Diagnostic Medical Sonography - Certificate of Completion

Special Admissions Criteria and Required College Prerequisites

The program is approximately 24 months in length, plus prerequisites, and is designed to provide students with the academic coursework and clinical internship experience necessary to apply for national certification examinations in the specialty areas of Abdominal and OB/GYN Sonography.

There are 2 pathways to qualify for this program, depending on your educational background:

• Associate of Applied Science  pathway is for those applicants without an existing health-related degree. This requires students to complete pre-requisite courses, and is the more common track. Selection criteria can be viewed on the program website, at the Admissions Policies link.

OR

• Certificate Program  pathway is for applicants with either a 2-year allied health degree (i.e., radiologic technology, RN, etc.) OR a bachelor’s degree in a medically related science Selection criteria can be viewed on the program website, at the Admissions Policies link.

All students, regardless of the pathway they qualify under, will follow the same two-year roadmap once accepted into the sonography program. 

Students may have a maximum of two prerequisite courses progress at the time of application, and the student must have maintained at least a 3.0 GPA in prerequisite courses and overall college GPA. This is a full-time program with all requirements falling Monday-Friday between 8 am-5 pm (exact days/hours vary by semester), including clinical internships which may occur outside of the immediate Las Cruces area. All sonography core courses relate to each other and are only offered once during the program and, therefore, cannot be taken out of sequence or individually. Students must maintain a grade of “C” in all sonography core coursework and clinical internship to remain in the program. The DMS program utilizes an accelerated grading scale. 74% is the minimum passing score for all assignments, assessments, and overall class grading and corresponds to a "C."  All students are required to have personal health insurance to attend clinical internships.

Applicants with pre-requisite coursework from an institution outside of the United States MUST have an official, detailed translation of their coursework into the US equivalency sent to the program from the World Education Services (WES). International applicants who do not provide official documentation of acceptable US course and degree equivalency will not be considered during the application process.

Doña Ana Community College 2026-2027 Catalog

This track is only designed for students with existing health-related degrees. If you do not have an associate or bachelor's degree in a medically related field, please visit the Associate Track page.

Certificate Track (53 credits)

This is a limited-entry program beginning only in the spring semester. Criteria and factors used in evaluating applicants include the following:

• High school diploma or GED
• 2-year allied health degree (i.e. radiologic technology, RN, etc.)  OR a bachelor's degree in a medically related science 
  • Application points based on GPA
• County of residence
   

Note: Application cycle is open July 1st-September 1st, and requires prior attendance at a program orientation session (registration available on program website).

NOTE: A grade of C- or better on a traditional grading scale is required in designated Mathematics courses. Students must earn a final grade of C or better in all required DMS courses/Technical Requirements and achieve a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.0. The DMS program utilizes an accelerated grading scale. 74% is the minimum passing score for all assignments, assessments, and overall class grading and corresponds to a "C."

Students must complete all University certificate requirements to total at least 53 credits. Developmental coursework will not count towards the degree requirements and/or elective credits, but may be needed in order to take the necessary English and Mathematics coursework.

¹

Courses are identical to those offered at New Mexico State University Las Cruces (main) Campus.

²

While RADT 105 and PHYS 1112 meet program requirements, they do not meet the NM General Education Area III: Laboratory Sciences requirement.

³

All DMS classes are restricted to students who have been formally accepted into and remain in good standing with the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program.

Course Fees

In addition to tuition, a fee of $200 is charged for each of the following courses:

(Certificate 53 credits)

Note: Application cycle is open July 1st-September 1st, and requires prior attendance at a program orientation session.

A Suggested Plan of Study

The contents of this Road Map may vary depending on initial student placement in mathematics and English. This is only a suggested plan of study for students, and is not intended as a contract.  Individual student academic plans may vary. Please contact your academic advisor to create a plan that works for you. Course availability may vary from fall to spring semester and may be subject to modification or change. 

NOTE: All of the courses in this program relate to each other and to the clinical internship and cannot be taken individually.

NOTE: A grade of C- or better on a traditional grading scale is required in designated Mathematics courses. Students must earn a final grade of C or better in all required DMS courses/Technical Requirements and achieve a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.0. The DMS program utilizes an accelerated grading scale. 74% is the minimum passing score for all assignments, assessments, and overall class grading and corresponds to a "C."

Students must complete all University certificate requirements to total at least 53 credits. Developmental coursework will not count towards the degree requirements and/or elective credits, but may be needed in order to take the necessary English and Mathematics coursework.

Course Fees

In addition to tuition, a fee of $200 is charged for each of the following courses: