• Attend of minimum of 75% of classes for the course.
• Complete and hand in all assignments for the course.
• Receive a minimum grade of 60% on the final exam for the course.
• Receive a minimum final grade of 60% for the course.

Holistic Herbal Studies Program

In order to successfully fulfill the academic requirements of this program and receive a program certificate, Holistic Herbal Studies students must satisfy the following:

• Attend of minimum of 75% of classes for each course in the program.
• Complete and hand in all assignments for each course in the program.
• Receive a minimum grade of 60% on the final exam for each course in the program.
• Receive a minimum final grade of 60% for each course in the program.

For General Interest students who wish to enroll in the Holistic Herbal Studies program after already having attended one or more of the courses in the program, the minimum academic standards for this program will be considered retroactive for all courses that the student has attended. If they have not met the minimum academic standards indicated above in one or more of the courses that they have already attended, they may be required to rewrite applicable final exams for this/these course(s). Any course in which they are not able to bring their grades up to the minimum academic standard required for the Holistic Herbal Studies program after rewriting the final exam, may need to be repeated before the student will be allowed to continue the program.

Students who successfully graduate from the Holistic Herbal Studies program will receive a Holistic Herbal Studies certificate. Graduation from this program is not a qualification to practice herbalism or any other holistic healing modality. Graduates who wish to practice as a professional herbalist should consider enrolling in the Traditional Herbalist program.


Traditional Herbalist

In order to successfully fulfill the academic requirements of this program and receive a program diploma, students must satisfy the following:

• Attend of minimum of 75% of classes for each course in the program.
• Complete and hand in all assignments for each course in the program.
• Receive a minimum grade of 60% on the final exam for all George Brown College courses and Pharmacology.
• Receive a minimum final grade of 60% for all George Brown College courses and Pharmacology.
• Receive a minimum grade of 75% on the final exam for each of the remaining courses in the program.
• Receive a minimum final grade of 75% for each of the remaining courses in the program.
• Attend a minimum of ten Herbal Field Studies field workshops.
• Complete 250 hours of supervised clinic*.
• Complete 100 hours of clinical apprenticeship**.
• Complete and receive a minimum passing grade of 75% on all special projects required for the program. These include two herbal monographs and tincture preparation for the school dispensary.
• Receive a minimum passing grade of 75% in each subsection of the final written exam and on the final oral exam for the program.
• Complete a minimum of 18 hours of volunteer service for the Ontario Herbalists’ Association (OHA)***. It is also strongly recommended that all Traditional Herbalist students become a student member of the OHA for the duration of their program.
• Complete the program and satisfy all of the above academic requirements within nine months of the completion of their supervised clinic, and within a maximum of six years from when they initially register for the Traditional Herbalist program. Students who do not accomplish this may be required to do a refresher course (repeating Advanced Herbal Therapeutics & Materia Medica and/or an additional 50 hours of supervised clinic).

*In addition to the hourly requirements for supervised clinic, each student must complete a required clinic project and guide at least 4 clients through to the final stages of treatment. During their student clinic, each student must also become a client of the clinic in order to experience the results of the treatment first-hand.

**Clinical apprenticeship hours must take place within a clinical environment where apprentices are helping and observing their mentor in their clinical practice. Clinical apprenticeship hours may be taken with Michael Vertolli, the director of Living Earth School, or with other herbalists who are professional members of the Ontario Herbalists Association and approved by Living Earth School.

***Volunteer service for the OHA can be completed by participating in OHA events, representing the OHA at non-OHA events, participating in committees, etc.. Contact the Ontario Herbalists Association for more information.

Students who fail to achieve a minimum passing grade on the final exam and as a final mark for any course may be required to make arrangements to improve their academic standing in the course. Students will be granted one opportunity to rewrite the final exam for the course. If a student is unable to raise their final mark for any individual course to meet the minimum academic requirements for the course after rewriting the final exam, they may be required to repeat the course. The decision to require a student to rewrite a final exam or repeat a course is under the sole discretion of the program director.

General Interest students or students enrolled in the Holistic Herbal Studies program who wish to continue their studies and enroll in the Traditional Herbalist program must have met the minimum academic requirements of the Traditional Herbalist program in all courses that they have already attended. Students who have not met these standards in any courses that they have attended may be required to rewrite applicable final exams and/or repeat the course(s) in question.

Students who successfully graduate from the Traditional Herbalist program will receive a Traditional Herbalist diploma and will be qualified to use the Traditional Herbalist (T.H.). designation. In addition, the Traditional Herbalist program is recognized by the Ontario Herbalists Association (OHA). Graduates will be eligible for professional membership in the OHA and to use the Registered Herbalist (R.H.) designation as long as they remain a member in good standing.

It is strongly recommended that all graduates of the Traditional Herbalist program become professional members of the OHA.