Accreditation Page
There are hundreds of accrediting agencies worldwide. We maintain the requirements to be accredited by many of these agencies. However, we do not seek accreditation from just one specific agency as this would not suit the needs of all of our students. This means that to meet the needs of all of our students around the globe we would need to seek accreditation by tens of agencies which would quadruple the cost of each course but would not add additional value to the student’s degree or certification.
There is currently no way to earn an ND (Naturopathic Doctorate) online. We do not offer a Naturopathic Doctorate. We offer a PhD in Traditional Naturopathy.
You can find the required information below that allows our institution’s courses to be accepted for credits, approval or accreditation. If you need additional information please write to us at: CustomerService@TheBearthInstitute.com
Currently Affiliated With
The Board of Natural Medicine Certification Council: Students have previously submitted courses for approval and these courses have been accepted by them on an individual basis.
International Organization of Nutritional Consultants: Students have previously submitted courses for approval and these courses have been accepted by them on an individual basis.
Harvard Medical School: Harvard Medical School approved the application of students for financial aid to take our course, The Medicine of Avicenna. These courses were deemed appropriate because they covered material not offered at the school. The courses also passed a review board who felt the material was of a high quality. (Note: Our courses are not medical courses and have not been officially accredited by this university)
Accreditation Requirements We Fulfill
The job of an accrediting agency is to assure you that your school fills the basic organizational and educational requirements, is legitimately teaching students, and is not just “selling certificates” or participating in some sort of pyramid scheme.
An accrediting agency does not add value to your degree and does not guarantee that your credits can be transferred. We “self monitor” using these same guidelines and can guarantee that we fill all the following accreditation requirements:
1. Student Records: Student records are kept for each individual student, transcripts and certifications are provided on completion of each course and upon request.
2. School is Insured: School is insured for loss. If the institution closes for reasons beyond our control, students are able to get a refund for classes they have not yet completed or gained certification for.
3. Staff are Professional: Dean of Students, Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND, Ph.D. has a doctorate in Naturopathy, a Masters in herbalism and undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Linguistics. Vanessa Nixon Klein, Aromatherapist and Herbalist is the founder and CEO of Herbs of Grace, Inc., a handcrafted, natural cosmetics company, as well as Herbs of Grace Healing Arts, a natural health consulting business. Mohsina Mandil is a fourth year nursing student at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.
4. Teaching Provided by Professionals: Materials, Videos and MP3s for the course are provided by a number of professionals and staff including the staff mentioned above as well as Gina Tyler, DHom, Paul Branch, M.D. and Jiri Cehovsky. Readings are also provided by distinguished professionals in the areas of herbalism, iridology, reflexology, aromatherapy, consulting and nutrition.
5. Certification and Transcripts: Are provided to each student as their coursework is complete. If you need us to send you information on a current student directly please write to us at: CustomerService@Thebearthinstitute.com with an e-mail address we can e-mail documents to (we scan originals and send them to you via e-mail) or a physical address we can send original documents to.
6. Secure Student & Course Data: Our course and student data systems are backed up three times online and offline to prevent loss of data. All this information is also secure.
Course Descriptions
Course Syllabus
Course syllabi are provided below
Detailed Course Descriptions & Brochures
More detailed descriptions of courses are provided below. Not all courses can be found below as this is a new project. If you need this additional information for a course please contact us at: CustomerService@TheBearthInstitute.com
Course Text List
A course text list is provided below as a chart
Special Syllabi
The following syllabi were requested by students on a special case basis as their accrediting institution needed to see how the courses applied directly to fulfilling the requirements for psychology and anatomy.
Course Guides
The following guides are what each student prints out to guide them through each course or series of courses.
From our Front Page
Some new organizations students have been certified with using our program are:
The American Association of Drugless Practitioners
Also see this information from our front page for additional organizations:
Educational Accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of an educational institution or program are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met. There are a large number of these “external bodies” around the world. If standards are met, accredited status is granted by the agency. As there are numerous agencies around the world it is impossible to apply to them all. If you have an agency you would like us to apply to please contact us. Accreditation does not assure that your degree will be accepted in your area of study. Accreditation of an institution has nothing to do with your ability to practice as a healer. Do not be fooled by an institution that claims accreditation and then says that this will accredit you as a healer, Your individual accreditation depends on the laws in your home state and/or country. The Avicenna Institute teaches you how to work within these legal and ethical boundaries and gives you the tools to work with your degree no matter what the laws of your home state and/or country are. Our students have gone on to open private practices, write for internationally acclaimed magazines, become consultants or teachers, and much more. The following institutions have reviewed and accepted the material offered by The Avicenna Institute:
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School approved the application of students for financial aid to take our course, The Medicine of Avicenna. These courses were deemed appropriate because they covered material not offered at the school. The courses also passed a review board who felt the material was of a high quality. (Note: Our courses are not medical courses and have not been officially accredited by this university)
The Board of Natural Medicine Certification Council
Students submit our courses to The Board of Natural Medicine Certification Council to gain credit for courses they have taken. BNMDP-NA is a non-profit organization established in 1998 as the Examining Board of Natural Medicine Practitioners-North America(EBNMP-NA) as per World Health Organization Alma Ata 1962 accord, and is accredited and affiliated with the World Organization of Natural Medicine WONM-Registry by authority of its Registrar, accredited by the American Naturopathic Association (ANA) and acknowledged by the American Naturopathic Medical Association (ANMA). It serves as a Registry for Traditional (Nature’s)Natural Medicine Doctors and Practitioners in North America and Its sub- boards are responsible for the administration of clinical competency examinations for certification.
International Organization of Nutritional Consultants
Lilipoh Magazine
LILIPOH is an independently-owned natural health and lifestyle magazine, with a small staff of editors, writers, artists and friendly service people who care about and believe in the content we present. After 14 years in publication, they have a solid editorial team, a lively family of over 100 advertisers, and a circulation of over 30,000 copies per quarter. Based in the US, LILIPOH is international in scope, often reporting on worldwide initiatives, with subscribers in over 16 countries. In the summer 2009 issue, Lillipoh published an article by instructor Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND on her theory of the temperaments and typology in healing and education.
International Conferences & Seminars
Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND has been invited to speak at a number of Internationally recognized conferences in California, Colorado, Kuwait, Texas, New Hampshire and more. She is a regular speaker at the Waldorf in the Home Conferences on topics of healing and education. Her speaking engagements include topics like “Herbs for Kids”, “Typology and the Temperaments”, “Herbal Preparations”, “Iridology” and more.
Smithsonian Magazine and Others
Articles by Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND have been quoted as expert sources in a number of magazines and books including Smithsonian Magazine, Cry on the Mountain (book), Beyond Natural Cures (book) and many more. We have a full list of these quotes we are preparing which will be ready in the near future.
Eat Right 4 Your Type Website and More
Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND has written over 500 articles. Approximately half of these articles cover information about Middle Eastern Medicine, an area she studied in detail when she lived in the Middle East for 16 years. Dr. Burns is considered one of the foremost experts on the topic of Healing in the Middle East and how that relates to Western medicine and alternative medicine. Many of her articles have been reprinted or featured on hundreds of online websites, including the official website of Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo at Eat Right 4 Your Type.
Radio Shows
Kristie Burns, MH, ND has been asked to speak on a number of radio shows. One of her interviews is posted at: Business Talk Radio. In this interview she talks about her unique approach to healing. You can link here to listen to the interview: Business Talk Radio.