Direct-Entry Podiatry and Chiropractic Degree Pathways

What direct entry means here

Most doctoral level health professions in the US require a completed bachelor's degree before you apply. Podiatric medicine and chiropractic are exceptions. Both fields accept applicants who have finished a set amount of prerequisite college coursework, not necessarily a full four-year degree, which shortens the road from high school to a licensed clinical career if you plan your prerequisites carefully.

Podiatric medicine (DPM) prerequisites

The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine sets a minimum of 90 semester hours, or about three years, of coursework at an accredited institution before you apply to a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine program. Required science courses include 8 semester hours each of biology, general or inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics, plus 6 semester hours of English, all with a lab component and pitched at the level of pre-medical coursework.

The MCAT has traditionally been the standard entrance exam for podiatric school, though AACPM notes some schools also accept the DAT, OAT, ACT, or SAT. An MCAT score older than three years does not count, so time your test carefully around your application cycle.

Chiropractic (DC) prerequisites

The Council on Chiropractic Education accredits 19 Doctor of Chiropractic programs in 21 locations across the US. Prerequisite requirements vary school by school more than in podiatry, but most accept students who have completed a set number of college credit hours rather than requiring a finished bachelor's degree.

National University of Health Sciences is a notable exception. Its own program page states it is one of the only accredited Doctor of Chiropractic degree programs to require a bachelor's degree for admission, which confirms that most of the other accredited programs accept partial college credit instead. Check each school's specific prerequisite list before you plan your undergraduate coursework, since requirements are not standardized the way podiatry's 90 hour rule is.

Side by side comparison

What the DPM program and after look like

A DPM program runs 4 years. The first two years cover classroom and lab work in basic medical sciences, similar to the front half of medical school, and years three and four shift into clinical training with direct patient contact. Graduation does not make you licensed on its own. Every new podiatric physician must complete residency training afterward, with most states requiring a minimum of 2 years, though many graduates complete a 36-month Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residency that adds rear foot and ankle surgical training on top of the base 2-year requirement.

That residency requirement matters when you compare total time to practice. A DPM path realistically runs 4 years of professional school plus 2 to 3 years of residency after your prerequisite coursework, putting total training time close to what a physician completes.

What the DC program and after look like

DC programs run roughly 3 to 4 years depending on the school and its calendar structure. Some schools use a trimester system that compresses the timeline closer to 3 years of continuous study rather than a traditional two-semester academic year, so ask each school directly how many trimesters or semesters its specific program requires.

Chiropractors do not go through a mandatory residency after graduation. You take the required National Board of Chiropractic Examiners exams and meet your state's specific licensing requirements, then you can begin practicing. This makes the DC path faster from enrollment to independent practice than the DPM path, even though the professional program lengths are close.

Scope of practice differences

A licensed DPM is a surgical physician for the foot and ankle, able to diagnose conditions, prescribe medication, order imaging, and perform surgery within that scope. A DC focuses on manual and manipulative therapy, primarily spinal and joint adjustment, and does not perform surgery or prescribe medication in the vast majority of states. If you want a surgical clinical career, DPM is the closer fit. If you want a hands-on therapeutic practice without surgery or prescribing, DC fits better.

Both professions hold licensure in all 50 states, so a credential earned in one state generally transfers when you move, though you still apply for a license in the new state and meet its specific continuing education rules. Check your target state's licensing board directly if you already know where you want to practice long term, since exact continuing education hours and renewal cycles differ state to state for both DPM and DC licenses.

Planning your prerequisite years

Since neither path requires a finished bachelor's degree, map your prerequisite coursework against your target school's exact list before you register for undergraduate classes. Missing a single required science course can delay your application by a full year while you complete it, so pull the specific prerequisite list from your target DPM or DC program early rather than assuming general biology or chemistry credit automatically satisfies a pre-professional requirement.

If you are not sure yet which of the two professions you want, lean toward finishing a full bachelor's degree during your prerequisite years anyway. It keeps other graduate and professional school doors open in case you change direction, without costing you eligibility for either DPM or DC admission.

How to choose

• Map your target school's exact prerequisite course list before you build your undergraduate schedule.

• Decide if you want surgical scope of practice, which points toward DPM, or manual therapy scope, which points toward DC.

• Factor in the DPM residency requirement when you compare total years to independent practice.

• Confirm each target school's entrance exam requirements early, since podiatry leans on the MCAT while chiropractic varies by school.

• Check state licensing rules for your intended practice state, since scope of practice details differ state to state for both professions.