Chiropractic School Prerequisites

Here is the direct answer: there is no single prerequisite list for chiropractic school. Each accredited Doctor of Chiropractic program sets its own prerequisites, in its own words and its own units. Of the 19 accredited programs, 17 were found publishing a list, and each of those is linked below; the other 2 are unverified, because their sites refused our capture. The list that applies to you is the one from each program you apply to.

What the accreditor sets

The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), which accredits every program listed on this page, sets an admission standard in its Accreditation Standards, July 2026. It says admitted students “have completed a baccalaureate degree” at an accredited institution, and that “alternatively, students may matriculate into the program having obtained 90 semester hours” at an accredited institution “if those students have 1) a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for the 90 semester credits; or 2) a cumulative GPA between 2.75 and 2.99 on a 4.0 scale for the 90 semester credits with a minimum of 24 semester credits in life and physical science courses appropriate as undergraduate preparation for chiropractic education as determined by the DCP.” DCP is CCE’s term for a Doctor of Chiropractic program. That is the accreditor’s admission standard; which courses count, and in what amounts, is on each program’s own list. Checked October 7, 2026.

What we found when the programs’ lists were read

The Kaleidoscope, a directory we maintain, read the prerequisite pages of 17 of the 19 accredited programs on October 3, 2026 and recorded what each college printed; the other 2 sites refused the capture in September. Its prerequisites finding reports:

• Who publishes prerequisites: of the 19 programs in the dataset, 17 publish prerequisites, 0 were found not to publish, and 2 are unverified, because their sites refused the capture.
• Units: the colleges print 24 distinct unit strings beside their coursework, credit and degree-condition amounts, including “credit hours”, “semester hours”, “quarter units” and “full courses”.
• Amounts with no unit: at 5 programs, at least one amount is printed with no unit beside it; at 3 of those, the amount is a numeral.

What that means for you: two programs can state the same coursework in different units, and some print an amount with no unit beside it, leaving the unit to a column heading or another part of the sentence. Read each program’s own list, and where a unit is unclear, ask that program’s admissions office which unit it means. The records behind the finding are free to download: programs.csv and requirements.csv.

Each program’s own prerequisites page

Alphabetical. Each link goes to the page or document the Kaleidoscope read for that program, with the date it was captured. Two programs are unverified and have no link.

• Campbellsville University — published; campbellsville.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College — published; cmcc.ca, captured October 3, 2026
• Cleveland University–Kansas City — published; cleveland.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• D’Youville University — published; catalog.dyu.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• Keiser University — published; keiseruniversity.edu, graduate catalog PDF, captured October 3, 2026
• Life Chiropractic College West — unverified. The college’s site refused the Kaleidoscope’s capture with HTTP 403 on September 23 and 24, 2026, so no prerequisites page was read and none is linked here. Ask the college’s admissions office for its published list.
• Life University — published; life.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• Logan University — published; logan.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• National University of Health Sciences — published; nuhs.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• Northeast College of Health Sciences — published; northeastcollege.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• Northwestern Health Sciences University — published; nwhealth.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• Palmer College of Chiropractic — published; palmer.edu catalog, captured October 3, 2026
• Parker University — published; parker.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• Sherman College of Chiropractic — unverified. The college’s site refused the Kaleidoscope’s capture with HTTP 403 on September 23 and 24, 2026, so no prerequisites page was read and none is linked here. Ask the college’s admissions office for its published list.
• Southern California University of Health Sciences — published; scuhs.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• Texas Chiropractic College — published; catalog.txchiro.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• Universidad Central del Caribe — published; uccaribe.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• University of Bridgeport — published; bridgeport.edu, captured October 3, 2026
• University of Western States — published; uws.edu, captured October 3, 2026

Absence in what was checked is not absence at the college. Every accredited program is indexed here, with a page per state.

Admission and licensure are separate

A program’s admission rules and a state board’s licensure rules are set by different bodies, so check both. For example, the Tennessee Board of Chiropractic Examiners’ licensure application says: “If you matriculated in Chiropractic school in the year 2000 and beyond, you must show proof of a bachelor’s degree.” Source: Tennessee application for licensure, PH-3545, checked October 7, 2026. Check the board in the state where you intend to practice, not just the program you intend to attend.

Why picking your target programs early changes your transcript

If you choose two or three target programs early in college, you can map your coursework directly onto their published lists: no wasted electives, no missing lab, no gap you discover in your final year. Choose late, and you are reverse-engineering a transcript that was built for a different plan.

Already partway through college, or done?

If you are mid-degree, compare your transcript against your target programs’ lists this semester, not at application time. If you have already graduated in another field, do the same comparison before you register for anything, and get each program’s answer in writing from its admissions office.

Before you plan the rest of your transcript, find out whether the college you attend now has an agreement with a chiropractic program. The Kaleidoscope lets you look up whether your college has a published agreement with a chiropractic program, with the source and the date each one was read. It holds only what has been published, so no result does not mean no agreement; ask admissions to confirm.

FAQ

What are the pre reqs for chiropractic school?

There is no single list. Each accredited Doctor of Chiropractic program sets its own prerequisites, so the pre reqs that apply to you are the ones on the list of each program you apply to. Of the 19 accredited programs, 17 were read on October 3, 2026 and publish prerequisites; this page links each of those lists. The other 2 are unverified, because their sites refused the capture in September.

What are the undergraduate requirements for chiropractic school?

The accreditor sets an admission standard, and each program publishes its own requirements. The Council on Chiropractic Education’s standards (July 2026) say admitted students have completed a baccalaureate degree, or alternatively 90 semester hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, or between 2.75 and 2.99 with a minimum of 24 semester credits in life and physical science courses “as determined by the DCP.” Which courses count, and in what amounts, is on each program’s own list.

What are the Doctor of Chiropractic prerequisites?

Each Doctor of Chiropractic program sets its own, in its own words and units. When the Kaleidoscope read them on October 3, 2026, the colleges printed 24 distinct unit strings beside their coursework, credit and degree-condition amounts, and 5 programs printed at least one amount with no unit beside it. Read each program’s own list, and where a unit is unclear, ask that program’s admissions office.

How many credit hours do you need for chiropractic school?

The Council on Chiropractic Education’s standards (July 2026) set 90 semester hours as the alternative to a completed baccalaureate degree, with GPA conditions. Each program states its own credit requirements, and they are printed in different units, so check the list of each program you are considering.

What GPA do you need for chiropractic school?

For students admitted with 90 semester hours rather than a degree, the Council on Chiropractic Education’s standards (July 2026) name a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, or between 2.75 and 2.99 with a minimum of 24 semester credits in life and physical science courses. Programs publish their own admission conditions, which can include GPA; check each one directly.

Do chiropractic school prerequisites vary by school?

Each program sets its own list, in its own words and units, so there is no national list to compare against. Pull the published list from every program you would seriously consider and compare them before you register for another semester. This page links the 17 published lists the Kaleidoscope read.