Program Announcement

Now offering live-online learning for our Diploma of Holistic Nutrition program! With flexible course registration and live-online instruction, students can create their own schedules and experience the benefits of live-classroom instruction from anywhere in the world! View this document for further details.

Diploma of Holistic Nutrition

Program Overview

The Diploma of Holistic Nutrition is a 3-year (6-semester) program that explores the use of food and lifestyle habits to maintain health and restore wellness. It is the most comprehensive on-site, and on-line, program of Holistic Nutrition in North America and integrates nutritional philosophies of various indigenous cultures and medical viewpoints. Foundational studies include Ayurvedic Medicine, Western Herbal Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine, and the program is comprised of both theoretical and practical courses including cooking and clinical coursework.

Length: 6 semesters
Intakes: Winter, Summer, Fall semesters
Format: Blended online and on campus 

Clinical Training: 360 hours
Total Training: 2115 hours 

I have been thoroughly impressed by Pacific Rim College. Pacific Rim holds high professional standards while maintaining an atmosphere of wellbeing and community. The environment supports students and challenges them to grow into skillful practitioners. I would recommend PRC to anyone who is seeking a place that has deep knowledge and embodied understanding in the field of health and healing.

– Jennifer Raye, RTCMP, RYT, Alumnus

Why Pacific Rim College?

The Diploma of Holistic Nutrition at Pacific Rim College is the most comprehensive on-site program of holistic nutrition in North America and includes studies in Ayurvedic nutrition, Traditional Chinese Medicine diet therapy, and common herbal remedies.
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Diploma of Holistic Nutrition students learn to cook from Red Seal Chef and host of CHEK TV’s ‘Cookin’ on the Coast, Chef Heidi Fink. Chef Heidi infuses knowledge of the local food systems and the importance of sustainable agriculture into her lessons for our students to learn from.
This program is approved by the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training (Private Training Institutions Branch) and Canada Student Loans.
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Pacific Rim College is actively engaged in many forms of environmental stewardship including 100% green energy offsets for our campus, the highest eco-certification, and planting of 10 trees in British Columbia for every program graduate.

What You’ll Learn:

Key Learning Outcome #1

An in-depth understanding of the therapeutic properties and energetics of foods and how to use them to help clients reach their health goals. 

Key Learning Outcome #2

Thorough background of biomedical understanding of the human body, its structure, physiology, common pathologies, and also western diagnostic skills and pharmacotherapy. 

Key Learning Outcome #3

The blending of different nutrition philosophies, including the ancient traditions of Ayurvedic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and cultural diets with contemporary dietary practices.

Key Learning Outcome #4

Therapeutic confidence and rapport-buildings skills in working with clients in one-on-one settings and in groups.  

Key Learning Outcome #5

Wide-ranging professional skills from writing and public speaking to cooking and business development experience needed to establish a private holistic nutrition practice or to join an integrative health centre.

I don’t think I could say enough good things about PRC. After spending three years at a large university, the smaller class sizes and compassionate teachers were an inspiring change. The school itself is a beautiful and nurturing space, and the staff and students make it that much more amazing. I learned so much about myself, gained a new outlook on the world and was trained in an amazing form of healing that has given me a job I am so proud of. I would recommend PRC to anyone, the staff and faculty are educated, kind and helpful individuals who want to see their students grow and succeed in the world of health. I will forever be grateful for my experiences and education from PRC as well as the continued support as I start my own career path. Thank you so much for those three life changing years.

– Sasha Ormiston, Alumnus

Core Program Instructors

 

Study Options

The Diploma of Holistic Nutrition program is available entirely on-campus or live-online. Students are currently welcome to study in a combination of both live-online and on-campus courses if they are in Victoria, or if they are interested in relocating to Victoria for a semester or more in the future.

Our academic calendar offers three semesters per year, and new students may enrol every January, May and September. Students may choose to pursue year-round studies to complete their programs in a shorter time frame, or they may take a semester or more off at their discretion. Students also choose their course load each semester, and students may complete any semester on a part-time or a full-time basis.

On-Campus Learning

In-person classes are offered at our Market Square campus located in a beautiful and historic nineteenth-century building in the heart of downtown Victoria, British Columbia.

Live-Online Learning

Online classes are delivered live-online, Pacific Time, at regularly scheduled weekly class times. Our live-online courses provide the same quality of education, community building experience, and other live-instruction benefits as our on-campus programs, from the convenience of home without the need to relocate. Our online classes are not self-directed or recorded, and online students must attend courses live in compliance with Pacific Rim College’s attendance policy.

In order to help students succeed in the online environment, PRC has put together an Online Course Policies document to help you be more prepared. This document outlines the technology requirements, online clinic requirements, location requirements and information about supply fees for online courses and clinics. This document can be viewed here – Online Course Policies.

Curriculum

Having reached for the first time a point in human existence where more humans are overweight than are hungry, where our children’s life expectancy is less than adults, and where food resources and indigenous knowledge are vanishing faster than we can preserve them, increasing nutritional knowledge on both local and global scales is of vital importance. The Diploma of Holistic Nutrition is training students to advance human and environmental health through the sharing of nutritional knowledge.

The objectives of the Diploma of Holistic Nutrition are threefold:

  • to increase human health through the betterment of nutritional practices;
  • to preserve and spread indigenous food-based knowledge and practices; and
  • to safeguard the global ecosystem through the employment of sustainable food practices.

Below is a list of all courses that must be completed for a student to be eligible for graduation with a Diploma of Holistic Nutrition. Some course prerequisites do exist, and it is the responsibility of students to ensure that they are eligible to enrol in any particular course. The Course Descriptions page indicates course prerequisites. Please see Study Options below for more information on course selection.

Ayurveda

AYU101/102
6 credits 6
90 hours 90
Total
 
6 credits 6 crds
90 hours 90 hrs

Biomedical/Biological Sciences

BMS101/102
6 credits 6
90 hours 90
BMS112
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
BMS113
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
BMS201/202
6 credits 6
90 hours 90
BMS211
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
BMS231
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
BMS431
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
Total
 
27 credits 27 crds
405 hours 405 hrs

Chinese Medicine

OM103/104
6 credits 6
90 hours 90
Total
 
6 credits 6 crds
90 hours 90 hrs

Elective

Elective
Elective
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
Total
 
3 credits 3 crds
45 hours 45 hrs

Nutrition

NU101
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU111
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU202
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU203
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU204
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU221
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU302
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU311
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU312
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU313
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU314
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU315
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU316
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU322
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
NU
11 credits 11
165 hours 165
Total
 
53 credits 53 crds
795 hours 795 hrs

Nutrition Clinical Practice

NCP101
6 credits 6
90 hours 90
NCP200
3 credits 3
90 hours 90
NCP300
6 credits 6
180 hours 180
Total
 
15 credits 15 crds
360 hours 360 hrs

Professional Development

PD101
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
PD201
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
PD211
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
PD288/NU288
1 credit 1
15 hours 15
PD302
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
PD304
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
Total
 
16 credits 16 crds
240 hours 240 hrs

Western Herbal Sciences

WHS
Western Herbal Science Elective
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
WHS101
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
Total
 
6 credits 6 crds
90 hours 90 hrs

Total Requirements

Ayurveda
6 credits 6
90 hours 90
Biomedical/Biological Sciences
27 credits 27
405 hours 405
Chinese Medicine
6 credits 6
90 hours 90
Elective
3 credits 3
45 hours 45
Nutrition
53 credits 53
795 hours 795
Nutrition Clinical Practice
15 credits 15
360 hours 360
Professional Development
16 credits 16
240 hours 240
Western Herbal Sciences
6 credits 6
90 hours 90
Grand Total
 
132 credits 132 crds
2115 hours 2115 hrs

Clinical Training

Students in the Diploma of Holistic Nutrition program can complete all clinical training in PRC’s on-campus Student Clinic, or can participate in our Clinical Externship Program. Full-time students generally begin clinical training via observation during the very first week of studies.

Admissions

Pacific Rim College is committed to educating the highest quality industry professionals, and we offer priority acceptance to applicants who demonstrate the highest potential for success. Admission into the Diploma of Holistic Nutrition at Pacific Rim College is on a competitive basis, and applicants will be evaluated based on academic achievement, humanitarian activities, community involvement, program-related experience, communication skills, professionalism, emotional maturity, independence, ambition, and passion.

Admission requires successfully meeting the following minimum criteria:

  • A minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent, such as a GED. Applicants without a high school diploma or equivalent are welcome to apply and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis for mature student status.
  • A minimum grade of 60% in previous coursework. All grades will be taken into consideration with emphasis on related language and science-based courses, such as but not limited to general English, general science, creative and professional writing, biology, and chemistry.
  • Written and spoken English language competency. Applicants may be required to submit an official score report from an English proficiency exam such as TOEFL or iELTS upon request.

To apply, please click on the link below.

We offer three semesters of study per year for our diploma programs – Fall (September – December), Winter (January – April), and Summer (May – August). Diploma students are welcome to apply to begin in any semester. We do not have a set deadline for applications and will continue to accept students up until the start of classes provided there is space within the program, however, programs do fill prior to the semester start, so we recommend applying 6 months to one year in advance.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition is based on a per credit system. Although the college provides guidance for the order of course completion within each program, ultimately each student determines personal course load and schedule and thus per semester tuition. Audited credits do not apply towards graduation requirements. All prices listed are in Canadian dollars. For each semester, full tuition payment is due on the first day of the semester.

Please click here for a description of Academic Fees in PDF format.

Please click here for a description of Academic Fees in PDF format.

Financial Aid

This program is approved for Canada Student Loans. British Columbia residents can apply for student loans online through StudentAid BC. For non-British Columbia residents, please visit hrsdc.gc.ca for information about Canada Student Loans.

For a list of all financial aid programs available to PRC students, please visit our Financial Aid page.

Post-Graduation

Graduates of the Diploma of Holistic Nutrition have the most comprehensive training offered in Canada with more than three times the on-site education than any other diploma program in the field. Having completed a minimum of 360 hours of clinical training, and having received specific education in practice management and business development, graduates are poised to be successful nutritional practitioners and consultants. Additionally, graduates can also seek employment in other sectors of the health and wellness industry by filling positions such as retail consultants, product developers, teachers, fitness advisers, restaurant consultants, spa managers and more.

Program Accreditation

This program is recognized by the National Association of Nutrition Professionals as an approved and recommended education program. Graduates who have sufficient professional experience are qualified for professional membership with NANP and to sit for the holistic nutrition national board exam offered through the Holistic Nutrition Credentialing Board (HNCB). Successful exam candidates will become Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition.

CANNPThis program is approved by the Canadian Association of Natural Nutritional Practitioners (CANNP). Graduates are eligible to be considered for the Canadian Association of Natural Nutritional Practitioners designation of NNCP (Natural Nutrition – Clinical Practitioner).

This program is approved by the Health Coach Alliance (HCA), which is proud to fall under the Canadian Association for Integrative Nutrition. Graduates are eligible to apply for membership to become a Registered Health Coach (RHC) or a Registered Health & Nutrition Counselor (RHNC). (Licensed will replace Registered in areas where Registered is not permitted)

This program is approved by the Canadian Association for Integrative Nutrition (CAIN). Graduates are eligible to use the designations of Registered Holistic Nutrition Practitioner (RHNP) or Registered Holistic Health Practitioner (RHHP). (Licensed will replace Registered in areas where Registered is not permitted.)

This program is approved by the Canadian Association of Holistic Nutrition Professionals. CAHN-Pro is a professional association for the accreditation of holistic nutritionists.

Licensing Requirements

Practitioner licensing requirements vary based on region of governance. Currently there are no government restrictions to the practice of Holistic Nutrition in Canada. It is students’ responsibility to ensure they meet eligibility criteria in their chosen region.


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