Medical Assisting · California

Medical Assisting colleges in California

CampusPin lists 320 U.S. colleges in California that offer Medical Assisting programs. Compare tuition, acceptance rate, and enrollment in the table below, every figure links back to the institution's official IPEDS data.

Medical Assisting prepares you for both the clinical and front-office sides of a physician's practice through a short, hands-on healthcare credential.

Schools in California that offer Medical Assisting

Medical Assisting programs in California: by the numbers

A quick comparison of the 50 schools (of 320 total) listed above, drawn from each institution's published IPEDS data.

Schools listed

320

Public / private

15 / 35

Universities / 2-year

38 / 12

Cities represented

34

In-state tuition range

$1,104–$63,255

Median in-state tuition

$15,977

Lowest published in-state tuition

Barstow Community College

$1,104

Most selective

California Institute of Technology

3% acceptance

Largest by enrollment

Ashford University

31,389 students

Figures reflect the schools currently listed and each institution's most recent reported data. Verify current tuition and admissions details with the school before applying.

What you'll study in a Medical Assisting program

  • Medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology
  • Patient intake, vital signs, and clinical history taking
  • Phlebotomy, specimen collection, and routine in-office laboratory testing
  • Administering injections, medications, and basic first aid under provider supervision
  • Electronic health records documentation and medical office software
  • Pharmacology fundamentals and dosage basics
  • Medical law, ethics, and patient confidentiality
  • Insurance basics, coding, scheduling, and front-office procedures
  • Supervised clinical externship in a physician practice or clinic

Where a Medical Assisting degree can lead

  • Medical Assistant
  • Clinical Medical Assistant
  • Administrative Medical Assistant
  • Phlebotomy Technician
  • Electronic Health Records Specialist
  • Medical Office Coordinator

Typical pay: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 medical assistants median $44,200).

Medical Assisting prepares students to support physicians and other providers by combining hands-on clinical work with medical-office administration. On the clinical side, students learn to take patient histories and vital signs, prepare patients and rooms for exams, assist providers during procedures, draw blood and collect specimens, run routine in-office tests, and give injections and basic first aid under provider supervision, documenting everything accurately in electronic health records. On the administrative side, they handle scheduling, intake, insurance and coding basics, and front-desk communication. Coursework grounds these tasks in anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, pharmacology basics, patient psychology and communication, and medical law and ethics, so graduates understand the reasoning behind each clinical and office procedure rather than only the mechanics.

The credential is typically a postsecondary certificate or diploma, though some students earn an associate degree, and most programs are designed to finish in roughly one to two years of full-time study. A supervised clinical externship in a real practice is a standard part of the program, giving students documented patient-care hours before they graduate. Medical assisting usually does not require a separate state license, but employers often prefer or require a recognized certification, and certain delegated clinical tasks can be governed by state scope-of-practice rules, so prospective students should verify program accreditation and any state requirements for the duties they plan to perform. Graduates work in physician offices, clinics, urgent-care centers, hospitals, and specialty practices, and the role is broader than a phlebotomy technician, who focuses on blood draws, or a purely administrative medical office coordinator, who does not perform clinical duties.

In federal data for the closely related occupation of medical assistants, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $44,200 and projects employment to grow about 12.5% from 2024 to 2034; a postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.

Medical Assisting in other states

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Use CampusPin's filter-first search to narrow 320+ Medical Assisting programs in California by tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting.

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