Master of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine is a form of medical treatment established in China thousands of years ago that has developed into a well-established, effective, and popular form of healing for countless patients around the world for many centuries. In the midst of the opioid crisis, acupuncture has been growing in popularity in the United States. Primarily used for pain management and overall wellness such as immunity enhancement and stress management, this ancient Chinese form of medicine—which involves thin needles inserted into the skin—has gained support from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Medicaid.

Alternative care continues to grow in popularity. As a result, healthcare organizations are actively searching for talented holistic health professionals. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine practitioners use methods such as needling, herbal medicine, and many others to help individuals with a wide variety of conditions.

At SCU, you can study ancient medicine at a contemporary health sciences university committed to transforming healthcare and healthcare education.

A horseless carriage (one of the few) “sped” down mud and brick roads. A pioneer fervor dominated the thinking of progressive civic leaders. Los Angeles, “The City of the Angels,” was a bustling city of 319,000 inhabitants. Movies were still in their infancy, still silent.

In this milieu, Dr. Charles Cale and his wife, Linnie, committed themselves to disseminate the knowledge of a little known, yet ancient, healing art chiropractic. Dr. Cale sought to formalize the training of chiropractic physicians.

By 1911, when modern chiropractic was only 16 years into its history, Dr. Cale applied for and received a charter for Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (LACC). The Cales began the first classes in their home, a nine-month course of study that included anatomy, chiropractic principles, and technique.

The end of the 20th Century brought a major change to what had been LACC for the past 89 years. The College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CAOM) was added and the Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) was created to house both LACC and CAOM. This marked a turning point from an institution offering a single program to a multi-program university with plans of offering additional programs in what society has labeled alternative health sciences.

In 2020, the university continued to grow adding two new master's programs; Master of Science in Medical Science and a Master of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. In addition, the university was restructured to include LACC, Accelerated Sciences Division, Eastern Medicine Department, Ayurveda Department, IPE Department, Physician Assistant Program, and Health Science Program.