Despite the closure of two traditional Chinese medicine colleges, enrolment in the field has rebounded, mostly at Pacific Rim.
About 200 full-time and up to 50 part-time students are enrolled in 14 programs in integrated and complimentary therapies that take three, four or five years to complete, said Todd Howard, president of Pacific Rim College in Market Square.
It’s a major leap from just three students enrolled when Pacific Rim opened in 2007, Howard said.
Pacific Rim programs cost roughly $4,300 per four-month semester.
Students are attracted from 32 countries although the majority are from Canada, said Howard.
Still growing, Pacific Rim turns away one in five applicants because they don’t meet its standards for what Howard termed some of the most comprehensive programs in Canada, such as western herbology and holistic nutrition.
“We’re thriving here,” Howard said. — Katherine Dedyna
