Palmer College of Chiropractic

Academic Programs

D.C. Prerequisites

Spanish Translation

Candidates for admission must meet certain specific course/credit requirements in sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Current entrance requirements for the Doctor of Chiropractic degree program are the following:

• A minimum of 90 semester hours (135 quarter hours).

• A minimum of 48 semester hours included in the 90 total hours must be completed in the CCE required classes (listed below).

• A minimum cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.50 in the required prerequisite courses and the required 90 semester hours. (Note: Students must earn a 2.00 or above in each of the 48 CCE required courses.)

These courses are required for admission to Palmer College of Chiropractic: 

In each of the six distribution areas, no grades below 2.00 on a 4.00 scale may be accepted.

In each of the six distribution areas, if more than one course is taken to fulfill the requirement, the course contents must be unduplicated.

*The Biological Sciences requirement must include pertinent laboratory experiences that cover the range of material presented in the didactic portions of the course(s).

**The chemistry requirement may be met with at least 3 semester hours of general or inorganic chemistry and at least 6 hours of organic chemistry and/or biochemistry courses with unduplicated content. At least 6 semester hours of the chemistry courses must include pertinent related laboratory experiences, which cover the range of material presented in the didactic portions of the courses.

***The physics requirement may be met with either one or more physics courses with unduplicated content (of which one must include a pertinent related laboratory that covers the range of material presented in the didactic portions of the course), or three (3) semester hours in physics (with laboratory) and three (3) semester hours in either biomechanics, kinesiology, statistics, or exercise physiology.

In the event an institution's transcript does not combine laboratory and lecture grades for a single course grade, the admitting institution may calculate a weighted average of those grades to establish the grade in that science course.

Call (800) 722-3648 with questions.

Credit by Examinations

A maximum of 20 semester hours is acceptable via College Level Examination Program (CLEP) or other college proficiency exams such as Defense Action for Non-Traditional Educational Support (DANTES); American College Testing Program (ACT); Program Evaluation Procedure (PEP); New York Board of Regents College Examinations; or through challenging courses, excluding the basic sciences listed as prerequisites. Such equivalence will only be acceptable if the applicant has had certification of the credits by an institution accredited at the college level by an accrediting organization that is listed as nationally recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Palmer College of Chiropractic’s institutional code is 6593.

To inquire if specific courses meet Palmer’s requirements, please send a photocopy of that college’s departmental course offerings with course descriptions. This enables the Admissions Department to assist the candidate in selecting course sequences and the orderly accomplishment of prerequisite programs. All inquiries should be addressed to:

Pre-Chiropractic Curricula

Palmer College of Chiropractic has developed detailed pre-chiropractic curricula for approximately 1,200 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. The curricula are based on specific course offerings as posted in each college catalog and designed to meet the admission requirements for the Doctor of Chiropractic program at Palmer College.  To request pre-chiropractic course listings for your college, either submit your request on-line or contact the Admissions Department at (800) 722-3648.

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