Tai Sophia Institute - Master of Science in Herbal Medicine

About the Institute

The Tai Sophia Institute is a graduate school for the healing arts offering three on-campus graduate master's degree programs in Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine and Applied Healing Arts. These programs are designed to meet the demands of people, like you, interested in earning an advanced degree in a field supporting alternative and complementary health-related services. For more than a quarter century, the Institute has been recognized as the anchoring academic institute for the nation's emerging wellness system. Twenty five years after launching the renowned acupuncture program, the Institute created the first graduate degree program in Herbal Medicine in the United States and graduated its first class of students in June of 2004.

Program Highlights

• Tai Sophia is working in partnership with herbalists and health professionals in the US and abroad to raise the standard of education for professional herbalists, guaranteeing a level of competency for the public.
• A rigorous on-campus academic program, focusing on herbal remedies as agents to promote health and wellbeing.
• Tai Sophia's Herbal Medicine Program is directly linked to professional phytotherapy in Europe and the orthodox, evidence-based use of herbal medicine.
• Founded by Simon Mills, coauthor of two of the world's leading textbooks on herbal practice, Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy and Essential Guide to Herb Safety (Simon Mills and Kerry Bone).
• Highly experienced and prestigious core faculty with over 85 combined years of clinical practice.
• Extensive clinical training and practicum, with over 850 hours of training in the real-life clinical use of herbs.
• Hands-on training in the preparation and formulation of herbal remedies in the Tai Sophia Herb Room.
• Ample career opportunity for graduates. The program prepares students for employment in the expanding American herb industry, primarily as clinicians, and secondarily as advisors, consultants, researchers, and teachers, working with the professional staff of natural product companies, retail stores, pharmacies, medical centers, private practices, and educational institutions.
• Students spend time observing nature and interacting with local flora. The program includes a 5-day field trip to the United Plant Saver's Sanctuary in Ohio, and time with faculty member Jim Duke in the Green Farmacy Garden three miles from the main campus.
• Graduating students provide a bridge between conventional practitioners and traditional healers. This bridge allows for bidirectional learning and increase the accessibility of herbalism to the public.
• Tai Sophia's on-site library offers an excellent resource for the required research in herbal pharmacology, materia medica, human physiology and the philosophical roots of holistic healing.
• As a part of their studies in materia medica, students have the opportunity to collaborate on the Extract database.
• The program is rooted in the universal values of inquiry, personal discovery and growth, and the health and interrelationship of living systems.
• Full-time format includes two weekdays each week and, prior to clinic, one weekend each month.
• The program can be completed in approximately 30 months. Classes commence each September.

Faculty and Lecturers

Herbal Medicine Faculty

Program Leadership, Core & Residential Faculty

James Snow, RH (AHG), Program Director
Robyn Urbach, M.S., Associate Director
Bevin Clare, M.S., RH (AHG), Chair Herbal Division
Dianne M. Connelly, Ph.D., M.Ac. (UK)
Robert Duggan, M.A., M.Ac. (UK)
James Duke, Ph.D.
Camille Freeman, M.S., RH (AHG)
Simon Mills, M.A., F.N.I.M.H., M.C.P.P., Program Founder
Kevin Spelman, B.S., RH (AHG), M.C.P.P.
Claudia Joy Wingo, B.S.N., D.M.H., Chair Clinical Division

Visiting Faculty

7Song, RH (AHG)
Mary Bove, N.D., C.P.M.
Isla Burgess, DPE, MNZAMH, MNHAA
Jerry Cott, Ph.D.
Steven Dentali, Ph.D.
Jill Stansbury, N.D.
Roy Upton, RH (AHG)
David Winston, RH (AHG)
Eric Yarnell, N.D.

Requirements for the Master of Science in Herbal Medicine

The admissions requirements are detailed in our catalog and on-line and include completion of a bachelor's degree and three credits in human psysiology. You are encouraged to meet with a member of the Office of Graduate Admissions, visit campus, participate in an Open House, and observe a class. Additionally, it is strongly recommended that you participate in a Redefining Health weekend workshop.

Resources and Programs

Redefining Health Weekend Workshop

This two day program is the perfect introduction to the philosophical foundation of Tai Sophia Institute and is facilitated by Institute founders, Chancellor Dr. Dianne Connelly and President Robert Duggan. It is recommended that all prospective students participate. Your family and friends are welcomed as well as the general public.

Community Programs

Tai Sophia offers innovative non-degree training programs and workshops for members of the community eager to learn about the healing arts. We offer a wide variety of dynamic programs that have been designed to enhance wellness in body, mind, and spirit.

Clinical Services

On campus in Laurel as well as at two other locations within the Greater Baltimore/Washington area, the Institute operates a treatment center staffed by faculty practitioners and students under supervision. We provide clients with compassionate, relationship-centered care.

Tai Sophia Promise

We look after the welfare of every person and of the group as a whole. Our promise is that you will learn that service to life is the central reason for practicing a healing art and that exercising community responsibility serves you and serves all of life.

Contact Us Today!

We welcome your inquiries and look forward to serving you.

Click here to correspond with one of our admissions counselors and to learn more about our graduate degree programs as well as community workshops and events.

If you are interested in any of our programs and would like to find out more, please Request Information.