Palmer College of Chiropractic

Private · IA

Photo: Chrisroecker (Public domain)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationIA · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads43

Student:faculty9:1

Outcomes

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Cost

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Out-of-state tuition—

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Community

Racial diversity20.9%

Gender diversity32.6%

International0%

Identity—

Overview

Palmer College of Chiropractic, in Davenport, Iowa, is the school where the chiropractic profession itself began — founded in 1897 by D.D. Palmer, who developed the technique there. Known within the field as 'the Fountainhead,' it remains the most recognized name in chiropractic education, and its primary purpose is training Doctor of Chiropractic students rather than serving as a general undergraduate college.

Academics

Undergraduate coursework at the Davenport campus mainly functions as a pipeline into the professional Doctor of Chiropractic program — heavy in anatomy, physiology, and the biological sciences — rather than existing as a stand-alone liberal-arts track. Clinical training is central to the professional program, with students treating real patients under supervision well before graduation, and the school also operates additional campuses in Florida and California under the same Palmer name.

Campus & student life

Davenport is a modest-sized river city in the Quad Cities region along the Mississippi, and campus culture is shaped heavily by the concentration of chiropractic students and faculty who make up much of the student population. It functions less like a traditional college-town experience and more like a professional training community organized around the shared goal of chiropractic licensure.

After graduation

A Palmer degree carries real weight within the chiropractic profession specifically — its alumni network is large, tightly connected, and influential in chiropractic practice, associations, and continuing education across the country. Graduates go on to private practice, sports and wellness chiropractic, and, less commonly, research or academic roles within chiropractic education.

Worth knowing

Palmer's identity is inseparable from its founding-family history and its position as the profession's namesake school; the 'Fountainhead' nickname is widely used and understood within chiropractic circles. Students considering it should understand it as a professional/graduate-focused chiropractic school first, with undergraduate offerings existing mainly to feed that pipeline.

palmer.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate—

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot reported

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Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Applying