Chiropractic Schooling Requirements: Your Best Path to Meet Them

UPDATED JULY 27, 2021

“Start with the end in mind” is a key step to success popularized by educator Steven Covey. So, if you aspire to become a chiropractor or other health care professional, knowing what’s needed to meet chiropractic schooling requirements – or those of any professional school – is essential.

For many with a science background and a desire to work with people, choosing to become a chiropractor makes a lot of sense. Doctors of Chiropractic:

• Focus on a comprehensive patient assessment
• Use a non-invasive, non-pharmacological approach to care, recommending treatment that may also include constructive exercise, and dietary, posture, and lifestyle changes
• Earn their degree in less than four years
• Have total compensation (salary, profit-sharing, bonuses) that can range from $107,448 to $150,712 in an expanding practice, according to Salary.com
• Typically spend more time with patients than medical doctors because they are independent, portal-of-care practitioners, like dentists and ophthalmologists.

Navigating the Chiropractic Schooling Requirements

Applying to a program like those needed to become a chiropractor or other healthcare professional means taking on a challenging academic and training curriculum. This includes more than 4,200 hours of class time and laboratory practice. You must develop competency in several knowledge areas and demonstrate your skill in a clinical environment with patients.

You can get started in basic chiropractic schooling requirements whether you’re just out of high school, in college now, or already have a bachelor’s degree. Getting started requires a strong focus on human biology, anatomy, genetics, chemistry, and organic chemistry.

To become a chiropractor means being accepted into a chiropractic program. The standard for consideration is at least 90 college credit hours and a cumulative 3.0 GPA.

A typical mix of college hours would be:

• 6 hours of English or Communications
• 3 hours of Psychology
• 12 hours of Humanities or Social Sciences courses
• 24 hours of Life and Physical Sciences courses:
  – Biology, Anatomy, and Physiology (for example)
  – and 8 hours of General and Organic Chemistry (recommended)
• Electives needed to fulfill the required 90 credit hours.

Chiropractic School: People Need What Chiropractors Offer

The doctor of chiropractic career, like all health career professions, is personally rewarding and worth the investment. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for chiropractors will grow by 4% from 2019 to 2029.

Aging baby boomers and millennials, longer life expectancies, and the desire for more active lifestyles ensure there will be an increasing number of patients seeking relief from pain and recovery from musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.

By 2060, the number of active senior adults will double to 98 million. In addition, by 2040, seniors age 85 and older will increase by more than 8 million.

A Health Sciences University: Cleveland University-Kansas City

Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a private, nonprofit chiropractic and health sciences university in Overland Park, Kansas, a large suburb within the Kansas City metro. More than 11,000 chiropractors in the U.S. received a chiropractic degree from our College of Chiropractic.

You can get a smart start toward any healthcare profession or become a chiropractor with a B.S. in Human Biology degree from Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC). 

Some CUKC students even choose to begin working on their chiropractic degree while completing their final year in the B.S in Human Biology program. That’s an efficient way to satisfy chiropractic schooling requirements.

Get more information about the doctor of chiropractic degree at CUKC and the profession by downloading this free eBook: Your Complete Guide to the Chiropractic Profession.