Which schools are still open?
Choosing a school you'll spend years and real tuition on is a genuinely reasonable thing to want confirmed before you commit — and it's not a paranoid question either: a handful of well-known TCM programs really have shut down in the last couple of years.
Here's what we've confirmed closed or discontinued, per each institution's own site and ACAHM's records (checked 08/2026):
| School | Status | When |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest Acupuncture College (Santa Fe & Boulder) | Closed | Aug 31, 2023 |
| AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine (Austin, TX) | Academic programs ceased; accreditation ended | Apr–May 2024 |
| American College of TCM at CIIS (San Francisco) | Closed to new applicants; accreditation ended | Feb 28, 2024 |
| Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture (PIHMA) | Ceased enrolling; degree programs closed | Apr 22, 2026 |
And here's a sample of schools we've confirmed as currently active and ACAHM-accredited, as of the same check:
| School | Location |
|---|---|
| Five Branches University (both campuses) | San Jose & Santa Cruz, CA |
| Pacific College of Health and Science | San Diego, NY, Chicago |
| California University–Silicon Valley | Sunnyvale, CA |
| University of East-West Medicine | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Southern California University of Health Sciences | Whittier, CA |
| Alhambra Medical University | Alhambra, CA |
| Texas Health and Science University | Austin, TX |
| Florida College of Integrative Medicine | Orlando, FL |
| New York College of TCM | Mineola, NY |
A couple of honest caveats: this reflects only the roughly two dozen schools we track and check periodically, not every TCM program in the country — and "active" today doesn't guarantee active in four years, which is exactly why it's worth checking a school's status directly on the ACAHM directory before you enroll anywhere, not just take a brochure's word for it. Five Branches itself is ACAHM-accredited and BPPE-approved to operate, with campuses running since 1984 (Santa Cruz) and 1991 (San Jose).
Is there a particular school on your list you'd like me to check?
Sources
- Five Branches University — Academic Approach checked 2026-08
- American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine at CIIS — Actcm checked 2026-08
- Alhambra Medical University — Amu.Edu checked 2026-08
- Five Branches University — California Campuses checked 2026-08
- Five Branches University — Consumer Information checked 2026-08
- Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture — Pihma.Edu checked 2026-08
- Southwest Acupuncture College (Santa Fe Campus) — Southwestacupuncturecollege.Com checked 2026-08
- AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine — Www.Aoma.Edu checked 2026-08
- California University-Silicon Valley — Www.Cusv.Edu checked 2026-08
- Florida College of Integrative Medicine — Www.Fcim.Edu checked 2026-08
- Five Branches University (Santa Cruz Campus) — Www.Fivebranches.Edu checked 2026-08
- New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine — Www.Nyctcm.Edu checked 2026-08
- Pacific College of Health and Science (San Diego Campus) — Www.Pacificcollege.Edu checked 2026-08
- Southern California University of Health Sciences — Www.Scuhs.Edu checked 2026-08
- Texas Health and Science University — Www.Thsu.Edu checked 2026-08
- University of East-West Medicine — Www.Uewm.Edu checked 2026-08
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