DC - Doctor of Chiropractic
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Mission
Catalog Full Description
Consistent with the 2025 Standards of the Council on Chiropractic Education, the Doctor of Chiropractic program prepares:
…graduates to serve as competent, caring, patient-centered, and ethical doctors of chiropractic/chiropractic physicians qualified to provide independent, quality, patient-focused care to individuals of all ages and genders by:
Providing direct access, portal of entry care that does not require a referral from another source;
Establishing a partnership relationship with continuity of care for each individual patient;
Evaluating a patient and independently establishing a diagnosis or diagnoses; and,
Managing the patient’s healthcare and integrating healthcare services including treatment, recommendations for self-care, referral, and/or co-management.
(Council on Chiropractic Education Standards, January 2025)
Parker University’s Doctor of Chiropractic program includes basic, clinical, and chiropractic education with an emphasis on conservative, functional, integrated, and patient-centered methods.
At Parker, chiropractic is taught as a science, philosophy, and art concerned with the relationship between the structure and function of the human body. Parker Doctors of Chiropractic focus their attention on the neuro-musculoskeletal system’s impact on the restoration and preservation of health and function while performing as unique practitioners in the modern integrated health care system.
Professional Licensure Disclosure
Enrollment in and graduation from Parker University’s Doctor of Chiropractic program does not guarantee future licensure or employment.
Each state sets the requirements for professional licensure within that state. In addition to the Doctor of Chiropractic degree and passage of National Board exams, some states require completion of a bachelor’s degree, and quantitative requirements for specific clinical procedures. Students are responsible to know and to meet the licensure requirements of the state(s) in which they intend to practice. The chart below details the state requirement for licensure.
Additional information along with a state-by-state directory is published by the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards on the Federation’s website www.fclb.org.
State | Disclosure |
Alabama | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Alaska | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
American Samoa | Unknown as there is no licensing regulations or regulating body |
Arizona | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Arkansas | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
California | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT; and obtain a minimum of 250 patient treatments (visits), including diagnostic procedures, chiropractic adjustive technique and patient evaluation during clinical internship. |
Colorado | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Connecticut | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Delaware | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
District of Columbia | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Federated States of Micronesia | Unknown as there is no licensing regulations or regulating body |
Florida | With a bachelor’s degree from an institution holding accreditation for that degree from a regional accrediting agency which is recognized by the United States Department of Education and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Georgia | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Guam | Unknown. Contact the Guam regulatory board at http://dphss.guam.gov/guam-board-of-allied-health-examiners/ |
Hawaii | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Idaho | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Illinois | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Indiana | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Iowa | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Kansas | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Kentucky | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Louisiana | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Maine | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Maryland | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Massachusetts | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Michigan | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Minnesota | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Mississippi | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Missouri | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Montana | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Nebraska | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Nevada | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
New Hampshire | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
New Jersey | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
New Mexico | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
New York | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV; undergraduate courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology/zoology, and physics |
North Carolina | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
North Dakota | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Northern Mariana Islands | Unknown. Contact the Northern Mariana Islands regulatory board at http://cnmibpl-hcplb.net/resources/files/Chiropractic%20Regulations.pdf |
Ohio | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Oklahoma | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Oregon | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Pennsylvania | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Puerto Rico | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Republic of Palau | Unknown as there is no licensing regulations or regulating body |
Republic of the Marshall Islands | Unknown as there is no licensing regulations or regulating body |
Rhode Island | With a bachelor’s degree earned before enrollment in the Doctor of Chiropractic degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
South Carolina | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
South Dakota | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Tennessee | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Texas | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT; and have earned 90 undergraduate credit hours that are transferrable to the University of Texas at Austin. |
Utah | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Vermont | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, IV, and PT |
Virgin Islands | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, and III |
Virginia | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Washington | By passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
West Virginia | With a bachelor’s degree earned before enrollment in the Doctor of Chiropractic degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Wisconsin | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |
Wyoming | With a bachelor’s degree and by passing the National Board of Chiropractic Exam parts I, II, III, and IV |