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

The curriculum consists of two parts:

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 Professional Doctorate advanced course works.

The DATM program is only offered in English.

The advanced Professional Doctorate (PD) is for those who have already completed their MSOM degree. Courses will be offered in a module system.  To see the list of advanced PD courses, please click here.

The PD completion program may be completed in less than a year.

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.

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 Track 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.