Schools

Diagnostic Medical Sonography Schools

Diagnostic medical sonography schools are schools that instruct students in the use of sonography, also known as ultrasound, as a medically diagnostic medium. The following are some of the school types where you will find these kinds of programs offered:

School Types

Community/Junior Colleges

Most people have some kind of community college or junior college somewhere within easy reach of where they live. These are two year colleges that offer education in a variety of fields, and they are a common place to find diagnostic medical sonography programs. Community colleges and junior colleges often grant Associate’s degrees in medical sonography. This is the most common degree level to be held by diagnostic medical sonographers. Shorter one year type programs in the discipline also exist, and may be offered by some community colleges but they are less common.

Vocational/Career Schools

Vocational and career schools are another common type of school that offers diagnostic medical sonography courses of instruction. These schools are career focused institutions aimed at getting people into the workforce. It is common for these schools to offer both 1 year certificate/diploma type programs and 2 year Associate’s degree programs. They generally tend to offer Associate’s degrees in diagnostic medical sonography, but they may also be more likely to offer one year programs in diagnostic medical sonography than other types of schools.

Technical Schools

Being a technologically based field, technical schools often offer programs in diagnostic medical sonography. Again, these are often 2 year Associate degrees. Some may prefer this type of school as an educational environment if they have a primarily technical bent, emphasizing as they do the technical side of the field.

Four Year Colleges

Bachelor’s degrees are also awarded in diagnostic medical sonography. These educational programs tend to be broader than one or two year courses of instruction and may include instruction in other imaging modalities or medical technologies.

Accreditation

It is a good idea to try to find diagnostic medical sonography schools that are accredited by the Committee on Accreditation for Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). These programs tend to be good ones. There are other accrediting organizations besides CAAHEP, and accreditation is not absolutely necessary – there may be reputable non-accredited programs. But this can be a good place to start looking for schools that are well regarded and thorough from an educational standpoint.

Finding a School

It is extremely easy these days to find lists of schools on the internet. The CAAHEP website has a search utility that lists schools accredited by them by state, and this is a good resource to access to begin your search. In addition there are numerous sites that allow for school searches using all kinds of criteria such a program durations, location, accreditation and so on.

In addition to this you can check with your local department of education concerning school listings they may have. They may be able to recommend various programs in your area that, whether or not they are accredited, may be good schools that offer thorough education in the field.