The purpose of the herbal training course is to educate herbalist-candidates in Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine (TCHM), who can independently run a practice and work safely, competently and effectively. It is assumed that the student who will take the TCHM training course has completed the Foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine course. This course is also suitable for fully qualified acupuncturists with a valid diploma in Acupuncture who did not study Chinese herbs previously or who studied Patent Formulae only.

During the first year of the Herbal Medicine course 48 hours apprenticeship is entirely done at the herbal dispensary. The second year apprenticeship is 88 hours with the herbal specialists. At the end of the second year, a thesis completes the herbal medicine course and accounts for 104 hours of the mandatory 240 hours apprenticeship.

Course Code	Course Title	TCH*	SLH**
HM001	Nutrition and dietetics	6	30
HM002	Individual Herbs	48	240
HM003	Herbal Formulae	54	270
HM004	Dispensing	9	45
HM005	European and Dutch legislation	3	15
HM006	Herbal medicine therapeutics	120	600
Total		240	1200

* TCH = Teacher Contact Hours
** SLH = Study Load Hours

In addition to the Herbal Medicine course, a short course in Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy may be required. This course is tailored by a professional organisation for fytotherapy and executed by specialists.

Duration: 2 years
Total apprenticeship hours: 240 (136 practical + 104 thesis)
First year : € 1450,--
Second year : € 1550,--

Study material and study books
Students have to buy a number of books. Supplementary syllabi, if applicable, may be distributed during the course.

Required study books
Materia Medica, Herbs, and Formulae and Strategies, (2 volumes)
Dan Bensky, 1990
The Practice of Herbs and Formulae
Shenzhou University of TCM

Recommended books for Herbal Medicine
1st year: One Hundred Famous & Effective Prescriptions of Ancient and Modern Times.
Z.L. Dong, J.X. Jiang, China Ocean Press, Beijing, China.
Chinese Herbal Medicine, Comparisons and Characteristics
Yifan Yang