UC Students Study Wellbeing With Hands-On Psychology Course

Psychology students who signed up to a new wellbeing course at UC might not have expected to be stepping into ice baths.

Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) Science and Practice of Wellbeing paper introduces students to wellbeing by encouraging them to step outside their comfort zone and put theory into practice.

Students were offered the opportunity to take an ice bath on campus, do yoga, meditate, forage, go forest-bathing, or grow a plant from a seed in the community garden. As part of the assessment, students then submitted weekly reflections on these activities that contributed to their overall grades.

Psychology Professor Julia Rucklidge coordinates the course at UC and helps students learn the psychological models of wellbeing and form an applied understanding of the factors that improve mental wellbeing at both the individual and societal level.

Diverting from tradition, Professor Rucklidge says the practical element of the course included “innovative labs purposefully designed in our outside environment”. Students wouldn't lose marks if they didn’t do an activity such as ice bathing; however, all the 700 students who have taken the course so far have participated in some form of a new wellbeing activity.

Student engagement in the course is reflected in the feedback received by Professor Rucklidge at the end of each term. One course participant said, “This course has ignited a passion in me, both academically and in my own personal life, and I am excited to see what may come from it”.

The second-year psychology course was first introduced in 2023 and contributes towards the Bachelor of Psychological Science degree at UC.

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