Graduate Certificate in Complementary Medicine and Wellness

  

Exercise Science Program 3110 Human Health Building  (map) (248) 370-3562 • Fax (248) 364-8657 www.oakland.edu/shs/es/

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Director:
Brian R. Goslin
3160 Human Health Building
(248) 364-8688
goslin@oakland.edu

 

Program description

The Graduate Certificate in Complementary Medicine and Wellness is a course of study emphasizing patient/client counseling, and education about health promotion, disease prevention, wellness and complementary therapies. Goals include helping patients/clients achieve a level of well-being that reaches beyond merely the absence of disease. Participants will learn to optimize the patient/client-practitioner relationship while promoting health across the identified wellness dimensions: physical, psychological, environmental, spiritual and social. Recent trends in health care delivery have challenged practitioners and educators to integrate alternative approaches that are complementary into traditional practice and to teach methods for evaluating their safety and effectiveness.

It is intended that candidates will use the graduate certificate to enhance or further their own professional practice, current licensure or formal education. The program augments the background of professionals in disciplines such as exercise science, counseling, physical therapy, medicine, physician assistant, nursing, dietetics, social work, psychology, education and theology. The program is offered as a full-time or part-time course of study accommodating the needs of working professionals. The graduate certificate is awarded following completion of the specified 16 credits of study.

Admission terms and application deadlines

Before an applicant’s file can be reviewed for full program admission, all application documents must be received in Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning by the semester deadlines listed below. Incomplete applications will not be sent to departments for admission review.

• July 15 for fall semester
• November 15 for winter semester
• March 15 for summer semester

Readmission and program transfer

Requests for readmission and program transfers must be completed and approved prior to the beginning of a semester.

International application deadlines

International applications are reviewed for fall and winter admission only. To ensure adequate time for review, international applications must be completed at least six months before the desired date of intended enrollment in the University. All international application materials must be submitted by May 1 for fall admission and by September 1 for winter admission. International applicants are not eligible for Special Graduate classification.

Special Graduate classification

Applicants who are seeking a graduate degree or graduate certificate, but are unable to meet the deadline for filing all required application materials or credentials for graduate admission, may contact the department and request Special Graduate temporary admission.  The applicant must submit an Application for Admission to Graduate Study, plus a copy of a transcript providing evidence of a bachelor’s degree awarded and any specific evidence concerning their qualifications for graduate study as required by the department.  Up to 12 credits may be earned in the Special Graduate classification. Admission as a special graduate student in no way assures subsequent admission to a degree or graduate certificate program.

Students may request special graduate classification beginning  with the dates below.

• August 1 for fall semester
• December 1 for winter semester
• April 1 for summer semester

Note: Special Graduate classification will not be granted after the first week of classes in a semester.

Application requirements

To be considered for graduate admission, applicants must submit all of the following University and Program application documents by the published application deadlines:

University graduate application requirements

• Application for Admission to Graduate Study    
• Official transcripts providing evidence of an earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited U.S. institution, OR a degree equivalent to a four-year U.S. baccalaureate degree from a college or university of government-recognized standing.
• Official transcripts for all post-secondary educational institutions from which the applicant earned a degree (beginning with the first baccalaureate) and for all enrollment in graduate-level coursework beyond the bachelor’s degree. International university transcripts must be evaluated by a professional credential evaluation service.
  • As part of the admission requirements, graduate programs may require official transcripts from post-secondary educational institutions from which the applicant earned an associate’s degree and all enrollment in coursework both pre- and post-bachelor’s degree.
• Two official and original Recommendation for Graduate Admission forms.
• Proof of English language proficiency

• International supplemental application and supporting documentation must be submitted before international applicants can be issued the Certification of Eligibility (I-20). This certificate is required to apply for a student visa from the U.S. embassy or consulate. 

Program application requirements

• Complementary Medicine and Wellness Supplemental Application Form   
• The two Recommendation for Graduate Admission forms, listed above, must be from academics familiar with the student’s abilities (preferred) or from employment supervisors.
• A one-page prospectus describing how the applicant intends to integrate or use the certificate program in practice or for furthering education
• An elective or directed study plan for HS 693, Directed Study in Complementary Medicine and Wellness  
• International applicants must take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and arrange for their official GRE scores to be submitted to Oakland University. The institution code for Oakland University is 1497.

Applicants with an undergraduate GPA less than 3.0 with the appropriate academic background and strong letters of recommendation may be considered for admission with limited standing. Applicants who qualify for this admission status must complete a minimum of 8 credits of graduate-level work, with a GPA of 3.0 or above within the first year of their program, to be advanced to full admission.

Admission review and assessment

Admission to graduate study at Oakland University is selective. In making admission recommendations to Graduate Study and Lifelong Learning, each department assesses the potential of applicants for success in the program by examining their undergraduate records, goal statement, letters of recommendation, prerequisite courses and any other admission requirements established by the academic department.