This page lists the eight Alabama schools in the UltrasoundDegree directory that offer a sonography program. The schools are grouped by region. Each entry shows the degree or program the record names, the program length where a record has one, the tracks it covers, and the accreditation the directory records. The page also covers Alabama’s licensing status and May 2025 wage data for the state.
The number eight counts schools, not campuses or accredited programs. Six of the eight are community colleges. Two are stand-alone ultrasound schools on Mobile Bay. Four of the eight carry a Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accreditation record in their directory entry. Three more state CAAHEP accreditation on their own websites, but their directory entries do not record it yet, so this page does not count them. One states on its own site that its sonography program is not CAAHEP-accredited. The accreditation table below shows all eight. None of the eight is in Birmingham, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, or Auburn.
Accreditation in Alabama: programmatic versus institutional
Two different things get called “accredited.” Institutional accreditation covers the whole college. Among the schools below, Northeast Alabama Community College’s website names the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) as its institutional accreditor. The Cardiac and Vascular Institute of Ultrasound’s site names the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). Programmatic accreditation covers one program. For sonography, that is CAAHEP. It accredits diagnostic medical sonography programs on the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS). Cardiovascular technology programs go through a separate committee, the JRC-CVT, and include non-ultrasound cardiac and vascular methods. No Alabama entry records a JRC-CVT program. The difference is covered in programmatic vs. institutional accreditation and in Chapter 11, Accreditation.
The difference matters for the certification exams. The American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) awards its credentials by exam only. Each applicant has to meet one of its prerequisites first. Prerequisite 2 covers current students and graduates of a CAAHEP-accredited sonography, cardiac sonography, or vascular technology program. No clinical experience beyond the program is required. Students may apply up to 60 days before graduation. Graduates of programs without CAAHEP accreditation use a different route. Prerequisite 1 requires a two-year allied-health program in a patient-care field plus 12 months of full-time clinical ultrasound experience after it. Prerequisite 3A requires a bachelor’s degree in any field plus 12 months of clinical experience. Prerequisite 3B covers bachelor’s programs in sonography that include at least 12 months, or 1,680 hours, of clinical work. Prerequisite 5 is a crossover for people who already hold a credential from Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI), the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), or Sonography Canada. Every ARDMS credential requires the Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) exam plus a specialty exam. Details: Chapter 4, Licensing and Certification, the SPI exam, and how to verify a program’s accreditation.
The table shows two things side by side: what the directory record holds, and what the school’s own website said when it was read in September 2026. Where the two differ, both are shown. This page counts only the directory record. CAAHEP’s program search is the primary source for current status.
| School | Directory record | School’s own website, September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Wallace State Community College | CAAHEP (JRC-DMS) | Not separately checked |
| Gadsden State Community College | CAAHEP (JRC-DMS) | Not separately checked |
| Northwest Shoals Community College | No programmatic accreditation recorded | Program page states CAAHEP accreditation |
| Northeast Alabama Community College | No programmatic accreditation recorded | Accreditation page does not list the sonography program as CAAHEP-accredited |
| H. Councill Trenholm Community College | No programmatic accreditation recorded | Catalog states CAAHEP accreditation through JRC-DMS |
| Lurleen B. Wallace Community College | CAAHEP (JRC-DMS) | Not separately checked |
| Cardiac and Vascular Institute of Ultrasound | No programmatic accreditation recorded; the institute describes itself as fully accredited | Site names ABHES (institutional) and CAAHEP (programmatic) |
| Institute of Ultrasound Diagnostics | CAAHEP (JRC-DMS) | Recorded website did not resolve |
Sonography schools in Alabama by region
North of Birmingham: Hanceville and Gadsden
Wallace State Community College, Hanceville, with a second campus listed in Oneonta. Associate of Applied Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography with three pathway options: General/Vascular Sonography, Cardiovascular Sonography, and Obstetrics/Gynecology Sonography. The directory records CAAHEP accreditation through JRC-DMS in four concentrations, including OB/GYN, vascular, and cardiac. Graduates are eligible to sit for ARDMS, ARRT, and CCI exams. This is the only Alabama entry that names all three credentialing bodies, and the only community-college entry with a cardiovascular pathway inside the sonography degree. CAAHEP (JRC-DMS).
Gadsden State Community College, Gadsden. Associate of Applied Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography at a two-year public college. The program covers abdominal, OB/GYN, and related concentrations. The school page’s program details list abdomen, OB/GYN, and vascular, and give 2020 as the accreditation date. Graduates are prepared for the ARDMS exams. The school page also lists a separate echocardiography certificate program. CAAHEP (JRC-DMS).
North Alabama: Muscle Shoals and Rainsville
Northwest Shoals Community College, Muscle Shoals. Diagnostic Medical Sonography program in the college’s health sciences division, with Abdominal-Extended and OB/GYN specializations. The degree awarded is not stated in the directory record. No programmatic accreditation recorded. The college’s program page, read in September 2026, states CAAHEP accreditation; the directory record does not carry it, and this page does not count it.
Northeast Alabama Community College, Rainsville. Associate in Applied Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, two years, at a public community college. It is a day program with competitive admission. Seats are capped by the clinical placements and faculty available. No programmatic accreditation recorded. The college’s own accreditation page, read in September 2026, lists CAAHEP accreditation for its nursing, practical nursing, and paramedic programs but not for sonography. If that is current, graduates would not qualify under ARDMS Prerequisite 2 and would use another route.
Montgomery and south-central Alabama: Montgomery and Opp
H. Councill Trenholm Community College, Montgomery. Associate of Applied Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, four semesters, at a public two-year college in the Alabama Community College System. The general program covers OB/GYN, abdominal, and superficial structures. The college also offers short-term certificates in vascular and cardiac sonography alongside the degree. The school page lists an average class size of 15 with two instructors. No programmatic accreditation in the directory record. The college’s catalog, read in September 2026, and the directory’s own school page both state CAAHEP accreditation through JRC-DMS; this page counts only the record.
Lurleen B. Wallace Community College, Opp, with campuses also listed in Greenville and Andalusia. Associate in Applied Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, a two-year program of classroom and clinical training covering abdominal, obstetrical, gynecological, vascular, cardiac, pediatric, and small-parts sonography. Graduates may pursue ARDMS registration in Abdomen or OB/GYN. The school page lists an average class size of 13 with five instructors. The college was founded in 1969. CAAHEP (JRC-DMS).
Mobile Bay and the Gulf Coast: Mobile and Spanish Fort
Cardiac and Vascular Institute of Ultrasound, Mobile. A stand-alone ultrasound school that offers cardiac sonography and vascular sonography programs and no general sonography program. Per its website as read in September 2026, it runs three programs: Cardiac Sonography (one year, 1,728 hours), Vascular Sonography (one year), and a Cardiovascular program (18 months). Graduates sit for ARDMS or CCI exams. The credentials the program record points to are the Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS) and Registered Vascular Technologist (RVT), not the general Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS). The directory records no programmatic accreditation and notes that the institute describes itself as fully accredited; its site names ABHES and CAAHEP. This is the only Alabama entry that does not lead to general sonography.
Institute of Ultrasound Diagnostics, Spanish Fort. The school page gives a Spanish Fort address; the directory’s address record says Daphne, with the same ZIP code. A diagnostic medical sonography program. The credential awarded is not stated in any record. The directory records CAAHEP accreditation through JRC-DMS. The school page describes the program as online/distance, while the program record says on-campus. The website recorded for the school did not resolve when checked in September 2026. Neither point could be confirmed against the school’s own pages. The school page links a different domain. CAAHEP (JRC-DMS), as recorded.
Program types found in Alabama
| Program type | Schools | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Associate of Applied Science, general diagnostic medical sonography | 5 stated, 1 unstated | Wallace State, Gadsden State, Northeast Alabama, Trenholm, Lurleen B. Wallace. Northwest Shoals lists the program without naming the degree. Stated lengths: two years (Northeast Alabama, Lurleen B. Wallace) or four semesters (Trenholm). |
| Diagnostic medical sonography program, credential not stated | 1 | Institute of Ultrasound Diagnostics (Spanish Fort). CAAHEP requires an accredited sponsor to award at least a certificate or diploma. |
| Cardiac or vascular specialty programs and certificates | 3 | Cardiac and Vascular Institute of Ultrasound (three stand-alone programs, one year to 18 months); Trenholm (short-term vascular and cardiac certificates alongside the degree); Gadsden State (echocardiography certificate) |
| Bachelor’s degree | 0 | The directory lists no bachelor’s-level sonography program in Alabama. |
| Hospital-based certificate | 0 | None in the directory for Alabama. |
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists the associate degree as the typical entry-level education for sonographers, with certificate and bachelor’s programs also available. What separates the degree levels is covered in associate vs. bachelor’s sonography degrees and sonography certificates for career changers. One Alabama entry describes admission as competitive and capped by clinical placements; what that means in practice is covered in sonography prerequisites. Cost context is in Chapter 13, Cost and Financial Aid, and in cost of sonography programs. The distance-format question raised by the Spanish Fort entry is covered in online vs. in-person sonography. Holding more than one credential, as Wallace State’s three-body eligibility allows, is covered in multi-credentialing in sonography.
State licensing in Alabama
Alabama does not license diagnostic medical sonographers. As of 2026, the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) lists four states that mandate a sonographer license: New Mexico, Oregon, North Dakota, and New Hampshire. Alabama is not one of them. Certification is separate from licensing. The ARDMS, CCI, and ARRT credentials described in Chapter 4 are national and do not depend on the state. SDMS describes certification by an accredited credentialing body as the standard of practice in sonography. That is why the ARDMS prerequisites above matter in a state with no license. Which body fits which program is covered in ARDMS vs. CCI and CCI credentials.
Sonographer wages and employment in Alabama
The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program reports state figures for diagnostic medical sonographers (SOC 29-2032). The May 2025 release gives Alabama the following.
| Alabama, May 2025 | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $68,180 |
| Mean annual wage | $69,160 |
| 10th percentile | $51,700 |
| 90th percentile | $83,220 |
| Employment | 1,510 |
Source: BLS OEWS state estimates for SOC 29-2032, May 2025.
Alabama’s median is the lowest of the 50 states in that table. It ranks 51st of the 52 states and territories listed; only Puerto Rico is lower. Neighboring Mississippi’s median was $76,520, Tennessee’s $80,640, Florida’s $82,940, and Georgia’s $83,250 in the same release. Nationally, BLS reported a median annual wage of $96,590 for sonographers in May 2025. That national figure is $28,410 above Alabama’s median, and Alabama’s 90th percentile sits below it. BLS counted about 92,200 sonographer jobs nationally in 2025 and projects 14 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,000 openings a year. Hospitals held about 57 percent of sonographer jobs in 2024. State-by-state comparison: sonographer salary by state. Setting context: hospital vs. outpatient sonography. Chapter 8: Salary and Compensation. Occupation profile: diagnostic medical sonographer.
Related pages
- Alabama school directory: every Alabama school page, the same eight listed above
- Sonography and Ultrasound Degree Guide: the 13-chapter reference this page draws on, including Chapter 2, Educational Pathways
- CAAHEP, JRC-DMS, JRC-CVT, ARDMS, ARRT, CCI, and SDMS organization pages
- RDMS, RDCS, and RVT credential explainers
- Abdominal, OB/GYN, vascular, cardiac, and pediatric specialty pages, matching the concentrations named above, and Chapter 12, Sonography Specialties
- How to evaluate a sonography program and reading program outcome data
- Other state guides: California, Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia
- CAAHEP’s accredited-program search (the primary source for current programmatic accreditation), ARDMS, SDMS state licensure, and BLS OEWS tables
Last verified: September 2026. School facts come from the UltrasoundDegree directory entry and school page for each school, and from a September 2026 read of each school’s own website where noted. Program details and accreditation status change; the school’s own site and CAAHEP’s search hold the current version.