Chiropractors undergo a rigorous course of study to obtain the degree of Doctor of Chiropractic. This includes a four year pre-med undergraduate degree fulfilling biology, chemistry, anatomy, physics, and humanities prerequisites. The next step is acceptance into a chiropractic college of which there are 18 in the united states. In chiropractic college students will complete 10 full time semesters (5 academic years) of study which will include Anatomy, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Diagnosis, Microbiology, Neurology, Obstetrics, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Pathology, Physiology, Psychiatry, Radiology, Philosophy, Nutrition, Physiotherapy, Extremity Adjusting, and Spinal Adjustive Techniques. On top of the course of study, students at chiropractic college are required to complete several hundred hours of a hands on clinical internship. With the completion of the course of study there is a four part national board examination that must be passed for licensure. After licensure in the desired state continuing education is required for the doctor to maintain the latest knowledge and technique to stay as current as possible. These measures assure that the doctor can provide the best care to his/her patients as possible. There are also post-graduate specializations that a doctor can pursue once licensed in a state. These specializations including, pediatrics, internists, orthopedics, radiology, sports medicine, etc. are offered to further the knowledge of a chiropractor in that specialty.

The following is a list of the major categories of study of both chiropractic students and those of their medical counterpart.