University of Western States

Date of establishment	1904
Type	Private
Location	Portland, Oregon, Oregon, United States
Campus	Urban area
Website	www.wschiro.edu

Western States Chiropractic College in Northeast Portland, Oregon, USA, was the first chiropractic college to receive a federally funded research grant through the United States Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). 2004 marks the centennial of Western States Chiropractic College. It is located at 2900 NE 132nd Avenue, Portland, OR, 97230.

Academic programs

Western States Chiropractic College offers a four-year program leading to the Doctor of Chiropractic degree. An optional Bachelor of Science in Human Biology is available for students enrolled in the D.C. program. WSCC also offers a one-year certificate program in massage therapy. Educational opportunities to meet continuing education requirements and to prepare for diplomate examinations in specialized areas are also available for chiropractic physicians through the Division of Postgraduate Education.

Doctor of Chiropractic program

Prerequisites for admission to the Doctor of Chiropractic program for the year 2007 include a minimum of 90 semester credits (or 135 quarter credits) of specific undergraduate coursework. New students are admitted for fall and winter terms. Students typically enroll as full-time students and attend lectures, labs, or clinic, for an average of 33 hours per week. There are 12 quarters of coursework in the curriculum, and students enroll for at least three quarters (nine months) per year.

Quarters 1 through 5 of the chiropractic program are devoted primarily to the basic sciences; chiropractic philosophy, techniques, and skills; and biomechanical principles with some clinic observation. Quarters 6 through 9 emphasize the clinical and chiropractic sciences and include the clinical experience of treating student-patients in the Student Health Center. Quarters 10 through 12 provide for practical clinical experience through treating the public in the College clinics.

Enrollment in lecture classes averages about 95 for first-year classes of fall entrants and about 40 for winter entrants. Second-year lecture class sizes range between 50 and 100. Third- and fourth-year lecture class size generally is between 25 and 65. Lab and clinic sections typically have one instructor for every 7 to 12 students.

Bachelor of Science in Human Biology program

The WSCC Bachelor of Science program is an option for students who are admitted without having yet earned a bachelor’s degree or who wish to earn a human biology degree. The design of the program is modeled after the general education, distribution, and major course components of the traditional liberal arts biology major. Degree requirements can be fulfilled through the required pre-chiropractic courses combined with the basic sciences contained in the first two years of the chiropractic program. There are eight additional WSCC quarter credits that are part of the B.S. program, which lead to the production of a baccalaureate project. A later section of this catalog is devoted to a more thorough description of this program.

Massage Certificate program

The massage program is a 726-hour certificate program in clinical massage therapy. Clock hours are based on a 60-minute block of time consisting of at least 50 minutes of instruction with appropriate breaks. Credit hours are calculated as follows: 50 minutes of lecture is equal to one credit hour and two hours of laboratory is equal to one credit hour. Students are admitted each Winter and Summer quarter. Classes are held weekday evenings. Students are required to complete the equivalent of at least 90 one-hour massages as part of the clinic practicum. Clinic hours are obtained through the WSCC Outpatient Clinic or by off-campus activities/internships. Occasional weekend clinic work and/or seminars are required throughout the year.

External links

• http://www.hrsa.gov/