College and Licensing

All Chiropractic Colleges require a minimum of two-and-a-half years of pre-chiropractic education in order to be considered a candidate for admission. Most students now are obtaining a BS degree before beginning chiropractic college. Chiropractic school itself is another four years of basic and clinical sciences. The first two years of school are identical to med school, such that a solid foundation of basic sciences - such as anatomy, physiology, histology and pathology - are stressed. The second two years get more into chiropractic care, diagnosis, and manipulative skills. By the time a student has graduated from chiropractic college, he/she will have attended close to 5000 hours of class lectures, lab work (including human dissection), and clinical treatment of patients. There are final exams to pass, naturally, as well as a thesis to present in order to graduate.

After graduation, all chiropractors must pass rigorous national and state board exams in order to get a license. The national boards have recently gone to a Part IV section, which our newest doctors have passed. When the chiropractor is finally and fully licensed, he/she is considered a "Primary Contact Physician" which is a doctor who can make a diagnosis. This is important to know. Only three practitioners can be called Primary Contact Physicians in this country: an MD, DO (osteopath), and a DC (Doctor of Chiropractic).