Notre Dame of Maryland University Becomes First Comprehensive University with a School of Integrative Health After Merger of Maryland University of Integrative Health

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BALTIMORE, Md. – Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) and Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH) have completed a merger of MUIH programs into NDMU, making NDMU the nation’s first comprehensive university to house a school solely dedicated to integrative health. Notre Dame of Maryland University's School of Integrative Health (NDMU SOIH) has the potential to serve as a leader and innovator in healthcare education.

“The launch of the Notre Dame of Maryland University School of Integrative Health is a tremendous step forward in healthcare education and positions NDMU as a leader in healthcare education. Having conventional and integrative health programs alongside one another provides opportunities for interprofessional collaboration among faculty to advance the scholarship, research and the practice of holistic healthcare,” said Dr. Marylou Yam, president of Notre Dame of Maryland University. “The NDMU School of Integrative Health complements the University’s strengths in conventional healthcare degree programs and expands academic options for students.”

The merger of MUIH into NDMU adds a full array of more than 20 primarily online graduate-level integrative health and wellness degrees and certificates to NDMU’s already robust offerings of conventional healthcare programs. NDMU SOIH will continue to offer the former MUIH’s programs in nutrition, health and wellness coaching, health promotion, herbal medicine, integrative health studies, Ayurveda, and yoga therapy. The merger also adds over 500 formerly MUIH graduate-level students, increasing NDMU’s graduate student population by nearly 50 percent.

The use of integrative health practices by the public, healthcare providers, and hospitals has grown significantly across the United States. The National Institutes of Health indicated that the percentage of people who have used at least one integrative health approach rose to 37 percent in 2022, up from 19 percent in 2002, according to a 2024 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Dr. Christina Sax, MUIH’s former interim president, will serve as the inaugural dean of NDMU’s new School of Integrative Health. “When healthcare is done best, it involves professionals from multiple disciplines working together to provide patient-centered care. With the addition of graduate-level integrative health programs to NDMU’s already strong conventional healthcare education portfolio, there are endless possibilities for developing new and unique academic programs.”

NDMU SOIH will ensure that students will continue to receive a high-quality education in the field. It will encourage interprofessional collaboration of practitioners in the fields of integrative and conventional healthcare and will promote the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Faculty in the School of Integrative Health will also have expanded opportunities to partner with the faculty in NDMU’s existing School of Nursing and School of Pharmacy & Health Professions to advance collaborative scholarship and research in healthcare.

An established leader in healthcare education, NDMU offers a suite of professional health programs, including a bachelor’s in health sciences, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing, a Doctor of Pharmacy, a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, a Master’s in Physician Assistant Studies, and Maryland’s first bachelor and master’s degree programs in Art Therapy. Founded in Baltimore in 1895 and celebrating its 130th anniversary, NDMU is a private, nonprofit comprehensive Catholic university offering a wide variety of career and health-focused undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and certificate programs.

Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.