The ultrasound technology industry is growing, ultrasound technician colleges are gearing up to provide the highest quality education for the country’s future diagnostic medical sonographers. The most common program these colleges offer is an associate degree in ultrasound technology, but more schools are now offering baccalaureate degrees in the field.
If you want to be an ultrasound technician, you can choose from many ultrasound technician colleges that are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). An accredited school should grant you eligibility to take the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) examinations, which you have to pass in order to be recognized as a professional ultrasound technologist. Consider applying to one of these top public ultrasound technician colleges:
University of Oklahoma offers a degree of Bachelor of Science in Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences (BSMIRS)- Sonography under its College of Allied Health, which is located in its Oklahoma City campus. A student has to finish 64 hours of general education before going to the professional phase of the program in either Oklahoma City or the Tulsa campus of the university. In the professional phase, a student takes up didactic and clinical courses and undergoes training in hospitals and medical centers affiliated with the university. The school is one of the ultrasound technician colleges that give students the option to specialize in either general or cardiac sonography.
The College of Science and Engineering of Seattle University in Washington offers a Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Ultrasound degree. This degree allows a student to get a liberal arts education and gain theoretical and practical knowhow in different ultrasound specialties. The program’s science courses include ultrasound physics and human cross-section anatomy. Students can receive training in general, cardiac or vascular examination during their internships with the school’s clinical affiliates.
If you’re looking for ultrasound technician colleges offering certificate programs, UC San Diego Health System’s Sonography Training Program might be the one for you. It is a 12-month program with 8 hours of classes and 32 hours of clinical training every week. To enter this program, you either have to be a graduate of a two-year program in Nursing, Respiratory Therapy or Radiologic Technology, or have a Bachelor’s degree. This makes the program ideal for those who intend to shift careers.
Another one of the ultrasound technician colleges offering a certificate program is University of Maryland- Baltimore County. It offers a Certificate in Diagnostic Medical Sonography in three separate concentrations– General, Vascular and Cardiac. This 13 1/2-month program provides students with classroom instruction, training in the university’s onsite scan lab, and hands-on experience in clinical sites. Clinical sites available for student training are located across Maryland and in Washington D.C., Delaware and Pennsylvania, hence putting this program at an advantage over other ultrasound technician colleges.
