Step Into Healthcare!
Earn Your Medical Assistant Associate Degree or Certificate
What is a Medical Assistant? Medical Assistants are healthcare professionals who work directly with doctors and nurses in healthcare clinics. Watch this Medical Assistants Career Video to learn more.
The certificate program is nationally accredited and is a requirement for the Medical Assistant AAS degree. It can be completed in six quarters, while the AAS can be completed in eight quarters, including summer quarters.
In this program, you will learn the practical skills you need for a rewarding, challenging position in the healthcare field. You will learn to work with physicians to increase productivity in medical offices by performing a wealth of administrative and clinical tasks. Our objective is to prepare medical assistants who are competent in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the Medical Assistant profession. Our students also gain work experience through a required externship course. This is an unpaid, supervised, 180 hour on the job externship.
Our degree program is cohort-based, which means you will be with the same group of students throughout the program. Our cohorts start in the fall and spring. A part-time option is available for students who cannot attend full-time.
Our Medical Assistant program is nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs (CAAHEP), on recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board, MAERB. As a graduate of the program, you will be eligible to take the national certification examination (NCCT) to become a Certified Medical Assistant – CMA (AAMA). Our medical assistant program includes the NCCT exam preparation, and the exam itself is administered as part of the program. Graduates are eligible to sit for the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) certification exam, or three other national exams that meet the requirements of the Washington State Department of health to become a Medical Assistant-Certified.
Agencies may require students to complete a criminal background check prior to being offered an internship or employment.
The Medical Assistant Certificate program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board of the American Association of Medical Assistants Endowment (MAERBAAMAE), 9355 – 113th Street N #7709, Seminole, FL 33775, (727) 210-2350.
“Highline College has helped me become a better medical assistant. I am currently working at HealthPoint in Federal Way. It is meant for low-income families. We work one-on-one with each person, making sure their needs are well taken care of. I could not have done this without Highline.
— JAIMIE RICHARDSON, Class of 2023
Program Information
Medical Assistant certificate and AAS requirements and learning outcomes.
Learn More About the Medical Assistant Program
Demand for Medical Assistants will grow 16%, much faster than average. In greater Seattle/King County, starting pay averages $22-25/hour, which is higher than the national average. This industry also offers flexible hours and scheduling. (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Highline College graduates work at HealthPoint, CHI Franciscan, St. Anne’s, Children’s Hospital, UW Neighborhood Clinics, Valley Medical, MultiCare, SeaMar, and other prestigious healthcare clinics.
Highline College graduates in this program have close to 100% job placement after passing the NCCT Exam.
$9,846 for tuition, plus books and other fees, or about half of what you would pay at a private medical assistant program.
Two years for full-time students. (Full-time is 12 credits or more)
- Ambulatory Clinic Practices
- Physician offices
- Urgent Care Clinics
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for Medical Assistants will grow 16%, much faster than average, from 2021-2031.
Already working as a medical assistant? Do you need clock hours (MA Education) to meet the Department of Health standards to get the MA-Certified credential? Check out our MAR to MAC Pathways program, which uses your work experience for you to gain credits/clock hours.
Outcomes from 2023 Annual Report (ARF)
2023 Graduate Exam Passage – 90.32%
2023 Graduate Year Job Placement – 74.19%
2023 Admissions Cohort Retention – 94.29%
The five-year average for the years 2019 – 2023 for the retention rate is 87.70%.