The UK Board for Healthcare Chaplains (UKBHC) is the register of healthcare chaplains in UK, accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA)
The are two main routes open to you to you to achieve accreditation with the UKBHC through our Chaplaincy Studies programmes.
1. For students who are already in substantive chaplaincy posts (usually full-time in an NHS setting) it is possible to complete a set pathway to UKBHC accreditation as part of a Postgraduate Certificate in Chaplaincy Studies. You will take three modules (Chaplaincy in Organisational Context, Chaplaincy and Christian Mission, and Reflective Practice Placement) and also demonstrate the UKBHC required Professional Capabilities and Competencies.
2. For students who are newer to healthcare chaplaincy, an alternative route is the two-year Postgraduate Diploma course. This gives you a wider range of modules and a greater length of time to embed learning and complete placements to demonstrate the necessary range of Capabilities and Competencies.
On either route, successful completion leads to two awards - a Postgraduate award in Chaplaincy Studies from Durham University and Professional registration with the UKBHC PSA Accredited Register. PSA is the regulatory body for all registers of health and social care professionals.
The standard entry requirement for our postgraduate taught programmes is a relevant undergraduate degree at a minimum level of 2.1 (upper second class) Honours, or equivalent.
If you don’t meet the standard entry requirements, we will consider your application on an individual basis, and especially for mature students, prior professional experience may be taken into account.
You will normally be required to: participate in a formal interview, provide evidence of theological reading and engagement at an appropriate level, demonstrate the ability to develop a critical argument, provide a piece of written work at an appropriate academic level.
You may be admitted to the postgraduate certificate in the first instance, with the possibility of progression to the MA dependent on the marks you achieve in your taught modules, or you may be required to complete some additional study prior to admission to the programme.
We recognise that standard procedures for assessing applications may not always give the full picture. LKC seeks to be an inclusive community, and to take into consideration students’ life experiences and academic potential, not only their previous academic qualifications. If you’d like to apply, but don’t meet the standard entry requirements and would like more guidance, please get in touch.
We will also assess whether your context will enable you to work confidently towards the UKBHC Capabilities and Competencies and help you to look for opportunities to broaden your experience. It is also important that every UKBHC pathway student has a UKBHC registered supervisor and we will work with you to ensure this is possible before admitting you to begin the course.
We seek to be a supportive and inclusive place of learning and these requirements help ensure you have everything in place to facilitate a positive learning process .
Students studying for a UKBHC accredited course are welcome to continue with us on the Chaplaincy Studies programme for an additional year or more to complete a full Masters (MA) Degree.
This requires writing a Research Dissertation on an area of Chaplaincy Studies that you are passionate about.
We have a number of very experienced chaplains on our full time staff team at LKC and a range of external chaplaincy practitioners who join us to offer their skills, perspectives and insights. Their chaplaincy contexts range from care homes, to senior mental health chaplaincy, children’s hospice to airport, higher education to maximum security prison – whatever your current context or interests, you will be well supported and resourced for your learning.
Our first intake of UKBHC students began studying in 2022 and peer learning and encouragement is a big part of the way we operate as a learning community.
We want everyone who studies at LKC to have all the support they need in order to progress in their academic studies. For further information about Student Support, including Disability Support and Study Skills, please see the Study Support page.
You can find out more about the Chaplaincy Studies programme, on the Chaplaincy Studies page of this website.
If you are interested in exploring what might be the right accredited pathway for you, please get in touch. We have conversations with students throughout the year to allow time for making a study-plan that fits your work, family and other commitments as well as possible.
Chaplaincy Studies teaching all takes place online and usually on Mondays. As an example, a fully taught module may take place on four full Mondays spread over three or four months, with time for independent study and placement learning in between and time to write up your assignments afterwards. Full timetables are provided in advance of each new academic year to enable planning.
For details of our academic course fees, please see here
In addition to the Academic Course fee available through the link above, we charge a UKBHC pathway fee which enables us to provide the administrative support for placement and assessment of the Capabilities and Competencies required for the UKBHC Registration.
In the academic year 2023/24 this fee will be: £500
The examples given are for the lengths of study stated. The MA can be taken flexibly over a period of up to 4 years and fees can be spread over that period, please contact us for further information. Fees are reviewed on an annual basis and may be increased in line with standard inflationary indexes.
The MA programme is eligible for the Postgraduate Masters Loan scheme: https://www.gov.uk/masters-loan
You may also be able to access funding from your employer, or sending organisation, to meet fees for Continuing Professional development.
If you're ready to apply now, head over to our Application Process page where you can download the application form and find out more about your next steps.
"I'm putting my practice into theory"
"It's more fun than being at work!"
"An excellent opportunity to theologically reflect on my practice"
"Chance to explore various models on chaplaincy"
“The PG Cert in Chaplaincy Studies at the Luther King Centre has been an excellent opportunity to reflect deeply on my experience and practice while gaining new knowledge and insights about my work and context. It was easy to integrate my studies with my work patterns and I’ve always felt able to fully participate in lecture sessions and in the life of the college. If you are exploring chaplaincy as a possible vocation or are already a chaplain looking to expand your horizons with accreditation by the UKBHC I’d highly recommend the course.”
