Northwestern Health Sciences University

Northwestern Health Sciences University, previously Northwestern College of Chiropractic, has been an international leader in natural health care education, patient care, and research for more than 65 years. Here are some reasons why:

• Northwestern integrates a variety of natural health care professions into one incredible educational opportunity. Programs available include:
  • Northwestern College of Chiropractic
  • Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
  • School of Massage Therapy
• Northwestern boasts 300,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratories, classrooms, clinics and top-notch facilities, located on 25 beautifully landscaped acres in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Northwestern has a limited enrollment of less than 1,000 students and a student-to-teacher ratio of 11-to-one, allowing for a more personal and close-knit atmosphere among its faculty and international student body.
• Our classes are taught by world-renowned instructors in small class sizes, which allow students easy access to outstanding educational resources.
• Northwestern has pioneered an extraordinary clinic system, with a University public clinic system, more than 150 internship sites in private practice clinics, a range of clinical partnerships with social service agencies, and final term preceptorship opportunities around the world. The University's public clinic system records more than 72,000 patient visits a year, making it the largest provider of natural health care services in Minnesota.
• The Woodwinds Natural Care Center on the Woodwinds Health Campus, which features a healthy collaboration between conventional medicine and natural health care, is just one of our many pioneering clinical education programs.
• At Northwestern, you will be surrounded with other students from natural care professions that you will associate with throughout your career.
• The University's student population collectively receives more than $29 million in financial assistance through federal, state, institutional, and private programs.
• The Career Services office assists students in finding jobs after graduation through a variety of effective strategies.
• The University has an international reputation in scientific research, with nearly
  $10 million in federally-funded research since 1999.

Northwestern College of Chiropractic

• The Northwestern College of Chiropractic curriculum consists of 10 trimesters (3 1/3 years) and more than 4,300 contact hours in a full day-time program.
• Our basic sciences, clinical, chiropractic, and business education is excellent in preparing students to pass the National Boards and successfully enter clinical practice. More than 90 percent of Northwestern's graduates pass the all four parts of the National Boards on their first attempts.
• The chiropractic program puts learning into practice through a practicum experience that includes five full trimesters in a clinical setting. The University's interdisciplinary programs offer students the chance to observe and discuss patient care with other health care professionals within a multidisciplinary setting.
• Classes are taught by a world-renowned faculty in an 11-to-one student-to-teacher ratio.
• Northwestern's limited enrollment allows students easy access to extraordinary faculty of PhD's, DC's, and MD's.
• Methods classes include hands-on training in manipulation every trimester.
• With a University public clinic system, more than 150 internship sites in private practice clinics, a range of clinical partnerships with social service agencies, and final term preceptorship opportunities around the world, Northwestern chiropractic students total two to three times the required number of patient visits by the time they graduate.
• Northwestern's practice management courses begin in the first trimester and provide students with the business skills necessary to succeed in clinical practice.
• Prospective students may enroll in accelerated undergraduate pre-professional courses at Northwestern to meet many of their science prerequisities (general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and biomechanics).
• You can complete your Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Biology at Northwestern.
• More than 90 percent of Northwestern College of Chiropractic alumni are working professionals in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and other countries around the world.
• New students are admitted at the beginning of two trimesters of each academic year:
  in January and September.

Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

• The Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MCAOM) is accredited by the United States-based Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM).
• Northwestern was the first institution in the upper Midwest to offer master's degrees in both Oriental medicine and acupuncture.
• The curriculum requires eight to nine trimesters (2 2/3 to 3 years) to complete and provides more than 2,300 hours of instruction in acupuncture and more than 3,000 hours of instruction in Oriental medicine.
• The master's degree programs emphasize a unified understanding of the mind, body and spirit inherent in Oriental Medicine.
• MCAOM also offers an Herbal Medicine Certificate Program for licensed acupuncturists to develop the skills necessary for the safe and effective practice of Chinese herbal medicine.
• MCAOM's multi-national, full-time faculty is committed to academic and professional excellence and to teaching an extensive body of knowledge necessary for safe and effective practice. Many faculty members graduated from institutions in China with training in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
• MCAOM students provide acupuncture and Oriental medicine services in a variety of clinic settings within the University's pioneering clinic system, in addition to supporting the Aliveness Project, a non-profit organization which provides services to people living with HIV/AIDS.
• Graduates of the program have the education and skills necessary to develop a successful practice based on their own style.
• Prospective students may enroll in accelerated undergraduate pre-professional courses at Northwestern to meet their general/inorganic chemistry prerequisities.
• New students are admitted at the beginning of two trimesters of each academic year:
  in January and September.
• Federal financial aid programs are available to eligible MCAOM students.

School of Massage Therapy

• The School of Massage Therapy is accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA).
• The 41.5 minimum trimester-credit (907.5 minimum hours) massage therapy program at Northwestern builds a strong understanding of the human body through more than 230 hours of courses in anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, kinesiology and nutrition.
• Access to the cadaver lab provides an exceptional learning experience in human anatomy.
• The program prepares learners for professional practice through a 97-hour sequence of courses addressing communication, ethics, learning skills, legal issues, and practice management.
• All of the full-time technique instructors are nationally-certified massage therapists with at least five years of professional practical experience.
• There are two 1,100-square-foot massage labs equipped with a minimum of one massage table for every two students.
• Northwestern puts learning into practice through a structured clinical experience that includes 180 hours of hands-on care in one of the University's public clinics and other community sites.
• The program provides comprehensive training in massage therapy assessment and treatment techniques through a 330-hour sequence of courses.
• Students may enroll in one of two convenient program options: the day program or the evening program. The day program requires three trimesters to complete and admits new students at the beginning of two trimesters of the academic year: in January and September. The evening program requires four trimesters to complete. For the evening program, new students are admitted at the beginning of one trimester of the academic year: in April/May.
• Graduates will be fully prepared for most state certification requirements and will have attained the skills sets necessary to be successful in a wide variety of settings: hospitals and medical clinics; rehabilitation facilities; natural care centers; health clubs; fitness centers and sports facilities; health spas and salons.