Sleep Medicine

As a student on the PGDip in Sleep Medicine, you will spend two years engaging in a comprehensive taught programme covering the physiology of sleep, through to clinical practice and societal implications. Delivery is mostly online, with a one-week residential component. You will engage regularly in real time with class mates and teaching faculty.

The PGDip is a part-time course, spread over two years. During that time you will complete eight modules, providing a comprehensive overview of sleep medicine that is in line with the European Sleep Research Society's teaching and training guidelines. These modules include:

• The Physiological Basis of Sleep
• Introduction to Sleep Medicine and Methodological Approaches
• Circadian Rhythm Disruption and Sleep
• Insomnias
• Sleep Disordered Breathing and Sleep-related Movement Disorders
• Hypersomnias and Parasomnias
• Sleep in Specialist Populations
• Sleep and Society

Each module will be assessed by an extended essay, entailing a total of four extended essays submitted every academic year: two at the end of the second and third terms. 

Pattern of teaching, learning and supervision

The course is designed to give as much flexibility as possible, whilst still providing necessary support and community. Lectures are pre-recorded and sent for you to watch in your own time, alongside any relevant reading, case studies and activities. You will join regular discussion groups; these are run using conferencing software, allowing you to interact in real-time with classmates and teaching faculty and will typically last one hour. For these sessions you will be expected to prepare short essays and/or presentations for discussion. You will also be expected to attend a week-long residential school in person at Oxford.

Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in psychology, neuroscience or a health-related discipline.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.5 out of 4.0.

However, entrance is very competitive and most successful applicants will have a first-class degree or the equivalent.

If you hold non-UK qualifications and wish to check how your qualifications match these requirements, you can contact the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC).

In cases where a strong first-class degree cannot be demonstrated, a masters level qualification or strong professional experience will also be considered. It is expected that most applicants will currently be working in a health-related profession. Students are expected to have good IT skills. As the course is primarily pursued online, students will need to be familiar with communicating in this way and will be expected to ensure adequate internet connection and audio-visual equipment to engage fully with the course. 

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

• Official transcript(s)
• CV/résumé
• Personal statement:Up to 500 words
• Written work:One essay of up to 1,000 words
• References/letters of recommendation:Three overall, generally academic

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Higher level