Set the foundation for your career in sonography through a unique mix of clinical and classroom instruction. Ivy Tech’s Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) program gives students hands-on learning experience in sonography, with available concentrations in general (abdomen extended and obstetrics/gynecology) vascular, or adult cardiac. In addition to classroom time, students get real-world extensive clinical experience in patient care facilities such as hospitals and clinics.
Coursework covers patient care, medical ethics, exam techniques (including positioning & ergonomics), sonography principles in physics, patient safety and bioeffects, ultrasound anatomy, and pathophysiologic effects.
Here is what students experience in the program:
Interpret medical reports and orders as well as write impressions of exams.
Learn patient care methods.
Develop spatial orientation in relation to understanding patient anatomy.
Develop scanning skills and practice sonography techniques in the lab and in the clinical setting.
Develop an understanding of physiology, pathology, and pathophysiology.
Gain an understanding of acoustic physics, Doppler ultrasound principles, and ultrasound instrumentation.
Understand ultrasound interactions with tissue and the potential for bioeffects related to the use of diagnostic ultrasound imaging.
Acquire knowledge of professional standards and ethics.
Become familiar with the importance of industry standards, research, technological developments, professional organizations, and the discipline of life-long learning.
Become competent in diagnostic ultrasound procedures.
Career Options
Sonographers utilize ultrasound imaging to produce patient exams for physicians to use in the evaluation and diagnostic process. This involves preparation, exam explanation and performance, and relaying exam impressions to the physician.
Sonographers work with patients through both joyful and difficult life moments and must maintain strong coping skills in order to be successful.
Ivy Tech provides graduates with a firm foundation of knowledge and practical experience to gain employment as an entry-level sonographer.
You are interested in performing the exams that assist doctors with patient care related to women's health and patients navigating abdominal medical challenges.
You are prepared for the mental and emotional heaviness that can come with a job in this field.
You would like to help patients who are experiencing disorders related to the heart.
You have strong coping skills.
You would like to perform the patient exams that assist doctors in diagnosing and treating medical conditions relating to the veins and arteries.
You can handle emotionally difficult situations and subject matter.
You are interested in performing the exams that assist doctors with patient care related to women's health and patients navigating abdominal medical challenges.
You are prepared for the mental and emotional heaviness that can come with a job in this field.
Note: Program availability varies by location and not all program tracks are offered at each campus/location.
HOW TO APPLY
Future Students
Students interested in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program must apply to Ivy Tech first using the Ivy Tech general application. In this application, apply for the Healthcare Specialist program with an interest in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. Apply to Ivy Tech Now
Ivy Tech’s Diagnostic Medical Sonography program is a Selective Admissions program, which means only a small number of students are admitted each year. This allows us to keep class and lab sizes small so students can receive the attention and instruction they need to be successful in the program. Learn More about Selective Admissions
Associate Degrees – Career-Ready Degrees
The Associate of Applied Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography is a selective admission program that teaches you the skills needed to launch an education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (Abdominal Extended & OB/GYN). By completing the program, you should be prepared to apply for registry examinations and gain employment as an entry level sonographer.
The Associate of Applied Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography is a selective admission program that teaches you the skills needed to launch an education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (Adult Cardiac). By completing the program, you should be prepared to apply for registry examinations and gain employment as an entry level sonographer.
The Associate of Applied Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography is a selective admission program that teaches you the skills needed to launch an education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (Vascular). By completing the program, you should be prepared to apply for registry examinations and gain employment as an entry level sonographer.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) professionals work in hospitals, clinics, and medical offices. Sonographers use knowledge of the profession, industry standards and patient care skills, as well as problem-solving and critical thinking in a typical workday.
The sonography profession is continually changing and requires a desire for life-long learning to maintain knowledge. The registered sonographer is also required to earn continuing medical education credits by their credentialing body to maintain any earned credentials.
Working in healthcare requires emotional maturity, as outcomes are not guaranteed to be always positive. However, a sonography career can be incredibly rewarding and fulfilling for individuals who desire to serve others.
Careers in DMS often require:
Initiative
Detail orientation
Continual desire to learn
Desire to serve others
Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
Emotional maturity and strong coping skills
Ability to perform sonography essential functions
Professionalism
Adherence to a code of ethics
Sound Like You?
If you identify with the traits above, sonography may be the path for you! Take the next step to get started and speak with your local advisor to learn more.
The Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) program can be academically rigorous, but it is a rewarding program and career choice for the right student. Before you apply, review the following requirements and expectations for students in the program.
Students should have:
Reliable transportation to class and clinical rotations
Reliable childcare
Good time management skills
Disciplined study habits
Mandatory lab and clinical attendance
Ability to make a time commitment for four continuous semesters
Mandatory Drug Testing and Criminal Background Screening
Accepted students must pay for, complete, and pass drug testing, a physical exam, and a criminal background screening. You can learn more about this process during orientation.
Program-Specific Costs
In addition to tuition, there are several costs that students incur during the program. If you have questions or concerns about these costs, please contact our financial aid team to discuss your options.
USA Exam fee – $70
Background check and drug screen – $135
Uniforms for clinical rotations - $200
Travel costs - Varies based on location of clinical sites and gas prices
Financial Aid
Connect with the Financial Aid team at your home campus to find out if you can receive financial aid for the program of your choice. Make sure you have completed the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) by the established deadlines to be considered for financial aid assistance.
Prerequisite Courses for Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Students accepted into the Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) program must demonstrate competency through earning a grade of "C" or better in the following courses:
APHY 101
APHY 102
ENGL 111
MATH 123 or 136
DMSI 121
No Expiration of Credits
There is no expiration date for course credits that were earned in previous years from Ivy Tech Community College.
Transfer Credit for Prerequisite Courses
Prerequisite courses completed at colleges other than Ivy Tech will only be considered for general education selection points if transfer credit has been awarded and courses appear on the Ivy Tech transcript prior to the application deadline.
TR grades are not recognized by the online application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that transfer credit has been awarded and that TR grades are updated to transfer letter grades (TA, TB, TC) on their Ivy Tech transcript.
It is recommended that college transcripts be submitted to the Registrar’s office for evaluation and transfer credit at least four weeks prior to the program application deadline to ensure adequate time for processing.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography Courses
Descriptions of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) courses can be found in our online course catalog:
See when specific courses will be offered by searching our course list in Schedule Builder. First, select the semester you are looking for and then enter the name of the course in the search bar.
If you are a current student, upcoming courses are easy to find in Schedule Builder in MyIvy.
Course Formats
Prerequisite and general education courses may be taken online, but all DMS courses must be taken in person due to the hands-on nature of the curriculum.
If you are interested in a sonography program, we recommend you first take the Ultrasound Student Assessment (USA) exam. All students applying for an Ivy Tech sonography program are required to complete this exam. It is an aptitude exam that tests innate, or natural, skills that a sonographer needs. Due to that, it is different from other exams. There is no way to study for it, and it can only be taken once. No student applying for an Ivy Tech sonography program will be permitted to take the USA exam a second time. Students can receive a positive or a negative score on this exam. If a student receives a negative score, they will be less likely to be extended an offer to a sonography program and may want to explore other health care programs and opportunities that Ivy Tech has to offer.
If you have questions about the USA exam or the sonography programs, please contact the program director of either campus.
What is the USA Exam?
The USA exam is an aptitude exam that tests innate, or natural, skills that a sonographer needs. While Ivy Tech utilizes the scores from this exam, it was developed and is scheduled and proctored by Pegasus Lectures, a third-party testing service.
The exam cost is $65. There is also a required proctoring fee of $20, for a total cost of $85. Visa/MC/AMEX or Discover are acceptable forms of payment. Payments will be made to Pegasus Lectures.
Schedule the USA Exam
To schedule a test time slot and submit a payment, students must purchase their test online from Pegasus Lectures. Be sure to use your Ivy Tech email address when creating your account and enter "Ivy Tech Community College" in the comment section as you go through the check out process. If you know which campus you are applying to, please include its city name in the comments field, as well.
The deadlines for completing the USA exam are listed below. There are no exceptions to this deadline for each application cycle. Do not wait until near the application closure date, as the Pegasus staff gets very busy and may not be able to schedule and proctor your exam by the deadline. Students that complete the exam after the deadline will not be eligible for that application cycle. Also, please note that exams are not offered from May 1 to June 30 each year.
Within 48 hours of purchasing the exam, you will receive an email with a link to schedule your exam. To be prepared to schedule your exam, please consider the following:
Tests can be taken Monday through Friday at 10 am , 12 pm, and 2 pm CST. Know your availability in the coming month.
Know your C# (Ivy Tech student number assigned when you first applied). The applicant must provide a properly formatted C#. The C# must be formatted as C0XXXXXXX (Capital letter C, zero, 7 digits).
Once the testing slot appointment is scheduled and payment has been made, you will receive an email from Pegasus Lectures confirming your appointment time.
If you have any difficulties scheduling your exam, call Pegasus Lectures at972-564-3056. The Pegasus Lectures office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM CT – 5:00 PM CT.
Preparing for the Exam
You can only take the test once, so make sure you are well rested and prepared for your test.
Secure a Computer – The test can only be taken on a computer with a Windows or Mac operating system. This program cannot be used on a Chromebook, tablet, or phone as those systems/devices do not support the interactive components of this program.
Get Additional Equipment – Students need to use an external mouse and camera.
Prepare a Quiet Place – Testing time is generally 1.5 – 2 hours, but there is no time limit. Make sure you have access to a quiet place to take the exam.
Arrange Accommodations (if needed) – If you have accommodations or technology needs, please contact the program chair of your preferred campus via the contact info below.
Taking the Exam
On the day of your test, you will receive an email prior to the testing time with a link for the proctor to connect to your computer. Make sure to follow the instructions in the email carefully.
Students will not receive their scores upon completion of the test, and Pegasus does not release scores to students. Scores will be uploaded to the account of the Sonography program faculty for review. Please do not contact Pegasus Lectures for score information.
Please allow approximately 48 hours for the programs to have access to scores. The program chairs do not share USA scores over the phone or via a personal email account due to the academic information included. To receive your results, contact your local program chair via your Ivy Tech email account:
Students interested in the Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) program must first submit the Ivy Tech general application and complete requirements for admission to the college. During this application, you should apply for the Healthcare Specialist program with a concentration in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. Admission to Ivy Tech does not ensure acceptance to a health science program, but students can work on prerequisite courses for the DMS program after admission to the college and before applying to the program itself.
Apply to the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program
Following completion of prerequisite courses, you may apply for the DMS program through the online application for health science programs. Students must have a GPA of 2.5 out of a 4.0 scale at the end of the spring semester in order to be accepted.
Students must also take the Ultrasound Student Assessment (USA) Exam as part of the application. The USA exam evaluates for intrinsic abilities that are essential to the profession of sonography. The exam cannot be studied for as it is an assessment of foundational sonographic qualities. See the table below for testing and application deadlines. Learn more about the USA Exam
Please note that the DMS program is a selective admission program, which means there are a limited number of spots each year.
Semester
Test Deadline Date
Application Date
Fall
April 30
May 15
Spring
September 30
October 15
Summer
January 15
February 1
Filling Out the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Online Application
If you are not a current Ivy Tech Community College student, please Apply Now. You will need a C# (Ivy Tech student ID number) and Ivy Tech single sign-on login credentials in order to apply.
Gather all required or optional documentation that you will need to upload into the system. View more about requirements here. You will have the ability to save your application in progress until you are able to secure documentation.
If you are transferring from another institution, please make sure that your transcripts are evaluated at least 4 weeks prior to the application deadline.
Check to make sure your personal information is accurate.
Select the programs and campuses you would like to be considered as an applicant. You can select up to three different programs and three different campuses. (Some students choose to apply to multiple programs within the School of Health Sciences.)
You must meet all of the prerequisites for a program in order to submit your application. If you receive a message indicating that you do not meet the prerequisites, then please remove that program selection in order to proceed with the application.
Upload any necessary documents and test scores.
Make sure grades in the system are accurate. If not, please contact your home campus registrar or advisor.
You will be able to submit your application if you are currently enrolled in a course identified as a prerequisite for the program.
Once complete, submit your application.
You will receive an email confirmation in your Ivy Tech email account that your application has been submitted and is pending review.
Once you have submitted your application, you have the option to reopen it to make changes.
Note: DO NOT USE THE “BACK” function on your computer. Use the navigation pane at the side of the page to navigate.
To learn more about the Health Sciences and Nursing application process, watch the below video, read the FAQ, or contact your campus of interest.
Offers of Admission
Students can select up to three programs and three campuses on the application. Offers of acceptance are for a specific credential and a specific campus. The offers are determined through eight rounds of auto-selection and six rounds of manual selection.
If you are accepted, you will receive an email from the online application system to your Ivy Tech email account offering you a seat in the program you selected. Offers are emailed beginning within one week of the application close date and continue until program capacity is met or one week before the start of semester classes. Each round of offers begins at 6:00 am and applicants have until 11:59 pm the following day to either accept or reject an offer. You must respond to that email to accept the offer. If you do not respond within the time limit, your offer expires, and the offer will be made to the next student on the list.
Depending on their rank and offers, a student could potentially receive multiple offers. Once you accept one offer, you are immediately withdrawn from all other offers. You will be contacted by the chair or dean of the program you accepted with information about the program orientation date, time, and location.
If a student fails to respond within the 48-hour timeline, then the offer expires. If a student rejects an offer three (3) times, the application is removed from the auto-selection application pool but will then be available for manual selection rounds that occur later in the process.
You do have the ability to withdraw your application at any point during the admission cycle. However, once you withdraw your application, you will not be able to apply again until the next application cycle.
After You're Accepted
If you are accepted into the program, congratulations! Accepted students are required to attend an orientation session at your local campus during the semester prior to beginning classes. An email will be sent following your acceptance with details about the session.
What If I Don’t Get Admitted?
The Diagnostic Medical Sonography program does not maintain a waitlist. Applicants who are not accepted can reapply in the next semester’s application cycle. You may also want to meet with your advisor. Advisors can assist students in exploring other programs of interest in Ivy Tech’s School of Health Sciences if they have applied several times and have not been accepted into the program. Ivy Tech offers many programs similar to Diagnostic Medical Sonography that lead to high-demand jobs that may be new to you but fit your passion to help others.
What is Selective Admission?
The Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) program is a selective admissions program. This means we can only accept a small number of students each year.
Weighted Point System
A weighted point system is used to evaluate applicants for admission. Student applications are assigned points based on their grades in prerequisite courses. Point totals for applicants receiving admission offers will vary between campuses. Point totals are not shared.
General Education Weighted Point System
When multiple course attempts are reported on applicant transcripts (including transcripts from other colleges and universities), the highest earned grade of the first three attempts will be used for the selection decision score through the application period. Points for courses transferred from other institutions will be awarded based on the grade recorded on the transcript, provided transfer credit appears on the Ivy Tech transcript.
Ivy Tech Muncie is proud to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health EducationPrograms (CAAHEP), which aims to assure the quality of health sciences education across the nation.
The Ivy Tech Community College Muncie Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program is accredited for the Abdominal-Extended and Obstetrics and Gynecology concentrations by Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS). The JRC-DMS is a member of CAAHEP and is responsible for the maintenance and promotion of quality education standards in diagnostic medical sonography. Click here to check accreditation status.
Commission on the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) 9355 – 113th St. N, #7709 Seminole, FL 33775 727-210-2350 www.caahep.org
The JRC-DMS can be contacted at:
JRC-DMS 6021 University Boulevard, Suite 500 Ellicott City, MD 21043 443-973-3251 (phone) 866-738-3444 (fax) http://jrcdms.org/
Ivy Tech Terre Haute is proud to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), which aims to assure the quality of health sciences education across the nation.
The Ivy Tech Community College Terre Haute Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program is accredited for the General, Vascular and Adult Echocardiography concentrations by Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS). The JRC-DMS is a member of CAAHEP and is responsible for the maintenance and promotion of quality education standards in diagnostic medical sonography. Click here to check accreditation status.
Commission on the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) 9355 – 113th St. N, #7709 Seminole, FL 33775 727-210-2350 www.caahep.org
The JRC-DMS can be contacted at:
JRC-DMS 6021 University Boulevard, Suite 500 Ellicott City, MD 21043 443-973-3251 (phone) 866-738-3444 (fax) http://jrcdms.org/
If you’re not yet an Ivy Tech student, contact us at 1-888-489-5463 and we’ll be happy to help.
Current Students
Contact your academic advisor, who can answer any questions you have about the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program and your certificate and degree options.
Find Local Advising Contact Info
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Madison Advising Center
590 Ivy Tech Drive
Madison, IN 47250
Fax 812-265-4028
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Advising Team Tricia Miracle 812-265-2580 ext. 4137 tmiracle2@ivytech.edu Text during business hours 812-510-3844 Virtual Drop-In Advising Hours: Wednesdays 9:00am-1:00pm & Thursdays 2:00pm-5:30pm Zoom Link
Lisa Kelley 812-265-2580 ext. 4163 lkelley3@ivytech.edu Text during business hours 502-414-1597 Virtual Drop-In Advising Hours: Tuesdays 1:30pm-5:00pm & Thursdays 8:30am-12:00pm Zoom Link
1 Source: US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2022 State Occupational Employment and Wage estimates: Indiana.(2023). Lightcast™, lightcast.io. Occupational Overview for Indiana, 2023-2024
2 Associate degree cost is determined by tuition for an in-state, full-time student. Certificate and technical certificate costs are determined by tuition for an in-state, part-time student. Additional fees may be applied. Visit the Tuition & Fees page to learn more.
