These are FAQ’s regarding ACCREDITATION:

1. Are the degree courses in Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine accredited?

The degree courses offered by the Da Vinci Institute of Holistic Medicine have been accredited by the School of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, University of America, USA, a prestigious university in California with a California and Florida Charter, Reg # 00020RAF040219CY.

The University of America is registered with the US. Department of Education/NCES and assigned the USDE federal recognition ID 475237.

All Degree certificates are awarded by the University of America. They have been granted the status of Accredited Postsecondary Institution of IABSCU, USA (International Accrediting Bureau for Schools, Colleges and Universities, USA), Reg. # 00020RAF040219CY.

In addition, the University is also accredited by ASIC, ATHE/Ofqual recognized and EBMA UK/QAA listed and is authorized by the Florida Department of Education Commission on Independent Education to deliver online BSc/MSc/MBA/DBA/Ph.D/Ed.D degree programs globally as well as the State of CA BPPE.

2) What role does the Da Vinci Institute of Holistic Medicine play?

The Da Vinci Institute of Holistic Medicine has worked tirelessly for over 10 years to construct high-calibre courses in Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine. The Da Vinci Institute of Holistic Medicine has the Intellectual Property rights for all these 70 courses.

The University of America has chosen to adopt the Da Vinci Institute of Holistic Medicine as their European extension affiliate campus.

This empowered the Da Vinci Institute of Holistic Medicine based in Europe, to act as a training center of  the University of America, so that student’s credits earned from the Da Vinci Institute courses and their blended teaching methods, can be transferred to the University of America so that students can earn accredited degrees at the Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral levels in Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine.

The final degree is awarded by the University of America, even though the teaching takes place on the Moodle educational platform of the Da Vinci Institute, along with clinical training at the Da Vinci Holistic Health Center or other training center worldwide, along with research opportunities in a cutting-edge laboratory.

3)  Are these degrees and accreditation internationally recognised?

Generally, there is no International accreditation as different countries have their own rules and regulations regarding the practice of Naturopathy and holistic medicine, even though many countries have no laws or associations regulating these professions.

What is important after qualifying is that you can join an Naturopathic Association in your country that covers the practice of these professions.

The degrees are accredited by the University of America who has reviewed our courses and curriculum and decided that our standards are sufficient for them to issue the degree under their Charter.

4) Will I be accepted to Naturopathic Associations in my country?

There is no reason why our degrees should not be accepted by the majority of naturopathic and holistic medicine associations around the world. Our students complete 190 US credits or 2,850 clock hours for the Bachelors,  50 US credits or 750 clock hours for the Masters and 100 US credits or 1,500 clock hours for the Doctoral degree using blended learning – both online, video lectures and clinical practicums in holistic medicine centers around the world. The Doctoral degree is equivalent to 5,100 clock hours of study – even the few main-stream Naturopathic schools around the world do not require such rigorous training for their Doctoral degrees!

Ideally, there should not be any associations worldwide that would not accept a student of naturopathy and holistic medicine who has undergone so much rigorous and detailed training.

5) What if I apply to one of my associations in my country and I am rejected?

We would be happy to communicate with this specific association and share with them our transcripts and curriculum to prove that our training is of the standard stipulated by the World Health Organization for the practice of naturopathy and holistic medicine.

Our intention is to communicate with as many of these associations as possible, even though there are many hundreds worldwide, and share our curriculum and training protocols so that they can see the high standards that we maintain.

6) Is there a World Naturopathic Federation?

Actually there is, and this World Naturopathic Federation accepts applications from associations in different countries, not individual applications from individual students. If you can persuade your local Association to make an application to the World Association, then all members of your local association will automatically become members of the World Association.

7) I have heard that there are only 8 State accredited Naturopathic Medicine courses in America and only these graduates can join specific associations. Is this true and how does this work?

It is true that there are 8 State accredited Naturopathic medicine schools in the USA and Canada who only accept graduate students with Bachelors  degree in the Biological Sciences, then go through a 4-year Naturopathic Doctor (N.D) course at a cost of in excess of $300,000. These are full-time students in campuses who can obviously afford this vast amount of money.

This is a good path to take if you have the funding and the time to go through another 4 years after completing 3-4 years for your initial degree.

However, it is not for all! There are many mature students who are working or are parents of young children who want to learn through a blended learning approach – online, offline, videos, webinars as well as clinical training – we cater to these students and they are no less inferior to those of the elite schools. Some of these will become excellent health practitioners and help many sick people in need.

The only difference is that you will not be allowed to join the elite associations that only accept graduates from these 8 schools – nor other graduates from any other schools or university in the world!

When you qualify from these elite schools you are entitled to use the title “Naturopathic Licensed Physician” as opposed to “Naturopathic Certified Practitioners” that go through our courses.

7) What is the difference between a Naturopathic Licensed Physicians training and the Naturopathic Certified Practitioners that your school teaches in terms of their training?

In terms of clock hours of training, not much difference. In terms of the curriculum, the Naturopathic Licensed Physicians will cover more biomedical science courses, but overall less of a variety of naturopathy courses that we cover such as toxicology, detoxification protocols, energy medicine and bioresonance, nutritional microscopy and other topics that we cover in a lot more depth.

Naturopathic Certified Practitioners are still allowed to practice in most countries of the world as long as they belong to an association in their country that recognises their training, and have been through the course materials covered in our courses.

8) Can I join an association in my country after completing only the Bachelor’s degree?

The simple answer is yes, because it is a very comprehensive course that includes 190 US credits or 2,850 clock hours of training. Most laws of the land allow such qualified practitioners to work in their chosen speciality.

9) Will the degree that I obtain from the Da Vinci Institute be enough for the requirements of most Associations?

As far as the number of US credits and clock hours are concerned, yes! However, most Naturopathic Associations in different countries require many hours of clinical practice and they are justified. No Naturopathic practitioner can become a competent Naturopath just be taking online courses alone, without working under an experienced mentor in a Holistic clinical practice seeing live patients and discussing cases. This is imperative, and this is why most credible Associations in most countries around the world will insist on this.

This is why we strongly encourage our students to find a Naturopathic or Holistic Center near their home and spend as many hours working under supervision with a qualified Naturopath. These hours will be recorded and placed in your transcript. It is not difficult by the time a student completes their Bachelor’s degree to clock up 200 – 300 hours of clinical practice in one of these centers. This is invaluable training, but also a prerequisite for many Associations around the world. We will review these centers to ascertain their credibility before accepting them as a “Training Center” for our students.

There is off course an opportunity of spending some of these hours at the Da Vinci Holistic Health Center in Larnaca, Cyprus, under the supervision of Dr Georgiou who is the Founder of the Da Vinci Institute of Holistic Medicine, and an experienced Holistic Medicine practitioner.

9) Why would a student want to go on to a Doctoral degree in Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine?

Basically for the same reasons that a Bachelor’s student in another subject would want to go on to the Masters and then the Doctoral degree.

To expand their knowledge base, to delve deeper into topics of interest, to research other topics of interest, to conduct research with the purpose of discovering new information and publishing this in peer-reviewed journals and to gain the prestigious title of “Dr” that they can officially use as an accolade when addressing themselves.

Receiving a Doctor of Naturopathy and Holistic Medicine is going to make you an experienced health practitioner with a huge knowledge-base that is second to none.

10) Are the courses different in each of the degree courses – the Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees?

Yes, absolutely! Each degree has to cover 3 major topics of the 9 topics that the World Health Organization has stipulated as being compulsory training for a Naturopath. So, 3 of these topics are covered in each of the degrees, along with many other related topics.

Each degree course adds to your knowledge-base and experience – there is no repetition of knowledge or experience in the different degrees.

The 9 major topics that the World Health Organization has stipulated as being important for Naturopaths to cover are:

Feel free to send us other FAQ’s!