UPDATED MARCH 1, 2021
Many doctor of chiropractic students were first chiropractic patients. After experiencing first-hand the benefits of chiropractic care, they realized that they wanted to become a doctor of chiropractic. If that’s you, here are a few ways to meet chiropractic school requirements.
Start With an Undergraduate Degree
The first pathway to becoming a chiropractor is to earn your undergraduate degree and then attend a professional chiropractic school for your doctor of chiropractic degree (D.C.) The D.C. degree is usually completed in just over three years. There is no residency requirement – a chiropractic student’s final year includes many hours of patient care under the supervision of a licensed chiropractor. Some undergraduate bachelor’s degrees offer a solid foundation for meeting chiropractic school requirements for admission, such as:
Of course, other undergraduate degrees can work for chiropractic school, just like other bachelor’s degrees are increasingly accepted in medical or other physician-level schools.
Don’t skimp on the science and life sciences courses, however. You’ll need that knowledge because, in many ways, the chiropractic coursework is equivalent to medical school. Chiropractic school requirements for admission include courses in:
Transfer to a Chiropractic School
Some students choose to change their career path while in college as they learn more about themselves and available career options.
If you are already in college when you discover that you would like to pursue a doctor of chiropractic degree, then you might want to consider transferring degree programs to prepare yourself for graduate studies as a doctor of chiropractic student.
Your guide in selecting the appropriate college courses for a healthcare career is known as an articulation agreement. These agreements are documents between universities that provide the details for a smooth and efficient transfer of college credits.
For example, an articulation agreement between a community college and a chiropractic institution will show if a basic course like “Intro to the Humanities” is guaranteed to be accepted as one of the chiropractic school’s liberal arts/humanities admission requirements.
Ensuring a Successful Transfer
To ensure a successful transfer of undergraduate college credit hours needed for admission into a chiropractic school, get to know your college of chiropractic academic advisor. Advisors are specialists who can help determine what you may be lacking academically and develop a plan of action for you as early as possible. Your academic advisor will know about equivalent courses and any existing articulation agreements.
Chiropractic school requirements for admission are set by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE). The minimum for acceptance is at least 90 semester hours of college credit, 24 of which must be basic science hours such as general and organic chemistry with labs, physics, and biochemistry.
Most schools will expect a grade point average (GPA) of at least a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for all required courses.
Earn Concurrent Degrees
A university that specializes in health sciences degrees may also offer a concurrent degree program that reduces the amount in time in school. When earning concurrent degrees some of your undergraduate coursework does double-duty by being applied to your graduate coursework too.
For example, you may be able to earn a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in human biology while concurrently completing the doctor of chiropractic degree (D.C.) program. You’ll first take on the biology coursework, then move into chiropractic classes and patient interaction.
Earning two degrees in a concurrent program follows a specific academic plan and requires plenty of determination and prior planning. Students in a concurrent degree plan are responsible for making sure to satisfy the minimum requirements for each degree.
If earning concurrent undergraduate and doctor of chiropractic degrees could be for you, connect with an advisor at the chiropractic school of your choice for more information.
The CUKC College of Chiropractic
The College of Chiropractic at Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) has been a national leader since 1922. An option to the Doctor of Chiropractic degree is choosing the concurrent B.S./D.C. option. This educational choice results in both a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology degree and the Doctor of Chiropractic degree, which reduces time in school by as much as a year.
CUKC is the first U.S. chiropractic college to have multiple Force Sensing Technology Tables (FSTT) in a dedicated Techniques Laboratory on campus. FSTT™ improves students’ mastery of effective adjustment techniques by displaying and recording the amount of adjusting force being applied.
Connect with a CUKC admissions advisor to learn about becoming a chiropractor, or get answers yourself by requesting a free copy of the eBook, Your Complete Guide to the Chiropractic Profession.
