Medical assistant programs in San Diego

You can compare accreditation, price and length for 12 campuses of 10 schools that offer medical assistant training in the San Diego area.

campuses of 10 schools: 12
accredited: 4
career school, whole program: $18,473
public college, a year: $1,152
graduates in 2023-24: 1,203

When we say accredited, we mean CAAHEP or ABHES. The prices shown are the middle values of the 8 career-school and 3 public-college prices made public for 2023-24. 1,203 graduates in 2023-24.

Schools for medical assistants in the San Diego region

Accredited schools come first, ordered by size from largest down.

Concorde Career College-San Diego
On campus · San Diego · 291 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$18,733 for the whole program
Program
Certificate about 8 months
Accreditation
ABHES approves the whole school
Request information
Pima Medical Institute-Chula Vista
On campus · Chula Vista · 137 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$18,454 for the whole program
Program
Certificate about 9 months
Accreditation
ABHES approves the whole school
Request information
Pima Medical Institute-San Marcos
On campus · San Marcos · 93 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$18,454 for the whole program
Program
Certificate about 9 months
Accreditation
ABHES approves the whole school
Request information
North-West College-San Diego
On campus · San Diego · 46 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$18,491 for the whole program
Program
Certificate about 9 months
Accreditation
ABHES approves the whole school
Request information
UEI College-Chula Vista
On campus · Chula Vista · 329 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$19,900 for the whole program
Program
Certificate about 9 months
Accreditation
Not CAAHEP or ABHES
School website
UEI College-Oceanside
On campus · Oceanside · 138 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$19,900 for the whole program
Program
Certificate about 9 months
Accreditation
Not CAAHEP or ABHES
School website
MiraCosta College
On campus · Oceanside · 81 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$1,152 for one year of classes
Program
Certificate or degree up to 2 years
Accreditation
Not CAAHEP or ABHES
School website
ATA College
On campus · El Cajon · 38 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$16,130 for the whole program
Program
Certificate about 9 months
Accreditation
Not CAAHEP or ABHES
School website
San Diego Mesa College
On campus · San Diego · 20 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$1,150 for one year of classes
Program
Certificate or degree up to 2 years
Accreditation
Not CAAHEP or ABHES
School website
Southwestern College
On campus · Chula Vista · 16 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$1,344 for one year of classes
Program
Certificate or degree 1 to 2 years
Accreditation
Not CAAHEP or ABHES
School website
Escondido Adult School
On campus · Escondido · 11 graduates in 2023-24
Price
Ask the school for the price
Program
Certificate under 12 weeks
Accreditation
Not CAAHEP or ABHES
School website
CET-San Diego
On campus · San Diego · 3 graduates in 2023-24
Price
$15,249 for the whole program
Program
Certificate about 8 months
Accreditation
Not CAAHEP or ABHES
School website

View a single table with all 12 San Diego area campuses; order them by graduates, length or price.

Medical assistant programs in San Diego
School	Certificate or degree, length	Accreditation	Price	Graduates2023-24	Request
UEI College-Chula Vista1261 Third Avenue, Suite A, Chula Vista	Certificateabout 9 months	Not CAAHEP or ABHES	$19,900 whole program	329	Visit the school's site
Concorde Career College-San Diego4393 Imperial Avenue, Suite 100, San Diego	Certificateabout 8 months	ABHES (school)	$18,733 whole program	291	Request information
UEI College-Oceanside2027 Mission Avenue, Oceanside	Certificateabout 9 months	Not CAAHEP or ABHES	$19,900 whole program	138	Visit the school's site
Pima Medical Institute-Chula Vista780 Bay Blvd, Suite101, Chula Vista	Certificateabout 9 months	ABHES (school)	$18,454 whole program	137	Request information
Pima Medical Institute-San Marcos111 Campus Way, San Marcos	Certificateabout 9 months	ABHES (school)	$18,454 whole program	93	Request information
MiraCosta CollegeOne Barnard Drive, Oceanside	Certificateunder 12 monthsAssociate degreeabout 2 years	Not CAAHEP or ABHES	$1,152 per year, local studentsone year of classes, same for each award	81	Visit the school's site
North-West College-San Diego6106 Arosa St, San Diego	Certificateabout 9 months	ABHES (school)	$18,491 whole program	46	Request information
ATA College1810 Gillespie Way, Suite 104, El Cajon	Certificateabout 9 months	Not CAAHEP or ABHES	$16,130 whole program	38	Visit the school's site
San Diego Mesa College7250 Mesa College Dr, San Diego	Certificateunder 12 monthsAssociate degreeabout 2 years	Not CAAHEP or ABHES	$1,150 per year, local studentsone year of classes, same for each award	20	Visit the school's site
Southwestern College900 Otay Lakes Rd., Chula Vista	Certificate12 to 24 monthsAssociate degreeabout 2 years	Not CAAHEP or ABHES	$1,344 per year, local studentsone year of classes, same for each award	16	Visit the school's site
Escondido Adult School220 W Crest Street, Escondido	Certificateunder 12 weeks	Not CAAHEP or ABHES	Ask the school for the price	11	Visit the school's site
CET-San Diego4153 Market Street, San Diego	Certificateabout 8 months	Not CAAHEP or ABHES	$15,249 whole program	3	Visit the school's site

Only schools accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES show "Request information", which sends your request to them; we may get paid. Each remaining row sends you to the school's website. No school pays for a listing or to move up. We used IPEDS 2023-24 for prices and graduates, plus directories from CAAHEP and ABHES.

This list shows accreditation, prices and graduates; here is how to read it

CAAHEP-accredited program: The medical assisting program itself was checked and approved by CAAHEP. To become a Certified Medical Assistant, people who finish can take the CMA exam.
ABHES-accredited school: The whole school gets approved by ABHES. Ask the school if its medical assisting program is covered too before you count on the CMA exam.
Not CAAHEP or ABHES: The school is not listed by either group for medical assisting, but that does not judge the school. Another agency can still accredit the college itself. You need a CAAHEP or ABHES program for the CMA exam, while the RMA, CCMA and NCMA exams allow other paths like work experience.
Price: As each school reports them, costs for 2023-24 cover tuition and fees, plus books and supplies if listed, for the whole program or one year of full-time classes (what local students pay at public colleges). Each award a school lists has the same yearly price.
Graduates: These are students who completed their programs between July 2023 and June 2024. The IPEDS annual survey from the U.S. Department of Education provides these prices and graduate counts.

Request information from a program in the San Diego area

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A quick look at the San Diego region

A medical assistant class in a community college classroom

Every medical assistant certificate and degree awarded by 12 schools in the San Diego area during the 2023-24 school year makes up this graduate count. With 329 graduates, UEI College-Chula Vista in Chula Vista is the biggest. For San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, the Census Bureau defines the area as the city plus nearby towns.

More California cities include Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento · See every program in California (151), San Francisco, Bakersfield, Fresno, Long Beach, Riverside

Certification after the program · What a program costs · Accredited online programs