Graduate Certificate in Medical Herbalism
Designed for Licensed or Certified Health-Care Professionals
2010 Program Underway — Now Enrolling for Spring 2011

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 that today consists primarily of consumers purchasing and using herbal products, often with a limited understanding of what they are buying and how to appropriately use them.

Tai Sophia Institute’s Graduate Certificate in Medical Herbalism provides a foundational knowledge of herbal medicine that emphasizes issues of quality, safety, and efficacy. Grounded in both modern science and traditional herbal wisdom, the program provides an integrated and comprehensive perspective on the use of herbs in a variety of health-care models.

Tai Sophia’s Graduate Certificate in Medical Herbalism is:

• Exclusively designed to put health-care professionals and researchers at the forefront of the wellness revolution that is shaping the future of health care
• Delivered by internationally renowned experts and leaders in herbal medicine, health, and wellness
• Focused on the 30 most frequently used herbal medicines and supplements in the U.S. market, with an emphasis on issues of quality, safety, and efficacy.
• Designed to give you the capacity to have an open, informative dialogue about medicinal herbs with your patients, colleagues, and herbal experts
• Presented in an executive weekend format to accommodate working professionals
• 12 graduate-level academic credits delivered over 9 months (one weekend a month)
• 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

Course Descriptions

ISci 632: Foundations of Health and Wellness

This course provides a context for a wide variety of studies relating to perspectives on health and wellness by introducing basic health philosophies, history of the current healthcare system, proposed healthcare reform legislation, balance/imbalance in health, and the investigation of how these issues apply to an informed perspective on our current healthcare system. Concepts of wellness and sickness are discussed, including the role that language plays in supporting health and wellness. The foundations of health and wellness are further examined focusing on the current knowledge of the physiologic basis for wellness practices.

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. The course continues with a more focused look at the history of herbal medicine in the United States, up to and including current practices and regulations. The second part of this course familiarizes the student with the fundamental areas of study relevant to medicinal plants, providing an overview of field botany, harvesting and drying, herbal preparations, phytochemistry, phytopharmacology, and materia medica.

HRB 632: Herbal Medicine: Issues in Quality, Safety and Efficacy

Standards of quality, safety, and efficacy are of paramount importance in all fields of health care. The phytochemical complexity and natural variation of medicinal plants provides unique challenges in developing and applying these standards in the field of herbal medicine. This course provides a research framework for understanding the key issues in herbal quality, safety, and efficacy. In addition, the student will gain practical tools for evaluating the reliability of herbal products.

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

Applying the knowledge developed in previous coursework, this course investigates approximately 30 of the most frequently used herbal medicines and related supplements. Each herb will be discussed from the ethnobotanical perspective as well as the modern phytotherapeutic perspective, providing a contextual understanding of usage by the general public. Available in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro data also will be reviewed to evaluate the therapeutic activity of the covered herbs. Topics such as quality control, pharmacology, traditional use, clinical trials, dosage range, interactions, and safety parameters will provide an overview of the covered herbs. In addition to addressing the most commonly used medicinal plants, the course will provide the student with the skills to effectively research herbs not covered in the class.

Faculty (2010 Program Faculty. Click name to review bio.)

Karl Ardo, M.F.A.
Jerry Cott, Ph.D.
Steven Dentali, Ph.D.
James A. “Jim” Duke, Ph.D.
Robert M. Duggan, M.A., M.Ac.(UK), Dipl.Ac.(NCCAOM)
James S. Gordon, M.D., FACP
Marta E. Hanson, Ph.D.
Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, Ph.D.
Paige Lescure, J.D., LL.M., M.S.
Helen Metzman, M.S.
Simon Mills, M.A., FNIMH, MCPP
Gerard Mullin, M.D.
Andrew Pengelly Ph.D., RH(AHG), FNHAA
Rebecca Snow M.S., LDN, RH(AHG), CNS
James Snow, RH(AHG)
Kevin Spelman, Ph.D., RH(AHG), MCPP
Cheryl Walker M.L., MCC

Class Dates

ISci 632: Foundations of Health and Wellness
April 8-10, 2011
April 15-17, 2011

HRB 530: Fundamentals of Herbal Medicine: Past to Present & Soil to Clinic
May 21-22, 2011
June 25-26, 2011
July 23, 2011

HRB 632: Herbal Medicine: Issues in Quality, Safety and Efficacy
July 24, 2011
August 27, 2011
September 17-18, 2011
October 15, 2011

HRB 604: Frequently Used Herbs: Understanding for the Health Professional
October 16, 2011
November 12-13, 2011
December 10-11, 2011

All classes are held on Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the exception of the opening course, which is held Friday-Sunday over two consecutive weekends. Class hours on Friday, April 8 and April 15 are 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Class
hours on April 9-10 and April 16-17 are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Why Study at Tai Sophia?

Founded in 1974, Tai Sophia is a premier, accredited educational institution dedicated to the art and science of healing and wellness. For over three decades, Tai Sophia Institute’s pioneering founders, world-class faculty, and exceptional clinicians have redefined health, wellness, relationship, and community, setting the gold standard for relationship-centered care, transformative leadership and social change, and self care.

Each of Tai Sophia’s programs is powerfully rooted in the wisdom of nature, teachings from the world’s great healing and wisdom traditions, contemporary knowledge, and cutting-edge science.

Whether your ultimate goal is to coach your patients and clients toward optimum health and vitality, integrate herbs into your clinical practice or home life, become a master practitioner of acupuncture, or be a more powerful and effective leader on the job or in your community, as a Tai Sophia student you will become a keen observer of your own body-mind-spirit and its innate wisdom, and learn to be a healing and transformative presence through your thoughts, words, and actions.

While you pursue your chosen course of study, in partnership with your classmates and instructors, you will reveal and develop your unique gifts and talents, achieve greater clarity about your passion and purpose, and gain a deeper sense of community and service.

Medical Herbalism at Tai Sophia

The Medical Herbalism program is designed specifically for doctors, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, chiropractors, osteopaths, and other licensed and certified health-care professionals who seek to be better informed about the safe and appropriate use of herbal medicine.

Situated just miles from the renowned Green Pharmacy Garden, Tai Sophia’s main campus offers an impressive herbal dispensary, library, and herb garden to support all of its academic programs in herbal medicine.

Program Outcomes

• Possess a practical working knowledge of the safe and appropriate use of 30 of the most popular herbs in the U.S. market.
• Contextualize herbal research findings within a broader body of knowledge including the traditional use of herbs, allowing for a balanced assessment of clinical relevance and safety concerns.
• Capacity to gather, process, and assess relevant data regarding quality, safety, and efficacy for any herbs or herbal supplements of interest.
• Understand and differentiate between the application of herbs in wellness-based and disease-based models of health care.

Admission Requirements

Prospective students must meet the following admission requirements:

• Have a minimum of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited educational institution and submit an official transcript to verify completion.
• Submit official transcript of highest degree earned beyond a baccalaureate.
• Submit copy of professional license or certification in related health field(s).

Other applicants with related experience and a bachelor’s degree or higher will be considered on an individual basis.

Financial Aid

Federal financial aid is available for this program. To apply for federal financial aid, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Tai Sophia Institute’s school code for completing the FAFSA is G25784. A limited number of scholarships are also available. For additional funding options, such as private or alternative education loans, please contact Director of Financial Aid John Gay, Jr., at 410-888-9048 ext. 6628 or .

Tuition and Fees

Application Fee: $50
Matriculation Fee (due upon acceptance): $100
Tuition: $525 per credit for a total program cost of $6,300

To learn more about the Medical Herbalism graduate certificate, contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at or 410-888-9048 ext. 6647.