Herbal medicine, one year at a time
You will train in a working clinic with real patients from your first year and learn to prepare every remedy by hand in our dispensary. Most of our students fit this around a job and a family.
From a one-year certificate to full qualification as a Medical Herbalist. Online study, part-time, with clinical training in Castlecomer.
Course Delivery
Blended learning through online study and practical clinical training
Duration
1 Year. Two structured terms
Start Date
21 September 2026. Enrolment now open
Fees
€4,350. Payment plan available
Your herbal studies pathway…
From a one-year certificate to full qualification as a Medical Herbalist. Online study, part-time, with clinical training at our working clinic in Castlecomer.
Certificate in Herbal Studies
First Year
The foundation: herbs, natural healing and plant-based nutrition, with 150 hours of clinical training. A complete qualification if you stop here. View programme
Diploma in Plant-based Nutrition & Iridology
Second Year
A professional qualification in its own right: graduates practise as nutritionists and iridologists, and qualify for professional indemnity insurance. View programme
Licentiate in Herbal Medicine
Third and fourth Year
The full training: 600 clinical hours, bespoke formulation, and qualification to practise as a Master Herbalist. View programme
Each year, the only decision in front of you is the next one.
See where you would train…
This short film gives you a real sense of what studying at Core College looks like: the dispensary, the herb garden, the clinical training, and the students who are already on this path.
Three unique elements offered in the herbal medicine programmes
A working clinic
Members of the public attend with real health concerns. Students observe live consultations from year one and move to supervised practice as their training progresses.
Organic herb gardens
Our medicinal herb gardens at the Castlecomer campus are certified organic. Students can see, smell, and study the plants they read about. We are also building a processing area to use what we grow directly in the clinic.
A herbal Dispensary
Every patient receives their own formulation, mixed for them. Students learn to prepare tinctures, bowel powders, infusions, decoctions and fermentations themselves.
Built around a working life
Most of our students are working adults with jobs, families and full lives, who have been drawn to herbal medicine for years and are finally ready to study it properly. The programme is built around that reality.
All academic study is online. There are no live lectures and no fixed class times, so you study when it suits you. Across the year, we suggest setting aside about an hour and a half to two hours a day, five days a week, though when those hours fall is entirely your own.
A module runs for three weeks. In the first two weeks, a topic is introduced, and you work through a small, carefully chosen set of readings and recordings. The third week is given over to the assignment.
You study in a group of around twelve to fifteen, supported throughout by a tutor who is a qualified herbalist. The tutor's role is to guide rather than to lecture.
“You are never studying alone; you are part of a cohort, connected to peers and guided by an experienced practitioner”
In-person attendance is reserved entirely for clinical training. You attend the Castlecomer clinic for around fourteen days a year, plus two weekends a year at the Maynooth campus.
Clinic days run Tuesday to Friday, and the dates are published about six months ahead. You choose the days that suit you. A day here and a day there is fine, and so is several in a row. If a month goes by when you cannot attend, that is fine too.
Students living abroad continue their academic studies from home and travel only for the clinical days, which can be taken in blocks of one, two or three weeks. Students have joined us from across Europe, the UK and the USA.
Where the full training leads
Most graduates establish their own practice, seeing patients individually and preparing a bespoke remedy for each of them. Because clinical training runs through all four years, you will have sat with real patients long before you qualify.
Some go on to teach and to write, contributing to the wider tradition of herbal medicine and natural healing.
Others work alongside practitioners in related fields, in clinics where herbal medicine sits beside other disciplines.
Graduates of the Licentiate are eligible to join the Irish Association of Master Medical Herbalists in Ireland and the Association of Master Herbalists in the United Kingdom, the professional bodies for Master Herbalists in both jurisdictions.
“Having a working medicinal garden and being able to actually connect with the plants is something I had not found in other schools. You cannot teach that connection. You have to live it.”
— Antonella, Herbal Medicine student
In America, we really don't have any schools for herbalism that are quite this quality. That was what attracted me to this school, just how in-depth the programme is.
— Jillian H. Student - USA
We're here to help each other. It's not a competitive course. We're all on this learning journey together.
— Antoinette, Student
Fees, dates and how places are offered
Dates
The next programme begins on 21 September 2026. The academic year runs from late September to June, in two terms, with a break over Christmas and a short break at Easter.
Entry
There are no formal academic requirements. Students must be at least eighteen, with good spoken and written English and the ability to study at this level. What matters most is a genuine interest in the subject.
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On successful completion of the programme and its assessments, students are awarded a Certificate in Herbal Studies by Core College.
Graduates are equipped to use herbal medicine, vitalistic nutrition, and natural healing principles in a personal and family setting.
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Study fees are €4,350 per year. This includes full clinical training each year. An optional payment plan is available on request.
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The next course commences on the 21st of September 2026.
How places are offered
Places are offered following a short interview, held in person at Castlecomer or online. It is a conversation rather than a test.
Take the full brochure away with you
The brochure covers all four years module by module, the three payment options, and what a clinical day actually involves. Enter your email address and we will send it to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. No prior knowledge of herbal medicine, nutrition, or anatomy is required. The programme is designed to take you from the beginning, whether you are entirely new to natural healing or have been reading about it for years. What matters most is genuine interest and a willingness to commit to the work.
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All academic learning is online, video lectures, podcasts, written materials, and guided discussion forums. You study at your own pace, with no fixed class times. In-person attendance is for clinical training only, which takes place at our clinic in Castlecomer and at Maynooth Campus.
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We recommend planning for around 1.5 to 2 hours of focused study per day, five days a week. This is a guideline, not a rigid schedule. There are no live sessions you must attend at a specific time, so if a day is missed, the material is always there to return to. That said, this is a serious programme, it rewards consistent engagement.
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In-person attendance is focused entirely on clinical training. Over the course of the year, you will complete approximately 150 clinical hours, an average of fourteen days at the Castlecomer clinic, plus two weekends at Maynooth Campus. Clinic days run Tuesday to Friday, and you choose from the available dates to suit your schedule. Overseas students can complete their clinical training in concentrated blocks.
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Yes. All academic learning is online, and clinical training can be arranged in longer, concentrated visits to Ireland. We have had students travel from the US, the UK, and mainland Europe to complete the programme. If you are considering enrolling from abroad, we are happy to discuss how the clinical training schedule can be arranged to work for you.
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You will hold a recognised qualification from Core College and the skills to use herbal medicine and nutrition in a personal and family setting. If you wish to continue, you can apply to progress to Year 2, the Diploma in Plant-based Nutrition and Iridology, and from there to the full four-year Herbal Medicine Licentiate. There is no obligation to continue, and no decision needs to be made before you begin.
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Places are offered following a short interview, which can take place in person at Castlecomer or online via Zoom. The interview is not a test; it is a conversation. We want to make sure the programme is the right fit for you, and to answer any questions you have before you commit. Book a Discovery Call below and we will arrange the next steps from there.
Book a Discovery Call
A 20-minute Discovery Call gives you the opportunity to ask questions, understand how the course works in practice, and get a clear sense of whether it is the right step for you.
You can book using the calendar provided or simply phone the college during office hours to arrange this. The phone number is +353 56 4440254.
Want to understand the full programme before you apply?
This 29-minute introduction covers the philosophy behind our approach to herbal medicine, the structure of the full four-year pathway, what clinical training looks like in practice, and what a career in herbal medicine can offer. It is the most complete picture of what Core College is and what we teach.