Graduate Certificate in Medical Herbalism
Designed for Licensed or Certified Health-Care Professionals

Now Enrolling for January 2013

Medical Herbalism at Maryland University of Integrative Health

The Medical Herbalism program is designed specifically for doctors, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, chiropractors, osteopaths, and other licensed and certified healthcare professionals who seek to be better informed about the safe and appropriate use of herbal medicine. The online courses allow participants from across the nation and across the globe to participate.

Program Highlights

Every day, more of your patients and clients are consuming herbal products. Herbs and herbal supplements are a growing, multi-billion dollar industry driven primarily by consumers using herbal products, often with a limited understanding of what they are buying and how to use them appropriately.

Maryland University of Integrative Health’s Graduate Certificate in Medical Herbalism provides you with a foundational knowledge of herbal medicine that emphasizes issues of quality, herb/drug interaction, and efficacy. Grounded in modern science as well as traditional herbal wisdom, the program provides an integrated and comprehensive perspective on the safe and effective use of herbs in a variety of healthcare models.

The Graduate Certificate in Medical Herbalism:

• Exclusively designed for licensed and certified health-care professionals
• Delivered by internationally renowned experts and leaders in herbal medicine, health, and wellness
• Focused on the most frequently used herbal medicines and supplements in the U.S. market and their likely interactions with conventional pharmaceuticals
• Designed to give you the capacity to have an open, informative dialogue about medicinal herbs with your patients, colleagues, and herbal experts
• Includes 12 graduate-level academic credits delivered over 8 months
• Approved for continuing education units and contact hours toward licensure requirements for select professions
• Eligible for federal financial aid
• Easily paired with a Graduate Certificate in Health Coaching to earn the Master of Arts in Health and Wellness Coaching

Course Descriptions

ISci 611: Introduction to Science Writing

This course offers students an introduction to science writing—the writing of factual prose for the general reader or professional scientists. The focus will be on using evidence-based information and data pertaining to herbal therapeutics. Students will turn in writing or editing assignments each class session. The experience will improve their ability to make complex scientific research understandable.
(Note: This course needs to be taken if you take ISci 632a.)

ISci 632a: Foundations of Health and Wellness

This one-weekend intensive course addresses modern, historical and cross-cultural perspectives on health, wellness, and sickness. Health and wellness of the individual and the community are discussed in a context ranging from the societal to the molecular level. This weekend provides an integrative model for understanding environmental and behavioral impacts on health and wellness.
(Note: This course cannot be taken if you have already taken ISci 632)

HRB 530: Fundamentals of Herbal Medicine: Past to Present & Soil to Clinic

This survey course begins by looking at the history and use of herbal medicine around the world, exploring how these traditional systems influence modern herbal practice in the United States. The second part of this course introduces the foundational sciences relevant to researching and understanding herbal remedies. Students learn taxonomy and hands-on botanical identification during visits to Jim Duke’s Green Pharmacy Garden. Classroom work will provide an introduction to materia medica, phytochemistry, pharmacology, ethnobotany, clinical trials, posology (the study of dosage), herbal preparations, and safety issues.

HRB 622: Herbal Pharmacy: Evaluating and Manufacturing Quality Herbal Products

This is primarily a hands-on course providing techniques for harvesting and drying herbs, and incorporating them into herbal products and medicinal foods. It provides the basic theory and skills required to manufacture high-quality medicinal herb products for oral and topical application. Students learn the foundational principles of extraction, the properties of common solvents (e.g., water, alcohol, and oils), and the solubility of various herbal constituents. Students apply their learning by creating herbal foods and extracts for display at a community herbal products show. In addition to making their own kitchen pharmacy preparations, students learn how to evaluate the quality of the wide range of herbal products manufactured by the natural products industry.

HRB 604: Frequently Used Herbs: Understanding for the Health Professional

This course investigates approximately 30 of the most commonly used herbal medicines and related supplements in the United States. Each herb is discussed from the ethnobotanical perspective and the modern phytotherapeutic perspective, with a focus on pharmacological understanding and relevant clinical trials. Special emphasis is placed on topics relevant to the contemporary clinician, including quality control, interactions, and other safety parameters of each herb covered. This course provides the student with the necessary skills to effectively research herbs not covered in the class.

Weekends in January, February, and March are held Friday through Sunday. Class hours on Friday are 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Class hours on Saturdays and Sundays are between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. All other weekends from April to August are held on Saturday and Sunday only.

Financial Aid

Federal financial aid is available for this program. For more information, click here.

Tuition and Fees

Application Fee: $50
Tuition Deposit (due upon acceptance): $500
Tuition: $6, 960 (12 credits at $580 per credit)