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Ultrasonographer Program Prerequisites and Tuition

Prerequisites

University of Utah Health Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences offers two certificate pathway options for interested candidates.  You must meet only ONE of the two following, to become eligible for the application: 

Post-Primary Pathway:

Applicants eligible for selection include individuals who have successfully passed one or more of the following certification categories:

  • Radiography (ARRT)
  • Radiation Therapy (ARRT)
  • University of Utah Health Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences offers two certificate pathway options for interested candidates.  You must meet only ONE of the two following, to become eligible for the application: 
  • Nuclear Medicine Technology (ARRT or NMTCB)
  • Observation is required. To request observation please visit: Observation Application.

Primary Pathway:

To be eligible for the Ultrasonography Program primary path, you must have obtained at least an bachelor’s degree by the start of the program session you’re applying for. In addition, you must have successfully completed the following courses and earning a minimum of a C grade:

  • Human Anatomy + Lab 
  • Human Physiology + Lab 
  • Elementary/General Physics 
  • Medical Terminology 
  • Math (Intermediate Algebra, or higher) 
  • Observation is required. To request observation please visit: Observation Application.
  • Patient Care experience (80 hours minimum)
    o    Patient care experience can be from previous healthcare work.
    o    This can be from either volunteer work or current/previous work in a healthcare/clinical setting
    o    It should be direct patient care, where you were involved working with patients directly and other healthcare staff.  Examples    include, but are not limited to: CNA, MA, Phlebotomy, Public/Social/Community health settings.
    o    If looking for volunteer work, you should contact hospitals, clinics and/or free clinics in your area to find opportunities that may work. 

 

  • Course Articulation:  If you are interested to find out which courses and course numbers satisfy the prerequisites for your program, please review our updated course articulation document which contains this information from most of the universities and colleges in Utah.  Please note that this list contains our preferred courses for the prerequisites, but there may be others that would be acceptable.  If you do not see your course listed here and you are curious if would satisfy the requirement, please contact the program administrator, Otto Casal by email.

    o   COURSE ARTICULATION DOCUMENT
     

Competitiveness

Our Ultrasonography program has quickly become quite popular, which in turn increases the competitiveness between candidates.  Here is some additional insight for applicants: 

Radiography Candidates

Earning certification in radiography before moving into sonography is the traditional track for application. Radiographers will come with one to two years of direct patient care experience in a clinical setting which typically makes them strong candidates.  For those applying with radiography certification there are no additional courses required but we will look to see how much time, if any, has been spent doing observation in ultrasound departments.  

Bachelor’s Degree Candidates

Our program will accept any major earned from your undergraduate career however, all candidates must successfully complete the five courses listed above (whether those courses were part of your major or not) prior to start date of program.  In addition, candidates applying with a bachelor's degree should be able to demonstrate direct patient care experience either through employment or volunteer work in a clinical setting.  Examples are CNA, MA, phlebotomy, etc.  We do not have a specific number of hours required but it should be sufficient to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities of day-to-day clinical work.  Candidates are also strongly encouraged to complete observation in an ultrasound department so that the candidate is aware of what the job truly entails.  
 

Tuition

The tuition for the 2025-26 program session is $6,800.00.  Payment plan is available and can be discussed with program administrators prior to the program start.

Note: The sonography program is a certificate only program.  As such, we are unable to accept/process any type of Federal Financial Aid or Federal Scholarships.  There may be scholarships available from diagnostic medical sonography societies, please inquire with those directly for offerings and more information.

Additional Fees

The following are approximate costs and are subject to changes:

  • Lab coats/Scrubs: $100.00
  • Parking pass: $270.00 (price may change each academic year)
  • Textbooks: $300.00 (approximately)
  • SPI examination: $225.00
  • Abdominal specialty examination: $250.00
  • OB/GYN specialty examination: $250.00
  • Trajecsys (Student Tracking Program): $100.00

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