advanced community herbalism

See the curriculum here. For an overview of our full Community Herbalism program see our overview page.

Advanced Community Herbalism (ACH) is where we take everything learned in the Fundamentals course—or a comparable foundation elsewhere—and bring it to life in deeper, applied herbal practice. Together we explore each organ system in greater depth, refine our medicine-making techniques, and work with herbs that call for greater precision and experience. We also begin weaving in the practical skills of community-based care: pattern recognition, formulation, and case study work.

Like our Guided Fundamentals course, ACH runs on a clear schedule with a defined start and finish. The cohort moves through the material together, week by week, combining structure with community momentum. You can expect about four hours of video lessons each week plus four to five hours of assignments and self-study.

Every four weeks your cohort will meet with a teacher or teachers on Zoom for a live session—interactive classes where we review the previous lessons through exercises, case discussion, and group dialogue.

And like Fundamentals, the Advanced year is built in four-week blocks: three weeks of new material, then an Integration Week with no new lessons. That week is for consolidation, medicine making, and a required peer session with your cohort—one you run yourselves, with suggested activities we provide. Second-year work is dense enough that having extra space to metabolize it isn't a luxury; it's what makes it stick.

Most students continue into this program after completing Fundamentals, but we warmly welcome applicants from other schools or equivalent programs who share our approach to vitalist and community herbalism. If you already have a solid foundation and are ready to deepen your craft, ACH offers the guidance, rigor, and community to help you grow into confident practice.

Essential Info:

Schedule:

Dates: February 22nd – December 1st, 2027
Format: Weekly video lessons (~4 hrs) plus 4–5 hrs independent study
Live sessions: Every two weeks. 3 hrs long. Alternate between instructor-led and peer-led.
Optional intensives: In-person weekends on Medicine-making/Formulation & Clinical Skills (Summer 2027)

Prerequisites:

Completion of Terra Sylva Fundamentals or equivalent (150+ hours of instructor time)
Working knowledge of at least 36 herbs and basic medicine-making experience

Tuition:

$2,550 for the full year
$300 deposit (non-refundable)
Payment plans available

Certificate:

330-hour certificate awarded upon completion of all assignments, final exam, and active participation in live sessions

Apply here

The Details (Read before applying)

Prerequisites

To qualify for Terra Sylva’s Advanced Community Herbalism program, an applicant must be a graduate of a Terra Sylva program or a graduate of a program similar to our Fundamentals of Community Herbalism course that provides:

a minimum of 150 hours of lecture content
training and experience in multiple medicine-making techniques
a basic understanding of the body’s organ systems
working knowledge of at least three dozen medicinal herbs (preferably more)
a solid foundational framework for holistic health

At Terra Sylva, our teaching acknowledges that healing is not only personal—it’s also shaped by the systems we live within. If you meet the prerequisites listed above and are considering applying for our Year 2 program, but are unfamiliar with our orientation to holistic herbal care, please read this essay before applying.

If you’ve studied herbalism outside of Terra Sylva but feel that you have fulfilled these prerequisites, then you are welcome to apply to Advanced Community Herbalism and we will happily consider your application.

Do note that if your foundation in herbalism is solid, but you are missing one or more key pieces of our Terra Sylva framework (such as the tissue states or introductory vitalism), then we may only admit you to the Advanced program on the condition that you complete our short foundations course in these topics before the school year begins.

Dates: Our 2027 online Advanced Community Herbalism Program runs from February 22nd to December 1st.

Format: The 2027 Advanced Community Herbalism Program is a 340-hour course, including 158 hours of instructor-led education consisting of weekly video lessons and a 3-hour live video conference every four weeks, and nine live peer sessions totaling an additional 27 hours. These are supported by hands-on homework and case study practice for 155 more hours (on average) of learning. Our core faculty (Jen Stovall, Dave Meesters and Janet Kent) will review assignments, give feedback, and host biweekly live conference calls and an optional monthly study hall. Students who meet our attendance, participation, assignment, and exam requirements will receive a certificate affirming successful completion of our 340-hour Advanced Community Herbalism training program.

The program follows a learning rhythm designed support integration and skill-building. Instead of releasing new course material every single week, the program follows a four-week block structure:

Weeks 1–3: New recorded video lessons, handouts, readings, etc. are released each week
Week 2: Live Zoom session with instructors (3 hours)
Week 4: Integration Week — no new lessons — Live Peer session

During Integration Weeks, students are encouraged to review material, practice skills, catch up on coursework, and consolidate their learning. Peer-led study sessions on Zoom are held during these weeks (without instructors present, but aided by a menu of suggested activities that we provide). These are opportunities for group tea-tastings, discussions, reviewing course material, and practicing skills.

Separate from Integration Weeks, every four weeks (on Week 2 of each block), students meet live with one or more instructors on Zoom for review, practice, discussion, and synthesis, or for an occasional guest teaching session.

Two full break weeks are interspersed during the school year. These are true breaks, with no classes or study expectations. (Integration Weeks are considered active parts of the curriculum, not breaks.)

Class dates: Live video conference classes will be held on the following dates: March 3rd & 31st, April 28th, May 26th, June 30th, July 28th, August 25th, September 29th, October 27th, November 22nd (note that this is a Monday, only on this week), and December 1st. There will be a break on the week of May 31st & August 30th. During those weeks, there will not be a weekly video lesson or homework.

Peer session dates: Live peer sessions via video conference will be held on the following dates: March 17th, April 14th, May 12th, June 16th, July 14th, August 11th, September 15th, October 13th, & November 10th.

Tuition: Tuition for the online Advanced Community Herbalism Program is $2550. Once you are accepted, a $300 non-refundable deposit is required in order to secure your spot, with the rest of your tuition due by January 15th, 2027.

Payment plans, no questions asked: Anyone accepted to the program can pay the remainder of their tuition (after the deposit) on a 10-month payment plan with no extra charge. You don’t need to apply or to explain why.

Additional costs: One required textbook (which students who attended Fundamentals of Community Herbalism will already have) and medicine making supplies.

In-person Intensives: Students enrolled in the Advanced Community Herbalism course will have opportunities to participate in two in-person intensives. You can find more about the Advanced In-person Intensives here.

Accessibility:

Pace: Integration Weeks and two full break weeks are built into the year specifically so that a hard month doesn't end your studies. Students who need recovery time because of chronic illness, disability, neurodivergence, caregiving, or a demanding job have told us that pace can be the difference between finishing and not.

Technology: While an online program does allow us to include people who cannot relocate for herb school, it does limit accessibility in other ways. Students will need access to reliable internet and a laptop, desktop computer or tablet to view video classes and course materials. The device and the internet bandwidth must allow full video-conferencing capability.