Notre Dame of Maryland University has become the nation’s first comprehensive university with a school solely dedicated to integrative health, school leaders announced Wednesday.

The private Catholic university in North Baltimore absorbed the former Maryland University of Integrative Health, a graduate school of alternative medicine in Laurel. The two universities have been working on the link-up since 2022, and officials announced this week that the deal is finally complete.

The agreement called for no money to change hands, according to school officials. Notre Dame of Maryland is bringing aboard all of the alternative medicine school’s faculty, staff and students.

The acquisition marks the latest change at the 129-year-old university. Due to declining enrollment trends, the university began accepting male students in 2023 after historically only educating women. The university’s endowment, according to its public filings, stands at about $52.3 million, which is relatively small compared with peer institutions.

The merger with the Maryland University of Integrative Health will add 500 students to the university’s 1,800-student population. The graduate student population at the university is set to increase by nearly 50%.

Notre Dame of Maryland is already recruiting students to join the newly acquired school and hopes to grow its student ranks over the next decade, officials said. The university’s new school of integrative health will continue “limited operations” at Maryland University’s Laurel campus through the end of this fall semester.

Integrative medicine first arose in the 1970s, and became a formal profession in 2000. It’s a health care approach that combines conventional therapies, like drugs and surgeries, with complementary therapies, including acupuncture and yoga.

“Notre Dame already has a robust portfolio in the conventional health care program space, and so we felt that this would be very complementary to the work that we’ve been doing,” Marylou Yam, the university’s president, said in an interview.

Notre Dame of Maryland has other professional and graduate programs in nursing, pharmacy, physician assistant and occupational therapy. The acquisition of the integrative medicine program marks the first merger of two private, four-year degree programs in Maryland in over 50 years, Yam said.

“This will really expand the footprint of integrative health in the Baltimore area,” Yam said. “At the same time, it’s really expanding the academic opportunities for our students.”

Christina Sax, the former interim president of the Maryland University of Integrative Health, will serve as the dean of Notre Dame of Maryland’s School of Integrative Health. In an interview, Sax said the new school will “bridge the gulf” between conventional health care and nontraditional healing methods.

“It can really transform the patient experience and patient outcomes,” Sax said.

Notre Dame of Maryland students will now be able to earn master’s degrees in herbal medicine, wellness coaching and yoga therapy. Integrative health school students will also get to interact directly with those at the university’s school of nursing and school of pharmacy.

“By bringing our programs together, we are fostering interprofessional education that helps build collaboration and understanding,” Sax said. “When they leave with their degree, they are well equipped to talk to and work with professionals in other complimentary fields.”

Those who graduate with degrees in integrative health fields can enter private practice and hospital systems as well as work at community centers or veterans health systems.

The school’s new graduates could help mitigate the current health care staffing shortages, including the need for more than 4,400 workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Graduates of the program may also help the state alleviate its physician shortage.

“To be able to expand the academic opportunities for our students is very exciting,” Yam said. “The fact that this also helps our community is very rewarding.”

This story was updated to reflect Christina Sax's title.

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