Empire Peptide Therapy Certification Program
Learn to prescribe peptides safely. Two certification levels, 128 peptides, from $2,495.
Built by board-certified physicians trained at
- Mayo Clinic
- Northwestern
- Rush University
- UCLA
- Mount Sinai
- University of Florida
10 clinical modules, 46 lessons and 336 specific topics — plus a published formulary of 128 named agents, each carrying a regulatory status tag. Empire has trained clinicians since 1998.
The demand is already in your practice.
Patients ask for peptides by name. Most clinicians still have to refer them out.
- Semaglutide
- Tirzepatide
- Retatrutide
Weight and metabolic health
GLP-1 drugs made peptides a household word. Patients now arrive asking for them.
- MOTS-c
- Epitalon
- SS-31
Longevity and recovery
Sleep, energy, injury recovery, healthy aging. The questions keep coming.
- GHK-Cu
- TB-500
- PT-141
Skin, hair and sexual health
Aesthetic patients ask first. Peptides sit next to what you already offer.
You can answer those questions yourself, or send the patient somewhere that will.
How the certification works
Pick a level, learn it the way that fits your schedule, then earn the credential.
1. Choose your level
The Master Course covers the core protocols in a day. The 1-Month certification covers the foundations and peptides for aesthetics. The 3-Month covers every peptide for aesthetics, functional medicine and pain management.
Compare the paths2. Learn it
Level I is self-paced video, so you finish when you want. Level II is taught live online by faculty and adds two days in person.
See the timeline3. Earn it
Level I certifies on completion. Level II asks for more: 10–15 documented patient cases with follow-up and a written case-based exam, both graded by faculty.
See what each level requiresChoose your certification path
Start with a single course, or earn a credential in one month or three. The 3-month covers every peptide for aesthetics, functional medicine and pain management.
1-Day Peptide Therapy Master Course
Course certificateAvailable now
Taken by 2,100+ clinicians- One day with a functional medicine expert — the core protocols, in person or livestream
- Livestream includes live Q&A with the instructor
- Or buy the Empire On Demand version and watch anytime, anywhere
- Earns a course certificate, not the certification
1-Month Certification
Peptide Therapy Essentials Certificate (PTE)$2,995$2,495
Early bird enrollment rate · save $500- The foundations core plus aesthetics: Modules 1, 2 and 9 in full, plus four clinical-practice lessons — 17 of the program’s 46 lessons
- Self-paced video on demand — finish sooner if you want to
- Formulary access for the foundations, regulatory and aesthetic agents
3-Month Certification
Master Peptide Practitioner Certification (MPP)$5,495$4,995
Early bird enrollment rate · save $500- The full curriculum — every peptide for aesthetics, functional medicine and pain management, all 46 lessons, taught livestream
- Full Peptide Formulary access — all 128 agents
- 10–15 documented cases with follow-up, de-identified and reviewed by faculty
- 2-day in-person workshop
- Written case-based exam
Three months is the pace, not a deadline. The Master Practitioner credential is earned when your documented cases are complete and reviewed — if your patients take longer, so does your certification.
The rules change. Your training shouldn’t go stale.
Peptide regulation moved twice in the last three years. Two ways to stay current after you certify.
Peptide Clinical & Regulatory Update
$50per month
- Hear about a rule change the month it happens, not a year later
- Keep prescribing with confidence while the 503A list keeps moving
- Add new agents as soon as the evidence and the regulation support them
- Put your own cases to a physician, live, every month
Annual Recertification
$499per year
- A brand-new training video each year, with new modules and new tests
- Start each year knowing exactly what changed and what to do about it
- Retire protocols the evidence has moved past
- Hold a credential that reads current, not certified-in-2026
Both are optional and are added after you certify. Neither is required to earn the Peptide Therapy Essentials Certificate (PTE) or the Master Peptide Practitioner Certification (MPP).
What each program looks like over time
Same curriculum, two lengths. Both run the 10 clinical modules in the same order — the 3-month simply goes further.
Phase by phase
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How it’s taughtSelf-paced
Every lesson is unlocked the day you enroll. Nothing is scheduled and nothing is gated, so you move at your own speed — one month is the guide, not the requirement, and you can finish sooner.
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Modules 1–2Weeks 1–4
Foundations & Peptide Science, then Regulatory, Sourcing & Compounding Quality. How peptides signal, pharmacokinetics and routes, reconstitution and dosing math, the 503A framework, pharmacy vetting, and advertising and telehealth rules.
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Module 10, in partRuns alongside
Four clinical-practice lessons: patient selection, baseline labs and monitoring, adverse events and deprescribing, documentation and consent.
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What you finish withNov 2, 2026, or sooner
Seventeen of the 46 lessons and formulary access for the foundations, regulatory and aesthetic agents. Completion earns the Peptide Therapy Essentials Certificate (PTE).
Phase by phase
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How it’s taughtLivestream + 2 days in person
Every module is taught live online by faculty — not pre-recorded. Case work follows each block of modules, so you apply one thing before learning the next. It closes with one 2-day in-person workshop, the only part that asks you to travel.
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Modules 1–2Oct 5 – Oct 26
Foundations & Peptide Science, then Regulatory, Sourcing & Compounding Quality — signaling biology, pharmacokinetics, reconstitution and dosing math, the 503A framework and pharmacy vetting.
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Case workOct 26 – Nov 9
Two weeks to put the foundations to work before anything new arrives. You start building your documented case series and bring the first of them to a faculty panel.
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Modules 3–9Nov 9 – Dec 7
The seven clinical modules, taught livestream: metabolic health and weight, the growth hormone axis, regenerative and musculoskeletal repair, immune and gut, neurocognitive and sleep, longevity and senolytics, and aesthetics, skin, hair and sexual health.
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Module 10Dec 7 – Dec 11
Clinical Practice, Safety & Integration in full — special populations, drug interactions, medicolegal exposure, scope by license type, and practice economics.
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In-person workshopDec 11–12, 2026
The only travel the program asks for: one 2-day workshop, Friday and Saturday. Two days of guided protocol building — stacking, sequencing, dosing schedules and monitoring plans — worked through a printed guide you keep, plus live case work with faculty. Host city published with the founding-cohort calendar.
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Documented cases and the examDec 14 – Jan 8, 2027
You submit 10 to 15 documented, de-identified cases with follow-up — real patients you selected, treated and tracked. Faculty score patient selection, evidence reading, monitoring plan and documentation, and a written case-based exam closes the program. Passing earns the Master Peptide Practitioner Certification (MPP).
Proposed dates for the founding cohort, which begins October 5, 2026. Only the 3-month certification requires travel: one 2-day workshop, proposed for December 11–12, 2026. Three months is the pace, not a deadline — the credential is earned when your documented cases are complete and reviewed. A new enrollment period opens every 3 months, so if this cohort does not fit your schedule the next one is a quarter away, not a year. Dates, host city and final case counts are confirmed with the founding-cohort calendar before enrollment opens.
10 clinical modules. 46 lessons. 128 peptides.
The curriculum plus a formulary — a reference list of every peptide you might prescribe, with its mechanism, the strength of the evidence, and where the FDA stands.
The Ten Clinical Modules
- Foundations & Peptide Science 4 Lessons
- Regulatory, Sourcing & Compounding Quality 4 Lessons
- Metabolic Health & Weight Management 5 Lessons
- Growth Hormone Axis, Anabolic & Performance 4 Lessons
- Regenerative, Musculoskeletal & Organ Repair 5 Lessons
- Immune, Gut & Inflammation 4 Lessons
- Neurocognitive, Mood & Sleep 4 Lessons
- Longevity, Mitochondrial & Senolytics 5 Lessons
- Aesthetics, Skin, Hair & Sexual Health 5 Lessons
- Clinical Practice, Safety & Integration 6 Lessons
Level I covers the foundations core and peptides for aesthetics. Level II covers all 10 modules, the in-person workshop, the documented case series and the exam.
The Peptide Formulary
All 128 peptides, each with its FDA status
Look up any peptide: what it does, which lessons cover it, where the FDA stands. A few of them:
Status tags describe an agent’s regulatory posture — FDA-approved drug, PCAC recommended with FDA determination pending, removed from Category 2 in 2026, restricted from routine 503A compounding, investigational, adjunctive, or status varies by state and pharmacy. A status tag is not an endorsement, and no compounded peptide is FDA-approved.
Eight things most peptide certifications never teach
Learning the peptides is easy. Explaining your choices to a pharmacy or a medical board is not. Most certifications skip all eight.
Gray-market sourcing risk
How “research use only” supply reaches practices, what a certificate of analysis does and does not prove, and how to vet a compounding pharmacy.
Advertising and telehealth law
FTC and FDA rules on how peptide services may be marketed, plus interstate telehealth prescribing and the state-by-state variation underneath it.
When not to prescribe
Contraindication screening, drug interactions, adverse-event recognition, managing non-responders and deprescribing.
Special populations
Oncology history, pregnancy and lactation, adolescents, and older adults — where the risk calculus changes and where to decline.
Anti-doping for athletes
WADA Prohibited List structure, and how collegiate, professional-league and military testing programs differ from it.
Evidence literacy
Reading peptide literature: separating preclinical and animal data from human trials, and communicating evidence tier honestly to patients.
Medicolegal and scope of practice
Documentation and informed consent standards, scope by license type, and the medicolegal exposure a peptide practice actually carries.
Practice economics
Program design and pricing structure, staff training, and the cash-pay operations that make a peptide service sustainable.
Three programs, taught three ways.
Each one is delivered differently. Pick the one that fits how you work.
In Person, Livestream or On Demand
The Master Course runs as a single day. Attend in person, join by livestream with live Q&A, or buy the Empire On Demand version and watch anytime, anywhere.
Self-Paced Video
Every lesson is ready the day you enroll. Nothing is scheduled, so you set the pace — take the full month or finish sooner if you want to.
Livestream, Plus Two Days In Person
Every module is taught live online by faculty — not pre-recorded — so you can bring your own patient cases. It closes with two days in person, building stacks and protocols from a printed guide you keep.
Developed and taught by practicing physicians
Written by board-certified doctors who prescribe these treatments themselves.
Lead Instructor
Dr. Joseph B. Beavers, MD
Board-certified in family medicine. Mayo Clinic residency, 20+ years in practice, and the author of Empire's peptide curriculum.
Course developer; the live instructor for a given session may differ.
Chief Medical Officer, Empire Medical Training
Dr. Chris Croley, MD
Board-certified in anesthesiology and critical care. Chief Medical Officer at Empire, trained at Rush and Northwestern.
Course developer; the live instructor for a given session may differ.
Peptide Therapy Faculty
Dr. Valerie F. Civelli, MD
Double board-certified in family medicine and regenerative medicine. Chief resident at UCLA-affiliated Rio Bravo, published in Oxford University Press.
Course developer; the live instructor for a given session may differ.
Director of Anti-Aging, Empire Medical Training
Dr. Betsy Greenleaf, DO
The first board-certified female urogynecologist in the United States. Built Empire's hormone pellet and medical weight loss programs. Full profile →
Course developer; the live instructor for a given session may differ.
Founder, President & Medical Director, Empire Medical Training
Dr. Stephen Cosentino, DO
Founded Empire Medical Training in 1998 and still oversees what it teaches. Board-certified in family medicine, 22+ years in aesthetics. Full profile →
Clinical oversight; the live instructor for a given session may differ.
Additional guest faculty will be announced through Fall 2026 as the founding cohort approaches.
A new program from a company that has done this since 1998
Empire is not entering peptide education. It has been teaching it for years — this is the comprehensive version.
28 years of teaching clinicians
Empire was founded in 1998 and has trained physicians, nurse practitioners, PAs and RNs in procedural medicine ever since. This is the only thing the company does.
Clinicians already trained in peptide therapy
More than 2,100 clinicians have taken Empire’s Peptide Therapy Master Course. The certification program is built on a course that has already been taught, refined and sat through — not a launch.
Workshops in the last three years
287 different workshops delivered across 74 cities in 38 states since January 2023. The logistics of running a national program at this scale are already solved.
Membership required to certify
Enrollment in your level is what earns the credential. The largest national peptide certification requires an active, separately paid academy membership on top of tuition before it will certify you.
Physician-founded, physician-led
Dr. Stephen Cosentino founded Empire in 1998 and still keeps daily oversight of what it teaches. Every module here is written by a board-certified physician who prescribes these treatments.
Trained professionals
Empire has trained more than 200,000 medical professionals — physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and physician assistants. Whatever your license, this faculty has taught someone who holds it.
Beyond the national certification standard
The biggest national certification is two online lessons. No in-person days, no exam. We cover it all, plus eight subjects they skip.
| Empire Certification Program | A Leading National Certification* | |
|---|---|---|
| Credential structure | A single course, plus two credentials — Essentials Certificate and Master Practitioner | Single certification level |
| Delivery formats | Self-paced video, livestream classes, and a 2-day in-person workshop | On-demand lessons only |
| Curriculum scope | 10 clinical modules, 46 lessons, 336 specific topics | Two on-demand lessons of recorded lectures |
| Agent-level reference | A published Peptide Formulary — 128 named agents, each with the mechanism studied, the modules that teach it, and a regulatory status tag | Agents grouped into category lists inside the lesson content |
| In-person workshop | 2 days in person with faculty — building stacks and protocols from a printed protocol guide you keep | Procedure demonstration within the recorded content |
| Assessment | 10–15 documented, de-identified cases with follow-up, reviewed by faculty, plus a written case-based exam | Lesson completion |
| Regulatory training | A dedicated clinical module — four lessons on 503A/503B and the bulks list, sterile manufacturing, pharmacy vetting and gray-market risk, advertising law and interstate telehealth | Covered within lesson content |
| Enrollment periods | A new cohort opens every 3 months | Wait for the next scheduled module date |
| Membership requirement | None — no membership is required to enroll or to certify | Paid academy membership required for certification |
| Investment | $2,495 or $4,995 early bird enrollment tuition by level — no membership required | $4,500+ across two on-demand lessons, plus required membership |
*Comparison reflects the publicly listed program structure, requirements, and pricing of a leading national peptide therapy certification (two on-demand lessons) as of July 2026.
The rules keep moving. You will know where they stand.
Most peptides are not finished drugs. They reach patients through compounding pharmacies under an FDA rule called 503A, and that rule keeps changing. In 2026 an FDA committee recommended adding several common peptides. No final decision yet.
You will know which peptides are approved, which are compounded, and what your state allows. That is the difference between hoping a decision holds up and knowing it will.
- Understand the 503A compounding framework and how the bulks list evolves
- Distinguish FDA-approved peptide drugs from compounded peptides
- Evaluate compounding pharmacy quality and sourcing standards
- Track PCAC recommendations and pending FDA determinations
- Apply state-level rules to your own practice
From priority list to certified practitioner
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Join the priority list
Free, no commitment. You get first access when enrollment opens, plus the early bird enrollment rate.
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Founding cohort opens
Enrollment opens Fall 2026. Priority list members enroll first and choose their certification path.
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Complete your path
Progress through your level's curriculum — self-paced for Level I, livestream plus 2 days in person for Level II.
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Earn your certification
Finish your level’s requirements and certify. Level II ends with 10–15 documented cases and a written case-based exam.
Before you ask
When does enrollment open?
Founding-cohort enrollment opens Fall 2026. Priority list members enroll first, at the early bird enrollment rate: $2,495 or $4,995 by level.
Who is eligible to certify?
The program is open to licensed healthcare professionals: physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, registered nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and other licensed clinicians.
Is the program CME-accredited?
Accreditation for each certification level will be confirmed and published before enrollment opens. Empire's 1-day Peptide Therapy Master Course is a separate foundation course, not a level of this program, and is not CME-accredited.
Start learning before the cohort opens
The certification program launches Fall 2026 — but Empire's peptide education is live right now.
Peptide Therapy Master Course
Empire’s 1-day foundation course in peptide therapy, taught by a functional medicine expert. Attend in person or by livestream with live Q&A, or watch the Empire On Demand version anytime. A companion to the certification program — not one of its levels.
View the course Free Clinical LibraryPeptide Therapy Resource Center
Clinical guides on peptide science, protocols, and regulatory status — free to read while you wait for the cohort.
Browse the resources