Doctor of Acupuncture and Traditional Medicine (DATM)

& DATM Completion Program

DATM Program Overview

Doctor of Acupuncture and Traditional Medicine (DATM) is a four-year Professional Doctorate program.

The total DATM program consists of: 243 didactic quarter units (2,430 hours) and 50 clinic units (1,000 hours) for a total of 293 units (3,430 hours).

Students enrolling in the DATM program will be dual enrolled in the MSOM as well as the DATM program. DULA’s MSOM program prepares students to sit for California State Acupuncture Licensing Exam (CALE) and National certification exam (NCCAOM). Once all the MSOM requirements are completed, students will be eligible to receive their MSOM degree and take the state licensing exam and national certification exam, while completing the advanced, doctoral-level courses.

The DATM program is only offered in English.

The DATM curriculum includes:

DATM Completion Program

The DATM Completion Program is for those who have already completed their MSOM degree. Courses will be offered in a module system.  To see the list of advanced doctoral-level courses, please click here.

The DATM Completion Program may be completed in less than a year.

PDF in English

PDF in Korean

Admissions

General Entrance Criteria

All students, including Master’s graduates enrolling in the Professional Doctorate Completion program, must meet the admissions requirements at the time of their official matriculation. Professional Doctorate admissions criteria include satisfactory completion of at least three years of undergraduate-level education (90-semester credits/135 quarter credits including 3 units each for chemistry, biology, and psychology) with a minimum 2.25 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education, or an equivalent international entity. If the applicant did not take Chemistry, Biology, and Psychology in their undergraduate level of education, the student must complete these courses either at DULA or at other approved institutions within 12 months from the date of matriculation.

Three routes for completion of the DATM program:

Enrolling as a New Student to DATM Program:

This institution offers a dual degree, Master’s and DATM, upon completing your admission requirements for both programs. Students may enroll in both programs together, in which case separate enrollment agreements for each programs will be signed simultaneously at the date of initial enrollment.

Transferring into the DATM Program:

Transfer credits may be approved for individual courses when a student has previously completed academic coursework at an accredited institution recognized by the Department of Education that meets the same course outcomes as the equivalent Dongguk University Los Angeles course. Transfer credit is based on academic equivalency among courses and must be less than five years old.

Students may apply for transfer credit and/or course exemption. The maximum number of credits for course exemptions and transfers granted is 50% of the total credits. Of that 50%, no more than 25% of the program clinical training requirements may be accepted as transfer or exemption credit. No more than 33% of the total credits in a post-master’s doctoral degree program may be transferred or exempted.

Enrolling as DATM Completion Program:

The applicant may complete a MSOM program and then enroll in a DATM Professional Doctorate completion track. The doctoral completion track requires 340 total hours, consisting of 300 hours or 30 quarter units of didactic instruction plus 40 hours or 2 quarter units of clinic instruction.

This program is designed to be completed by an individual who graduated from an ACAOM accredited/pre-accredited master’s level program and will allow the Master’s graduate to achieve doctorate competencies, earning the DATM degree. Students who enter this track complete the doctoral program requirements not included in the Master’s level training. This program is a component of the overall professional doctorate, not a separate, distinct program.

For more information about the three routes for completion of the DATM Professional Doctorate program at DULA, please read our program catalog, or inquire to our admissions office at +1 (213) 487-0110 or email to admissions@dula.edu.

English Language Requirements

The DATM program is offered only in English. English language competency is required of all students seeking admission.

This must be demonstrated by the following means:

State Authorization of Distance Education Outside of California

Please be aware of the following information if you will not reside in California while enrolled in distance education courses at Dongguk University Los Angeles (DULA).

As distance education has become increasingly popular in the past few years, many states have prescribed an authorization process for out-of-state institutions delivering online programs to its state residents.  Most states in the US are members of an organization called the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) that allows students to reside outside of the state where the institution they are taking online classes from is based. California, however, is not a SARA member state and thus non-California resident Distance Education students at all California schools, including DULA, must check with the individual state higher education agency in order to determine whether the state they reside will allow them to enroll in the program.

Authorization (sometimes referred to as “registration,” “licensure,” “approval,” etc.) indicates that certain minimum standards have been met by the institution under the laws and regulations of that state. Authorization does not constitute an endorsement of any institution, course or degree program. Credits earned at an institution do not necessarily transfer to all other institutions.

Because DULA cannot ensure or control whether its programs comply with state requirements for enrolling distance education all prospective DULA Distance Education students will be directed to contact their state higher education agency with a list of contacts provided also in the Distance Education Orientation materials.

Dongguk University Los Angeles (DULA) is institutionally accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAHM) and physically located at 440 Shatto Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90020.  Dongguk University Los Angeles has been granted approval from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) pursuant to California Education Code Section 94900. Both the MSOM and the DATM programs have been approved by BPPE and is legally authorized to operate in the state of California. Dongguk University cannot confirm that its courses or degree programs meet the requirements for authorization or professional licensure outside the state of California. DULA strongly encourages prospective and current students to contact the appropriate or applicable state higher education agencies and/or licensing board(s) in states in which they reside prior to beginning any program of study.

Students’ residency for State Authorization purposes is determined by their local address.  For more information please contact the Registrar’s Office.