Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine
Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM)
Earn Both the DACM and MACM Degree Concurrently Upon Completion
SCU’s designed this program so that upon completion of course requirements, students are awarded both the DACM and the Master of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (MACM) degree that is required to sit for State and National licensing and certification exams. Earning the doctorate only requires one additional term to the master’s nine-term program. In only four additional months, students can earn their doctorate (DACM). Earning this doctoral title and degree provides graduates well-deserved recognition. All other factors being equal, integrative medical settings may prioritize hiring doctors of acupuncture. Medical doctors and other allied health providers may be more likely to refer to a doctor of acupuncture. Completion of SCU’s Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM) program makes students eligible for the California state licensure exams as well as the national certification examinations, which enable students to become licensed in the U.S. A representative from our Office of Admissions would be happy to help you learn more. Request more information or apply now to reserve your seat in the next cohort. Request Information Apply NowAn Interprofessional Learning Experience
Spring Start
Students entering in spring will be starting under a Limited Campus Opening scenario. The plan for new students starting in fall is to offer all required classes through Interactive Online Lectures. SCU will also provide an optional Introductory Clinical Experience course. Interactive Online Lectures: Lecture courses will be taught via synchronous, technology enhanced, and interactive remote learning. Classes are held during scheduled times. Interactive Online classes provide group-based interactive learning through Zoom and/or Canvas. Classes happen in real time with required attendance during a set schedule. Optional Introductory Clinical Experience Course: Students have the option to participate in a clinical observation course at the University Health Center. Click here to learn more.What to Expect?
- New students will get to experience orientation, connect with others, and prepare to make this first step to building a healthier future through our online orientation.
- New students will have a Virtual Orientation before the term starts, where they will receive more information about the program, expectations, and details.
- Students opting to participate in the optional Introductory Clinical Experience course must complete the required forms and follow health and safety protocols.

Attend your class in Zoom or through Canvas

Learn and manage class work in Canvas

Join in class discussions through Zoom chat or Canvas
Learning Temporarily Continues Online
Join the Movement!
Become part of a university committed to transforming and redefining healthcare and healthcare education. SCU recognizes that healthcare should move beyond treating symptoms by understanding personal circumstances leading to better patient outcomes, lower costs, and improved quality of life. SCU’s academic community consists of faculty and staff who value and teach whole-person care and empower our students to become patient-centered practitioners. Learning to understand what matters to the patient and their family, what are their personal circumstances, and what are their recovery goals makes SCU student’s balanced practitioners.Learn to determine what matters to the patient vs. just finding out what’s the matter!
SCU’s unique value-based integrative healthcare model:- Value-based: Helping patients improve their health by identifying the right provider for their current need in order to live healthier lives, and to deliver the best outcome for the most efficient cost.
- Integrative: A healthcare perspective that emphasizes understanding personal circumstances leading to better patient outcomes, providing treatments informed by evidence, building a trusted patient-provider relationship, and making use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches and disciplines.
- Interprofessional: Students gain an understanding of other disciplines to broaden treatment options and build collaboration skills that will make them more marketable and effective in the workplace.
Program Facts
11% or Higher Job Growth
Projected employment growth much faster than average and viewed as a “Bright Outlook” occupation.1#1
California is ranked No. 1 for projected job opening 2018-2028 for Acupuncture (part of Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other).1Three Concentration Tracks
Acupuncture Orthopedics, Healthy Aging, and Women’s Health.100% NCCAOM Pass Rate
National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM).3 SCU utilizes ExamSoft, the world’s most advanced assessment platform to prepare students for successful test results.Cadaver Lab
SCU is the only acupuncture program in the region with a cadaver lab. The cadaver lab transforms students’ understanding of the human body. It helps form their new identity as healers-in-training while wielding scalpels to learn lessons that books cannot teach, and technology cannot replicate.93.3% CAB Pass Rate
California Acupuncture Board (CAB) Pass Rate.2 SCU utilizes ExamSoft, the world’s most advanced assessment platform to prepare students for successful test results.Compare the Value
Exclusive Educational Opportunities
Curriculum Summary
Courses in the areas of anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, clinical laboratory diagnosis, pharmacology, nutrition, emergency procedures, traditional Chinese classical medical theory and related techniques, acupuncture and meridians, Chinese herbology, business management, integrative clinical education, and chosen areas of concentration are offered through the program. Upon graduation from SCU, graduates will have gained a unique education based on an innovative approach to patient care through the understanding of integrating classical Chinese medical theories with biomedicine.Focuses on basic sciences, establishing a wide-ranging and comprehensive foundation of the body’s organization on a cellular, tissue, and organ level, along with regional interrelationships. This learning is accomplished in an interprofessional educational environment in classes with students from a variety of healthcare professions. In addition, students learn traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) foundations, acupuncture needling technique, single herbs, meridian points, and begin clinical observations, integrating classroom learning with clinical skills.
This year builds upon year one by focusing on the ways TCM principles and basic science knowledge related to structure and function translate into the clinical presentation of a patient in both health and disease. Learnings from the first-year progress to an increased level of mastery¬—from single herbs to herbal formulas, meridian points to acupuncture prescriptions, integrative clinical medicine, and many other areas of advanced knowledge. Students begin guided clinical practice treating patients under the supervision of licensed doctors and with peers in other professions in SCU’s on-campus health center.
In year three, students experience a series of business courses such as insurance billing and coding, risk management, and practice management, further classical TCM texts, concentration course series, and present a capstone project of interest in academics, clinical practice, or research. Students continue to implement basic and clinical science knowledge through consultation, diagnosis, and treating more complex conditions in SCU’s on-campus Health Center. Clinical proficiency culminates with off-campus clinical rotations in a specialized setting within one of SCU’s affiliated partners such as Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). The graduate is fully prepared to lead in today’s evolving healthcare environment.
Student Spotlight
Dr. Kenneth Mittelstadt
Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Graduate Doctor of Chiropractic Student
Elizabeth Robledo
Graduate, Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine
Accreditations and Approvals



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