Does CNME recognize home-study schools or external-degree programs?
Many correspondence schools offer N.D. or N.M.D degrees or diplomas. Some are exempt from state regulations because they claim a religious purpose or they do not recruit students from their home states. Correspondence programs do not prepare students for practice as state or provincial licensed naturopathic physicians, and the programs are not eligible for affiliation with our agency. In states and provinces without licensing laws, it is generally not illegal for those who obtain N.D. or N.M.D. degrees from correspondence schools to use the initials after their names; they may not, however, legally represent themselves as physicians or engage in the practice of medicine unless they are otherwise licensed as medical practitioners. Although correspondence courses can be effective in many disciplines, naturopathic licensing agencies do not believe they are adequate for preparing students to practice as licensed physicians. The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and the Canadi
