Mikeie Reiland is a writer who has written features for Oxford American, Bitter Southerner, Gravy, and SB Nation, among other publications. He received a James Beard nomination for a feature he wrote in 2023.
Mikeie Reiland, MFA Education WriterMikeie Reiland is a writer who has written features for Oxford American, Bitter Southerner, Gravy, and SB Nation, among other publications. He received a James Beard nomination for a feature he wrote in 2023.
Written By Mikeie Reiland, MFA Education WriterMikeie Reiland is a writer who has written features for Oxford American, Bitter Southerner, Gravy, and SB Nation, among other publications. He received a James Beard nomination for a feature he wrote in 2023.
Mikeie Reiland, MFA Education WriterMikeie Reiland is a writer who has written features for Oxford American, Bitter Southerner, Gravy, and SB Nation, among other publications. He received a James Beard nomination for a feature he wrote in 2023.
Education Writer Ilana Hamilton Update Editor, EducationWith five years of experience as a writer and editor in the higher education and career development space, Ilana has a passion for creating accessible, relevant content that demystifies the higher-ed landscape for traditional and nontraditional learn.
Ilana Hamilton Update Editor, EducationWith five years of experience as a writer and editor in the higher education and career development space, Ilana has a passion for creating accessible, relevant content that demystifies the higher-ed landscape for traditional and nontraditional learn.
Ilana Hamilton Update Editor, EducationWith five years of experience as a writer and editor in the higher education and career development space, Ilana has a passion for creating accessible, relevant content that demystifies the higher-ed landscape for traditional and nontraditional learn.
Ilana Hamilton Update Editor, EducationWith five years of experience as a writer and editor in the higher education and career development space, Ilana has a passion for creating accessible, relevant content that demystifies the higher-ed landscape for traditional and nontraditional learn.
| Update Editor, Education
Updated: Aug 12, 2024, 8:13am
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If you want to enter the workforce quickly and earn a higher-than-average salary, a career in radiologic science may appeal to you. Radiologic technologists, also known as radiology technicians, work in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, performing diagnostic imaging scans on patients to provide key information for care teams.
Generally, these professionals need only an associate degree to practice and enjoy above-average salary potential and strong job growth projections.
Of all online radiology tech programs, only one school, the University of Louisiana Monroe, met our criteria. Read on to learn more about this degree and radiology tech programs in general.
Forbes Advisor’s education editors are committed to producing unbiased rankings and informative articles covering online colleges, tech bootcamps and career paths. Our ranking methodologies use data from the National Center for Education Statistics, education providers, and reputable educational and professional organizations. An advisory board of educators and other subject matter experts reviews and verifies our content to bring you trustworthy, up-to-date information. Advertisers do not influence our rankings or editorial content.
Based in Monroe, Louisiana, the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) is a state school in the University of Louisiana System. The institution offers an online Bachelor of Science in radiologic technology that requires students to complete 120 credits.
All incoming students must be registered with the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. This status confers 38 transfer credits, meaning that enrollees only need to complete 82 credits at ULM. The program has no in-person requirements.
No matter where they live, all online students at ULM pay $400 per credit. ULM delivers most of its online coursework asynchronously. According to the institution, distance learners typically spend between five and 18 hours per week on coursework.
An online radiology tech program is often a bachelor’s completion program, serving students who are already registered with the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT). As such, these degrees typically do not include hands-on experience or courses in basic radiography procedures, as students are expected to have completed these requirements through prior education in the field.
An online radiology tech bachelor’s degree completion program is often accelerated, allowing students to graduate more quickly than the typical four-year timeline. Entry-level rad tech degrees that cater to students without professional experience are typically offered on campus due to in-person lab and clinical requirements.
Typical admission requirements for a rad tech program include the following:
Since rad tech bachelor’s degree completion programs assume prior knowledge and experience in the field, coursework is often advanced and specialized. Below are a few examples of courses you may encounter.
Most students who graduate from online rad tech programs work as professional radiologic technologists. Possible workplaces include the following:
Most rad techs hold an associate degree and ARRT registration as opposed to a four-year degree. One of the main advantages of a bachelor’s degree in the field is that it typically covers more advanced and specialized diagnostic medical imaging techniques.
As such, a bachelor’s degree in the field may help you increase your earning potential, advance to a managerial role, or specialize in a specific radiology subfield, such as interventional radiology, computed tomography or MRIs.
Rad techs typically earn higher-than-average salaries. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, radiologic and MRI technologists earned a median annual salary of $76,020 as of 2023—nearly $30,000 higher than the median annual wage for all occupations ($48,060).
If you enroll in a radiology tech program, make sure you want to pursue a career in diagnostic imagery. Because these degrees are highly specialized, they only qualify graduates for a specific set of jobs in the medical field.
However, if you are certain you want to—or already do—work as a radiologic or MRI technologist, an online radiology tech program can help you achieve your professional goals. A bachelor’s program can prepare you to earn the credentials you need to advance into supervisory and leadership positions in radiology.
Keep in mind the only bachelor’s program in radiologic technology that qualified for our ranking requires you to be registered with the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), meaning you must already work in the field. Delivering radiology tech programs online presents a problem for schools because of the heavy hands-on requirements to learn this profession, so it’s not feasible for this type of program to cater to total beginners.
If you have no experience or relevant prior education, an on-campus associate or bachelor’s degree in this field may be the best radiology tech program option for you.
ULM charges a per-credit tuition rate of $400 for its radiology tech online program. The degree requires 82 credits after the 38-credit award for ARRT registration, equating to a total tuition cost of approximately $32,800.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the average annual tuition at a four-year college was $17,709 in the 2022–2023 school year. Since most bachelor’s degree students take 30 credits per year, the average cost per credit of tuition nationwide is around $590—more expensive than ULM.
Fill out the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) to access opportunities like grants, scholarships, loans and work-study programs. You can also pursue financial aid opportunities through your school and third-party scholarship providers, including radiology-related nonprofit organizations.
Enrolling in an online program in any field, including radiologic technology, may suit some students better than others. To determine if online learning is the right fit, ask yourself the following questions:
If you apply to ULM’s program, you must already work as an ARRT-registered radiologic technologist, so the flexibility of an online program may help you manage your schedule.
There are two types of accreditation: institutional and programmatic.
The U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) oversee the accrediting agencies that manage and administer the institutional accreditation process. These agencies send representatives to evaluate schools for the quality of their programs, finances and faculty, among other areas.
To check a school’s accreditation status, you can use CHEA’s searchable directory or visit the school’s website.
Programmatic accreditation provides similar quality assurance in specific fields and departments. There is no programmatic accreditation agency for radiology, but ARRT maintains a list of recognized educational programs on its website.
You should only enroll at institutionally accredited schools. Otherwise, you cannot receive federal student aid.
We scored one accredited, nonprofit college offering an online radiology tech program in the U.S. using 16 data points in the categories of credibility, affordability, student outcomes, student experience and application process. We pulled data for these categories from reliable resources such as the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; private, third-party data sources; and individual school and program websites. Data is accurate as of January 2023.
We scored schools based on the following metrics.
Student Outcomes:
Affordability:
Student Experience:
Credibility:
Application Process:
We listed the only school in the U.S. that met our ranking criteria.
Find our full list of methodologies here.
