Medical assistant programs online
With an online medical assistant program, you take your classes at home, while the hands-on part still happens face to face at a clinic or doctor's office. Our list includes 30 medical assistant programs you can complete online, and 14 of those are accredited.
Every medical assistant program with online classes
| School | Certificate or degree, length | Accreditation | Price | Graduates2023-24 | Request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bryan University | Certificate1 to 2 yearsonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $12,168 a yearfull-time | 368 | Visit the school's site |
| Certificate1 to 2 years63 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years218 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | ABHES-accredited school | $16,297 whole programfor its 45-credit program | 281 | Request information | |
| Certificateabout 7 monthsonline classes, clinical hours in person | ABHES-accredited school | $6,970 whole programwith books | 180 | Request information | |
 Martinsburg College | Certificateabout 19 months169 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $12,939 whole program | 169 | Visit the school's site |
| Certificate1 to 2 yearsonline classes, clinical hours in person | CAAHEP accredited | $10,110 a yearfull-time | 121 | Request information | |
 Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College | Certificateunder 12 weeks29 graduatesCertificateunder 1 year60 graduatesCertificate1 to 2 years27 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $4,656 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 116 | Visit the school's site |
| Certificateunder 1 year83 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years8 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | CAAHEP accredited certificate | $22,360 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 91 | Request information | |
 Hawaii Medical College | Certificate1 to 2 years49 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years14 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $25,927 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 63 | Visit the school's site |
| Certificate1 to 2 years42 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years15 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | ABHES-accredited school | Ask the school for the price | 57 | Request information | |
| Certificate1 to 2 years10 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years33 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | CAAHEP accredited certificate | $3,435 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 43 | Request information | |
 South University-Savannah Online | Associate degreeabout 2 yearsonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $16,452 a yearfull-time | 37 | Visit the school's site |
 Putnam Career and Technical Center | Certificateabout 6 monthsonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $2,525 whole programwith books | 31 | Visit the school's site |
| Certificate1 to 2 years5 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years21 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | CAAHEP accredited associate degree | $10,735 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 26 | Request information | |
| Certificate1 to 2 years18 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years5 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | CAAHEP accredited certificate | $3,736 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 23 | Request information | |
| Certificateunder 1 year20 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years3 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | CAAHEP accredited associate degree | $2,538 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 23 | Request information | |
 Daytona College | Certificateabout 10 months17 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years6 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $14,905 whole programfor its 10-month program, with books | 23 | Visit the school's site |
 Davenport University | Certificate1 to 2 years1 graduateAssociate degreeabout 2 years19 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $23,324 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 20 | Visit the school's site |
| Certificate1 to 2 years10 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years6 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | ABHES-accredited school | $15,868 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 16 | Request information | |
| Associate degreeabout 2 yearsonline classes, clinical hours in person | ABHES-accredited school | $11,484 a yearfull-time | 15 | Request information | |
| Certificate1 to 2 years11 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years3 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | CAAHEP accredited diploma | $1,956 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 14 | Request information | |
 The University of Montana | Certificateunder 1 year7 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years6 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $8,152 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 13 | Visit the school's site |
| Certificateunder 1 year7 graduatesAssociate degreeabout 2 years5 graduatesonline classes, clinical hours in person | CAAHEP accredited associate degree | $3,360 a yearfull-time; same for each award | 12 | Request information | |
 Highland Community College | Certificate1 to 2 yearsonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $4,116 a yearfull-time | 11 | Visit the school's site |
| Certificate1 to 2 yearsonline classes, clinical hours in person | CAAHEP accredited | $3,855 a yearfull-time | 7 | Request information | |
Colby-Sawyer College | Associate degreeabout 2 yearsonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $18,400 a yearfull-time | 7 | Visit the school's site |
 Massachusetts Bay Community College | Certificateunder 1 yearonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $5,616 a yearfull-time | 5 | Visit the school's site |
 New Professions Technical Institute | Certificateunder 1 yearonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | Ask the school for the price | 5 | Visit the school's site |
 Dakota College at Bottineau | Associate degreeabout 2 yearsonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $5,347 a yearfull-time | 4 | Visit the school's site |
 Lakewood University | Certificateunder 1 yearonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $10,479 a yearfull-time | 4 | Visit the school's site |
 Oklahoma City Community College | Associate degreeabout 2 yearsonline classes, clinical hours in person | Not accredited | $4,059 a yearfull-time | 1 | Visit the school's site |
- CAAHEP accredited
- CAAHEP has checked and approved the medical assisting program itself. People who finish it can take the CMA exam to become a Certified Medical Assistant.
- ABHES-accredited school
- ABHES approves the whole school. Before you count on the CMA exam, ask the school whether its medical assisting program is covered too.
- Price
- Tuition and fees for 2023-24, as each school reports them: for the whole program, or for one year of full-time classes. Each row says which.
- Graduates
- Students who finished between July 2023 and June 2024. Prices and graduates come from a yearly survey by the U.S. Department of Education.
- Listing
- No school pays to be listed or moved up. "Request information" appears on schools accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES; other schools link to their own site.
Which online programs are accredited?
When a program is accredited, an outside organization has reviewed it against fixed standards. For medical assistants, the two groups that count are CAAHEP (the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs) and ABHES (the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools). CAAHEP accredits the program itself; ABHES accredits the whole school.
Among the 1,094 medical assistant programs we track, 484 are accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES. Options you can do online are far less common. Only a limited number of CAAHEP-accredited programs are offered online, and of the 30 programs on our list you can finish online, 14 are accredited.
Online medical assistant courses and the in-person practicum
A practicum is supervised work you complete in a real healthcare setting before graduating. CAAHEP-accredited programs require at least 160 hours of practice, with someone supervising you at the site.
Computer simulations can't stand in for that time. The practicum must be real, hands-on experience, so you will need to set aside time to show up at a clinic in person, even when all your lessons are online.
Getting your medical assistant certification online
A certification is a credential you get by passing an exam from a national organization, and it is separate from finishing your schooling. There are 2 widely known certifications, and each has its own path.
- CMA, from the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA): you can take it as a student or graduate only if your program is accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES. That is a good reason to check accreditation before enrolling.
- CCMA, from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA): you can take this exam online or in person). To qualify, you need to have finished a medical assistant training program within the past 5 years and have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
The NHA also offers a work-based path instead of schooling. You can qualify through 1 year of supervised medical assistant work within the past 3 years, or 2 years within the past 5).
What do online medical assistant programs cost?
How much you pay depends heavily on the kind of school. Career schools tend to publish a single price for the full program, while public colleges list a price for each year.
| School type | What the price includes | Typical listed price (2023-24) |
|---|---|---|
| Career schools (392 of them) | The whole program, including tuition, fees and books | $17,257 |
| Public colleges (437 of them) | One year of full-time study, for people living in the college's district | $4,346 |
Help paying for online programs
Federal aid can help cover the cost of an online program, but only if the school qualifies. When a school is not accredited, you may not get federal financial aid there. You must also be enrolled in a degree or certificate program that qualifies.
Pell Grants can be used at eligible online schools, along with community colleges and career schools. Among the programs on our list, 1,049 are at schools that receive federal student aid.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly can you finish a medical assistant program?
The quickest career school program on the list takes 2 months, though that is unusual. Here is how long programs take, based on the 378 career schools reporting this:
| How long it takes | Count of programs |
|---|---|
| 6 months or under | 19 |
| 7–9 months | 257 |
| 10–12 months | 59 |
| Over 12 months | 43 |
The middle length is 9 months. CAAHEP-accredited programs also require at least 160 hours of supervised, in-person experience in a healthcare setting before graduation.
Who earns more, a medical assistant or a nursing assistant?
Medical assistants make a bit more, based on May 2025 national pay figures.
| Role | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Medical assistant | $45,690 ($21.97 per hour) |
| Phlebotomist (draws blood) | $45,230 |
| Nursing assistant | $42,260 |
| Licensed practical nurse (LPN) | $64,400 |
| Registered nurse | $97,550 |
How can I tell if an online program is legitimate?
Start by checking its accreditation yourself. CAAHEP's search tool lets you filter by distance education, which makes it easy to look up the online programs it accredits.
Can I earn a medical assistant associate degree online?
Often, yes. Of the 30 online programs on our list, 19 are at schools that award a medical assistant associate degree. Ask the school whether the degree itself, and not only the certificate, can be done online.