Pacific College Prepares to Graduate First Class Of Doctoral Students

San Diego - Seven of the first U.S. doctoral students in Oriental medicine are graduating this year from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, San Diego . These pioneering students are altering how people view the study of Oriental medicine, a change the profession hopes will bring even more validity to this ancient medicine.

Pacific College has looked forward to a doctoral program for over a decade, and is proud to be among first to embark on offering this type of program. With small class sizes dedicated to hands on attention, students participating in the doctoral program are preparing to become the next leaders of the profession.

Greg Sperber, who earned his Masters of Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College in 1997, is one of the seven who will finish in December 2005.

"I'm very excited about being in the first cohort of doctoral students because I think we're really going to create the program for the people who follow," Sperber said. "Having a doctorate allows you to have a lot of clout in the medicine and make a lot of positive changes."

The program, which began at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine's San Diego campus in the winter of 2004, offers a five-semester, 1395-hour, 70.5-credit program of doctoral study. Pacific College assembled an expert faculty to present an curriculum based on the integration of biomedicine with the modern and classical application of Chinese medicine. These topics are supported by Chinese medical language studies, research, and advanced clinical training.

Pacific College has contributed to the development of doctoral standards for the profession for over ten years. The Accreditation Commission of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) approved Pacific College to begin doctoral level training in 2004. Jack Miller, the college's president and chair of the Doctoral Committee of the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CCAOM), coordinated the efforts of numerous college administrators, practitioners, and scholars as they developed, debated and refined what eventually led to the Council's proposal to ACAOM. The Doctoral Committee vision is for colleges to develop programs that utilize regional resources and reflect institutional strengths and interests, while attracting cohorts of uniquely qualified students who share those interests. This promises to be an exciting time for the profession.

Although Pacific College 's doctoral students walked in the school's graduation ceremony in August, the graduates will complete the program fully in December 2005.

For more information about the doctoral program and the study of Oriental medicine, please contact Pacific College of Oriental Medicine at (800) 729-0941 or visit www.pacificcollege.edu

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