Radiology Technician Classes Near Me in Phoenix
Radiography training in the Phoenix metro is commonly built around about two years of professional coursework once you are admitted. Prerequisites and cohort admission schedules can add time before that sequence starts. Arizona requires a state certificate to apply ionizing radiation to patients, apart from a short list of statutory exemptions. The first certificate you earn does not authorize every machine in an imaging department. According to May 2025 BLS data, the median wage for the role in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro is $94,820 a year, or $45.59 an hour. Knowing how Arizona layers its certificates changes how you read a course catalog.
Key Points
- Radiology technicians position patients and operate imaging equipment so physicians can diagnose injuries and disease.
- The professional phase of an associate degree in radiologic technology runs about two years, and prerequisites or cohort admission can add time.
- Median pay for the role across the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro was $94,820 a year in May 2025 BLS data, or $45.59 an hour.
- The Department of Health Services, not a medical board, issues the certificate Arizona generally requires to apply ionizing radiation to patients.
- Computed tomography carries its own Arizona certificate, with eligibility rules separate from the base radiologic technologist certificate.
How Long Radiology Technician Training Takes in Phoenix
A common Phoenix-area route to certification is an associate degree in radiologic technology or radiography. The professional sequence generally runs about two years of full-time study once you are admitted.
Total calendar time can run longer than the program length a school advertises. Prerequisite coursework and cohort start dates sit ahead of the professional sequence. Confirm the full timeline with each program you compare.
Two categories of program show up around the Valley:
- Community college associate degree programs in radiologic technology, delivered with clinical rotations built into later semesters.
- Private college programs awarding an associate degree in radiography or radiologic technology on a similar structure.
The national credential most Arizona programs point toward is ARRT certification in Radiography. ARRT sets three requirement categories: education, ethics, and the exam.
The education requirement is an associate degree or higher from an accredited institution, in any subject. You also complete an ARRT-approved radiography program.
The degree does not have to come from a separate program, so one associate radiography program can satisfy both parts.
Arizona routes its certificate through a national credential or through a Department-approved program paired with a Department-approved exam. Neither path exists in a fully online form, so expect scheduled clinical rotations at a partnering facility.
Interest in vocational training across the state has been climbing. Dreambound's 2025 Student Choice and Interest Report shows Arizona grew 19% year over year to 5,007 saved programs.
That figure measures exploration on one platform rather than program supply. It does show Arizona students actively comparing training options.
Dreambound lists radiography programs from providers nationwide in a single view, so you can weigh start date, delivery format, and accreditation side by side.
Arizona Stacks Its Radiology Certificates by Modality
Arizona does not issue one radiology credential that covers everything. State law says a person may not use ionizing radiation on a human being unless that person holds a certificate or a qualifying practitioner license.
The statute carries a short list of exemptions. The Department of Health Services issues those certificates, and it issues them modality by modality.
Two of them matter most at the start of a career:
- The Certified Radiologic Technologist certificate is the base credential. Eligibility runs through current ARRT or NMTCB certification, or through a Department-approved program plus a passing score on a Department-approved exam.
- The Computed Tomography Technologist certificate is separate and additional. You must already hold the radiologic or nuclear medicine certificate. Then you meet one of two CT standards. Those are a current ARRT or NMTCB credential in CT, or two years of CT training plus 12 hours of CT-specific education.
The practical consequence matters before you compare programs. Completing the education and earning the qualifying ARRT credential makes you eligible to apply for the Arizona certificate.
A Department-approved program paired with a Department-approved exam is the alternative route to eligibility. Either way, the certificate itself arrives through a separate application to the Department.
Running the CT scanner in the same department is another application, on its own timeline, against its own eligibility bar. Mammography works the same way, through a certificate of its own.
The rules governing all of this took effect on February 4, 2025. They incorporate the American Society of Radiologic Technologists practice standards effective June 30, 2024.
Arizona enacted further statutory changes in 2026. House Bill 2050 was signed on April 13, 2026 as Chapter 37, and is scheduled to take effect September 12, 2026.
Until then, the existing statutory standards remain in force.
Radiology Technician Salary in the Phoenix Metro
$94,820 a year is the median wage for the role in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler metro, based on May 2025 BLS data. That is $45.59 an hour.
That is a midpoint rather than a starting figure. Experience, employer type, and shift schedule account for most of the spread around it.
Nationally, BLS projects 4% growth for radiologic technologists and technicians from 2024 to 2034, against 3% for all occupations.
For the broader group of radiologic and MRI technologists, BLS expects many annual openings to come from workers transferring to other occupations or leaving the labor force.
If those numbers fit what you are planning for, browse radiography programs on Dreambound and shortlist the ones whose clinical schedule you could realistically keep.
Where Radiology Technicians Work Across the Valley
Imaging departments across the metro sit inside large hospital systems and independent facilities alike. Employers in the Phoenix area include:
- Banner University Medical Center Phoenix, an academic medical center affiliated with the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix
- Valleywise Health Medical Center, a teaching hospital that houses the Arizona Burn Center
- Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center
- HonorHealth
- Phoenix Children's
- Mayo Clinic in Phoenix
Hospitals are not the only setting. Outpatient imaging centers, orthopedic practices, and urgent care clinics operate x-ray equipment too.
The certification requirement follows the individual across all of them. Facilities and radiation-producing equipment carry separate Arizona registration requirements of their own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you work in CT in Arizona before you meet the experience requirement?
Arizona has a route for this. Before starting the two-year CT training pathway, you obtain a preceptorship certificate from the Department, backed by an agreement form from a board-certified radiologist. That certificate lasts one year and cannot be renewed. A one-year temporary CT certificate can be applied for at least 30 days before it expires.
Does an Arizona radiology certificate cover mammography?
No. Mammography requires its own Arizona certificate, layered on a current Department-issued radiologic technology certificate. Eligibility comes through current ARRT certification in mammography, or through federal mammography training standards plus a Department-approved exam.
How often do you renew an Arizona radiology certificate?
Certificates are valid for two years. At renewal you attest to completing the required continuing education, which is 24 hours every two years for a radiologic technologist. The alternative is a copy of your current certification from a nationally recognized certifying body. Renewal applications open 90 days before expiration.
Is there a radiology school in Phoenix?
Yes. The metro has associate degree programs in radiologic technology at community colleges and private colleges. They generally run about two years of professional coursework with clinical rotations included, and prerequisites can add time up front. Dreambound can help you line up radiography programs by start date and delivery format.
What the Arizona Certificate Actually Lets You Operate
Finishing a program and being certified on every machine in an imaging suite are two different milestones in Arizona. A base certificate authorizes radiography. Computed tomography is a separate certificate with its own eligibility standard, and mammography is another. Build that sequence into your plan early and the second and third steps stop arriving as surprises.
When you compare radiography programs on Dreambound, look at how each one handles clinical placement and which accreditation it carries. Those two details are what carry you into the Arizona certificate application on the other side.
