What does it cost, all-in?
Cost is usually the question underneath every other question about TCM school — "can I actually afford years of this, and what am I not seeing? " So here's the full shape of it, not just the tuition sticker. Tuition is billed per unit ($318 academic / $636 clinical), so you pay for what you register each trimester — not a lump sum up front.
Cost is usually the question underneath every other question about TCM school — "can I actually afford years of this, and what am I not seeing?" So here's the full shape of it, not just the tuition sticker.
Program tuition (Five Branches' own DAcHM Catalog and DAOM Catalog, as we last checked those pages in 08/2026 — tuition can change, so treat these as a strong reference point, not this year's locked-in number):
| Program | Total tuition | Per year | Per trimester |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAcHM/MAcHM (dual-degree, 3,435 hrs) | $72,822 | ≈$18,205 | ≈$6,068 |
| DAc/MAc (acupuncture-only, 2,647.5 hrs) | $56,127 | ≈$18,709 | ≈$6,236 |
| DAOM (advanced doctorate, 1,280 hrs, 2 yrs) | $25,000 | $12,500 | ≈$4,167 |
| DAcHM/DAc Bridge (315 hrs, online) | $8,505 (FBU master's grads: $6,804) | — | prorated by course load |
Tuition is billed per unit ($318 academic / $636 clinical), so you pay for what you register each trimester — not a lump sum up front. The per-unit rate is the same for international and domestic students, but international applicants pay fees domestic applicants do not — a $395 International Students Application Fee and a $295 Processing Fee at entry level (the domestic application fee is $100), and a $2,500 International Student Service Fee for the DAOM, payable in full in Trimester 1.
Beyond tuition — this is where "all-in" actually lives:
| Item | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Required books | ≈$1,000 total |
| Room, board, misc. | ≈$2,000/month (school's own estimate) |
| Malpractice insurance | $60/trimester |
| Application fee | $100 |
Cost of living where you'd actually be (MIT Living Wage Calculator, checked 07/2026): a single adult needs roughly $79,000/year before tax around the San Jose campus, or about $89,400/year around Santa Cruz — driven mostly by housing (1-bedroom rents run ~$3,000/month in San Jose, ~$3,300 in Santa Cruz per HUD's FY2026 figures).
None of this includes financial aid, which many students use to close the gap — that's its own conversation. Are you weighing this against working part-time while you study, or trying to see the whole four-year number at once?
Sources
- Five Branches University — Financial Aid checked 2026-08
- The school's own published catalog and website checked 2026-07
- Five Branches University — Tuition Fee checked 2026-08
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