Can I do this part time while working?
Yes — this is one of the most common situations Five Branches students are in, and the program is genuinely built around it, not just tolerant of it. The worry underneath this question is usually "will I have to quit my job and gamble years of income to do this" — and the answer here is no, you don't have to choose that path.
Yes — this is one of the most common situations Five Branches students are in, and the program is genuinely built around it, not just tolerant of it.
The worry underneath this question is usually "will I have to quit my job and gamble years of income to do this" — and the answer here is no, you don't have to choose that path. Tuition is billed per term rather than as one fixed four-year price, and the trimester calendar (15-week terms, three per year) is built so you can set your own pace against it (school's own program pages, last checked 08/2026).
| Path | How it works |
|---|---|
| Full-time | Standard weekday daytime course load; fastest route through the ~4-year DAcHM/MAcHM curriculum |
| Part-time | Take fewer courses per trimester; extends total time to degree, but tuition scales with what you take that term |
| NDS ("try it first") | At least one course per term, up to three terms, without committing to the full degree; if you later move to degree-seeking, successfully completed credits apply toward the degree (school's own admissions page, last checked 08/2026) |
The financial logic matters too: one published estimate treats four years of forgone income as the single biggest cost of a career change into this field (~$240k, alongside tuition) — and that cost largely disappears if you're keeping your job while studying part-time (Five Branches TCM CareerGuide, last checked 08/2026).
Two things worth knowing as you plan: clinical training hours are the piece that's hardest to compress no matter your pace, so a part-time timeline usually stretches clinic terms out rather than shortening them; and NDS students, while a great low-commitment way to test the fit, aren't eligible for federal financial aid.
What does your current work schedule actually look like — daytime hours, evenings, or something that shifts week to week?
Sources
- Five Branches University — 入學要求 checked 2026-08
- Five Branches University — Admissions checked 2026-08
- The school's own published catalog and website checked 2026-07
Last reviewed: