The Professional Herbalist Certificate Program is offered both online and in-person at various locations in the United States. Please see our upcoming courses listing to see the currently available classes. The online course is affiliated with and offered through Portland Community College (PCC). The online course through PCC has the same material as the in-person courses and is taught by K.P. Khalsa.
This course incorporates practical, clinical applications and herbal preparations for Western, Chinese and Ayurvedic herbs. The focus of this course is herbal therapeutics for each body system, specific healing properties of over two hundred individual herbs and basic principles of herbalism from these three major traditional herbal healing systems.
The Professional Herbalist Certificate Course includes clinical and practical applications of herbal preparations and Materia Medica for Chinese, Ayurvedic and Western herbs. The focus of the first year is on gaining knowledge about the different herbs, their use and the traditions they come from. The nine-month training program is offered in a series of three modules: Module 1 – Fall Quarter, Module 2 – Winter Quarter, and Module 3 – Spring Quarter.
Modules are not sequential and can be taken in any order. You will receive a Certificate of Completion for each module and a final Professional Herbalist Certificate upon completion of all three Modules. The goal of this course is to prepare you for application for professional membership into the American Herbalist Guild. It is helpful to have had some introductory level exposure to herbal medicine, but this is not required.
- Module 1: Module 1 will focus on Materia Medica (study of specific herb properties), Herbal Energetics, Herbal Preparations, Plant Chemistry, Chinese and Ayurvedic herbalism, Modern Phytotherapy, the Digestive & Cardiovascular systems and Integrative Healing: Aromatherapy & Homeopathy.
- Module 2: Module 2 will include Materia Medica (study of specific herb properties), Ayurveda and Chinese herbalism, the Respiratory, Urinary & Nervous systems, Preparations, Plant Chemistry, and Integrated Healing: Vitamins & Minerals.
- Module 3: Module 3 will focus on Materia Medica (study of specific herb properties), Western Herbal Energetics, Herbal Preparations, the Skin and Topical Therapies, Plant Chemistry, Chinese and Ayurvedic herbalism, the Reproductive, Musculoskelatal, Immune, and Endocrine systems. Also covered will be herbalism of the young and elderly and Integrative Healing: diet, cleansing, and herbal hydrotherapy.
Class Format
Each class meets for 15 hours over a weekend, with a 1 hour daily lunch break. Three weekends, one a month, make up one module. The online course format consists of class once week for three months. Class includes lecture with some hands-on exercises done with support from instructor. Each instructor uses a variety of lecture, discussion, and group work.
Final course outcome is measured by a final exam after each module.
