First, you must be enrolled at ACC. Please see this page for information about how to get started.

Mammography is a branch of medical imaging that specializes in imaging the breast tissue. Mammographers must meet stringent educational and experience criteria in order to become qualified to perform mammography procedures.

The Mammography Technologist Program at ACC is open to anyone who holds their primary certification in Radiology through the American Registry of Radiologic Technology (ARRT) or who is registry-eligible according to the criteria described by the ARRT. For more information or to determine if you meet the eligibility criteria, visit the ARRT website.

Please note that the ARRT requires the candidate must hold primary pathway registration with the ARRT and document completion of specific clinical experience requirements.

The Mammography program at Austin Community College is one full semester long. It includes one didactic course with a lab component and one clinical course.

The number of students that we accept is based on the number of clinical training facilities that we have available.

The program is offered on an as-needed basis. It is dependent on faculty staffing and having 70% student enrollment to make the program. If there are not sufficient applications, the program will not be offered. The program is offered in the Fall semester at this time.

Information can be found on the Application Process page.

Unfortunately, you are not eligible to apply to ACC’s Mammography Technologist Program. You must be an imaging professional that holds a current Texas State Medical Radiologic Technologist (MRT) and primary ARRT certificate in Radiology R.T.(R)(ARRT).

Declared – Declared applicants are classified as students who require the clinical and didactic component. These students are eligible to enroll in one didactic course and one clinical course offered in the Fall semester only.

Undeclared – Undeclared applicants are classified as students who do not require the clinical component. Undeclared means that only the didactic coursework is required. These applicants may already work in the mammography field or have made personal arrangements for clinical training, and only are seeking the didactic portion of the coursework.

Undeclared students will not receive a completion certificate at the end of the program. Students must complete both the didactic and the clinical coursework successfully to receive the program certificate.  

Unfortunately, you are not eligible to apply to the ACC Mammography Technologist Program. The state license allows you to be employed in that state to perform limited radiography. The state license and ARRT certification are two separate entities.

You must be an imaging professional that holds a current primary certification in Radiology R.T.(R)(ARRT) in order to be eligible to apply to the Mammography Technologist Program.

Please note that the ARRT does administer a Limited Scope of Practice in Radiography Examination. The ARRT administers the examination to state approved candidates under contractual arrangement with the state and provides the results directly to the state. This examination is not associated with any type of certification by the ARRT.

Yes, you can apply to the ACC Mammography Technologist Program. If you are accepted to the program, you must pass the ARRT radiology certification exam on your first attempt. You must submit a copy of the ARRT card before the course withdrawal deadline published in the course syllabus/ACC Academic calendar. If you do not pass your ARRT examination in radiology on the first attempt, your application will be withdrawn and you will not be eligible to continue in the program.

Patient care experience is preferred, but not required. You will find that patient care experience is extremely helpful in the mammography environment. Patient care experience used to rank applicants is defined as employed as an imaging technologist working full-time in radiology. Clinical patient care experience as a student will not be accepted in the applicant ranking process. Applicants with zero to less than one year will receive zero patient care experience points in the ranking process.

Full-time employment will help you in the ranking process.  You must submit a patient care experience form completed by a supervisor or human resources representative to verify employment as an imaging professional.  Points will be awarded as follows:

• New graduates and/or less than one year full time work experience = 0 points
• 1-5 years full time employment = 1 point
• 6-10 years full time employment = 2 points
• 11 years or over full time employment = 3 points

An explanation of the ranking process and a sample applicant ranking worksheet can be found at this link.

Supporting courses are used to award grade points in the application process. You must submit school transcripts that clearly show the grade awarded. Transcripts that do not clearly show grades awarded will not be accepted in the CT ranking process. The following courses are supporting courses that are used to rank CT applicants:

• College Algebra/Equivalent or Passing math placement test
• Introduction to Speech Communications
• Introduction to Computing
• Patient Care Course
• Human Anatomy or Anatomy & Physiology

Grade Point Distribution:

• A = 4 grade points
• B = 3 grade points
• C = 2 grade points
• D or F = 0 grade points
• CR = 2.5 grade points

Prerequisite Course(s) not taken earn 0 grade points.

Yes, you can apply to the ACC Mammography Technologist Program. Please note that the absence of one or more of the supporting courses may lower your ranking amongst other applicants. Absent supporting courses will receive zero grade points in the ranking process.

1. The Mammography Technologist Certificate Plan can be found here.
2. MAMT 2233: Essentials of Mammography – 12 week Fall session. This is a hybrid classroom course with partial delivery online and partial in person. Labs will meet in the evening hours after 4 p.m.
3. MAMT 2260: Mammography Technology Clinical – 2nd 8 week Fall Session. Please see “How are clinic hours structured?” below.

Clinic hours are structured and not flexible. There may be slight variation on start and end times depending on the clinical site, but it will be during the day and on M-W-F (ex. 7 a.m. – 3 p.m., or 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., or 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.).

• Clinical hours can only be completed at an approved clinical affiliate and sites will be assigned at the sole discretion of the program.
• Only one student can be scheduled for clinical hours at a time, including students from other programs and employees in training.
• The clinical affiliate may decline a student at any time and for any reason.
• Clinical sites are offered in the greater Austin Metro area and consist of hospital and outpatient imaging centers.

No, you are not allowed to do clinicals with your employer. ​You will be assigned to a different site.

Every effort is made to limit clinical rotations to one site during the semester. However, occasionally a student may need to be placed at a second site during the semester due to unforeseen circumstances.

Yes, there is a strict attendance policy for the clinical course. Students should consult the course syllabus for details. The didactic course is offered as a hybrid classroom model (online and laboratory). The program courses require completion of weekly assignments. Completion of these weekly assignments constitutes attendance in distance learning courses.

Safety concerns in the mammographic environment include exposure to ionizing radiation, hospital grade disinfectants, blood and bodily fluids, and disease. However, these sources are of no greater risk than other medical imaging professions.

Please feel free to contact the Interim Department Chair, Kate Verdun, at [email protected] or phone (512) 223-0261 for more information. You may also use the form on our Contact Us page.