The College of Classical Chinese Medicine at the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) introduced a Master of Acupuncture (MAc) degree program starting Fall 2022.

Available as a three- or four-year immersion program in the classical foundations of acupuncture, the MAc degree emphasizes scholarship and practice in the art, science, and spirit of Chinese medicine, setting students on the journey to becoming successful, skilled clinical practitioners.

“The Master of Acupuncture was designed to provide the strongest foundation for students of acupuncture, with extensive clinical application of major modalities such as moxibustion, Asian bodywork, qigong, and more,” says Andy McIntyre, MS, LAc, who serves as Dean of the NUNM College of Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM).

The MAc degree program provides a new entryway to the other CCM degrees NUNM offers: The Master of Acupuncture with a Chinese Herbal Medicine Specialization (MAcCHM) builds on the MAc degree with coursework focused on advanced training in herbal formulations, while the Doctor of Acupuncture with a Chinese Herbal Medicine Specialization (DAcCHM) further prepares students for careers as Chinese medicine scholar-practitioners. DAcCHM students cultivate the capacity to access the profound healing knowledge and ancient wisdom found in classical Chinese medical texts.

All CCM degree programs offered by NUNM are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (ACAHM) and qualify graduates to apply for licensure and to take all the AOM examinations administered by NCCAOM — used in most states as the basis for licensure.

The College of Classical Chinese Medicine at the National University of Natural Medicine was founded in 1992 by professor and renowned classical Chinese medicine scholar Heiner Fruehauf, Ph.D., LAc. The CCM curriculum is inspired in part on the textbook by Liu Lihong, Classical Chinese Medicine (思考中医), which has sold more than 500,000 copies since it was published in 2001, making it the most successful Chinese medical book published; a second English edition was published in 2021 by Columbia University Press.