Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Healthcare
Become an Integrative Medicine Specialist with our accredited Diploma in Integrative Healthcare
The future of healthcare is integrative.
With an increase in patients seeking a more holistic, patient-centred approach to their health – one that considers not only the symptoms but the whole person – becoming an Integrative Medicine Specialist will put you at the forefront of integrative patient-centred care.
The NCIM postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Healthcare is designed for forward-thinking healthcare providers who want to integrate conventional, lifestyle, funcional and complementary approaches into their healthcare practice and be part of the future of medicine.
Proudly accredited by Crossfields Institute
About the Diploma
Having run for almost 10 years, NCIM’s accredited Diploma in Integrative Healthcare is a world class blended learning qualification that combines clinical, business and leadership elements into a two-year programme (120 credits), with the option to progress into the third year of the Extended Diploma in Integrative Healthcare, a qualification in which you complete your own piece of research (180 credits).
This Level 7 accredited diploma provides a rigorous, evidence-based framework for applying integrative medicine principles in real-world settings. Whether you are a doctor, nurse, allied health professional, pharmacist, health coach, social prescriber or complementary therapist, this course will equip you with the knowledge and practical skills to transform your practice and patient outcomes.
On the right is Pauline Cox, an NCIM Fellow, Functional Nutritionist, Integrative Medicine Specialist, Author of Hungry Woman and co-founder of Sow & Arrow
Why choose the NCIM Diploma in Integrative Healthcare?
✔ A truly comprehensive approach
Unlike lifestyle medicine courses, which focus primarily on behaviour change, our diploma integrates lifestyle medicine, functional medicine, and complementary and integrative therapies, offering a broader clinical toolkit for patient care.
✔ Accredited, rigorous, and practitioner-focused
This Level 7 postgraduate diploma is fully accredited and designed for healthcare providers who want academic depth, practical application, and career impact.
✔ A flexible learning experience
With blended learning, you can study alongside your work, attending online modules and three 3-day intensive learning retreats per academic year, two of which are in-person. You have regular tutorials and a personal tutor so that you are fully supported throughout the programme.
✔ Learn from experts in the field
Led by Dr Elizabeth Thompson, leading doctor in the field of Integrative Medicine and founder and CEO of the National Centre for Integrative Medicine. You will also be taught by a faculty of leading integrative medicine specialists, including doctors, researchers, and experienced practitioners at the forefront of this growing field.
✔ Join a community of like-minded professionals
NCIM fosters a vibrant learning community, allowing you to network and collaborate with other healthcare providers passionate about integrative healthcare. Beyond your graduation, you can stay part of the community of Integrative Healthcare Professionals through our Fellowship programme.
Module 1
The Modern Context of Integrative Medicine (IM): Philosophy, History and Changing Times in Medicine (100 hours)
Module 2
Integrative Medicine Approaches and Management of Conditions 1 (300 hours)
Module 3
Holistic Assessment: The Therapeutic Relationship, Motivational Interviewing and Clinical Decision Making in Integrative Medicine (100 hours)
Module 4
Critical Appraisal of Medicine and Integrative Medicine Research (100 hours)
Module 5
Holistic Assessment: Social Prescribing, and a Community Approach in IM (100 hours)
Module 6
Managing dynamic Integrative Medicine Practice (100 hours)
Module 7
Integrative Medicine Approaches and Management of Conditions 2 (300 hours)
Module 8
Independent Study on Innovation in Integrative Medicine (100 hours)
Course Structure & Key Course Dates
Duration: 2 years (120 credits) with an optional third year for an Extended Diploma (180 credits). To accommodate busy professionals, learners may extend their learning across a maximum of 4 years for the Diploma with the agreement of the Academic Director.
Time Commitment: Learners are expected to study 8-10 hours per week during the academic year.
Learning is delivered part-time in a blended format including online and in-person:
- Online Learning – via our learning portal and Zoom .
- Three Intensive 3-day Learning Retreats – Deep dive immersive learning three times per academic year. NB: If you live outside of the UK the 3-day intensives can be accessed fully online. These are a vital part of the course, which learners must attend.
- Regular tutorials with healthcare providers and experts.
- Personal tutorials and high standards of academic support.
3-day Intensive Dates:
- 2, 3, 4 October 2025 (In-Person)
- 19, 20, 21 February 2026 (Online)
- 14, 15, 16 May 2026 (In-Person)
Hear from some of our Graduates
Dr Asim Vine
Class of 2022
GP, Cardiff
“The early years of my career started in Pakistan. Since then I’ve experienced healthcare in several different countries and in varying capacities during my medical training and in the formative years. I worked in the Republic of Ireland for a year and a half, Australia for several months and have interned in the United States and New Zealand”…
Read more
“After completing my training as a GP in the UK I quickly realize that I wasn’t able to help many of the patients I had with their chronic problems so I looked to broaden my understanding of health. This is when the opportunity of studying with NCIM came up, the idea of merging my knowledge of convention medicine with evidence-based alternatives and lifestyle advice sounded like the perfect marriage of my cumulative knowledge and life experience with new ways of helping people to improve their health. I’m delighted to have completed the two-year-old diploma and I’m looking forward to establishing my own practice to offer better help and advice.”
Marisa Cruz
Class of 2022
Nuclear Medicine Technologist, Nutritional Therapist, London
“As a healthcare professional working in a busy city hospital, I started noticing how little we care about lifestyle, nutrition, sustainability, emotions and mental health. This made me start seeking other paths for my career and I became a Nutritional Therapist. I did not know this would be the beginning of my journey in Integrative Medicine/ Healthcare”…
Read more
“The NCIM IH Diploma gave me a wider scope about health, introduced me to new therapeutic approaches that can be applied to different health conditions alongside conventional protocols or working in disease prevention. This Diploma developed my sense of criticism on scientific articles and systematic reviews, feeling even more empowered to work on evidence based solutions in my clinical practice. Not only applied on food and supplements, but also working with patients holistically encouraging them as a whole and not treating them as an isolated condition.
Study at NCIM also provided me an excellent knowledge of other CAM therapies, allowing me to work together with other practitioners and supporting my own patients, as well being able to suggest other therapies as a complement to functional nutrition. I consider the Diploma essential to bringing back the human skills that have been lost in the practice of medicine throughout the years due to all the ongoing pressures the healthcare system is suffering. All the subjects explored during the Diploma encouraged us to see the person as a whole and to encounter the correct balance between science and nature. The community that comes with this Diplomas is also very valuable.”
Pauline Cox
Class of 2022
Functional Nutritionist, Author, Co-founder Sow & Arrow, Clevedon
“The bursary awarded to support me as a Nutritional Therapist onto this diploma has been invaluable. It allowed me to access this training at a time when my businesses was struggling to recover post-pandemic. The diploma was hugely rewarding, helping me to gain access to a broad perspective in integrative healthcare and most certainly helped me in my task of writing and getting my book published with a major publishing house”…
Read more
“Since gaining my diploma, I have benefited greatly from the knowledge, experience and support of the NCIM and my training. Without the bursary, it is unlikely I would have been able to fund the diploma, with children and a family business to run, the financial pressures would have been to much.”
How does Lifestyle and Functional Medicine fit into Integrative Medicine?
Integrative Medicine is an umbrella approach that encompasses lifestyle medicine, functional medicine, and evidence-based complementary therapies.
Lifestyle Medicine focuses on behavioural change—nutrition, sleep, movement, and stress reduction—to prevent and manage disease.
Functional Medicine takes a systems-based approach, addressing root causes of disease through personalised diagnostics, biochemical assessments, and targeted interventions.​
Integrative Medicine combines both, alongside complementary approaches such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, mind-body therapies, and patient-centred care, offering a truly holistic, individualised treatment model.​
Why invest in this programme instead of a Lifestyle Medicine course?
While lifestyle medicine is incredibly valuable, it is only part of the healthcare puzzle.
🔹 Lifestyle medicine focuses primarily on prevention, but this diploma equips you to address both prevention and complex, chronic conditions using a wide range of integrative approaches.
🔹 Lifestyle medicine courses are often shorter and do not cover functional medicine, mind-body interventions, or complementary approaches in depth.
🔹 This diploma provides accredited, postgraduate-level training with a broader scope and greater clinical application than lifestyle medicine certifications.
If you want to truly transform your practice and how you care for patients—beyond just lifestyle change—this is the programme for you.
Meet the Faculty
Diploma Tuition Fees
​​​Enrolment fee: £300 (non-refundable)
Annual Diploma fee: £6,000
(£12,000 for the two year diploma)​​​
This diploma is an investment in your future—providing advanced skills, career progression, and a deeper impact on patient care. However, we recognise that the cost of our Postgraduate Diploma may be a barrier for some people. We are happy to discuss payment plans to spread the cost as long as the tuition fee is paid before the course begins. You may also be eligible for a bursary, please get in touch to discuss eligibility and apply.
Bursaries
Bursary applications are now open. There are four bursary places available, each offering £2000 off the full diploma fee (£1000 per year).
Deadline for applications is 13th June 2025 for a September start.
To enquire about bursaries please email our Education Programme Co-ordinator: education@ncim.org.uk
Apply today and be part of the future of healthcare
Join a growing movement of healthcare professionals leading the charge in integrative medicine.
- Elevate your practice with cutting-edge, evidence-based approaches
- Enhance patient outcomes with truly holistic, individualised care
- Be at the forefront of the future of medicine
Ready to Transform Your Practice? Apply Now.
Have questions? Contact our admissions team—we’re here to support you on your Integrative Healthcare journey.
Not ready to study the full Diploma yet?
We recently launched single modules that you can study at your own pace, get in touch to find out more.
DOWNLOAD SINGLE MODULE BROCHURE
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Frequently Asked Questions
Am I eligible to apply for the Diploma?
We welcome a wide variety of healthcare practitioners and professionals onto the Diploma course each year. Applicants need to demonstrate that they fulfil the following entry requirements relating to the professional background, prior level of study and English language skills.
- Professional Background
Admission will be considered if:
- a) the candidate is registered with a professional body that regulates doctors, nurses, and surgeons (i.e. GMC or GNC) within the last 5 years prior to joining the Diploma.
or
- b) the candidate is a Complementary Medicine (CM) practitioner, Social Prescriber, Health Coach, or Nutritionist, who is a member of a professional association in their field of provision, has a commitment to working within an IM model and has two years of clinical practice in their chosen CM field.
or
- c) the candidate is enrolled as a learner onto a course to qualify as a healthcare professional (doctor, nurse, surgeon etc) or is training in one of the professions in part ‘b’. Ideally the learner would be near the end of their study and demonstrate commitment to practicing in their chosen field and working with an IM model.
- d) Candidates with a background in integrative healthcare or health and wellbeing business who wish to gain an insight into IM and healthcare systems to develop future healing and healthcare innovations.
or
- e) Candidates who are researchers within an IM clinical team or professional IM organisation and wish to gain an insight into IM and healthcare contexts and evidence-base.
- Prior level of study
Applicants should have a good understanding of how the human body works, through studying a relevant subject at Bachelor’s level (level 6 of academic study) or above. This is also so you have a grounding in academic practices for example writing and using medical evidence.
- English Language
 If English is not your first language you require evidence of a level of written and spoken English at IELTS 6.0 or equivalent. Candidates should note that all learning resources, discussions and assessment are in English.
What topics will I study on the Diploma ?
There are eight modules that make up the Diploma:
- Philosophy, history and changing times in medicine (100 hours)
- IM approaches and management of conditions (1) (300 hours)
- Holistic assessment: the therapeutic relationship, motivational interviewing & clinical decision making in integrative medicine (100 hours)
- Critical appraisal of medicine and IM research (100 hours)
- Holistic management: social prescribing, a community approach in integrative medicine (100 hours)
- Managing a dynamic IM practice and developing leadership skills (100 hours)
- IM approaches and management of conditions (2) (300 hours)
- Independent study on innovation in Integrative Medicine (100 hours)
For a full description of each module, please see the prospectus (linked at the top of the page).
How is the learning programme structured?
The Diploma is designed to be undertaken part-time and delivered via a blended learning platform.
- Three 3-day, online or face-to-face intensives are timetabled each year of the two-year Diploma (September/ February/May). These are a vital part of the course, which learners must attend and comprise two teaching days and one day Integrative Healthcare Forum (lectures and interactive workshops with experts in the field of Integrative Medicine offering an opportunity to network with other conventional, lifestyle and CAM practitioners)
- Weekly (term time) evening online tutorials with experts in the field of Integrative Medicine
- Regular assignments to deepen knowledge through further study
- In Year 2 learners will have the opportunity to sit in IM practices to gain clinical experience of this emerging field of work
- Please note this Master’s Level Diploma requires up to 10 hours of home study, using the LMS, studying relevant scientific papers and IM textbooks
- Learners will also be encouraged to take advantage of a range of IM related CPD events throughout the academic year
- Learners will have access to the online Learning Management System (LMS)
For a full description of the course architecture and assessment model please download the Diploma Prospectus – linked above at the top of the page.
Where and when are the 'Intensives'?
The three-day Intensives will be delivered online via Zoom on the following dates, including the opportunity to meet in person for at least one Intensive per year:
2023/2024
- 21, 22 (IHF) and 23 September 2023 (online)
- 22, 23 (IHF) and 24Â Â February 2024 (online)
- 9, 10 (IHF) and 11 May 2024 (in-person and online)
2024/2025
- 10, 11 (IHF), 12 October 2024 (in-person and online)
- 20, 21 (IHF), 22 February 2025 (online)
- 15, 16 (IHF), 17 May 2025 (in-person and online)
Please email education@ncim.org.uk if you have any specific questions about the online delivery of the Diploma.
What is the learning environment like?
We aim to provide a learning environment that inspires collaboration, dialogue and appropriate social responsibility.
Learners should find a welcoming space that honours their individuality and their truggles yet still encourages personal and collective responsibility.Â
Our conviction is that learning experiences can be gained in many different forms and in a range of environments, including virtual learning forums, and is not limited to lecture halls, seminar rooms or classrooms.
NCIM has designed the Diploma to provide a supportive learning environment and our Education Team works hard to support your needs during the course.
You will meet and learn from a wide network of Integrative Medicine specialists and build a supportive community of peers within your year group.
Additional Support
Learners who experience study or learning difficulties may require additional support to successfully complete their subjects. Tutors will provide additional learning support in such circumstances, and tutoring assistance can be accessed through the Academic Team who will arrange appropriate support.
Will I be qualified in Functional Medicine?
Question:
>> Will I be qualified in functional medicine once I’ve completed the Diploma in Integrative Healthcare? <<
Answer:
NCIM’s Diploma in Integrative Healthcare broadens your knowledge of Integrative Medicine and how to integrate this into your daily practice. It also provides a platform for you to interact with many elites within the medical fields, build connections and allow you to potentially set up your own practice.
It offers you the certification of a diploma, and although it does not qualify you to become an Integrative Medicine doctor or give you a qualification in a particular modality of Integrative Medicine, for example Functional Medicine, it will allow you to use a wide range of Integrative Healthcare knowledge in your daily practice.
Functional Medicine is one of many different modalities of healthcare that comes under the umbrella term ‘Integrative Healthcare/Medicine’. Functional Medicine gives you excellent tools for consultation and enquiry and brings a focus to the biochemical / biomechanical. It is a specific approach to health and wellbeing that uses testing and supplementation.
Integrative Medicine as a model of healthcare is prepared to seek solutions from a wider array of interventions, perhaps even in combination with each other – such as acupuncture, green care, herbal medicine, yoga, ayurveda, massage. It’s truly holistic in its appreciation of the patient and looks at the whole person to determine what will help them to feel well again.
The course includes an introduction to Functional Medicine but does not give you a qualification in it. Some of our learners already have a background in Functional Medicine and are looking for the wider model of healthcare that Integrative Medicine offers. It gives them and their clients deeper appreciation of human health and wellbeing and more a creative and personalised responses to the issues at hand.
The Prospectus gives you much more detail on the full content of the Diploma – see link at top of the page.
How can I use the Diploma in day to day practice?
Question:
>>As a GP, how can I use my Diploma  in Integrative Healthcare in my day to day practice? What if Integrative Medicine still feels taboo within the NHS and I’m not allowed to recommend anything beyond NICE guidelines?<<
Answer:
Our core tutor group includes GPs and the best answer of course comes from one of the Core Education Team:
“As a GP, it can sometimes feel as if you’re not allowed to recommend anything beyond NICE Guidelines. However, in my practice as a GP I find that I’m able to safely include plenty of Integrative approaches, for example lifestyle interventions: dietary advice which is far more in-depth than the Eatwell Plate; physical activity advice tailored to the needs of the patient and going well beyond the simple NICE recommendations; stress-management advice including a wide-range of interventions including but not limited to breathwork, hypnosis, Creativity-based interventions…and so on.
“I also make frequent mention of the benefits of and safe ways of using: meditation/mindfulness advice/awareness, nature-based interventions, acupuncture, various kinds of bodywork, or herbal remedies.
“I also feel much more comfortable giving people advice on how they might make sure that the approaches that they’re seeking, which may lie well beyond the scope of orthodox western medicine, can be as helpful to them as possible and what risks to be aware of and how to minimise those risks.
“The most typical questions from patients arise regarding Eastern Complementary Approaches (eg Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, yoga) and Complementary Western Approaches (eg Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Western Herbal Medicine, Functional Medicine).
“I have learnt how to incorporate this kind of material into my standard NHS GP sessions – not every consultation but certainly a little bit in every day.”
Who are the core tutors and support team?
The team that has developed the diploma includes experts from the fields of mainstream and complementary medicine, as well as those with educational and academic expertise.
The NCIM Education Team delivers this course with a range of interventions from associate tutors, each specialists in different conventional, lifestyle and holistic healthcare practices.
Diploma Core Education Team:
Dr Elizabeth Thompson
Dr Vivien Rolfe
Dr Alastair Gray
Dr Duncan Still
Megan Odell
Dr Sally Moorcroft
Kiriaki Marselou
Dr Nikki Chatfield
Bridget Collingwood (Education Programme Co-ordinator)
Click here to see the NCIM Clinical, Education, and Core teams and read their biographies
How much does the Diploma cost?
2024 Diploma Fees
Enrolment fee: £250 (non-refundable)
Annual Diploma fee: £6,000
(£12,000 for two years)
Bursaries
Each year NCIM aims to make a few bursaries available to help support students in their learning journey.
The deadline for bursary applications is usually early summer before the Academic Year starts in September.
To enquire about bursaries please email our Education Programme Co-ordinator:
How do I apply to do the Diploma?
Applications for the Diploma are welcome at any time throughout the academic year which starts in September. The timing of your application will determine which year’s cohort you will be considered for.
To register your interest, enquire about bursaries or apply for the Diploma, please email our Education Programme Co-ordinator:
Once you’ve submitted and application form we’ll contact you to arrange a telephone/Zoom meeting with one of our Core Tutors to discuss your application and review the suitability of the course for you.
For general queries, please use the online form below.
Would you like to know more? Get in touch.
If you prefer to talk to us, call us on 0117 370 1875
By completing this form, you’re giving NCIM permission to hold your details so we can reply to your query and provide you with further information about the Diploma or NCIM. We will not spam you nor share your details with third parties.