Medical Assistant Associate Degree Programs

What Medical Assistant Degree Programs Cost

The spread is wider than for any other MA credential. Public colleges charge by the credit, while private colleges quote large program totals.

Program	Length or credits	Clinical training or accreditation	Cost
Cuesta College AS (CA)	4 terms, 57.5 units	60.5 units on the Cal-GETC transfer pathway	$2,645 estimated
San Jose City College AS (CA)	60 units	Clinical externship, phlebotomy and EKG	$2,760 estimated
Laredo College AAS (TX)	5 semesters, 60 hours	Clinical I-III rotations	$3,000 estimated
Collin County Community College District AAS (TX)	60 credits	At least 160 clinical hours	$3,900 estimated
Montgomery Community College AAS (NC)	65 semester hours	240-hour externship, CAAHEP accredited	$4,940 estimated
Ivy Tech AAS (IN)	4 semesters, 60 credits	CAAHEP accredited	$10,703 published
Concorde Career College-Memphis AAS (TN)	As few as 16 months	230 externship hours	$34,014 published
Lincoln College of Technology-Marietta AAS (GA)	About 79 weeks	160-hour internship	$38,091 published
Intellitec College-Grand Junction (CO)	18 months, 90.5 credits	160-hour externship	$39,886 published
South University-Savannah AS (GA)	92 quarter credits	160-hour practicum, CAAHEP accredited	$43,700 estimated

Estimated cost is the published per-credit rate times credits, before fees and books. Published figures are the school’s own totals.

The six most affordable degrees in the ranking below are all at California community colleges, where residents pay $46 a unit. At the top, the College of Westchester charges $904 per credit for a 66-credit degree, an estimated $59,664. Run your own numbers in the MA cost calculator, and see every low-cost option on the affordable programs page.

Accreditation and the CMA Route for Degree Programs

A degree title does not make you CMA eligible. The AAMA requires a program accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES, or a program that meets its Alternative Pathway rules. Among associate programs, 55 are accredited: 49 through CAAHEP and 6 through ABHES. The CMA is named by 122 associate programs, the RMA by 63 and the CCMA by 54.

Accredited degree programs report outcomes to their accreditor, and several are strong:

• Ivy Tech’s AAS: five-year board exam pass rate of 94.52% at the Indianapolis campus.
• Allegany College of Maryland: two practicums totaling 220 unpaid hours and a five-year exam passage average of 95.35%.
• Montgomery Community College: five-year exam passage of 80.19% and job placement of 79.17%.
• Central Arizona College: 86% retention and 75% job placement over five years, at $90 per credit in-state.

Private degree programs report differently. Platt College’s associate programs reported graduation rates of 63% to 76% for 2022-23 starts, with employment rates of 74% to 87% by campus. Use the accredited program checker to confirm any degree before you apply, and see the CMA details on the CMA certification guide.

Degree Completion: Finish a Certificate Now, the Degree Later

Many schools let you stack the two. You earn a certificate or diploma, start working, and finish the general education later.

• Miller-Motte College-Chattanooga runs an online completion degree for its Medical Clinical Assistant graduates: as little as 4 to 6 months, $7,840 with 72 transfer credits or $12,520 with 60.
• Concorde Career College-Memphis builds its AAS from a 35-credit diploma block plus online general education.
• Ross College-Sylvania takes 55 weeks for students transferring in a completed MA diploma.
• Lewis and Clark Community College in Illinois describes its AAS as the certificate plus two semesters.
• South College in Tennessee adds 9 to 12 months after its certificate.

Charter College’s online AAS is a completion degree only for Charter certificate graduates who already hold a national MA certification. Its 7 months are the final stretch, not a full program.

The Fastest Associate Degrees and the Longest

If you want the degree without two full years, a handful of private colleges compress it:

Program	Length	Notes
College of Health Care Professions-Southwest Houston (TX)	48 weeks	61.5 credits, 1,216 clock hours, 160-hour externship
Fox College (IL)	12 months	ABHES accredited, 2-month externship, $8,120 per semester
Southwest University at El Paso (TX)	12 months (48 weeks)	Phlebotomy, EKG and coding
Carrington College-Sacramento (CA)	About 56 weeks	315 externship hours, $34,228 published
Idaho State University (ID)	2.5 years	Names the CMA, $20,636 estimated resident total

Compressed schedules mean full-time, year-round study. If you need a slower pace, community college degrees usually run four or five semesters. More short programs of every type are on the accelerated programs page.

Evening, Weekend and Online Degree Options

Associate programs are less flexible on schedule than certificates. Only 35 offer evening classes and 3 offer weekend sessions:

• Trocaire College in New York starts a day cohort in fall and an evening cohort in spring.
• Cabarrus College of Health Sciences runs a 68-credit hybrid degree with evening and weekend classes, a family medicine practicum and a specialty internship.
• Northwest Suburban College in Illinois schedules day, evening and weekend classes across five semesters.
• Southeastern College-West Palm Beach takes 16 months full time or 22 months part time.

Online coursework is common: 84 associate programs list it and 72 are hybrid. Only 9 are fully online, and some of those, such as Miller-Motte’s, are completion degrees for people who already trained. As a first-time student, expect in-person skills checks and an externship. Compare formats on the online programs page.

What the Degree Leads to

Your first job looks the same with a degree or a certificate: recording patient histories, taking vital signs, giving injections, drawing samples and handling scheduling and records. The BLS puts median pay at $45,690 a year in 2025 and projects 13% job growth from 2025 to 2035. Most states do not require certification, but employers may prefer or require it.

State rules care about hours and accreditation, not the degree title. Washington’s Medical Assistant-Certified credential accepts an ABHES- or CAAHEP-accredited program, or a program of at least 720 clock hours with a 160-hour externship, plus a national exam. Most associate degrees clear that easily. Compare Washington’s 21 associate programs on the Washington state page, and North Carolina’s 32 associate programs on the North Carolina page.

The real value of the degree shows up later. If you plan to move into supervising a clinic, coding or a related health program, the general education credits are already done. The careers guide maps those next steps.

How to Choose an Associate Degree Program

• Price the degree against a certificate at the same school. At a community college, the gap is mostly the general education credits. At Stanly Community College, the 65-credit degree is an estimated $4,940, and the certificate covers far fewer credits.
• Check accreditation first if you want the CMA. Only 55 of 309 degree programs carry CAAHEP or ABHES accreditation.
• Count externship hours. The median is 160; Montgomery requires 240 and Carrington 315.
• Ask how credits stack. Programs like Concorde’s and Miller-Motte’s let you work between the diploma and the degree.
• Read published outcomes. Five-year exam pass rates in this set vary, from 81.40% at Kirkwood Community College to 95.35% at Allegany College of Maryland.

Who the degree suits: someone who wants college credit to build on, or a specialty option such as phlebotomy, coding or X-ray. If you need to start work fast, a certificate gets you into the same first job in a median of 39 weeks. The program matcher narrows the field by length, cost and schedule.