Northwestern Health Sciences University
2501 W. 84th St.
Bloomington, MN

Founded in 1990, the Minnesota college of Acupuncture and oriental medicine (MCAOM) offers Master's degree programs in acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from its location in the Twin Cities area. First founded as the Minnesota Institute of Acupuncture and Herbal Studies and affiliated with Northwestern Health Sciences University, MCAOM provides education and clinical services in acupuncture and Oriental medicine throughout the metropolitan area. MCAOM also offers a Herbal Medicine Certificate for people with Master's degrees in acupuncture.

The programs in acupuncture and Oriental medicine emphasize traditional Chinese medicine's unified understanding of the mind, body and spirit. Curriculum for the three-year, full-time Master of Oriental Medicine program provides approximately 3,000 hours of didactic and clinical instruction in acupuncture, Chinese herbology, and related studies such as Tui Na, Qi Gong, introductory Chinese language skills and practice management. Similar to the Oriental Medicine program, the curriculum for the Master of Acupuncture program does not include herbal studies but includes more than 2,300 hours of instruction that takes between two and two-thirds years of full-time enrollment to complete. Courses are offered on trimester schedules.

Part of a student's education involves clinical internships in the Edith Davis Teaching Clinic on the University campus, as well as health care clinics and community agencies throughout the metropolitan area. The internship goes through three stages, and in addition, students participate in clinic seminars and in weekly group case study sessions.

Quick Facts

MCAOM is Minnesota's largest and oldest school offering master's degree programs accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine,

New students enroll in January and September of each calendar year while transfer students are allowed to enter in the Summer trimester, beginning in May.

Clinical internships are a major part of the school's educational program and require a minimum of 150 hours of observation/assistantship and 720 hours of supervised clinical practice.

MCAOM is part of Northwestern Health Sciences University, a governing school that has offered natural health care education, patient care, and research for more than 65 years. They also house the College of Chiropractic and the School of massage therapy.

This school profile has been compiled and updated by The CollegeBound Network. The school is not affiliated with The CollegeBound Network and shall not be considered a sponsor of this program.