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You are here » Home / Faculties & Programs / School of Integrative Health / Natural Health Program

Natural Health Program

Program Overview

The Natural Health Program is a 2-year (4-semester) program that provides students with an overview of many natural health disciplines. The NHP can be taken as an independent certificate program or can be an entry program into another school or program at PRC. Students must successfully complete each of the following courses in order to graduate. Elective requirements may be satisfied by successful completion of any curriculum course offered in the School of Phytotherapy or the School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Certain Continuing Education courses may also count as elective credits.

Both part-time and full-time study options are available to students.

Curriculum

Below is a list of all courses that must be completed for a student to be eligible for graduation with a Natural Health Certificate. 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 BMS103 BMS111 BMS201/202 BMS211 BMS	Anatomy and Physiology I/II Surface Anatomy Ethnobotany Pathophysiology I/II Biochemistry Biomedical/Biological Sciences Elective	6 credits 3 credits 3 credits 6 credits 3 credits 3 credits	90 hours 45 hours 45 hours 90 hours 45 hours 45 hours



Total		24 credits	360 hours

Nutrition		Total Requirements
NU201	Holistic Nutrition	3 credits	45 hours



Total		3 credits	45 hours

Oriental Medicine		Total Requirements
OM101/102 OM111 OM112 OM113 OM201/202	TCM Foundations I/II Intro to Tai Qi Chuan Intro to Qi Gong Intro to Tui Na TCM Diagnosis I/II	6 credits 1.5 credits 1.5 credits 3 credits 6 credits	90 hours 22.5 hours 22.5 hours 45 hours 90 hours



Total		18 credits	270 hours

Professional Development		Total Requirements
PD101	Professional Writing Development	3 credits	45 hours



Total		3 credits	45 hours

Western Herbal Sciences		Total Requirements
WHS101 WHS111 WHS	Intro to Herbal Medicine Practical Herbal Pharmacy Materia Medica (any 2 Western Materia Medicas or Chinese Materia Medicas)	3 credits 3 credits 6 credits	45 hours 45 hours 90 hours



Total		12 credits	180 hours

Various Topics		Total Requirements
Elective	Various Topics	33 credits	495 hours



Total		33 credits	495 hours

Total Requirements: Natural Health Certificate		Total Requirements
	Biological/Biomedical Sciences Nutrition Oriental Medicine Professional Development Western Herbal Sciences Various Topics	24 credits 3 credits 18 credits 3 credits 12 credits 33 credits	360 hours 45 hours 270 hours 45 hours 180 hours 540 hours



Total		93 credits	1395 hours

Study Options

The School of Integrative Health 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 4 semesters.

Semester One				Semester Two
BMS101/102 BMS103 OM102/102 OM111 PD101 WHS101 Elective	Anatomy and Physiology I/II Surface Anatomy Foundations of Chinese Medicine Intro to Tai Qi Chuan Professional Writing Dvlpmnt Intro to Herbal Medicine Various Topics	6 cr 3 cr 6 cr 1.5 cr 3 cr 3 cr 1 cr	90 hrs 45 hrs 90 hrs 22.5 hrs 45 hrs 45 hrs 15 hrs	BMS111 BMS211 OM112 OM113 OM201/202 WHS111 Elective	Ethnobotany Biochemistry Intro to Qi Gong Intro to Tui Na Diagnosis of Chinese Medicine Practical Herbal Pharmacy Various Topics	3 cr 3 cr 1.5 cr 3 cr 6 cr 3 cr 4 cr	45 hrs 45 hrs 22.5 hrs 45 hrs 90 hrs 45 hrs 60 hrs
Total		23.5 cr	352.5 hrs	Total		23.5 cr	352.5 hrs

Semester Three				Semester Four
BMS201/202 NU201 WHS/CBOT Elective	Pathophysiology I/II Holistic Nutrition 2 Materia Medicas Various Topics	6 cr 3 cr 6 cr 8 cr	90 hrs 45 hrs 90 hrs 120 hrs	BMS Elective	Biomedical Elective Various Topics	3 cr 20 cr	45 hrs 300 hrs
Total		23 cr	345 hrs	Total		23 cr	345 hrs

Post-Graduation

Graduates of the Natural Health Program are versed in a variety of indigenous and holistic modalities and philosophies. They can seek employment in the health and wellness retail sectors, offer community-based wellness consultations, produce natural health products and matriculate into a diploma program at PRC. Depending on elective selections, virtually all credits will transfer directly into the School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and more than 80% into the School of Phytotherapy.

Admissions

Admission into the Natural Health Program at Pacific Rim College is on a competitive basis. Entering students must have a high school diploma or an equivalency test, or adequate post-secondary coursework, 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 Natural Health Program, please click on the link below. 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

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.

Non-Matriculating Students

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.

Academic Calendar

	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

Class Schedule

Please click below for the course schedule for the Natural Health Program.

Tuition and Fees

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.

Financial Aid

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.