Licensure Requirements

When the “Chiropractic Initative Act of California” was passed in 1922, the educational requirements were modest—a high school diploma and a mere 60 chiropractic college credits.

Today that’s changed!

These days, a chiropractor’s education is quite similar to what medical practitioners receive. Some chiropractic colleges require a Bachelor’s degree before enrollment and generally requires a minimum of six years of college study:


ChiropracticSubjectMedical
   366.4Anatomy-Embryology   184.6
   120.0Biochemistry   108.4
   197.0Microbiology/Public Health   155.3
   105.9Cell Biology/Histology   130.7
   312.8Physical Diagnosis/Clinical Medicine   200.5
   141.4Neuroscience   114.0
   561.2Physiology/Pathology   542.3
     66.7Nutrition     21.5
     29.4Pharmacology     99.0
1,900.8TOTAL1,556.3

Source: Parker College of Chiropractic 2008-2009 catalog page 125

Obviously, medical doctors receive additional training in pharmacology and surgery, whereas chiropractors focus more on physiology, pathology and spinal adjusting techniques.

After passing board examinations, today’s chiropractor, like other types of doctors, attend continuing education courses for relicensure and to remain current on the most current research.