Professional athletes sometimes say they’ve been preparing their entire lives for a career in sports. And while it doesn’t take a lifetime of training to reach most other careers, some professions do take longer than others. So, how long does it take to become a chiropractor? After completing a four-year, undergraduate degree, approximately 3.3 years of additional study is needed to earn the Doctor of Chiropractic degree.
The amount of material covered in chiropractic school is massive. The curriculum includes more than 4,200 clock hours of lecture and lab work en route to your chiropractic degree. You must develop competency in several areas and show your skills in a clinical environment.
Devoting such an extensive amount of time to rigorous academic pursuits is not something that everybody wants to do. But more importantly, it’s not something that everybody can do.
If you have an affinity for learning how different things live and behave in our world, you are likely drawn to the biological sciences. And if classes like biology, genetics, organic chemistry, and anatomy are where you do your best work, you are already laying the academic groundwork for a career as a chiropractor.
A good foundational degree for someone interested in becoming a doctor of chiropractic is a bachelor’s degree in:
An undergraduate degree in one of those fields includes several of the prerequisite courses needed for your chiropractic education. It’s helpful to complete your prerequisites before chiropractic school, but if you lack in those areas chiropractic school advisors can help you by examining your transcripts to determine what courses you still need. You can then fulfill those prerequisites at the chiropractic school of your choice.
Attending chiropractic school is a lengthy process, but you open the door to a variety of career possibilities. Each allows you to make an impact on the lives of others. You could:
So, when others ask, “How long does it take to become a chiropractor,” you now know how long and why it requires such an investment of time. And although the commitment is not easy, it leads you toward a career in which you get to help people each day.
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) offers a B.S. in Human Biology that you can use as a springboard into the College of Chiropractic. The bachelor’s degree offers five specialty areas of emphasis, which gives you the control to choose the type of degree that is best for you. CUKC is a chiropractic and health sciences-focused university in Overland Park, Kansas, within the Kansas City metro area.
The B.S. coursework is tailor-made for those who plan to pursue the Doctor of Chiropractic degree. Some CUKC students even choose to begin working on their chiropractic degree while completing their final year in the B.S degree program.
The commitment to academia and the clinical experience are key factors in preparing competent doctors of chiropractic.
For more information on Cleveland University-Kansas City and its degree programs, request information today! You’ll receive our free eBook: Your Complete Guide to the Chiropractic Profession.
