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Medical Assistant Programs

Medical assistant programs near you and online

Choosing a medical assistant program comes down to three things: whether an outside group has approved it (that is called accredited), what it costs and how long it takes. Type your ZIP code, city or state and we will show you the programs near you.

A medical assistant takes a patient's blood pressure at the start of a clinic visit

Medical assistant programs in Ohio

All 64 schools in Ohio

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See all 64 schools in Ohio, and ask one for details

Which kind of program fits you?

  • A fast certificate: most career-school certificates take about 9 months.
  • An associate degree: about 2 years, usually at a community college; 354 schools offer one.
  • Online while you work: 14 accredited programs teach the classes online; the hands-on practice with patients at a clinic is in person.
Medical assistant program students practicing vital signs in a college skills lab

Medical assistant programs by state

City pages: Los Angeles, Miami, Riverside, Detroit, Chicago, Phoenix, Atlanta, Houston.

Accredited programs and the CMA exam

An accredited program has been checked and approved by an outside group. For medical assistants, two groups count, CAAHEP and ABHES, and they matter for one exam, the CMA.

The Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) exam is a professional test for medical assistants. It is open to graduates of a program that CAAHEP or ABHES accredits. If ABHES approved the school, ask before you sign up whether this program lets you take the CMA exam. No school pays to be listed. All accredited programs

Comparing cost and length

Schools give their prices in two ways. Career schools give one price for the whole program. It covers tuition (what the school charges for classes), fees and books. Public colleges give the price of one year of full-time study (a full class load, not part-time), and people who live near the college pay less.

How the price is givenSchoolsTypical price, 2023-24
Career schools: the whole program, with books392$17,257
Public colleges: one year of full-time classes, for local students437$4,346

The typical price is the one in the middle. Half the schools cost more and half cost less. Both figures come from the yearly college survey run by the U.S. Department of Education. Before you compare two schools, check whether each price is for the whole program or for one year.

Program length varies too. At the 378 career schools that report it, a typical program takes 9 months, and most finish in 7 to 9 months. The shortest takes 2 months and the longest 32.

Prefer a degree over a certificate? 354 schools offer a medical assistant associate degree, a two-year college degree. Federal student aid (grants and loans from the government) is available at 1,049 of the schools listed, so ask about it wherever you apply.

The American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), the group that runs the CMA exam, suggests asking each school how many of its graduates pass it.

Other ways into the job: a paid apprenticeship (a job where you are paid while you learn the work on the spot), or free training. To see how the job compares, read about nursing assistants, practical nurses and phlebotomists, who draw blood, or see the pay in every state.