First Year Program
An Introduction to The Art and Science of Herbal Medicine.


Year One Overview
ArborVitae offers a comprehensive professional foundational first year that runs from September to May. It offers over 343 classroom hours of instruction in basic herbalism, materia medica, holistic anatomy and physiology, botany and plant identification, and medicine making. Students will also achieve a basic knowledge in traditional nutrition, wild food, first aid, varied herbal applications through the life-cycles, and energetic assessment. Instruction will include a variety of traditional approaches to healing, with a focus on western herbalism based on energetics, Vitalism, and the tissue state model.
Students who complete the first year of study at ArborVitae can expect to gain a basic understanding of herbal medicine, with application for friends and family. The first year program is a comprehensive course that is the foundational year for the three year clinical program.

To apply for the
Foundational Year Professional Herbalism Program.

Visit our Application page to learn about what a complete application includes for all programs.
Now accepting applications for the 2022-2023 school year
We are excited to announce that we will keep a portion of our classes online in order to accommodate varying needs. No more than half of the program will be online. In-person classes will meet in our Hudson Valley space as well as botany field trips in various locations.
Student Resources
YEAR ONE

Year One Schedule
2022-2023
(dates subject to change)
Weekdays: Online
Wednesdays 9a – 5p
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Sep 14, 21
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Oct 5, 12, 26
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Nov 2, 9, 30 *Harvest break 11/17-11/28
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Dec 14 *Winter break 12/15-1/9
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Jan 11, 18
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Feb 1, 8, 15
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Mar 1, 8, 15, 29
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Apr 5, 19 *Spring break 4/6-4/17
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May 3, 17
Weekends: 1 per month, in-person
Fridays 11a-7:30p, Saturdays 11a-7:30p, & Sundays 10a – 5p
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Sept 23-25
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Oct 14-16
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Nov 11-13
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Dec 2-4
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Jan 20-22
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Feb 17-19
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Mar 17-19
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Apr 21-23
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May 12-14
