Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine

What Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine does

Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine is a private, independently governed educational institution headquartered in Santa Monica, California, founded in 1983 as one of the oldest acupuncture schools in Southern California and North America. It offers an accredited Master of Traditional Oriental Medicine (MTOM) program comprising 2,240 classroom hours and 970 clinical hours, and one of only nine fully accredited Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) programs in the United States, with dual-specialization in Internal Medicine and Physical Medicine across 1,250 hours. The institution serves prospective acupuncture students, licensed practitioners pursuing doctoral degrees, licensed acupuncturists seeking continuing education, and community patients receiving care at its 18-room on-campus acupuncture clinic that logs more than 15,000 patient visits annually. Supporting revenue streams include CEU seminars, a 450-herb dispensary that fills formulas for outside practitioners, a bookstore, and clinical externship placements at Cedars-Sinai, UCLA, the Venice Family Clinic, and the West Los Angeles VA.

Revenue is generated primarily through tuition and fees for the MTOM and DAOM programs, transaction-fee clinical services at the on-campus community clinic (treatment sessions priced $15–$50), professional-services fees for weekend continuing education seminars, and ancillary retail from the bookstore and herbal dispensary. The institution is approved for Title IV federal financial aid, GI Bill benefits, and F-1 visas for international students, and it has the longest-tenured ACAOM accreditation of any AOM program in California. Leadership has been stable since 2005 under President Yun Kim, EdD, and COO/CFO George Park (USC Marshall MBA), with academic leadership since 2009 under Dean Jacques MoraMarco. The school is owned by an independent board, has no parent company, no private equity or venture capital backing, and no subsidiaries. It is consistently ranked #1 in California and #2 nationally by TheBestSchools.org and posts the highest three-year composite (88.6%) California Acupuncture Licensing Exam pass rate in the country.

Name

Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine

Legal name

Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine

Website

https://emperors.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine is a private, ACAOM-accredited institution in Santa Monica, founded 1983, that trains licensed acupuncturists through MTOM and DAOM programs, operates an 18-room community clinic serving 15,000+ patients annually, and serves prospective students, community patients, and licensed practitioners seeking continuing education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Holistic & Integrative Wellness Education (Ayurveda, Traditional Practices) (EDAAAHAH)

Keywords

• Acupuncture education
• Oriental medicine training
• Graduate health education
• Clinical acupuncture services
• Continuing education CEU

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Educational Programs: Revenue from Master of Traditional Oriental Medicine (MTOM) and Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) degree programs. MTOM consists of 2,240 classroom hours and 970 hours of clinic training. DAOM consists of 1,250 total hours (600 didactic, 650 clinical) over eight academic quarters.
2. Clinical Services: The college operates a community acupuncture clinic providing treatment services. Treatment fees include $48 for Faculty Supervised Intern, $30 for Faculty Theater, $15 for Ear Acupuncture Clinic, and $50 for Licensed Doctoral Clinic. Over 15,000 patients seen annually.
3. Continuing Education Seminars: Wide array of Continuing Education seminars for licensed acupuncturists that satisfy state and national license requirements. Seminars typically held over weekends on campus.
4. Bookstore and Herb Dispensary: Bookstore sales of textbooks and supplies. Herb dispensary provides formula filling services for outside practitioners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine is a private graduate-level educational institution offering accredited Master's (MTOM) and Doctoral (DAOM) degree programs in acupuncture and Oriental medicine. The college supplements its academic programs with a high-volume on-campus community acupuncture clinic that provides affordable patient care while serving as a clinical training facility for students, along with Continuing Education seminars and an herbal dispensary serving outside practitioners.

Product overview

Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine is an educational institution offering a comprehensive suite of programs in acupuncture and Oriental medicine. The core offerings include a Master's Program (MTOM) with 2,240 classroom hours and 970 clinic hours, and a Doctoral Program (DAOM) with dual-specialization in Internal Medicine and Physical Medicine. Supporting products include Continuing Education seminars, an Opening Series for prospective students, a Community Acupuncture Clinic serving 15,000+ annual patient visits, clinical externships at major medical facilities, academic concentrations (Classical, East/West Nutrition, Korean Acupuncture, Nei Gong), and an Herb Dispensary. The institution operates as a unified academic ecosystem where students progress from introductory programs through clinical training to advanced doctoral studies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Master's Program (MTOM) Master of Traditional Oriental Medicine degree program consisting of 2,240 classroom hours and 970 hours of clinic training. The most comprehensive acupuncture and Oriental Medicine program in the nation, preparing students for the California Acupuncture Licensing Exam (CALE) and national certification. Offers specialized concentrations including Classical, East/West Nutrition, Korean Acupuncture, and Nei Gong.
• Doctoral Program (DAOM) Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine program offering dual-specialization in Internal Medicine and Physical Medicine. The program consists of 1,250 total hours (600 didactic and 650 clinical) completed over eight academic quarters. One of only nine DAOM programs in the country with full ACAOM accreditation.
• Continuing Education Seminars Wide array of Continuing Education seminars for licensed acupuncturists that satisfy state and national license requirements. Seminars are typically held over weekends on the Emperor's College campus.
• Opening Series Introductory acupuncture classes for prospective students to explore the field before committing to a master's degree. Classes cover fundamentals of Oriental medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, tai chi, qi gong, and meditation. Academic credit is awarded and transferable to the master's program.
• Community Acupuncture Clinic On-campus clinical training facility serving over 15,000 patient visits annually with 18 treatment rooms and an extensive herbal dispensary. Provides affordable complementary and alternative healthcare to the community since 1983, while serving as a clinical training ground for students.
• Herb Dispensary Extensive herbal dispensary stocked with 450 raw Chinese herbs plus concentrated powders and patent herbal formulas. Provides formula filling services for outside practitioners; many local practitioners rely on the dispensary to fulfill Chinese herbal formulas for their acupuncture patients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% first-time pass rate on California Acupuncture Licensing Exam (CALE) - 31 out of 31 graduates passed in 2017
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center at Providence Saint Joseph Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership in the health and wellness field. Emperor's College is recognized as being at the forefront of the health and wellness field alongside this partner in the Santa Monica/west Los Angeles area.
• Being AlivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit organization serving people living with HIV/AIDS. Emperor's College clinical interns and alumni provide treatment services at this organization. Dr. Jacques MoraMarco supervises interns at Being Alive.
• Simms-Mann Integrative Pain Center at Venice Family CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederally-Qualified Community Health Center. Partnership for clinical externship opportunities for Emperor's College students in integrative pain management.
• UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst UC campus to offer acupuncture services. Externship program established in 2000. Starrie Lowe (class of 2000) serves as staff acupuncturist. Michele Pearson was instrumental in making this partnership possible.
• Mindful Warrior ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization that organized the wellness area at the 2017 West Los Angeles VA Stand Down. Emperor's College served as sole provider of acupuncture services at the event.
• Daniel Webster Middle SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth and Wellness Fair partnership. Emperor's College interns participated in the first-ever wellness fair, teaching middle school students about acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
• Women Veterans Wellness SummitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmperor's College was the only school of acupuncture and Oriental medicine invited to create and operate clinics at the 2018 event. Treated dozens of women military veterans.
• The Learning GardencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRobert Newman serves as liaison to the Chinese Herbal Medicine Project at The Learning Garden, one of the country's largest and most successful AOM school herb gardens.
• Cedars-Sinai Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLucy Postolov (class of 1996) serves as staff acupuncturist at Cedars-Sinai. Evan Ross serves on Director's Board for Acupuncture. Michele Lamarche completed postgraduate certification in Acupuncture Orthopedics at Cedars Sinai.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pacific College of Health and Sciences: Operates accredited MTOM and DAOM programs with multiple campuses (San Diego, New York, Chicago) and a high-volume teaching clinic. Closest direct competitor by mission, program mix, and clinical-training model.
• Bastyr University: Accredited natural medicine university offering an MS in Acupuncture and certificate/DAOM-equivalent programs with teaching clinic; comparable in mission, integrative-medicine scope, and student outcomes focus.
• Five Branches University: California-based AOM school offering master's and doctoral degrees in Traditional Chinese Medicine with teaching clinics in Santa Cruz and San Jose; directly competes for the same prospective student pool as Emperor's.
• AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine: Texas-based AOM school with accredited master's and doctoral programs and a teaching clinic; one of the small set of U.S. DAOM-accredited peers and competes for the same national prospective-student audience.
• New England School of Acupuncture at MCPHS: One of the oldest U.S. acupuncture programs, now housed within Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; offers master's and doctoral AOM degrees with an on-site clinic, directly comparable to Emperor's program structure.
• Tri-State College of Acupuncture: New York-based AOM school offering master's and certificate programs in acupuncture with an on-site teaching clinic; comparable by program depth and clinical-training approach though smaller scale.
• Maryland University of Integrative Health: Accredited graduate school offering master's and doctoral programs in acupuncture and Oriental medicine with a teaching clinic; comparable in degree mix, outcomes reporting, and integrative-medicine positioning.
• Dongguk University Los Angeles (DULA): Korean-rooted AOM school in Los Angeles offering MSTOM and DAOM-equivalent programs; competes with Emperor's for the Southern California student market and Korean-American prospective students.
• American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM at CIIS): San Francisco-based AOM college now part of California Institute of Integral Studies; offers MSTOM and DAOM with an on-campus clinic, comparable in scale and curriculum to Emperor's MTOM/DAOM offerings.

Broad incumbents

• National University of Health Sciences: Larger, broader-scope integrative-health institution (chiropractic, naturopathic, AOM) offering accredited acupuncture programs; competes for similar prospective students but as part of a wider professional-school portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EmperorsCollege
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/emperorscollege
• Facebookfacebook.com/21908193370
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/groups/Emperors-College-Students-Alumni-3736093
• Instagraminstagram.com/emperorscollege

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine