Author: Caitlin Tsai

News & Events

Gratitude to Participants of the First On-Campus Event of 2023

An Afternoon Filled with the Opportunity to Learn & Experience

Five Branches University would like to give a big thank you to all who participated in our first on-campus event of the year! We enjoyed various activities with our guests. We would like to thank all of our staff, faculty, and volunteers for bringing this to fruition.

We were grateful for the great questions and interactions from those who participated in our Degree Program Open House and Admissions Q&A.

Besides the general open house, we had passionate faculty such as Dr. Samson Cheung and Dr. Juan Li who gave Mini TCM Lectures, enabling our guests to experience what it is like to be a student at Five Branches.

Of course, our event would not have been complete without our workshop-leading instructors, Thomas Dicklin for our Santa Cruz Campus and Thomas Leichardt for our San Jose Campus. Our guests enjoyed guided medical qi-gong sessions with them and experienced exercise that supports energetic healing. 

Last but certainly not least, our guests received complimentary TCM diagnoses and treatments from our Senior interns and Senior professors, while our interns gained even more hands-on experience through this meaningful opportunity. 

Thank you again to all participants, staff, faculty, and volunteers for coming together to make this event possible. If you have missed this event, we welcome you to join our upcoming online Info Session happening on March 30th. For more information and signup details, click here. 

We will also be having another on-campus event in a few months, so please stay tuned for more announcements!

Interviews

Members of Five Branches Interviewed by Michael Zwerling from KSCO

On January 28th, Five Branches University was invited to a KSCO Saturday Special podcast hosted by Michael Zwerling.

Representing Five Branches, President and CEO Ron Zaidman and vice president Joanna Zhao were joined by instructor Nicholas W Hancock as they discussed how Traditional Chinese Medicine promotes health. From the different branches of TCM, to illness treatment and illness prevention, listeners got to hear various TCM-related topics and also had their questions answered in a Q & A session.

To hear the full podcast, visit the KSCO webpage

News & Events, University News

Degree Title Change Announcement

As of September 1st of 2022, the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (ACAHM) has announced a change in TCM-related degree titles. All Graduates graduating after January 1st, 2024 will receive the new degree titles.

The changes are as follows:

  • DTCM (Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine) is now DAcHM (Doctor of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine)
  • MTCM (Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine) is now MAcHM (Master of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine)
  • The above two degrees are to become separate degrees for new enrollments
  • The DAc/MAc (Doctor of Acupuncture and Master of Acupuncture) Dual-Degree Program will also be separated into DAc (Doctor of Acupuncture) and MAc (Master of Acupuncture) degrees respectively 
  • DTCM/DAc Bridge Program will be known as Bridge (Completion) Program 

* Five Branches University is currently undergoing the transitional phase of updating all website content and documents to reflect the changes above.

More Details:

ACAHM Program Naming Page
BPPE Santa Cruz Five Branches School Details

BPPE San Jose Five Branches School Details
News & Events

Community Service at Align Tech 2022

A Healthful Day at the Company

We were very thrilled to be invited once again by Align Tech to provide community service treatments on Wednesday, November 9th. Our senior interns and senior professors spent a day providing treatments and health tips to our guests from Align Tech. Winter is upon us and Five Branches would like to remind everyone to take care and stay warm!
University News

FBU Students Experience Hands-on Learning in Needle Camp

Needling's in Session!

For over a year now, Five Branches University has been operating weekend Needle Camps at both the San Jose and Santa Cruz campuses. The Needle Camps started with the initiative of one of FBU’s acupuncture class faculty, Tom Dicklin. He was concerned that the online delivery of acupuncture classes, forced by the pandemic, hindered the competency of his students. His idea was met with great enthusiasm by the Academic Dean, Joanna Zhao. Several Needle Camps were offered to Five Branches students free of charge. Prof. Zhao along with other Five Branches faculty supervised the students as they practiced acupuncture point location and needling techniques. Recently, another FBU faculty member, Shawn Smolinski, volunteered to provide a few lunchtime training sessions to review adjacent acupuncture techniques such as electro-acupuncture, Gua Sha, and cupping. He also addressed manual Tuina massage techniques and protocols. Kimberly Duhlmann, from the Santa Cruz Student Council, reported that “students were so grateful to have additional hands-on practice time as we come out of strictly online learning”.
 
University News, University News

An Enriching TCM Immersion Event Successfully Held

A Profound Experience Shared with many

On October 16th, both the Santa Cruz and San Jose Five Branches campuses successfully held our TCM Immersion Event. Thanks to the hard work of our staff, faculty, students, and alumni, we have had the honor and pleasure to present lectures, a program open house, as well as complimentary TCM diagnosis and treatment.

We enjoyed sharing the profound realm of TCM with everyone, by having them experience TCM education and TCM healing firsthand. We would like to thank all of the guests who came and shared this enriching experience with us!
University News

Congratulations to our Graduates of 2022!

Five Branches Graduates Celebrate Their Milestone

Last Sunday on August 21st, our DAOM, DTCM, MTCM, and Bridge program graduates celebrated the milestone of completing their education through years of hard work. Within the endless lines of graduates lie limitless aspirations and potential. Congratulations to this new generation of healers!
Senior Professors Lucy Hu and Julie Zhu
Left to right: Chihkang M Chou, Jing Yang, Xin Wang
Left to right: YuanYuan Sky Wang, Linxi Wu, Xiangping Xie, Jing Yang, Xiaohong Yao, Ping Yu, Ruili Zhang, Chunxiu Zhou, Yi Zhou
Senior Professor Doc Mitchell in the middle with graduates
News & Events, University News

Five Branches Admissions Fund Scholarship

Every term, Five Branches University offers its incoming students three scholarships per campus in the amounts of $500, $750, and $1,000.

To qualify for scholarship submission students must:

  • Have applied for financial aid (even if you don’t believe you qualify)
  • Have no family or other organization financial contribution
  • Minimum GPA of 3.00

 A one-page only statement of purpose essay along with a cover letter, which includes your name and current address, and phone number must be submitted to the admissions office (Santa Cruz or San Jose) by or before Orientation Day.  Please note that late applications will not be reviewed.

The Scholarship Review Committee will review all applications based on the above criteria and the strength of the statement of purpose essay and announce the winners within four (4) weeks.  Scholarship awards will be applied towards the winners’ next term tuition.