Palmer College of Chiropractic follows guidelines established by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for the accreditation of programs and institutions offering the Doctor of Chiropractic degree. The College also is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and The CCE requires students to have earned 90 semester hours with a 3.0/4.0 cumulative grade point average for admission into a Doctor of Chiropractic degree program. The 90 hours will include a minimum of 24 semester hours in Life and Physical Science courses with at least half of these courses having a substantive laboratory component. Palmer strongly encourages interested students to contact an Admissions Counselor.
Applicants who do not meet the CCE Admissions requirements may be eligible under the alternative admissions track plan (AATP). This point of entry requires the applicant file to be reviewed by a committee. Decisions for admissions are determined on a case-by-case basis.
For Prospective Students with an Undergraduate Degree
Palmer considers applicants from all undergraduate majors. A few of our most prevalent undergraduate majors are pre-medicine and pre-dentistry, exercise physiology, athletic training, kinesiology, physical therapy, biology, nursing, health science and chemistry. The College values a diverse, broadly educated student body. We encourage all prospective students with an interest in chiropractic to apply to the Doctor of Chiropractic Degree Program. An applicant does not need to hold a degree in a health- or science-related discipline to succeed. Many students with non-health- science degrees have excelled in the program. Such students hold degrees in disciplines as varied as psychology, marketing, anthropology, management, communications, mathematics, sociology, business, criminal justice, history, liberal studies, engineering, education and religion.
For Prospective Students Currently Pursuing or Planning an Undergraduate Education
Palmer encourages prospective students to pursue a well-rounded education with coursework that includes 24 science credits, half with labs, that may include biology (human anatomy and physiology, embryology, genetics, microbiology, immunology, cellular biology, exercise physiology and kinesiology), chemistry (general chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, toxicology/pharmacology, nutrition and nuclear medicine), and physical sciences (physics, biomechanics and statistics).
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); Program Evaluation Procedure (PEP); or New York Board of Regents College Examinations. 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. Department of Education. Palmer College of Chiropractic’s Davenport, Iowa, campus and Port Orange, Florida., campus institutional code is 6593.
Military Credit
The College will accept up to 12 semester credit hours of non-academic military training as long as the credit has been transcribed by a regionally accredited institution.
Vocational/Technical Credit
The College will accept up to 15 semester credit hours of vocational/technical credit as long as the credit has been transcribed by a regionally accredited institution.
Articulation Agreements
Articulation Agreements are programs specifically developed for prospective students who intend to pursue a chiropractic education and a bachelor’s degree. These agreements are intended to allow for a smooth transition for prospective students who transfer to one of Palmer’s three campuses from their undergraduate institution.
3+1 Program
Through a 3+1 agreement, prospective students complete three years at an undergraduate institution. The first year of academic credits earned at Palmer College will transfer back to the undergraduate institution. Thereby the student is allowed to complete his or her undergraduate degree while finishing the first year of the Doctor of Chiropractic degree program.
B.S. Agreement
B.S. agreements are intended to allow prospective students a smooth transition from an undergraduate institution to the Bachelor of Science Program at the Main campus.
Prerequisite Education
Palmer’s intensive curriculum demands thorough undergraduate preparation. During the admission process, each candidate is evaluated on academic performance, science courses performance and the total number of hours of college credit completed. All applicants must furnish proof of having acquired a minimum of 90 semester hours of college credit leading toward a bachelor’s degree at an institution or institutions accredited at the college level by an accrediting body that has been listed as nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The 90 semester hours for all entering students must have a cumulative grade point average of a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. In situations in which one or more courses have been repeated with equivalent courses at the same institution, the higher grade(s), regardless of sequencing, may be used for grade point average computation and the other grade(s) may be disregarded. If your grade point average falls below the present CCE minimum, please contact the Office of Admissions/Enrollment.
The required credits must be earned with a grade of 2.00/4.00 or better. Undergraduate credit earned at a nationally accredited college or university must be applicable toward a bachelor’s degree.
It is imperative that students research and understand the requirements of the state, province and/or country where they wish to be licensed. Such information is available from the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards’ website: www.fclb.org.
Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) standards require eligible applicants to have a 3.0 GPA and 90 total semester hours (135 quarter hours) completed. Students can be accepted under the Alternative Admissions Track Plan with a 2.75 GPA and committee review. An educational institution may contact the Office of Admissions/Enrollment for assistance and advice concerning its particular scholastic curriculum, as well as the introduction of a pre-chiropractic program at the institution.
Technical, Academic and Professional Standards
To be qualified for the study of chiropractic at Palmer, all qualified applicants and enrolled students must in addition to academic admission requirements, meet the technical, academic and professional standards as well as meet the academic requirement for each individual course and other published College policies with or without approved reasonable accommodations/academic adjustments.
All individuals considering, applying or enrolling in the Doctor of Chiropractic Degree Program must carefully review the technical, academic and professional standards to better understand what is expected at Palmer College of Chiropractic and ensure they are otherwise qualified to engage as a Palmer College student.
For more information see the Academic Programs section of this catalog or you may access The College’s Technical, Academic, and Professional Standards for Admission to, Continuation in and Graduation from the Palmer College Doctor of Chiropractic Program on the College’s website at: https://www.palmer.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/ip-technical-standards-1.pdf.
