As an educational and training institution working both at the level of Higher Education and within the profession of Acupuncture, the College incorporates research-mindedness into much of its programme, and encourages students to be critically evaluative and reflective in their thinking across the whole curriculum.

The College recognises the value of high quality research and how this can inform the curriculum. We are proud to acknowledge that the development of the acupuncture profession in the UK (and other parts of the world) has been profoundly influenced by ICOM graduates and is a trend that we would like to see continued.

The intellectual skills of criticality, scientific enquiry and reflective practice are supported by our Research modules, which aim to introduce students to the main principles of research methodology, strengthening students' ability to source information for themselves and to evaluate it effectively.

Over the first two years of the course we build the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to equip students with the necessary tools to be able to undertake their final dissertation, a small scale research study, in the third and final year. These skills include scientific writing skills, scrutiny and critique, statistical analysis and relevance of research activities to acupuncture and complementary therapy. The challenges of applying western style research techniques to the world of acupuncture and Chinese medicine are explored, as is the range of both qualitative and quantitative study. These skills are developed in class using example, demonstration and practice, and throughout independent study, using project based learning.

The final year dissertation allows students, in a variety of ways, to deepen their understanding of Chinese philosophy and link it clearly to their clinical diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Students are allotted individual personal supervisors and have access, within appropriate guidelines, to accumulated case records spanning more than 25 years; the archive of the College Clinic offers a comprehensive resource of potential research data.

Preparing and encouraging students to carry out effective future research, as qualified and registered Acupuncture practitioners, will contribute to the research base and development of the profession as a whole.