The Berkeley Herbal Center Apprenticeship Program provides a complete training in Western Herbal Medicine, leading to an official Berkeley Herbal Center Herbal Certification.
In our 600-hour Herbal Apprenticeship, students receive an intensive education in local plants and their healing properties through theoretical and experiential learning, botanical field study, and medicine making.
This intensive program is for deeply motivated beginning and intermediate-level students.
This program prepares you for your first year of the Clinical Internship in our low-cost community clinic.
(Accepted students, submit remaining tuition payments here.)
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
March 11, 2025 to October 14, 2025
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Berkeley Herbal Center Campus
1250 Addison St STE G
Berkeley, CA 94702
Deposit (Due with application): $2,000
Tuition ( Early Bird Sign Up before January 1st): $6,500
TOTAL COST (Before Jan 1st): $8,500
*After January 1st total cost of the program is $8,995
The apprenticeship focuses on an in-depth investigation of human physiology to understand the complex interactions between the reproductive, endocrine, nervous, skin, muscular, skeletal and digestive systems.
Constitutional physiology and the impact of stress on physical and emotional health are emphasized.
Students complete an “herbal dissertation” of the student’s choice.
At the completion of the course, students will have a firm and well-rounded foundation in herbalism, including their own self-researched, organized and comprehensive materia medica.
In addition to completing the in-depth investigation into human physiology and case studies related to each organ system, students are responsible for creating more than 80 detailed plant reports (herbal monographs) about the herbs that they encounter throughout the program and in the wild, and for mastering the wide range of herbal medicine-making skills.
Our coursework is taught by Berkeley Herbal Center staff and is built on experiential learning and knowledge handed down over the course of human healing history.
Students sit with plants, learn how to grow and tend an herb garden, appreciate seasonal changes, and understand the ecosystem we live in.
Students create their own medicines, learn how to craft extracts from multiple solutions, as well as create creams and lotions, salves, teas, syrups, honey, oils, vinegars and suppositories.
Each week, students are offered a different herb to experiment with and given a safe space to talk about the plants and their experiences.
Apprentice students take trips throughout the Bay Area of California, with a focus on botany and proper plant identification methods.
A substantial number of class hours are spent hands on in nature, with extended trips to local environments such as the Sierras and the Pacific Ocean.
Students gain knowledge of medicinal plant communities in California’s diverse ecosystems.
For more information on our certification programs, please email studentservices@berkeleyherbalcenter.org.
*This program is not available for payment plans or work trade. Unused deposits cannot be used for short-term courses, or workshops. There are no exceptions.
Additional Costs: Tuition includes all instructional time. Additional cost to students include travel, food, and facility rentals for 3 wildcrafting trips and the cost of textbooks. Depending on how thrifty you choose to be, students can expect the additional cost to be anywhere from $700 to $1000
Support Our Work
Berkeley Herbal Center is a 501(c)(3) organization, so all donations are tax deductible. Tax ID #14-1975183
If you would like to donate by check or cash, please send an envelope addressed to:
Berkeley Herbal Center
1250 Addison St., #G
Berkeley, CA 94702
