Mission
The mission of the SCU Ayurvedic Program is to provide students with the best quality of education in Ayurvedic Medicine, emphasizing preventative and integrative health care.
Ayurvedic Wellness Educator
The College of Science and Integrative Health offers a fifteen course, one-year (720 hours) program to earn an Ayurvedic Wellness Educator certificate. Students attend one virtual evening class per week (virtual class), listen to weekly recorded lectures (e-learning), and attend classes in person one weekend per month (classroom learning). Students receive clinical experience in the SCU Health System.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Foundational knowledge
The graduate will understand and develop the foundational principles of Ayurvedic medicine and biological science.
- Assessment of DOSHAS, DHATUS, MALAS amd AGNI
The graduate will determine body and mind constitution and assess the imbalances in DOSHAS, DHATUS, MALAS and AGNI based on Ayurvedic principles.
- Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
The graduate will apply Ayurvedic principles to recommend the Ayurvedic lifestyle, herbs, nutrition, therapies, and yoga required to promote health and prevent disease.
- Professionalism and Communication
The graduate will exhibit professionalism and communicate with an awareness of ethical practice.
Admissions
Application Requirements
Applicants for admission must provide:
- Completed application for admission. The online form is available and submitted through www.scuhs.edu.
- Graduating high school transcript (or GED certificate). Request from the high school to have it sent directly to SCU in a sealed envelope or arrange through parchment.com or studentclearinghouse.org.
- Personal statement of motivation, minimum of 150 words (include a personal and academic history and indication of why you are interested in a career in Ayurveda). Include in the online application and/or email separately.
Please have transcripts, letters of recommendation, and/or other print items mailed to:
SCU Office of Admissions
16200 Amber Valley Drive
Whittier, CA 90604
Scans and other electronic items may be emailed to an admissions advisor or to admissions@scuhs.edu
Applicants must also complete a successful admissions interview:
- A personal interview with the director of the Ayurveda Program will be required of applicants prior to final selection. This personal admissions interview will normally be scheduled on campus. Under certain circumstances, an off-campus or telephone admissions interview may be arranged.
Academic Requirements
Applicants must possess a high school diploma or GED and must attain 18 years of age prior to the start of classes.
Physical Requirements
The primary goal of the certificate programs in the Division of Professional Studies (DPS) is to prepare students to become competent, caring, practitioners. Contemporary Ayurveda education requires that the acquisition and utilization of scientific and professional knowledge be accompanied by necessary sets of skills, professional attitudes, and behaviors. The Division of Professional Studies maintains that prospective and enrolled students must meet certain technical standards, which are essential for successful completion of all phases of the educational program. Candidates for certificates in Ayurveda must meet the following technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations. Candidates for admission and students must demonstrate: The strength, coordination, and ability to stand and use the torso and all limbs in the performance of common manual procedures and techniques.
- The strength, manual dexterity, and tactile perceptiveness and ability to perform in all laboratory and clinical settings, to diagnose and recommend diet, lifestyle, herbs & therapies and to maintain the safety and well-being of fellow students and patients without posing a threat to themselves;
- The visual, hearing and speech skills and personal hygiene requisite to professional performance including performing any and all Ayurvedic diagnostic and therapeutic procedures;
- The ability to reason, learn, and perform independently demonstrating the conceptual, integrative, and quantitative skills that are necessary for critical thinking, problem solving, measurement, the ability to comprehend three-dimensional and spatial relationships, diagnosis, and therapeutic applications; and
- The emotional health required for the full use of intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, and the prompt and safe completion of all responsibilities; the ability to adapt to change, to display flexibility and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties and stressful situations; empathy, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation which will be assessed during the admissions process and throughout their education.
Certificate Requirements
The Ayurvedic Wellness Educator certificate may be awarded to those who have completed the following requirements:
- Completed all courses (720 clock hours) of the curriculum;
- Passed each course with grade of 70% or above (a letter grade of A, B, or C);
- Completed and passed a comprehensive examination;
- Are free of all indebtedness and other obligations to the University; and
- Are recommended for graduation by the faculty and the president of the University.
To earn the certificate, Ayurvedic Wellness Educator students must also comply with the following policies regarding attendance.
Attendance Requirements
Please note the SCU policy on attendance: Attendance will be taken each class day in each class modality. Students will not receive credit for classes in which they are reported absent. In the clock hour program of Ayurvedic Wellness Educator, no more than 10% of the clock hours in a payment period may be allowed. When absences exceed 10%, the student may be dropped from the class. Students will need to register for the class when it is offered again. Exceptions to this policy are rare. A student must apply for an exception to this policy by submitting the absence policy form. Documentation regarding the absence must be provided. Only those absences that are deemed extenuating will be considered (e.g. Illness with a physician’s letter, death in family, or court summons).
Absences
Attendance will be taken each class day in each class modality. Absences shall be computed on the basis of roll calls, tests and/or quizzes, or other mechanisms. Faculty shall disclose at the beginning of the term the mechanisms that will be employed to monitor attendance. Performance of roll call shall be a faculty responsibility with the method for taking roll call left to the discretion of the individual instructor.
In the Ayurvedic Wellness Educator Certificate, the maximum number of clock hours a student can be absent is a total of 72 clock hours. This total of 72 hours includes both the campus and virtual learning modalities. During the time period of May 2018 to October 2018, a student may not miss more than 36 clock hours, which includes both the campus and virtual learning modalities. During the time period of October 2018 to April 2019, a student may not miss more than 36 clock hours, which includes both the campus and virtual learning modalities.
Students are required to attend clinic throughout the term they are enrolled in, regardless of them finishing their necessary clinic hours. These surplus hours can carry over term-to-term. Students will be required to attend the clinical practice for a minimum of 4 hours per week until the end of the program, regardless of how soon they have completed their registered hours. For Wellness Educator, in addition to the classes and clinic requirements, there are three other mandatory clinic dates (Sundays) where we will go over certain topics more in-depth. If a Clinical Student fails to attend the clinic shift without an exception, a “no-show” is recorded for that shift. If more than three “no-shows” are reported on the attendance record during 15 weeks, the student receives a failing grade of “F” and is dropped from the program.
Students will be required to make up missed quizzes and examination. Any exam review and grade challenges for examinations, quizzes, or other assignments must be completed within 1 week of the grade submission. If absent, students are responsible for the information presented during the hours of instruction.
If a student missed the classroom hours and if it is less than 10% of each 360-hour period of the Wellness Educator program, students can make up the participation points by completing the additional assignments given by the faculty. Making up the participation hours is not a right; it is at faculty’s discretion.
Examination Requirements
For each course, there may be at least a quiz, midterm, and final exam. The general final exam covers all the materials for the entire course. A comprehensive examination will be conducted at the end of each certificate program, which includes all the materials covered in the certificate program.
Students must receive passing grades in all classes (70% and above) in order to receive their certificate. Students who receive under 70% as their final grade in any course may be eligible for a Final Exam retake within 10 days of the final grade posting. The student may be required to pay a retake fee of $50. A student may only retake the final exam once. The Final course grade after that will be the grade of record. If the final grade is still below 70% for a course after a retake, the student will be dropped from the class. In this case, students will need to register for the class when it is offered again.
All courses are given a final examination, which may be written, oral, or practical.
Tuition and Fees
For current tuition and fees, refer to the published Tuition and Fees schedule. Tuition and fees are approved by the Board of Regents annually. The University reserves the right to adjust tuition and/or fees. Financial compliance must be met by week 45. Students who have not met financial compliance by week 45 will not be allowed to enroll in the Ayurveda Practitioner Program.
Refund Policy
In the event a student must withdraw or take a program leave, a partial refund of the full program tuition may be available. The percentage of tuition student is responsible for is based on the number of calendar days elapsed between the first day of the program and the official withdrawal/leave date provided by Registrar department.
1-14 days: 0% Tuition responsibility
15-49 days: 25% Tuition responsibility
50-100 days: 50% Tuition responsibility
101-150 days: 75% Tuition responsibility
+150 days: 100% Tuition responsibility (no refund)
*** Fees for terms attended, and reservation deposit are non-refundable