This page lists every California school in the UltrasoundDegree directory that has offered a sonography program: 22 schools, from Sacramento to San Diego. Eight of them hold program accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) in the directory’s records. That is the number in the page title. The other 14 are listed without a confirmed accreditation record, and each entry says so. The page also covers how accreditation affects exam eligibility, which credential each program awards, California’s licensure status, and what the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports for sonographer wages in the state.
What the numbers on this page count
| Number | What it counts |
|---|---|
| 22 | Schools filed under California in the directory, the same set as the California school index |
| 8 | Schools whose directory record carries CAAHEP accreditation, granted on the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS) |
| 14 | Schools listed without a confirmed program-accreditation record. Four of these name an institutional accreditor or a state approval in their entry text; the rest record nothing |
| 2 | Programs focused on cardiac or vascular sonography rather than general sonography (Grossmont College, UCSF). Loma Linda University offers both general/vascular and cardiac tracks |
| 1 | Program recorded as discontinued (Cosumnes River College), kept in the list so the record is complete |
School facts on this page come from each school’s directory entry. Each entry cites the school’s own program page. Nothing here comes from rankings or paid listings. Accreditation, credentials, and program length change over time, so each entry links to the school’s directory page, which carries the source URL.
How California sonography programs are accredited
Two kinds of accreditation show up in this list. They do different jobs.
Programmatic accreditation applies to the sonography program itself. For general sonography, CAAHEP grants it on the recommendation of JRC-DMS. For cardiovascular technology programs, CAAHEP acts on the advice of a separate committee, the Joint Review Committee on Education in Cardiovascular Technology (JRC-CVT). The two committees review different curricula. JRC-CVT programs include cardiac and vascular methods that are not ultrasound. As of June 2026, CAAHEP lists 390 accredited sonography programs at 275 institutions nationwide. The eight California schools below are among them, according to their directory records.
Institutional accreditation applies to the school as a whole, not to any one program. Four such accreditors appear in the entries below: the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET), the Council on Occupational Education (COE), and the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). A sonography program at an institutionally accredited school falls under that grant. It does not, by itself, hold CAAHEP program accreditation.
Why the distinction matters for the ARDMS exams
The American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) issues three credentials: Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS), Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS), and Registered Vascular Technologist (RVT). Its 2024 General Prerequisites define several paths to exam eligibility. Accreditation decides which path a graduate falls into.
- Prerequisite 2, CAAHEP-accredited program. A student in, or a graduate of, a CAAHEP-accredited sonography, cardiac sonography, or vascular technology program is eligible with no clinical experience beyond the program. Students can register up to 60 days before their expected graduation date.
- Prerequisite 1, two-year allied-health program plus experience. This covers graduates of a two-year patient-care program that is not CAAHEP-accredited (24 months, 60 semester credits, or 84 quarter credits, with a clinical internship). They need 12 months of full-time clinical ultrasound work after the program.
- Prerequisite 3A, bachelor’s degree plus experience. A bachelor’s degree in any field plus 12 months of full-time clinical ultrasound work.
- Prerequisite 3B, bachelor’s degree in sonography. A bachelor’s program in sonography or vascular technology that includes at least 12 months, or 1,680 hours, of clinical training.
Every ARDMS candidate also takes the Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) exam. It requires a physics course graded C+ or better, or 12 hours of ultrasound-physics continuing education within the prior two years. The Licensing and Certification chapter covers each path in detail. The certifications index covers the credentials themselves. ARDMS, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), and Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) are the three nationally recognized certifying bodies for sonographers. Graduates of JRC-CVT programs often pursue CCI credentials.
In short: a graduate of one of the eight CAAHEP-recorded programs below meets Prerequisite 2 on graduation. A graduate of one of the other 14 may need a year of paid clinical work, or a bachelor’s degree, before sitting for the same exam. Whether that trade-off is acceptable depends on the reader’s situation.
Sonography programs in California by region
Schools are grouped by the city in their directory entry. “CAAHEP-recorded” means the entry carries CAAHEP and JRC-DMS accreditation. “Not confirmed” means the entry carries no program-accreditation record. Where the entry text names an institutional accreditor, that is noted.
Sacramento area
| School | City | Credential (per directory) | Accreditation (per directory) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Medical Institute | Citrus Heights | Associate of Science; Bachelor of Science | Not confirmed; entry records DEAC institutional accreditation |
| Sacramento Ultrasound Institute | Sacramento | Not recorded | Not confirmed |
| Cosumnes River College | Sacramento | Program discontinued | n/a |
United Medical Institute is a proprietary sonography school in Citrus Heights. Its entry records an Associate of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, both delivered in person. The school has campuses in California and Arizona. Its accreditation on record is institutional, from DEAC.
Sacramento Ultrasound Institute is listed as a career-focused school with sonography training on Watt Avenue in Sacramento. The directory records no credential level and no program accreditation for it.
Cosumnes River College, a public community college in the Los Rios district, is in the directory because it once offered a sonography program. Its entry states the program was discontinued. It stays in the list so the record is complete. It is not counted as an active program anywhere on this page.
Bay Area
| School | City | Credential (per directory) | Accreditation (per directory) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foothill College | Los Altos Hills | Associate in Science; Certificate of Achievement | CAAHEP-recorded (JRC-DMS) |
| Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences | Richmond | Bachelor of Science | CAAHEP-recorded (JRC-DMS) |
| Contra Costa Medical Career College | Antioch | Certificate | Not confirmed; entry records ACCET accreditation and BPPE licensure |
| Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts – San Mateo | San Mateo | Not recorded | Not confirmed |
| UCSF School of Medicine | San Francisco | Not recorded (cardiac sonography) | Not confirmed in the directory’s structured record |
Foothill College offers an 18-month Associate in Science and Certificate of Achievement in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, accredited by CAAHEP on JRC-DMS’s recommendation. The program has run since 1984. It covers the abdominal-extended and obstetrics/gynecology concentrations through classroom, lab, and supervised clinical training at affiliated Bay Area hospitals. The college itself is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences in Richmond offers a CAAHEP-accredited Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, with clinical sites across the Kaiser system. Its entry notes that tuition is free for Kaiser employees.
Contra Costa Medical Career College is a private career college in Antioch. Its sonography program leads to a certificate. The entry records accreditation by ACCET and a license from the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). No CAAHEP record is on file.
Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts – San Mateo is one campus of a private healthcare career school. The entry records a sonography program at the San Mateo campus, but no credential level and no program accreditation.
UCSF School of Medicine is listed for a cardiac sonography program housed at the medical school. The directory’s structured record carries no accreditation for it and no separate program entry. So this page does not count it among the CAAHEP-recorded eight. Cardiac sonography programs are reviewed by JRC-CVT rather than JRC-DMS; see the cardiac sonography specialty page.
Central Valley
| School | City | Credential (per directory) | Accreditation (per directory) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merced College | Merced | Certificate of Achievement (post-associate) | CAAHEP-recorded (JRC-DMS) |
| Community Regional Medical Center | Fresno | Not recorded | Not confirmed |
| Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts | Fresno (per entry text) | Not recorded | Not confirmed |
Merced College offers a CAAHEP-accredited Certificate of Achievement in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. It is a post-associate certificate. The entry states it is designed for students who have already completed prerequisite coursework in the health sciences. Training is in general sonography, and the college serves the Central Valley.
Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno offers hospital-based sonography training through its education division, in an acute-care hospital setting. The entry calls it one of the largest hospitals in the San Joaquin Valley. No credential level or program accreditation is recorded.
Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts appears a second time in the directory as a multi-campus entry, with reported locations including Fresno. The entry is low-confidence. It carries no address, no credential level, and no accreditation record.
Los Angeles area
| School | City | Credential (per directory) | Accreditation (per directory) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBD College | Los Angeles | Associate of Applied Science | CAAHEP-recorded (JRC-DMS) |
| College of the Canyons | Santa Clarita | Associate in Science | Not confirmed; entry says the program is pursuing CAAHEP accreditation |
| Healthcare Career College | Paramount | Diploma (19 months); Associate (24 months) | Not confirmed; entry records COE accreditation and BPPE approval |
| North-West College | West Covina | Diploma | Not confirmed; entry records ACCSC accreditation, “not CAAHEP” |
CBD College is a nonprofit medical career college on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. It offers a CAAHEP-accredited Associate of Applied Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography through JRC-DMS, alongside programs in surgical technology, physical therapy assisting, and other allied health fields. The entry states that graduates are eligible for the ARDMS registry exams.
College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita offers an Associate in Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, with training in general sonography. Its entry says the program is pursuing CAAHEP accreditation through JRC-DMS. Until that record changes, the program is listed here as not confirmed.
Healthcare Career College is a private career school in Paramount, serving the greater Los Angeles area. It offers two program lengths: a 19-month sonography diploma and a 24-month associate degree. Both are accredited institutionally by COE and approved by the BPPE. The entry says the programs prepare graduates for the ARDMS and ARRT credentialing exams.
North-West College is a private career college based in West Covina, with campuses in Anaheim, Long Beach, Riverside, and Van Nuys. Its sonography diploma program is accredited by ACCSC, which the entry explicitly distinguishes from CAAHEP.
Orange County and the Inland Empire
| School | City | Credential (per directory) | Accreditation (per directory) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Coast College | Costa Mesa | Associate in Science | CAAHEP-recorded (JRC-DMS) |
| Cypress College | Cypress | Associate degree (per entry text) | Not confirmed |
| Loma Linda University | Loma Linda | Bachelor of Science (two tracks); Certificate in Cardiac Sonography | CAAHEP-recorded (JRC-DMS) |
| Platt College | Ontario | Associate of Science | CAAHEP-recorded (JRC-DMS), medium confidence; entry text says status is unconfirmed |
| Mt. San Jacinto College | Menifee | Associate of Science | CAAHEP-recorded (JRC-DMS) |
Orange Coast College is a public community college in Costa Mesa. It offers a CAAHEP-accredited Associate in Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography through its Health Education and Kinesiology division. The entry states the program prepares graduates to sit for the ARDMS exams.
Cypress College is a public community college in the North Orange County district. Its entry describes a sonography program that ends in an associate degree, housed in the Tech Ed III building, with faculty who are working sonographers. No program accreditation is recorded, and the program’s structured record carries no credential level.
Loma Linda University‘s School of Allied Health Professions offers CAAHEP-accredited Bachelor of Science programs in Diagnostic Medical Sonography in two tracks: General/Vascular and Cardiac. It also offers a Certificate in Cardiac Sonography. The BS is a 27-month curriculum, accredited since 1983. The entry notes that students may sit for the ARDMS boards before or after graduation. The university is a Seventh-day Adventist institution in San Bernardino County. It is the one California program in the directory that spans both general and cardiac sonography. The vascular sonography specialty page describes what the vascular track covers.
Platt College in Ontario offers an Associate of Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. Its directory record carries CAAHEP and JRC-DMS accreditation at medium confidence. The same entry states that the college holds ACCSC institutional accreditation and that its CAAHEP status is unconfirmed. This page counts Platt among the eight because that is what the record carries, and flags the contradiction here rather than hiding it.
Mt. San Jacinto College is a public community college in the Inland Empire. Its health sciences programs, including a CAAHEP-accredited Associate of Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, are based at the Menifee Valley campus. The entry states the program prepares students for entry-level sonographer roles and the ARDMS exams.
San Diego area
| School | City | Credential (per directory) | Accreditation (per directory) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grossmont College | El Cajon | Not recorded (cardiovascular technology) | Not confirmed |
| UC San Diego Medical Center | La Jolla | Not recorded | Not confirmed |
Grossmont College in El Cajon, part of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca district, offers a Cardiovascular Technology program with an emphasis on noninvasive cardiac procedures. It is the one program in this list aimed at the RDCS and RVT credentials rather than the RDMS. Cardiovascular technology programs are reviewed by JRC-CVT, not JRC-DMS. The directory records no accreditation for this one.
UC San Diego Medical Center is listed for the UCSD Radiology Science Programs in La Jolla, which include sonography. The directory entry is brief. It records no credential level, no length, and no program accreditation. The school’s directory page carries the program’s own URL.
One more entry, not counted
West Coast Ultrasound Institute has a directory entry that names Beverly Hills, California as its location. But the street address on file is in Phoenix, Arizona, and the directory files the school outside California. The entry records an associate degree program and no accreditation. It is mentioned here so a reader who finds it in the directory knows why it is missing from the tables above.
Program types found in California
The 22 schools above have 21 program records between them (UCSF has none). Eleven of those records state the credential awarded. The other 10 do not, which is why several tables above say “not recorded.”
| Credential | Schools (per directory) | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate or diploma | Merced (post-associate certificate); Contra Costa (certificate); Healthcare Career College and North-West (diplomas). Foothill and Loma Linda award certificates alongside degrees | 2 recorded as certificate-only |
| Associate degree | CBD, College of the Canyons, Foothill, Mt. San Jacinto, Orange Coast, Platt, United Medical Institute; Cypress and Healthcare Career College in entry text | 7 recorded, 2 more in text |
| Bachelor’s degree | Kaiser Permanente, Loma Linda; United Medical Institute in entry text | 2 recorded, 1 more in text |
| Cardiac or vascular focus | Grossmont (cardiovascular technology, RDCS/RVT); UCSF (cardiac sonography); Loma Linda (cardiac track alongside general/vascular) | 2 focused, 1 mixed |
Four of the eight CAAHEP-recorded programs are at public community colleges: Foothill, Merced, Mt. San Jacinto, and Orange Coast. CBD is a nonprofit career college and Platt is a private college. Kaiser Permanente’s school and Loma Linda University are private institutions. Every program record in the directory lists on-campus delivery. None records an online or hybrid format. The Educational Pathways chapter explains how certificate, associate, and bachelor’s routes differ in general.
Program length and prerequisites, as the directory records them
The directory records program length for only three California schools, so no statewide average is possible from this data:
- Foothill College: 18 months (associate and certificate).
- Loma Linda University: 27 months (bachelor’s).
- Healthcare Career College: 19 months (diploma) or 24 months (associate).
One entry describes an entry requirement. Merced College’s certificate is post-associate and expects health-science prerequisite coursework to be complete beforehand. CAAHEP’s own standards set a floor for every accredited program. The sponsor has to award at least a certificate or diploma, and it has to be an accredited postsecondary institution or an accredited hospital or clinic. JRC-DMS recognizes seven learning concentrations: abdominal-extended, adult cardiac, breast, musculoskeletal, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatric cardiac, and vascular. Foothill’s entry names two of them (abdominal-extended and OB/GYN). Most other entries do not say which concentrations they teach. The Curriculum and Coursework chapter describes what those concentrations involve. The clinical rotation glossary entry defines the supervised training every program includes.
California-specific context
State licensure
California does not require sonographers to hold a state license. As of 2026, the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) lists four states that mandate licensure: New Mexico, Oregon, North Dakota, and New Hampshire. California is not among them. Certification through ARDMS, ARRT, or CCI is a separate, national process. It is not a state license.
Private schools and the BPPE
Two private schools above record a status with the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). Contra Costa Medical Career College is licensed by it; Healthcare Career College is approved by it. BPPE status is a state approval to operate. It is not program accreditation, and it does not change ARDMS prerequisites. The public community colleges in the list do not fall under it.
Wages and employment in California
The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program reports state-level wages for diagnostic medical sonographers (occupation code 29-2032). In the May 2025 release, California had the highest median annual wage of any state and the largest sonographer workforce.
| Measure (May 2025, BLS OEWS) | California |
|---|---|
| Employment | 10,110 |
| Median annual wage | $128,530 |
| Mean annual wage | $126,610 |
| 10th percentile | $62,890 |
| 90th percentile | $177,780 |
For scale, the next-highest state medians in the same May 2025 table were Hawaii ($124,430) and Oregon ($120,220). Neighboring Arizona reported $100,040 and Nevada $95,980. The next-largest state workforces were Texas (6,960), New York (6,880), and Florida (6,670). The national median in the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook is $96,590 for May 2025, so California’s median sits $31,940 above it. BLS counted about 92,200 sonographer jobs nationally in 2025 and projects that employment to grow 14 percent from 2025 to 2035; it publishes no California-specific projection in that handbook. The Salary and Compensation chapter covers how wages vary by setting and specialty, and the Job Market chapter covers the projection. A median is a midpoint, not an offer. Half of California sonographers earned less than $128,530 in May 2025.
Questions this page can answer
- Which California sonography programs are CAAHEP-accredited in this directory? Eight: CBD College, Foothill College, Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences, Loma Linda University, Merced College, Mt. San Jacinto College, Orange Coast College, and Platt College (medium confidence).
- Which programs are cardiac rather than general? Grossmont College (cardiovascular technology) and UCSF (cardiac sonography). Loma Linda has a cardiac track.
- Does California license sonographers? No. Only New Mexico, Oregon, North Dakota, and New Hampshire do, per SDMS (2026).
- What did California sonographers earn? A median of $128,530 in May 2025, the highest state median in the BLS table.
- What does this page not know? Program length for 19 of the 22 schools, tuition for any of them, entry requirements beyond Merced’s prerequisite note, and current accreditation status for the 14 entries without a record. Each school’s directory page links to the source.
Related pages
- California school index: the directory’s own list of the same 22 schools.
- Sonography degree guide: the ten-chapter reference this page extends, starting with Introduction to Sonography.
- CAAHEP, JRC-DMS, JRC-CVT, ARDMS, CCI, SDMS, BLS: organization pages.
- RDMS, RDCS, RVT, SPI: credential pages; accreditation in the glossary.
- Abdominal, OB/GYN, cardiac, and vascular sonography: the concentrations named in California entries.
- Neighboring state guide: Nevada. Other state guides: Alabama, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.
Primary sources: CAAHEP Find an Accredited Program; ARDMS RDMS certification and prerequisites; SDMS State Licensure; BLS OEWS 29-2032; BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Last verified: September 2026. School facts reflect each school’s directory entry as of that date; the entry links to the school’s own program page. Wage figures are BLS OEWS, May 2025.