Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Learn more about Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) is the use of sound waves to generate images for the assessment and diagnosis of medical conditions. This is a bachelor degree program with curriculum consisting of formal didactic courses, simulated labs and intensive clinical training in the concentrations of abdomen and small parts, obstetrics and gynecology, and vascular technology.

The DMS degree program is designed to provide students with a quality educational environment that promotes professionalism, effective communication, critical thinking, and imaging skills that meet the requirements of CAAHEP as well as the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS).

Students are encouraged to become active learners through a didactic and clinical environment that promotes a variety of learning experiences for professional growth and lifelong learning. Students completing the DMS Program will have the knowledge and skill set to successfully enter the workforce as credentialed sonographers in Abdomen, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Vascular Technology.

Clinical Sites

Students have availability of pre-arranged clinical sites in:

Springfield, Missouri
Branson, Missouri
Joplin, Missouri
West Plains, Missouri
Sullivan, Missouri
Mountain Home, Arkansas

Students may request a specific clinical site, but program faculty reserve the right to make clinical assignments based on clinical site capacity limitations and/or unforeseen circumstances. Students may be assigned a clinical site up to 1.5 hours from their home. At times, a student may be required to drive to a Springfield or CoxHealth clinical site for specific concentration exam experiences not offered at the individual’s assigned clinical site.

Application and Admissions

Admission Deadline: April 1st
Interviews: April 1st – April 15th
Decisions Mailed: April 15th – April 30th

Primary Student Job Shadowing Deadline: March 1st

Applicants to the DMS program must have:

A minimum of an associate’s degree and/or be a registered radiologic technologists or registry-eligible with successful completion of the ARRT radiologic technology registry prior to the program start date or unrestricted licensed.
Completed a minimum of 16 hours of job shadowing in a sonography department (in the concentrations of Abdomen, OB/GYN, Vascular) at any hospital with a job shadowing program (only required of Non-RTR applicants). Hours completed in cardiac will not be accepted.

- Job shadowing should be completed within one year of applying.
- Applicants should have the required job shadowing completed by March 1^st in order to meet the application deadline

Completed pre-requisite courses with a “C” or higher prior to the beginning of the DMS core curriculum:

- College algebra, statistics, or higher mathematics course (3 credits)
- General college-level physics and/or radiographic physics** (3-4 credits)
- Human Anatomy* (4 credits)
- Human Physiology* (4 credits)
- Medical Terminology (2-3 credits)
- Oral or Written communications (3 credits)

*Core science pre-requisite courses must be taken within 5 years prior to admission to the DMS primary pathway. Exceptions may be made for applicants currently employed in an allied health profession.

**Physics course must provide introductory concepts such as wave motion, heat, electricity, force, and energy. Physics courses for education majors is not accepted.

To apply to the Cox College DMS Program, the applicant must:

Complete the Cox College undergraduate application and check “Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Imaging.”
Submit the Specialty Diagnostic Imaging program application.
Submit all official college transcripts
Submit a personal resume and two letters of recommendation
Submit a copy of professional credentials if applicable (ARRT).
Submit the Job Shadowing Form. Click here to schedule job shadowing at CoxHealth
Minimum 3.0 GPA in an imaging program or academic degree
Submit a signed copy of the technical standards available at this link

DMS Courses

Diagnostic Medical Sonography – 79 credits

SDI 300 Specialty Imaging Ethics
SDI 314 Specialty Imaging Patient Care and Safety
DMS 304 Physics and Instrumentation I
DMS 306 Sonographic Anatomy of Abdomen/ Small Parts I
DMS 307 DMS Capstone I
DMS 308 Sonographic Abdominal /Small Parts Pathology I
DMS 310 Sonographic Anatomy of Abdomen /Small Parts I Lab
DMS 312 Sonographic Abdominal / Small Parts Pathology I Lab
DMS 314 Physics and Instrumentation II
DMS 316 Vascular Physics and Instrumentation I
DMS 318 Gynecology I
DMS 320 DMS Specific Gynecology Lab
DMS 322 Gynecology II
DMS 324 Obstetrics I
DMS 326 Physics and Instrumentation III
DMS 327 DMS Capstone II
DMS 330 Vascular Technology I
DMS 332 DMS Specific Vascular Lab
DMS 334 Obstetrics II
DMS 340 Vascular Technology II
DMS 342 Advanced DMS Specific Comprehensive Lab
DMS 344 DMS Neurosonography
DMS 352 DMS Clinical Practice I
DMS 354 DMS Clinical Practice II
DMS 356 DMS Clinical Practice III
DMS 358 DMS Clinical Practice IV
DMS 360 DMS Clinical Practice V
DMS 362 DMS Clinical Practice VI
DMS 364 DMS Clinical Practice VII

Program Effectiveness Data

The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accredits programs upon the recommendation of the Joint Review Commission on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS) 6021 University Boulevard, Suite 500, Ellicott City, MD 21043, 443-973-5251, jrcdms@intersocietal.org; Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) 9355 113th St. N, #7709 Seminole, FL 33775, FL 33763, Ph: 727-210-2350, Fax: 727-210-2354, mail@caahep.org.