MSc/PGDip in Chinese Herbal Medicine - overview

Summary

Awards

PGDip

On successful completion of Year 2, Postgraduate Diploma students will complete their course and MSc students can exit with a PGDip in Chinese Herbal Medicine. Students on both pathways will have arrived at the point where the requirements of the EHTPA, the professional accrediting body, will have been met.

MSc

On successful completion of Year 3 students receive the award of MSc in Chinese Herbal Medicine.

Our MSc/PGDip in Chinese Herbal Medicine

Our Chinese herbal medicine course is designed to make the study of Chinese herbal medicine truly interesting and engaging. It is an integrated course where from the outset you will learn key herbs, simple formulae containing them, and the patterns they address. By studying the herbs, formulae and conditions together you learn to “speak the language” and make clinical sense right from the start. The course also integrates study of plant science and herbal research into your study of herbs and formulae, giving these subjects a clear clinical relevance. Online classes are interwoven with work on real case studies, and discussions on various aspects of herbal medicine. This infuses the theory with real life clinical application, illustrating the practical use of herbs and the integration of herbal treatment with acupuncture practice.

Our teaching clinic

Close integration between online classroom and clinic is built into the curriculum. From around Christmas in Year 1 you will be able to experience the realities of herbal practice in our teaching clinic, which maintains a healthy waiting list. A wide spectrum of patients and conditions are treated. You will see about four patients per day, providing a range of clinical experience, and keeping time for case discussion. You will work under the supervision of herbs clinic supervisor Zhi-Hua Gao, Eileen Gibbon and Emma Houston-Jupp, who bring an invaluable range of expertise to share with you in the moment. During your two years our aim is for you to build a thorough understanding of the practicalities of working as a herbalist, enabling you to go into practice with confidence and finesse.

The course structure

This is a part-time course with an introductory weekend then online classes on Sunday. The taught part of the course runs between late September and June over two years and consists of 40 days of teaching. These are supplemented by more than 15 hour-long discussion sessions held on some Monday evenings, plus 29 days of clinical practice. Additional online learning material can be fitted in to suit your own schedule. The clinic operates on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with all participants together online simultaneously: patients, students and the supervisor (we obtain tongue photographs from patients for every appointment and, wherever possible, obtain pulse information from referring acupuncturists). You have the opportunity to indicate dates that will suit you well in advance.

Academic progression from year to year

In order to academically progress into the next year of study you need to pass all the module assessments. The minimum pass rate for assessments is 50% and there is one opportunity to resubmit or resit.

Online learning

Most of your course is delivered online. Don’t worry if you have not accessed this kind of learning before, you will receive all the support you need to use our learning platform and online learning resources confidently. Much of the course will be scheduled time with the students and tutor/ clinic supervisor online together at the same time. Some other "e-learning" sessions have a specific ‘live’ period of one week, during which you can complete the session at home, at a time that suits you. All the online and e-learning sessions remain available to watch for revision purposes, throughout the duration of the course (other than clinic, which is not recorded to maintain patient confidentiality). Students are required to have access to a computer which meets the specification here:

Check your computer is compatible with our online environment

Independent study

Independent study supports the formal teaching. There is a requirement for a substantial amount of home study to consolidate your assimilation of material covered on the course, as well as befits a course studied at Master's level and leading to a professional qualification. The exact amount necessary will vary between individuals, but we recommend three hours of home study to each hour spent in class or engaged in e-learning and one hour to every hour spent in clinic.

Assessment

Assessment is designed to encourage and support your learning, so you are able to reach the academic and professional standards required. Assessments include written assignments, clinic exercises and records which form your portfolio along with reflective work, and an open book exam. There are no memory tests; you will gain familiarity with commonly used herbs & formulas through repeated exposure to how they are used. The open book exam is undertaken at home with the benefit of all your resources at your fingertips. There is an assignment which offers you the opportunity to explore a topic of choice and give a brief presentation to the class. Our approach to assignments loosely replicates practice, so develops a way of working that will be useful to you in the future. Clinical assessment focuses on your ability to devise suitable treatment strategies and prescribe appropriately, along with overall management of patient care. Students have told us that this is a good way to learn. In the Year 3 Research Project Module you devise and carry out your own independent research project, writing this up in the form of a journal article and research poster to display at conferences.

Minimum attendance

You will also need to meet our minimum attendance requirement which is 70% of classroom and online learning and 100% of clinical learning.