Diploma of Phytotherapy

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You are here » Home / Faculties & Programs / School of Western Herbal Medicine / Diploma of Phytotherapy

The Diploma of Phytotherapy is a 3-year (6-semester) program that explores the medicinal uses of North American and European herbs. Students study both traditional knowledge of herbal medicine - that which is passed down through various world traditions over the ages - and modern day, scientific-based knowledge. This, the most comprehensive program of western herbal medicine available in either Canada or the United States, is comprised of both theoretical and practical courses, implementing advantages of hands-on study of plants.

Graduates of the Diploma of Phytotherapy are eligible to apply for membership into the UK-based College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy, which is one of the world's leading professional herbal practitioner registers. Graduates are also eligible for membership into the BC Herbalists Association (CHA of BC), the American Herbalists Guild (AHG), and the Modern and Traditional Herbalists Guild of BC. Please see Post-Graduation below for more information.

Below is a list of all courses that must be completed for a student to be eligible for graduation with a Diploma of Phytotherapy. Some course prerequisites do exist, and it is the responsibility of students to ensure that they are eligible to enrol in any particular course. The Course Descriptions page indicates course prerequisites. Please see Study Options below for more information on course selection.

Biomedical/Biological Sciences		Total Requirements
BMS101/102 BMS111 BMS112 BMS201/202 BMS211 BMS212 BMS221 BMS222 BMS231 BMS431 BMS BMS	Anatomy and Physiology I/II Ethnobotany Botany/Horticulture Pathophysiology I/II Biochemistry Phytochemistry CPR and First Aid Natural Emergency Medicine Western Diagnosis/Laboratory Tests Western Pharmacology Biomedical/Biological Sciences Elective Biomedical/Biological Sciences Elective	6 credits 3 credits 3 credits 6 credits 3 credits 3 credits 1 credit 1 credit 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits	90 hours 45 hours 45 hours 90 hours 45 hours 45 hours 15 hours 15 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours



Total		38 credits	570 hours

Western Herbal Sciences		Total Requirements
WHS101 WHS102 WHS103 WHS111 WHS151 WHS201 WHS202 WHS203 WHS204 WHS301 WHS302 WHS303 WHS305 WHS306 WHS WHS WHS	Intro to Herbal Medicine Materia Medica I Materia Medica II Practical Herbal Pharmacy Energetics of Herbal Medicine Materia Medica III Herbal Therapeutics I Materia Medica IV Herbal Therapeutics II Materia Medica V Materia Medica VI Herbal Therapeutics III Herbal Therapeutics IV Herbal Case Studies Western Herbal Science Elective Western Herbal Science Elective Western Herbal Science Elective	3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits	45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours



Total		51 credits	765 hours

Professional Development		Total Requirements
PD101 PD301 PD302 PD304	Professional Writing Development Ethics Business Development & Practice Management Research Project	3 credits 1 credit 3 credits 3 credits	45 hours 15 hours 45 hours 45 hours



Total		10 credits	150 hours

Various Topics		Total Requirements
CNS NU Elective	Counselling and Communications Elective Nutrition Elective Various Topics	3 credits 3 credits 3 credits	45 hours 45 hours 45 hours



Total		9 credits	135 hours

Phytotherapy Clinical Practice		Total Requirements
PCP101 PCP200 PCP300	Phytotherapy Clinical Observation Phytotherapy Supervised Clinical Practice Phytotherapy Independent Clinical Practice	6 credits 3 credits 11 credits	90 hours 90 hours 330 hours



Total		20 credits	510 hours

Total Requirements: Diploma of Phytotherapy		Total Requirements
	Biological/Biomedical Sciences Western Herbal Sciences Professional Development Counselling Nutrition Various Topics Phytotherapy Clinical Practice	38 credits 51 credits 10 credits 3 credits 3 credits 3 credits 20 credits	570 hours 765 hours 150 hours 45 hours 45 hours 45 hours 510 hours



Total		128 credits	2130 hours

The School of Phytotherapy offers year-round educational opportunities with an academic calendar based on 3 semesters per year. New students may enrol every January, May and September and students may either choose to pursue year-round studies or to take a semester or more off at their discretion. By choosing their course load each semester, students may complete any semester on a part-time or a full-time basis.

Students who wish not to enrol in any program are also eligible to take individual courses for personal enrichment provided that applicable course prerequisites have been met. Please see Non-Matriculating students below for more information.

What follows represents only a suggested template of courses for students aiming to complete the program in 6 semesters.

Semester One				Semester Two
BMS101/102 BMS111 BMS221 BMS222 WHS101 WHS102 PD101 PCP101	Anatomy and Physiology I/II Ethnobotany CPR and First Aid Natural Emergency Medicine Intro to Herbal Medicine Materia Medica I Professional Writing Development Clinical Observation	6 cr 3 cr 1 cr 1 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr	90 hrs 45 hrs 15 hrs 15 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs	BMS112 BMS211 BMS WHS103 WHS111 WHS151 WHS PCP101	Botany/Horticulture Biochemistry Elective Materia Medica II Practical Herbal Pharmacy Energetics of Herbal Medicine Elective Clinical Observation	3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr	45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs
Total		23 cr	345 hrs	Total		24 cr	360 hrs

Semester Three				Semester Four
BMS201/202 BMS212 BMS WHS201 WHS202 PCP2/300	Pathophysiology I/II Phytochemistry Elective Materia Medica III Herbal Therapeutics I Clinical Practice	6 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr	90 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 90 hrs	BMS231 CNS NU WHS203 WHS204 WHS PCP2/300	Western Diagnosis/Lab Tests Elective Nutrition Elective Materia Medica IV Herbal Therapeutics II Elective Clinical Practice	3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr	45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 90 hrs
Total		21 cr	360 hrs	Total		21 cr	360 hrs

Semester Five				Semester Six
BMS431 PD304 WHS301 WHS303 WHS Elective PCP2/300	Western Pharmacology Research Project Materia Medica V Herbal Therapeutics III Elective Various Topics Clinical Practice	3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 4 cr	45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 120 hrs	PD301 PD302 WHS302 WHS305 WHS306 Elective PCP2/300	Ethics Practice Mngmnt/Business Dvlpmnt Materia Medica VI Herbal Therapeutics IV Herbal Case Studies Various Topics Clinical Practice	1 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 3 cr 4 cr	15 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 120 hrs
Total		22 cr	390 hrs	Total		20 cr	360 hrs

Students in the Diploma of Phytotherapy program can complete all clinical training in PRC's on-campus Student Clinic, or can participate in our Clinical Externship Program. We are currently researching international herbal clinical partners for our Global Outreach Program, which would allow Phytotherapy students to complete clinical training overseas. Full-time students generally begin clinical training via observation during the very first week of studies.

Please click here for more information on clinical training at PRC.

Graduates of the Diploma of Phytotherapy are eligible to apply for membership into the UK-based College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy, which is one of the world's leading professional herbal practitioner registers.

Graduates are also eligible for membership into the Canadian Herbalist's Association of British Columbia (CHA of BC), the American Herbalists Guild (AHG), and the Modern and Traditional Herbalists Guild of BC.

The following chart compares PRC's Diploma of Phytotherapy with the requirements for professional membership into the American Herbalists Guild.

Admission into the Diploma of Phytotherapy at Pacific Rim College is on a competitive basis. Entering students must have a high school diploma or satisfactory post-secondary education, and all non-native English speaking applicants must demonstrate a mastery of written and spoken English. Any foreign applicant may be required to submit an official score report from an English proficiency exam such as TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Test System).

Pacific Rim College is determined to produce only the highest quality health practitioners. As a result, we reserve the right to admit and to retain only students who demonstrate the potential to achieve at the upper-most level. Applicants will be evaluated based on merits such as high academic achievement, emotional maturity, humanitarian activities, morality, community involvement and health-related experience.

To apply for admission into the Diploma of Phytotherapy program, please click on the link below. Applicants are encouraged to apply apply no less than 6 weeks prior to the start date of the semester. Applications will still be accepted beyond this point, and will be evaluated, but enrolment space may not be available until the next semester. Upon favourable review of your application by our admissions committee, you may be contacted for an interview, which can be carried out via telephone if a person-to-person interview is not possible.

All successful applicants must submit a non-refundable enrolment deposit of $200, which is credited toward tuition fees. Should a student decide not to enrol for the specific semester of study as stated in the application or registration form, the fee is forfeited and cannot be used to offset any charges that the student may incur. All accepted applicants must submit this deposit within 60 days of the published semester start date, or within 7 days of notice of acceptance if accepted within this time. Enrolment space will not be reserved without this deposit.

International students are welcome to attend Pacific Rim College and are encouraged to apply. Canadian law requires foreign students to have a valid study permit to study in Canada. Pacific Rim College provides international students with the necessary documentation to receive a valid study permit. In some cases students can apply for and obtain a permit upon entering Canada.

Students who wish to take courses at PRC without enrolling in any particular program are welcome to do so as non-matriculating students. Any student who pursues this study route must complete a Program/Course Registration Form. Provided that a student has satisfied course prerequisites, he or she is eligible to enrol in virtually any diploma program course. Enrolment priority is given to program students, and full course tuition is due at time of course registration. Any student who has previously been denied admission into any program at PRC must receive written permission from PRC Administration before enrolling as a non-matriculating student. PRC reserves the right to academically dismiss any non-matriculating student who knowingly or blatantly interferes with the learning of program students.

	Winter 2012	Summer 2012	Fall 2012
Orientation	January 2	TBA	TBA
First Day of Class	January 3	April 30	September 4
Reading Break	February 27-March 1	July 2-6	October 8-12
Holidays	April 6 (Easter Friday)	May 21 (Victoria Day) July 2 (Canada Day) August 6 (BC Day)	October 8 (Thanksgiving) November 11 (Remembrance Day)
Last Day of Class	April 23	August 20	December 21

Please click below for the course schedule for the Diploma of Phytotherapy.

Tuition is based on a per credit system. Although the college provides a template for course completion within each program, ultimately each student determines his or her course load and schedule and thus per semester tuition. Audited credits do not apply towards graduation requirements. All prices listed are in Canadian dollars. For each semester, full tuition payment is due on the first day of class.

CREDITS	$210/credit

AUDITING	$150*/credit

*plus tax

Please click here for a description of Academic Fees in PDF format.

American Herbalists Guild Requirements
vs.
PRC's Diploma of Phytotherapy

AHG
(in hours)

Diploma of Phytotherapy
(in hours)

Basic Human Sciences
Botany and Plant Identification
Materia Medica/Therapeutic Herbalism
Pharmacy/Pharmacognosy/Dispensing
Clinical Skills
Career Preparation/Practice Development/Ethics
History and Philosophy/Introduction to Research
Nutrition
Counselling
Ethnobotany

200
60
400
80
400
20
40
0
0
0

510
90
585
112.5
510
120
90
45
45
45

This program is approved for Canada Student Loans. British Columbia residents can apply for student loans online through StudentAid BC by clicking here. Students can also pick up a paper application from PRC or any other academic institution registered with Canada Student Loans. For non-British Columbia residents, please visit www.hrsdc.gc.ca for information about Canada Student Loans.

For a list of all financial aid programs available to PRC students, please visit our Financial Aid page.