There are five curricular areas that are emphasized in chiropractic education:

The "typical" (median) successful applicant has completed more than 90 college credits with a "B- " (2.7) average (Coulter, submitted).B. Chiropractic StudentsTotal enrollment in the United States chiropractic colleges in the fall of 1995 was 14,040. The mean enrollment per college was 878. Between 1990 and 1995 enrollment increased by 44 percent. During the same period the total number of graduates per year increased 13 percent, from 2,529 to 2,846 (CCE Report, 1996).Wardwell described the characteristics of a chiropractic student in his comprehensive historical account of the chiropractic profession, Chiropractic: History and Evolution of a New Profession, published in 1992. Studies conducted more than 40 years ago found that students often pursued chiropractic as a second career. A 1978 study reported that chiropractic students are primarily from working and middle class backgrounds (Wardwell, 1992). A more recent study reported that the predominant reason students decided to pursue the DC degree was influence from a family member or friend who was a chiropractor (Kaynes, 1992). Secondary reasons were interest in health care and personal health interests. Table 5 shows the distribution of hours in these three settings for both basic and clinical sciences. adjustive techniques/spinal analysis (averaging 555 hours or 23 percent of the clinical program), principles/practices of chiropractic (averaging 245 hours or 10 percent), physiologic therapeutics (averaging 120 hours or 5 percent), and biomechanics (averaging 65 hours or 3 percent).The clinical courses offered in chiropractic colleges are shown in Table 6. Subjects dealing with diagnosis and chiropractic principles are given the most time, followed by orthopedics, physiologic therapeutics, and nutrition. Three areas within the clinical sciences shown in Table 6 (adjustive techniques/spinal analysis, physical/clinical/laboratory diagnosis, and diagnostic imaging) account for an average of 52 percent of the education in clinical sciences. Thus the emphasis in chiropractic clinical sciences is clearly on diagnosis and manipulative therapy.3. ContentThe sequencing of subjects in two chiropractic colleges are illustrated in Tables 7 and 8 (Coulter, submitted). Washington, DC. Personal communication of 1995 unpublished data from Meredith Gonyea, PhD. 4. FacultyAdobe Acrobat 9 Pro ExtendedDespite a growing body of literature about chiropractic education, the role of faculty has received little attention. As a result of standards set by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) for chiropractic college faculty, all basic sciences faculty members at chiropractic colleges have earned university degrees of MS or PhD in their discipline, and many of the D.C. faculty also hold higher degrees (Wardwell, 1992). Clinical sciences faculty must either have a baccalaureate degree, several years of chiropractic experience, or teaching experience at an institution of higher education (CCE, 1995). Table 7. Subjects Taught in a Typical Trimester-Based Chiropractic Program, by Year and Numbers of Contact HoursWindows 7 Ultimate 32 bitYear 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4General anatomy (210)* Pharmacotoxicology (30) Integrated chiropractic clinical application (90) Clinical internship (450)Functional anatomy and biomechanics (210) Clinical microbiology (90) Physiological therapeutics