National College of Naturopathic Medicine

Mission Statement

The National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) is one of the most respected colleges in the field of natural medicine in the world. Established in 1956 and located in downtown Portland, Oregon, NCNM offers two graduate degrees. NCNM faculty includes some of the nation’s most respected authors and spokespersons in the fields of naturopathic and classical Chinese medicine.

History

The National College of Naturopathic Medicine is the oldest naturopathic school in the nation. Its Oriental medicine program began much more recently. The program attained candidate status from the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in November 1997; the program was accredited in May 2000 and reaccredited in May 2004.

Programs Offered

In additon to its naturopathic degree program, NCNM offers a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine, a four-year program that delves deeply into thousands of years of classical Chinese methods of diagnostics and healing, using herbs, acupuncture, bodywork and therapeutic exercise. The school also has information on continuing education including classes and workshops from qigong and taiji to research seminars.

The mission of the Master of Science in Oriental Medicine degree program is to educate students to become health care professionals in the practice of Oriental medicine as illustrated by the classics. Above all, the program is intended to impart to its students the holistic spirit of Oriental medicine. Specifically, through the M.S.O.M. coursework, the program seeks to accomplish the following:

• Instruct health care practitioners in the art and science of Chinese medicine.
• Immerse students in the culture of Chinese medicine by combining emphasis on scholarly erudition and attention for multi-layered detail with the "atmosphere" inspiring aspects of holistic life science.
• Cultivate respect for Oriental medicine as an independent science that has its own parameters and does not require validation by other scientific systems.
• Honor the philosophical precepts that are shared by naturopathic medicine and classical Chinese medicine-belief in the healing power of nature, focus on identifying the root causes of disease, and treatment of the person as a multifaceted entity.
• Foster awareness of the historical development of Oriental medicine, including knowledge of the major schools of Chinese medical thought.
• Present Oriental medicine as a renaissance-style art that is embedded in and closely related to other traditional arts and sciences.
• Educate students to effectively treat disease, especially chronic and recalcitrant disorders, by training them broadly and equally in all major modalities of Oriental medicine, while at the same time effecting them to acquire a distinguishing sense regarding the clinical situation under which each of these modalities should be applied.

Contact Information

For more information on the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, contact:

National College of Naturopathic Medicine
049 Southwest Porter Street
Portland, OR 97201
Tel: (503) 499-4343
Fax: (503) 279-9300
E-mail:
Web site: www.ncnm.edu