East Asian Medicine
Diploma of AcupunctureSmall cohorts, hands-on mentorship in classes and in clinic, and an affordable path to becoming a Registered Acupuncturist — designed around real life and real practice.
Acupuncture & East Asian Medicine
AIH offers a diploma-granting program for acupuncture and East Asian medicine. Approved by a third-party reviewer to the educational standards in British Columbia, the Diploma of Acupuncture meets and exceeds the standards for entry-level education in Canada.
Read below to see what makes AIH’s program unique >>
Graduates of the Diploma of Acupuncture Program are eligible to write the Pan-Canadian exam in Acupuncture by CARB-TCMPA.
At a Glance
2220 hours
2 years full-time (6 terms) or a maximum of 6 years part-time
1560 hours of theoretical and practical instruction
660 hours of clinical training
Classes 3 days a week
Clinic times throughout the week
Clinic Supplies Provided by AIH
使, 百姓無病，上下和親，德澤下流，子孫無優，傳於後世，無有終時
“I wish to achieve the following:
All the people are free from disease, the people above and below are together in harmony,
Virtue saturates like dew and flows down, our children and grandchildren are free from sorrow,
And the transmission [of this medicine] to future generations continues without end.”
“Transmissions from the Teachers” from the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, the foundational text for traditional East Asian medicine, written over 2000 years ago and still inspiring practitioners today
Three Enrolment Streams
Standard Entry
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The Standard Entry Stream is a blended in-person and online delivery.
Classes run Mondays to Wednesdays, with clinics offered throughout the week, and an occasional weekend workshop with guest speakers.
Each course is assessed on its own to find the right balance of in-person and online learning. Most courses are fully on-site at AIH. Some courses have online components. A few courses are fully online.
AIH’s preference is to be primarily in-person, however online delivery allows us to have incredible teachers from around the world and also more flexibility for students’ schedules. We are always carefully balancing practicality with our mission to offer the highest level of acupuncture education.
DISTANCE ENTRY
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The Distance Entry Stream provides the entire first term online.
Students from across the country can get started on their program from their own home. In one term, they can see if this program is right for them before moving to Halifax. Only five terms (19 months) are then needed onsite at AIH.
AIH decided not to offer more of the program as a distance delivery. If a student conducts a significant portion of their program online, they can struggle with clinical skills, needling techniques, safety, palpation skills, pulse taking, clinical decision making, and confidence as a practitioner.
Acupuncture is a hands-on practice, so learning acupuncture has to be hands-on. Our compromise is to offer the first term online, so as to make the program more accessible without sacrificing the time needed to learn essential acupuncture skills.
HCP Entry
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Registered Health Care Providers (HCPs) often have education and skills that overlap with acupuncture.
Physiotherapists, massage therapists, nurses, and others, may receive transfer credits that lighten their course load each term and reduces the total cost of the program.
Our hope is to make it easier for HCPs to add traditional acupuncture to their skills and insurable billings, while maintaining their clinical practice throughout their studies.
Transfer credits are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Program Highlights
AIH’s Diploma of Acupuncture Program is unlike any other in North America. Read on to learn some of the things that makes it unique.
Rooted in the Huángdì Nèijīng
All East Asian medical traditions come from a collection of essays written 2000 years ago, called the Huángdì Nèijīng. Many colleges today ignore or gloss over this foundational work, which leaves students disconnected from the tradition and ultimately makes it harder to understand how we think as acupuncturists and why we make the choices we make in treatment.
AIH dives into the roots of acupuncture from the beginning of the program and weaves the Neijing’s teachings throughout the curriculum. Students connect with the source of our medicine so that they can become part of the 2000-year lineage of medical practice. This connection supports scholarship, innovation and inspiration through a lifetime in the field.
Movement & Meditation Practices
Movement and meditation are a vital part of an acupuncturist’s training. Arguably the most important quality that distinguishes a great practitioner is the depth of their self-cultivation in body, mind and spirit. AIH students learn practices that improve their own health and their clinical skills in three areas:
- A full course in self-cultivation techniques like qigong, breathwork, meditation, eating and seasonal resonance
- Meditation and qigong are integrated into every class
- An entire year developing a traditional Taijiquan practice–a martial art and movement meditation that teaches body mechanics, mental focus, breath coordination and clarity of intention
Multiple Acupuncture Traditions
There are many ways to practice acupuncture, but most schools only teach one method: TCM acupuncture. This is the approach used on the Pan-Canadian Exam. AIH teaches TCM acupuncture to prepare students for the exam, but we also go deeper and wider in our studies of East Asian medicine. Our curriculum shows students the diversity in our profession and helps them find the method that resonates with them.
AIH provides training in various methods of acupuncture practice, such as:
- Neijing Classical Acupuncture
- Japanese Acupuncture
- Distal Methods (e.g. Tung or Balance Method)
- TCM Acupuncture
Classical Chinese Language
For over 2000 years, physicians have been writing theories and case studies on acupuncture. Most of it is written in Chinese. All colleges in North America offer at least one course in Chinese language, usually only one, and usually focusing on conversational phrases, like “How are you?” and “What is your name?”
AIH focuses Chinese language study on the topics that matter to an acupuncturist in the clinic.
For three terms, students learn the language of the Huángdì Nèijīng and other classical texts. You get to experience the transmission of this medicine directly and personally. You will understand its concepts better, and you will get closer to seeing the world through the eyes of the great practitioners.
Curriculum
Courses by Department
Foundations of East Asian Medicine
Course Code | Course Name | Credits | Hours |
FDN 101 | Foundations of East Asian Medicine | 6 | 90 |
FDN 102 | Histories & Practices of Medicine | 2 | 30 |
FDN 103 | Yangsheng: Nourishing Life Practices | 3 | 45 |
FDN 201 | Channels & Points 1 | 6 | 90 |
FDN 202 | Channels & Points 2 | 6 | 90 |
FDN 301 | Chinese Language 1 | 3 | 45 |
FDN 302 | Chinese Language 2 | 3 | 45 |
FDN 303 | Chinese Language 3 | 3 | 45 |
FDN 401 | Taijiquan & Qigong 1 | 1 | 15 |
FDN 402 | Taijiquan & Qigong 2 | 1 | 15 |
FDN 403 | Taijiquan & Qigong 3 | 1 | 15 |
Total | 35 | 525 |
Diagnosis And Treatment
Course Code | Course Name | Credits | Hours |
DAT 101 | Clinical Safety | 1 | 15 |
DAT 102 | Manual Techniques | 3 | 45 |
DAT 103 | Diagnosis in East Asian Medicine | 6 | 90 |
DAT 201 | Techniques & Traditions 1 | 3 | 45 |
DAT 202 | Techniques & Traditions 2 | 3 | 45 |
DAT 203 | Techniques & Traditions 3 | 3 | 45 |
DAT 301 | Therapeutics 1: Internal Medicine | 6 | 90 |
DAT 302 | Therapeutics 2: Orthopedics | 3 | 45 |
DAT 303 | Therapeutics 3: Mental Health | 1 | 15 |
DAT 304 | Therapeutics 4: Women’s Health | 3 | 45 |
DAT 305 | Therapeutics 5: Pediatrics | 2 | 30 |
DAT 306 | Therapeutics 6: Complex Disease | 3 | 45 |
DAT 307 | Therapeutics 7: Dermatology | 2 | 30 |
Total | 39 | 585 |
Biomedical Sciences
Course Code | Course Name | Credits | Hours |
BIO 101 | Anatomy & Physiology 1 | 3 | 45 |
BIO 102 | Anatomy & Physiology 2 | 3 | 45 |
BIO 103 | Anatomy & Physiology 3 | 3 | 45 |
BIO 201 | Pathophysiology | 3 | 45 |
BIO 202 | Assessment 1 | 3 | 45 |
BIO 203 | Assessment 2 | 3 | 45 |
18 | 270 |
Practice Management & Professionalism
Course Code | Course Name | Credits | Hours |
PPM 101 | Therapeutic Relationships & Medical Ethics | 3 | 45 |
PPM 201 | Acupuncture Practice Management | 3 | 45 |
PPM 202 | Business Development | 3 | 45 |
PPM 301 | Comprehensive Review | 3 | 45 |
Total | 12 | 180 |
Clinical Training
Course Code | Course Name | Credits | Hours |
CLT I-II | Clinical Observation | 8 | 120 |
CLT III-V | Clinical Support | 12 | 180 |
CLT VI-XI | Clinical Internship | 24 | 360 |
Total | 44 | 660 |