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SCMAT UKCollege of Chinese Medicine英国中医针药技术学院

英国中医针药技术学院 · Established [YEAR]

Classical Chinese medicine, taught to professional standards.

SCMAT UK is a UK college of Chinese medicine and acupuncture techniques in the tradition of 中医针药. We teach acupuncture, herbal medicine, Tui Na and food therapy to students who intend to practise — and we run free community consultations across the UK so that the public can experience this medicine properly explained.

Explore our programmesBook a free consultation

Next open day: 18 April 2026 · reserve a place

Quick guide — I am a…

Thinking about training in Chinese medicine? Start here for programmes, entry requirements and how to apply.

Years teaching Chinese medicine
[XX]Years teaching Chinese medicine
Students taught to date
[XXX]Students taught to date
Free community consultations delivered
[X,XXX]Free community consultations delivered
Tutors and clinical supervisors
[XX]Tutors and clinical supervisors

Programmes

Study with us

Five taught pathways, from an eight-week introduction for the general public through to a three-year professional diploma with supervised clinical practice.
All programmes
  • Diploma

    Acupuncture & Meridians

    针灸学

    A structured programme in meridian theory, point location and safe needling practice, taught through demonstration, supervised practice and clinical observation.

    Duration
    Indicative 3 years part-time
    Mode
    On campus

    Course details

  • Diploma

    Chinese Herbal Medicine & Materia Medica

    中药学

    A systematic study of the Chinese materia medica: how individual herbs are classified and understood, how classical formulae are built, and how prescribing is done safely and responsibly.

    Duration
    Indicative 3 years part-time
    Mode
    On campus

    Course details

  • Certificate

    Tui Na — Chinese Therapeutic Massage

    推拿学

    A practical programme in Chinese therapeutic massage: the hand techniques, the channel and joint work, and the clinical reasoning that turns a sequence of movements into a treatment.

    Duration
    Indicative 1 year part-time
    Mode
    On campus

    Course details

  • Certificate

    Chinese Diet & Lifestyle Therapy

    中医养生学

    A practical study of Chinese food therapy and yang sheng — the traditional approach to eating, seasonal adjustment and daily habits — taught as cultural and educational knowledge.

    Duration
    Indicative 6 months part-time
    Mode
    Online

    Course details

  • Foundation

    Chinese Health Literacy

    中医健康素养

    A foundation programme for the general public and for professionals who need genuine literacy in Chinese medicine concepts — what they mean, where they come from, and what they do not claim.

    Duration
    Indicative 8–10 weeks part-time
    Mode
    Online

    Course details

  • Short courses

    CPD & short courses

    Single-day and evening courses for practising acupuncturists, herbalists and manual therapists — including herb identification, needling technique and paediatric Tui Na.

    See short courses

Why SCMAT UK

A college built around the clinic, not the classroom

Our programmes are structured so that clinical reasoning and safe practice are taught from the first term, rather than bolted on at the end.

  • Supervised clinical practice from the start

    Students observe in the teaching clinic early, and every treatment given to a member of the public is supervised by a qualified practitioner. No student treats anyone unsupervised at any stage.

  • Taught by practitioners who still practise

    Every tutor on our clinical programmes maintains an active practice. The examples used in teaching are cases the tutor has actually worked, not textbook abstractions.

  • Fidelity to the tradition, honesty about the evidence

    We teach the classical framework properly, including its terminology in Chinese where meaning would otherwise be lost — and we teach the current evidence honestly, including where it remains uncertain.

  • Safety treated as a subject in its own right

    Sharps handling, infection prevention, contraindications, herb interactions and adverse event reporting are assessed components of every clinical programme, not optional reading.

About the college
A teaching session in progress at the collegeAcupuncture needles prepared for a supervised practical sessionDried herbs from the college's teaching collection

Clinical services & membership

Beyond the classroom

The college runs public-facing services alongside its teaching. Every clinical service is delivered by a qualified practitioner, and every free consultation is supervised.

Free · by appointment

Free community consultations

Thirty-minute consultations at locations across the UK, at no charge. A consultation includes assessment and general advice — it is not a full course of treatment.

Find out more

Fee-based · enquire

Consulting & advisory

Clinical advisory work, review of Chinese medicine prescriptions and herb quality, and training programmes designed for organisations.

Find out more

Enquire for fees

Membership

Join as a Friend, a Professional Member or a Corporate Member for priority booking, CPD rates, dispensary access and the lecture archive.

Find out more

A note on what we claim

We describe Chinese medicine as it is taught and practised, and we explain health benefits in the terms the tradition uses. We do not claim that any treatment offered or taught by this college diagnoses, treats or cures any medical condition, and we do not present Chinese medicine as an alternative to conventional medical care. If you have a medical concern, please speak to a doctor.

News & insight

Articles from the college

Explainers, safety guidance and comment — written for the public, for students and for practitioners.
All articles

Upcoming events

All events

In their words

What students say

The quotations below are illustrative placeholders. They will be replaced with real, consented quotes before launch.

  • “I came in able to talk about Chinese medicine and left able to actually reason with it. The difference is that someone made me justify every point I chose, out loud, until it became a habit.”

    [STUDENT NAME]

    Diploma student, final year

  • “Studying part-time around a full-time job was hard, and I would do it again. The practical weekends are where it clicked — you cannot learn point location from a diagram.”

    [STUDENT NAME]

    Acupuncture programme, part-time

  • “The safety training was the part I did not expect to value most. Being taught exactly where my competence ends has made me a more careful and more honest practitioner.”

    [GRADUATE NAME]

    Graduate, now in practice

Start with a conversation

Whether you are considering a career in Chinese medicine, looking for a consultation, or enquiring on behalf of an organisation, we are happy to talk it through.

How to applyContact us