Previous Programs
The following programs were previously offered by MUIH and are not currently enrolling new students.
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine
Doctor of Acupuncture with a Specialization in Chinese Herbal Medicine
The Doctor of Acupuncture with a Chinese Herbal Medicine Specialization degree integrates the Doctor of Acupuncture curriculum with a deep concentration in the study of Chinese Herbs and prepares graduates to meet the growing need and opportunities for well-trained Chinese medical practitioners to serve in numerous types of integrative medicine settings across the country. It prepares students to be integrative practitioners who can seamlessly weave acupuncture and Chinese herbs into clinical treatment plans, and bring their research literacy, advanced diagnostic studies, systems-based medicine skills and knowledge to bear in a multitude of clinical environments, including integrative healthcare settings alongside practitioners in allopathic and other complementary health fields. As a graduate of this program, you will be recognized as a doctor, both professionally and publicly, and will be prepared to work as a vital part of multidisciplinary healthcare team. Information about this permanently discontinued program is available at https://muih.edu/academics/acupuncture/.
Doctor of Acupuncture
The Doctor of Acupuncture program is designed to educate and develop graduates to meet the growing need and opportunities for well-trained Chinese medical practitioners to serve in numerous types of integrative medicine settings across the country. It builds on the outcomes and competencies of the Master of Acupuncture toward achieving full clinical competency, with the addition of 28 doctoral-specific competencies in the domains of research literacy, advanced diagnostic studies, systems-based medicine, and professional development, along with an enhanced clinical training. The program prepares graduates to work in a multitude of clinical environments, including integrative healthcare settings alongside practitioners in allopathic and other complementary health fields. As a graduate of this program, you will be recognized as a doctor, both professionally and publicly, and will be prepared to work as a vital part of multidisciplinary healthcare team. Information about this permanently discontinued program is available at https://muih.edu/academics/acupuncture/.
Master of Acupuncture with a Specialization in Chinese Herbal Medicine
The Master of Acupuncture with a Chinese Herbal Medicine Specialization combines the skills and knowledge of acupuncture provided in the Master of Acupuncture degree with a deep concentration and practice in Chinese herbs. The program further enhances and deepens a graduate’s ability to treat the whole person with a multi-disciplinary knowledge base and clinical acumen. It prepares students to become a licensed acupuncturist who can integrate and apply the benefits of both acupuncture and Chinese herbs in cultivating health and wellness. Information about this permanently discontinued program is available at https://muih.edu/academics/acupuncture/.
Master of Acupuncture
The Master of Acupuncture (MAC) program was the first accredited master’s degree program in acupuncture in the United States (1981) and continues to provide students with a comprehensive curriculum combining rigorous classroom teaching and a rich clinical experience. This program provides students with the fundamental skills and knowledge to become a licensed acupuncturist in various settings, especially private and small group practices. Information about this permanently discontinued program is available at https://muih.edu/academics/acupuncture/.
Post-Master’s Certificate in Animal Acupuncture
The Post-Master’s Certificate in Animal Acupuncture program teaches licensed acupuncturists how to safely and effectively treat animals within the guidelines set by the State of Maryland. This program meets the requirements to apply for Maryland Animal Acupuncture Certification. It enables graduates to offer animal-patients a powerful, complementary modality for health and healing using acupuncture and meets the requirements to be a certified Animal Acupuncturist in the state of Maryland. The curriculum features small animal and equine veterinary portions that include anatomy, physiology, handling and restraint, veterinary emergencies, and small animal diseases. In addition to rigorous classroom teaching, the program offers a rich clinical opportunity for the students to gain hands-on experience through treating animal-patients with acupuncture. Program goals for students and graduates include: formulate safe and effective acupuncture treatments for animal patients; acquire applicable clinical skills (diagnosis, formula planning, treatment delivery, and patient management) through supervised discussion and treatment; and progress from requiring close, clinical supervision to treating patients independently.
Post-Master’s Certificate in Women’s Holistic Health
The Post-Master’s Certificate in Women’s Holistic Health program provides licensed acupuncturists with the opportunity to focus on the specific health and wellness needs of women throughout their life cycles. This original and innovative program is designed to support licensed acupuncturists in their work with female patients in a practice setting. A holistic, integrative approach provides students with an in-depth understanding of the theory, research, and clinical techniques related to puberty, fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, menopause, and reproductive oncology. Drawing on the background of our faculty, the program blends Eastern and Western medicine with proven traditional practices and modern science to create a “wisdom through the ages” learning experience. The program’s clinical observation component ensures the ability to apply immediate, comprehensive, relevant knowledge into clinical practice. The program also provides the knowledge and terminology to collaborate with a diverse network of health care providers. Program learning goals include: the current wellness and prevention models that support good health for women; the physiology and pathophysiology of women through the stages of life; the Chinese Medical theory pertaining to the life cycles of women, including sexuality, fertility, pregnancy, and menopause; the distinct physiological and emotional dimensions unique to a woman’s well-being; assessment of current research pertaining to women’s health; the Chinese medical approaches in the treatment of women with breast/ovarian/cervical cancer; and how to work in an integrative, clinical setting with Western medical and other allied healthcare providers.
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Chinese Herbal Medicine
The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Chinese Herbal Medicine is unique in the U.S. for integration of Constitutional Five-Element perspectives, classical Chinese medicine, Eight-Principle diagnosis, and Zang-Fu pattern differentiation. The program provides a deep and thorough understanding of Chinese herbs and formulas and applies them to the practical enhancement of health and wellness. It is rooted in the history of ideas of Chinese herbal medicine from the classics to contemporary practice. Graduates are confident in their ability to be effective and knowledgeable practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine. This program is designed for licensed acupuncturists, and its flexible weekend format is tailored to their needs. This 41-credit program is delivered on-campus and can be completed in 6 trimesters (2 years). Information about this permanently discontinued program is available at https://muih.edu/academics/acupuncture/.
Applied Healing Arts
Master of Arts in Applied Healing Arts
The M.A. in Applied Healing Arts degree is a transformative program, designed for both established and developing leaders seeking to enhance their skills to create constructive change in their personal lives, in the workplace, and in the larger community of our fellow humans and all of life. The curriculum focuses on three primary goals. The first goal is the development of a wider worldview with learning rooted in nature and timeless wisdom traditions. The second is the engagement in a deeper work of daily transformative practice – healing habits of mind and heart. The third is the bringing of one’s vision and practice to a specific arena of life where one commits to making a positive difference. We speak about inviting participants to a Wider World, a Deeper Work, and a Grateful Gift. Program goals include: gain clarity about and commitment to a professional and/or personal life path; recognize areas of possibility for personal growth; effectively challenge institutional and cultural assumptions (held by self and others) and create and sustain partnerships that support efforts to manifest change; engage in daily transformative practices that foster mindful action and reflective awareness; ground a wider worldview and daily practice in timeless wisdom traditions of East and West; dwell in greater harmony with nature, its cycles and transformations, so that all thoughts and actions stem from a paradigm of interconnection; take new ideas and visions into work, home, and the community to effect positive change.
Transformative Leadership and Social Change
Master of Arts in Transformative Leadership and Social Change
The M.A. in Transformative Leadership and Social Change prepares leaders to meet the unique demands of today’s highly diverse, global community. It is designed to provide the next generation of creative, inspiring leaders and agents of change with the requisite skills to infuse their organizations and their own lives with a greater sense of drive and purpose. The M.A. degree will change the way you think, your sense of being, and your way of doing your work. Through a unique intellectual and philosophical framework, the curriculum weaves together evidenced-based leadership practices; the emerging field of transformative language arts (the intentional use of language to create positive change); and traditional wisdom practices. Our graduates are groomed to be innovative leaders, skilled to meet the challenges of an increasingly more complex and ever-changing world. Organizations of today need leaders skilled in broad complex thinking, relationship building, and ethical decision-making to create a social impact. Program goals include: affect others’ actions, commitment, effectiveness, productivity, and leadership skills positively; develop a personal style of leadership grounded in ethics, philosophy, service, individual passions, individual talents and unification; engage in personal transformation through daily practices and through interaction with a community of committed learners; broaden one’s perspective and the ability to generate positive actions and outcomes; mobilize one’s self and others toward social and ethical responsibility; create and sustain positive coalitions and communities; approach complex issues and embrace paradox with clarity, vision, and commitment to personal and professional goals; develop the ability to convert breakdowns into breakthroughs.
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Transformative Leadership
The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Transformative Leadership is designed for established and developing leaders seeking a path to enhance their skills in order to create constructive change personally, in the workplace, and in the larger community. Through deeply personal transformation and daily practice, leadership is redefined. Students discern and implement ways to take new ideas and insight into their work and all relationships in order to affect change. Students come from a variety of professional backgrounds and find this program to be life changing and powerfully applicable to their own unique setting. Program goals include: gain clarity, vision and commitment to personal and professional goals; engage in daily transformative practices that foster mindful action and reflective awareness; develop a personal style of leadership grounded in ethics, philosophy, service, individual passions and talents, and unification; take new ideas and visions into work, home, and the community to effect positive change.
Herbal Medicine
Master of Science in Therapeutic Herbalism
The M.S. Therapeutic Herbalism program empowers graduates with the critical thinking skills, health information literacy and expertise in herbal medicine needed for effectiveness in herbal supplement manufacturing, research, writing, education, and clinical consulting. Students may select one of two areas of concentration: Clinical Herbalism or Herbal Product Design. Graduates of the Clinical Herbalism area of concentration will acquire the skills and knowledge to build an effective clinical practice in herbalism, using a virtual telehealth platform to interact with both MUIH clinical supervisors and the student’s own clients. The curriculum educates students to apply a bio-psycho-social model of care to meet health and wellness goals. Students earn additional clinical hours seeing clients through group facilitation models and a case study course. The main emphasis of the program is on developing real-world, clinical competence. Topics such as ethics, business, and legal issues in clinical herbalism are explored in order to facilitate the transition from student to working professional. Graduates of the Herbal Product Design area of concentration will acquire the skillset and knowledge necessary to contribute to the growth of the herbal manufacturing field with an understanding of product development both broad and deep. They will be able to engage with existing companies or as entrepreneurs in multiple roles, providing quality assurance, research, product development and federal regulatory guidance. Topics include botany, medicine making, botanical safety, research, quality assurance, good manufacturing practice (GMP), analytical chemistry, phytochemistry, writing structure/function claims, and New Dietary Ingredient claims. Program goals include: understand the requirements for ensuring high-quality herbal products; be able to advise and educate effectively to create a comprehensive wellness plan incorporating herbal, dietary, and lifestyle recommendations integrating self-awareness and lessons of nature; possess knowledge of traditional herbal systems as well as an understanding of the principles and practices of modern Western herbalism; have a foundational understanding of biomedicine, pharmacology, Materia Medica, herbal preparations, history, clinical assessment, safety and plant identification, and wildcrafting; demonstrate the ability to critically analyze herbal research and contribute to the current body of herbal literature; know how to integrate knowledge of raw materials, formulation, and herbal pharmacy for product development purposes; know how to effectively educate individuals and groups about herbs. Be able to demonstrate basic skills in herb identification, harvesting, and preparation; be able to address potential safety concerns including herb-drug interactions; be able to grow personally and professionally and to participate actively in the field of herbalism through writing, research, public speaking, and/or professional affiliation. Prospective students may now be interested in the M.S. Clinical Herbal Medicine or M.S. Herbal Product Design and Manufacture programs.
Master of Science in Herbal Medicine and Master of Arts in Botanical Healing
The M.S. in Herbal Medicine program integrates modern scientific knowledge with traditional wisdom. The curriculum provides an understanding of varied health and wellness paradigms as well as the biopsycho-social constructs that inform them. It engages nature as teacher, using natural rhythms of the living world to guide the model for client care and broader practices. The educational environment serves as a catalyst for meaningful change and empowers our graduates to serve as facilitators of change in others. Students who complete the program possess a solid knowledge of the theory and practice of supporting health and wellness; are able to consult safely and communicate their competence effectively; and have a positive, knowledgeable understanding of the potential of herbs. The program’s main emphasis is clinical study, and all students are required to complete a requisite amount of clinical work. Students who choose not to focus primarily on clinical work pursue a self-guided independent study project. Program goals include: be able to serve clients through the gathering and contextualizing of relevant information from the client in order to develop an individualized plan for wellness; be able to advise and educate effectively to create a comprehensive wellness plan incorporating herbal, dietary and lifestyle recommendations integrating self-awareness and lessons of nature; possess knowledge of traditional herbal systems as well as an understanding of the principles and practices of modern Western herbalism. Have a foundational understanding of biomedicine, pharmacology, materia medica, herbal preparations, history, clinical assessment, safety, and plant identification and wildcrafting; have the skills to establish and maintain an effective and legal herbal practice; be able to grow personally and professionally and to actively participate in the field of herbalism through writing, research, public speaking, and/or professional affiliation. Prospective students may now be interested in the M.S. Clinical Herbal Medicine or M.S. Herbal Product Design and Manufacture programs.
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Medical Herbalism
The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Medical Herbalism program provides licensed or certified health care professionals, pharmacists, and researchers with a foundational knowledge of herbal medicine. Students learn about the most popular herbs and herbal supplements in the U.S. market and likely interactions with conventional pharmaceuticals. Modern scientific understanding is discussed within the framework of traditional herbal wisdom to provide a truly integrated and realistic perspective on the use of herbs in a variety of health care models. Students learn how to identify and create quality herbal products through hands-on wild plant identification, harvesting, and making medicinal food and herbal preparations. Combining theory with practical applications, the program empowers health-care professionals with the necessary tools to engage patients in an informed discussion of herbal supplements, understand the implications of proposed treatments, and determine the safety and efficacy of herbal options. Program goals include: help patients understand and differentiate between the application of herbs in a wellness-based and disease-based model of health care; contextualize isolated herbal research or traditional uses within a broader body of knowledge, allowing for a balanced assessment of clinical relevance and safety concerns; describe the safe and appropriate use of a limited number of herbs as dietary supplements within the framework of modern health care; identify and harvest local herbs in the field, recognize raw materials, and manufacture herbal and food preparations. Prospective students may now be interested in the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Herbal Studies.
Post-Master’s Certificate in Clinical Herbalism
The Post-Master’s Certificate in Clinical Herbalism provides graduates of the Master of Science in Therapeutic Herbalism program and other qualified applicants with the skills and knowledge to build a safe and effective clinical practice in herbalism, and support patient wellness in a variety of clinical care environments. The program has been designed to provide students the context and understanding of clinical intervention, as well as the herbs as powerful catalysts for change. Drawing from innovative practices in health care, the program utilizes various tools including group wellness care and virtual care and focuses on the development of academic case studies for publication and education. The curriculum educates students to apply a bio-psycho-social model of care to meet health and wellness goals. Students see clients through the Natural Care Center at MUIH, learn to conduct a comprehensive assessment and work cooperatively with clients to develop goals and an individualized health plan. The main emphasis of the program is on developing real world, clinical competence. Topics such as ethics, business, and legal issues in clinical herbalism are explored in order to facilitate the transition from student to working professional. Program goals include: acquire a comprehensive knowledge of therapeutic principles as they apply to supporting individual health and wellness and the necessary tools and techniques to cultivate and build rapport in a clinical encounter; develop business skills for building and maintaining an herbal practice; conduct a comprehensive individualized assessment; develop and adjust individualized health-related goals and plans with a client; use language and observational tools and techniques to help clients become more self-aware and motivated to make behavioral changes; recognize limitations and acquire help when needed; present case studies to peers and provide a clear clinical rationale.
Nutrition
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Sports Performance and Integrative Nutrition
This program prepares students with the knowledge and skills to enhance sports performance through the application of scientific and holistic nutritional principles and practices. Using an evidence-based approach, students will explore the fundamental role of nutrition in sports performance and explore how supplements, caffeine and hydration exert their effects. It equips students with the skills to plan diets and prepare meals that maximize nutrients and support athletic performance. Unique to MUIH’s program is the opportunity to participate in a whole foods cooking lab focused on athletes. In keeping with the philosophy and mission of MUIH, the program stresses the concept of self-care – that health and education should be applied to oneself before it can be applied to others – at the same time as it supports organizational structures and benefits that encourage such self-care.
Post-Master’s Certificate in Nutritional Genomics in Clinical Practice
Based on the latest and evolving knowledge in the field of nutritional genomics, this program prepares clinicians with the knowledge and skills to address the relationship between nutrition and gene expression in the context of health and wellness and overall clinical care. The curriculum focuses on the shift in the scope of scientific inquiry from a single gene and its DNA sequence to the study of all of the genetic material, called the genome, which includes those sequences expressed as proteins and the non-expressed sequences that may have a regulatory function. The program provides and overview of the principles of nutritional genomics and studies at the molecular level that have led to the emergence of new fields such as proteomics, metabolomics and glycomics. Nutritional genomics focuses on the interactions between nutrients and an individual’s genome; students will gain knowledge regarding genetics and genomics, nutritional genomics, epigenetics, and genomic testing. Students will learn how targeted nutritional interventions as part of the therapeutic plan can positively impact client outcomes. The use of genomic testing in clinical practice, the integration of nutritional genomics into clinical practice and the influence of epigenetics and lifestyle on the genome will be explored.
Programs Not Offered
The following approved programs have not yet been offered and are not enrolling new students.
- Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine