Master of Acupuncture

The Master of Acupuncture program was developed to meet the needs of naturopathic students who want to practice acupuncture from a Classical perspective. This four-year program has a foundation identical to that of the MSOM program without the herb courses. Upper-level courses focus in particular on the clinical application of acupuncture and moxibustion techniques.

Chinese Medicine as Explained by the Classics
The defining image of Chinese medicine for most westerners is that of the acupuncturist’s needles extending porcupine-like from a patient’s skin. This is indeed a dramatic image, but it represents only a glimpse of the philosophy and practice of the world’s oldest intact system of natural healing. The antiquity, beauty, and efficacy of Chinese medicine have drawn western scholars for generations. But as modern China sought credibility for its age-old system of medicine, and as westerners have striven to understand it within their own scientific context, each has emphasized only select pieces from the rich tapestry of Chinese medicine.

The MSOM degree program at ICIM emphasizes the holistic spirit of the classic teachings of Oriental medicine. This 212.69 credit-hour, 3768 hour academic and clinical program, taught over four years, was developed and is taught by practitioners trained in China. Delving into the history and philosophy of this challenging system of thought, one will find that it combines the art and science of a medicine developed over millennia. This course of study will take you outside the Western concept of science into an approach that integrates the systematic and intuitive aspects of medicine while remaining observable and reproducible.
The classical Chinese medicine approach is especially suited to give new insights into the treatment of difficult and recalcitrant diseases. By bringing the legacy of an independent medical system into modern Western practices, our program is specifically designed to inspire interest in the challenges posed by chronic diseases that are difficult to cure or even diagnose.