Students at the University of Bristol will be offered 12-week courses in happiness from September 2019, as part of the university’s response to a number of its students committing suicide in the last three years.
Following an outcry from enrolled students and intense media scrutiny, the university has enlisted psychologist Professor Bruce Hood to run the module, based on a popular Yale University course.
The meaning of happiness
Students on the ‘Science of Happiness’ course will consider the meaning of happiness through weekly lectures, performing ‘happiness exercises’, and attending a ‘happiness hub’ to discuss the impact of these exercises on their happiness.
The course is open to first-year students of all disciplines, and accounts for 20 credits out of the 120 needed to pass the year. 400 students signed up to a pilot scheme last year.
