Massage Therapy Certificate courses may be taken as a stand-alone program or as an optional, no additional tuition add-on available to students enrolled in NUNM’s Naturopathic Doctor or Chinese Medicine degree programs. Both options lead to licensure eligibility.

If completed alongside your core curriculum, this certificate allows you to begin developing hands-on therapeutic skills while you are still in school and immediately apply them in clinical settings.

Why Add Massage Therapy?

• No added tuition cost beyond your degree program
• Practice while you learn with hands-on training and supervised clinical experience
• Enhance patient care with manual therapies that support pain relief, healing, and whole-person treatment
• Strengthen your future practice by expanding your therapeutic toolbox and service offerings after graduation

What You’ll Gain

Through a focused, one-year, in-person curriculum, students gain practical training in the following areas. For ND and Chinese medicine students, this certificate is designed to be completed alongside your primary degree, with students often finishing by the middle of year 2:

• Therapeutic massage techniques including Swedish, deep tissue, and trigger point therapy
• Functional anatomy, kinesiology, and pain science
• Clinical assessment, documentation, and professional communication
• Ethical and practice-ready skills that integrate seamlessly into naturopathic and Chinese medicine care

Clinical Experience

Students begin hands-on practice early and progress to supervised clinical work in NUNM’s on-campus teaching clinic, working with real patients in an integrative healthcare environment.

Practice-Ready Credential

Certificate graduates earn a Certificate in Massage Therapy and are eligible to sit for the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx), required for licensure in most states.

Naturopathic childbirth and midwifery is a synthesis of the philosophies of naturopathic medicine and traditional midwifery. It provides prenatal and postnatal care using modern diagnostic techniques in combination with midwifery knowledge and wisdom. The naturopathic approach strengthens healthy body functions to assist in a more enjoyable pregnancy and birth experience. With dual training as naturopathic doctors and midwives, naturopathic midwives are uniquely qualified to provide comprehensive health care for the woman and her family throughout their lives.

The Naturopathic Childbirth Certificate program provides the didactic education necessary for a graduate to complete requirements to sit for the American College of Naturopathic Obstetricians (ACNO) licensing examination. To complete the Natural Childbirth Certificate (NCB) Program, students need to complete a required natural childbirth course in the core ND program curriculum and 6 NCB elective courses. The clinic requirements for licensure are not included in this certificate program. Those participating in the program have access to the clinical requirements through faculty practices and other local physicians. Students interested in pursuing this certificate program must apply to the program in order to ensure that they will be able to schedule the necessary classes around their core naturopathic courses.  All courses are taught by NUNM faculty who have ACNO certification.  

The Shiatsu Certificate Program consists of six courses (204 hours) taken over two years. It is designed to be pursued concurrently with the following programs:

• Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
• Doctor of Acupuncture with a Chinese Herbal Medicine Specialization
• Master of Acupuncture with a Chinese Herbal Medicine Specialization

Upon completion, students are fully prepared to incorporate shiatsu as an independent treatment modality within their future clinical practice.