Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine offers a Diagnostic Medical Sonography program, which is a healthcare profession that specializes in the imaging and assessment of human anatomy for diagnosis and treatment. Sonographers prepare patients for imaging exams, move patients into correct positions, and create images by scanning the patient with a transducer that emits high frequency sound waves.

Career Information

Diagnostic Medical Sonographers can image many different parts of the body, including:

• Heart
• Abdomen
• Blood vessels
• Developing fetus
• Pediatric brains

Program Information

The diagnostic medical sonography program has two professional track options: general (RDMS) and vascular (RVT) sonography, or cardiac (RDCS) and vascular (RVT) sonography. All tracks of the program are three-years in length and have a selective and competitive admissions process. Students must satisfy all University of Iowa admission requirements, complete all prerequisites, and be accepted into the diagnostic medical sonography professional program following an application and selection process.

Admission & Degree Requirements

Prerequisite Courses

• Rhetoric: RHET:1030 Rhetoric
• Anatomy: one of the following:
  • HHP:2100 Human Anatomy
  • HHP:3105 Anatomy for Human Physiology
  • HHP:3115 Anatomy for Human Physiology with Lab
• Physiology: one of the following:
  • HHP:2400 Fund. of Human Physiology
  • HHP:3500 Human Physiology
  • HHP:3550 Human Physiology with Lab
• Physics: PHYS:1400 Basic Physics
• Psychology: PSY:1001 Elem. Psychology
• Math: one of the following:
  • MATH:1440 Math for the Bio Sciences
  • MATH:1020 Elementary Functions
• General Education: 3sh from 2 of the following areas:
  • Understanding Cultural Persp. (UCP)
  • Historical Perspectives (HP)
  • International and Global Issues (IGI)
  • Literary, Visual, and Perf. Arts (LVPA)
  • Values and Society (VS)
• Medical Terminology: CLSA:3750 Medical and Technical Terminology

Program Admission Requirements

• Prerequisites courses must be completed by June 1, with one exception: physics for the DMS program may be completed in the summer semester.
• 2.5 minimum cumulative college GPA
• 2.0 minimum UI GPA
• 2.0 minimum college semester GPA in the spring or summer immediately prior to the start of the program.
• Two years of high school world language
• International students and students whose first language is not English: must satisfy all UI Admissions requirements, complete the English Language Requirements for Admission, and have clearance to take a full academic load.

Recommendations

• Job shadowing in general, cardiac, and vascular sonography
• Hands-on patient care experience
• RSP:1100 Introduction to Radiation Sciences
• STAT:1020 Statistics
• HHP:1400 Human Anatomy & Physiology or BIOL:1140 Human Biology (prior to anatomy course)
• BAIS:1500 Business Computing Essentials
• PSY:1010 Learning about Learning

Degree Requirements

1. One of the following professional programs/tracks:

• Diagnostic Medical Sonography – up to 20 students accepted per year
  • Diagnostic Medical Sonography and General and Vascular (3 year track)
  • Diagnostic Medical Sonography and Cardiac and Vascular (3 year track)

2. Semester hour and GPA Requirements:

• Successfully complete a minimum of 120 semester hours of credit
• Maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative and UI GPA
• Complete all track courses with a C or above

Accreditation

The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine’s Diagnostic Medical Sonography program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. The program’s current award is 10 years.

Subprograms/Tracks

General and Vascular

Cardiac and Vascular

Clinical Internships