Pharmacy, Acupuncture Schools to Merge

The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) and the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) will be combining programs.

Boston Business Journal reported MCPHS has seen rapid growth in enrollment over the past couple years, as more students seek a pharmacy degree. The news source described MCPHS as one of Massachusetts’ fastest-growing colleges.

The pharmacy school had considered merging with the New England College of Optometry in 2011, but nothing ever came of the talks between the 2 schools, according to Boston Business Journal.

With the announcement on May 4, 2015, MCPHS will instead combine with NESA, which is the oldest acupuncture school in the country.

"We are excited to potentially combine our unique program with 1 of the world’s leaders in health care education,” NESA President and CEO Susan L. Gorman told Telegram. “NESA would continue to fulfill and extend its mission of integrating acupuncture and oriental medicine with western allopathic therapies, bringing acupuncture into the mainstream of modern medicine."

NESA will keep its name and become 1 of 10 constituent schools that comprise MCPHS, Telegram reported.

“With NESA, we would gain world-class expertise in holistic medical practice that will add breadth to our well-established programs, spark the development of new interprofessional majors, and strengthen our existing collaborations with universities in China and Japan,” MCPHS President Charles F. Monahan Jr. told Telegram.

The combined schools will bring together more than 7000 students from the United States and around the world.