Applications are now closed for the January 2026 cohort

Submissions to the September 2026 cohort will reopen early 2026, please keep an eye out for updates through our mailing list. 

Integrative Oncology Scholars (IOS) Certificate

The Integrative Oncology Scholars Certificate is a one-year remote program designed to advance knowledge and expertise in integrative oncology. This program equips healthcare professionals with the skills to incorporate evidence-based integrative therapies into oncology care, research, and education.

The curriculum is structured around Team-Based Learning (TBL), an interactive approach that emphasizes collaborative group work and individual knowledge assessment to enhance engagement and application of course materials.

The IOS certificate program is a 10-month long program, including one 8-hour session per month. To minimize course time outside of class, the program requires just 8 hours per month (~80 hours total over 10 months), with much of that time dedicated to developing the capstone project and associated pre-work for the monthly sessions. The program will also provide ~40 CME/CEs for oncology providers who attend the course and receive a certificate of completion.

The IOS Program is designed to be sensitive to the competing demands of full-time clinicians, educators, and researchers by making it flexible, personalized, and having a reasonable number of hours required to complete the course in any given month. The course is flexible by allowing scholars to complete their web-based modules, webinars, and readings and arrange for their integrative medicine practicums and interaction with their mentor at any time during the course. Scholars are also able to work on developing their long-term capstone project at their own pace providing that key benchmarks are met. Personalization occurs as all scholars choose the topic of their capstone project related to their clinical, educational, or research interests and investigate their own communities for choosing with which integrative medicine providers to partner with in their practicums. 

You must:

• Practice in the United States or Canada

• Be 21 years of age or older.

• Have received one of the following degrees: MD, DO, PA, MSN, DNSc, DNP, PharmD, PhD in psychology, nursing, social work or MSW.

• Have a current certification and licensure for the state(s) for which you practice.

• Be engaged in an oncology-focused practice defined as an average of at least one oncology-focused clinic shift per week for the last 12 months in a hospital setting.

• Have completed clinical training (except fellows).

Trainees are not eligible to participate except for medical fellows who have completed all residency requirements or post-doctoral fellows in clinical psychology or social work. 

• Proposed Capstone Project (one page)

• Statement of Interest (one page), including:

1. A description of the integrative oncology resources currently available at your institution or clinic.

2. Examples of how participation in this course would enhance patient care, oncology research, or the education of other oncology providers.

• Curriculum Vitae

• Three Letters of Recommendation:

1. 1. 1. Professional Colleague: One letter from a professional colleague.

      2. Institutional Support: A letter from your healthcare system, cancer center, or equivalent, confirming that you will be granted sufficient time away from clinical duties to complete the in-residence portions of the course. The letter should also indicate support to present your course experience and capstone project within your organization.

      3. Oncology Professional Mentor: A letter from an oncology professional at your institution who has agreed to review your capstone proposal and assist in identifying opportunities to share your experience within your institution.

Each scholar is required to develop a self-directed capstone project, which may focus on an area of existing expertise or explore a new area of interest. The project can take the form of a clinical, research, or educational initiative, but it must be centered on integrative oncology.

The capstone project is expected to be substantial in scope, evolving over several months and incorporating the knowledge and competencies gained throughout the course.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to propose a tentative project idea. This initial concept will be refined through collaboration with course faculty and fellow scholars. Additionally, you will be assigned a mentor who will provide guidance on both the content and methodology of your project.

Each scholar is expected to have a draft of their project to present to the other scholars in their group and their faculty mentor by mid-course. Successful completion of the capstone project will be dependent on the project, but follows these general guidelines:

For educational projects: Curriculum is completed with clear competencies identified, mapped to learning activities and evaluation plan in place. The educational activity is approved by appropriate persons/bodies within the scholar’s home institution and a time is set for when it will first be offered and subsequent plans for future offerings.

For clinical projects: Scope, vision, goal of clinical project is completed along with a clear plan for what services would be offered, who will be offering them, where would they be offered, how credentialing and licensure will be dealt with along with payment/insurance issues; the identification of key institutional and/or community resources and initial approval of appropriate persons/bodies within the scholar’s home institution with clear timeline for implementation.

For research projects: Conceptualization, completion and submission of a grant application such as an R01 or K Award; Conceptualization and completion of a pilot research project including analysis of the data and presentation of results. This could be an analysis of an existing data set or collection of original data.

Examples of capstones

Educationally themed capstone

• Creation of an integrative medicine curriculum for nurses, advanced practice providers and other caregivers in both inpatient and outpatient oncology settings.

• Creation of an integrative oncology skin cancer focused curriculum for oncologists, dermatologists, etc. 

• Producing brief, evidence-based supportive care pocket guides for using integrative medicine to treat common symptoms that oncology patients experience 

Research themed capstone

• Researching the clinical benefits of using propolis to treat oral mucositis in patients receiving fluorouracil infusion for gastrointestinal cancers

• Does early, targeted training in autonomic nervous system self-regulation, as measured by heart rate variability biofeedback, mitigate the worsened course of oncology patients with high Adverse Childhood Experience scores?

• What are the predictors for benefits from a program of spirituality-based techniques (both cognitive as well as manual- touch, reiki, yoga, TEM) during and long after cancer treatment.

Clinically themed capstone

• Implementing oncology massage and reflexology as inpatient services

• Addition of an Integrative Oncology Pharmacy Services into Cancer Treatment Patient Education Visits

• Integrative Oncology Multi-Disciplinary Clinic for MedStar Baltimore Region Cancer Network

Can more than one person from the same institution apply and get in to the program?

Yes, we encourage you and your colleague(s) to both apply. Just to note: Each applicant must complete a separate online application with individual cover letters and supporting documents. 

My profession isn't listed under those eligible for the program. Can I still apply?

We have set specific eligibility requirements to ensure a full and diverse cohort of trainees who will be able to take full advantage of the designed curriculum. We are also open to fielding your questions about eligibility. Please reach out to us at ioscholars@umich.edu if you have questions about your "fit."