we will be running some online open evening events in the autumn.

Read more about this unique part time post graduate course HERE

The open evening will be delivered over Zoom, and you will have the opportunity to talk to staff and ask any questions you may have about the course.

If you decide to apply for this course we wish you well!