KPU Introduces Bachelor’s In Traditional Chinese Medicine

Photo Credit: Province of British Columbia via Flickr

Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) recently announced it will offer Canada’s first bachelor’s degree in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), beginning in September 2025. The degree will serve as an extension of KPU’s Traditional Chinese Medicine diploma, which it launched in 2016.

It is equivalent to similar programs at internationally recognized universities in China, Australia, and New Zealand, and will qualify KPU graduates to pursue master’s programs in TCM at these schools.

“Traditional Chinese medicine has a long history of providing healing and balance, and […] more people in British Columbia want to access [it],” said Premier David Eby when speaking to reporters at the degree launch announcement in August. “Ensuring professional standards of training will make sure people who access traditional Chinese medicine in British Columbia are protected.”

TCM is based on the concept of qi, a vital energy force that flows through the human body, but is believed to cause disease and illness should an imbalance arise. Such an imbalance is commonly thought to be caused by a disruption in the opposite forces that make up qi, known as yin and yang. TCM seeks to restore and maintain the balance of qi through an array of practices, including acupuncture, herbal remedies, massage, and diet.

In 2019, the World Health Organization added TCM remedies to its International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, but the move was not without controversy. Some doubt the science behind TCM’s method, citing a lack of evidence of the actual effectiveness of herbal medicine. 

Jonathan Jarry, a science communicator for the McGill Office of Science and Society, stated that many studies regarding alternative medicine are poorly conducted. These studies often don’t include enough participants, are conducted over too short a time period, and lack the necessary follow-up or a proper control group, he says. 

“You have to also do very good, rigorous studies,” he told CBC News. “Otherwise you're just creating noise in the research literature." 

"I've received a number of massages in my life […] they're not doing anything long term, but they really do feel good […] and that is not nothing," he said . "The problem is that too often many of these practices […] are sold as being complementary to medicine, but sometimes they are used as an alternative to medicine and that is very problematic."