Physicians rely on cardiac and vascular sonographers to help save lives. Cardiac sonographers (echocardiographers) use ultrasound imaging to determine, detect and diagnose diseases of the heart. Vascular sonographers have a deeper understanding of all the arteries and veins in the human body, which allow them to identify anatomical and physiological changes. Nova Southeastern University has integrated both specialties into one sonography degree program, so that you gain an advantage in the professional marketplace.
Cardiac sonography and vascular sonography are two of the most sought-after medical ultrasound specialties. Where many other programs only focus on one, NSU’s Bachelor of Science in Cardiovascular Sonography program gives you the education and training you need to succeed in both. At NSU, you’ll gain extensive, hands-on experience in high-tech laboratories, including the use of real-world ultrasound machines and a 3D echocardiography simulator (typically reserved for physician training). You’ll also develop your skills through an intensive 12-month clinical externship. As a graduate of the program, you’ll be more than prepared to excel in your career.
On my second year of clinicals, I was hired right there on the spot. And then I progressed and now I’m working for one of the largest hospitals here in the U.S. And it’s all because of the education I received here at [NSU].
Maria E. | Class of 2019
Why Should You Major in Cardiovascular Sonography at NSU?
Pursue a Career in Cardiovascular Sonography
An aging Baby Boomer population is contributing to the growing need for medical sonographers and cardiovascular technologists and technicians, including vascular technologists. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment in this field will grow at a much faster rate than the average for all other jobs, a 12 percent growth from 2019 to 2029. With your cardiovascular sonography degree from NSU, you can thrive in this in-demand profession.
Shark Destinations
You’ll find NSU cardiovascular sonography alumni at health care organizations like Tampa General Hospital, UF Health Shands Hospital, BayCare Health System, The Cleveland Clinic, Lee Health, UNC Health Medical Center, Sarasota Memorial Health System, HCA Health System, Roper St. Francis Hospital, Baylor Healthcare, Johns Hopkins Bayview, Denver Health, The Pepin Heart Institute and many others.
Admission Requirements
- Initial Acceptance Fee - $500: This fee is required to reserve the accepted student's place in the applicable entering class, and is not refundable in the event of withdrawal. It is payable within 2 weeks of acceptance.
- Initial Seat Deposit - $250: This fee is due within 6 weeks of acceptance or March 1st, whichever occurs first, and is not refundable in the event of withdrawal.
- Initial Pre-registration Fee - $250: This fee is due within 8 weeks of acceptance or April 1st, whichever occurs first, and is not refundable in the event of withdrawal.
- First Semester: The first semester's tuition and fees, less the $1,000 deposits previously paid (above), are due upon registration for courses and must be paid in full before Orientation day in May of each year (specific date determined each year.)
- Student Services Fee: upon registration each semester, a $500 per-semester student services fee is applied to the student's account
- HPD Access Fee: A Health Profession Division (HPD) general access fee of $145 is required each year.
Tuition and fees for each subsequent semester are due upon registration for courses, and must be paid in any case before the first day of classes/courses for that term. Students will not be admitted initially, nor allowed to register for courses or attend classes until their financial obligations have been met. Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice. Visit the Tuition and Fees page for more information.
Financial Aid
The primary financial responsibility for the student's education rests with the student and his or her family, but economic circumstances for some families may make it necessary for the student to obtain assistance from other sources.
For more information, please visit NSU's Office of Student Financial Assistance.
Prospective cardiovascular sonography students are selected by The Committee on Admissions (COA) through consideration of the overall qualities of the candidate. Individuals with varied educational, work, and life experiences who have demonstrated the ability to pursue the course of cardiovascular sonography will be admitted. Areas of consideration include application content, academic record, and personal motivation. Upon receipt of the completed application, the COA will select applicants for interview. Applicants must be present for the interview (phone interviews are not acceptable) and expenses are the responsibility of the applicant.
It should be noted that many criteria, in addition to credentials, play a role in the admission process for the program. While the program allows the student to demonstrate academic capability, it does not ensure admission to any professional school. Admission to the cardiovascular sonography program will not guarantee admission to any other program of Nova Southeastern University.
Upon receipt of the completed application, fees, credentials, transcripts, the admissions officers and the School of Health Sciences will review all material for evidence of the proper education, training, and background to enter the cardiovascular sonography course of study. The university reserves the right to modify any requirement on an individual basis as deemed necessary by the dean of the School of Health Sciences.
In order to be eligible for admission to the Bachelor of Science-Cardiovascular Sonography, a student must have completed 30 semester hours of prerequisite education coursework with a cumulative GPA of 2.60 on a 4.0 grading scale.
Prerequisites (Total 30 Credit Hours) | |
---|---|
Arts & Humanities | 6 |
Mathematics (at or above MATH 1040) | 6 |
Social & Behavioral Sciences | 6 |
Written Composition (at or above COMP1500) | 6 |
Science* | 6 |
*Program-specific Science requirements are for either:
- 3 credits of Human Anatomy I, or Anatomy & Physiology I (with or without lab) and 3 credits Human Anatomy II, or Anatomy & Physiology II (with or without lab); OR
- 3 credits of Human Anatomy I, or Anatomy & Physiology I (with or without lab) and 3 credits General Physics (with or without lab.)
Note: General education courses cannot be survey courses.
Highly recommended but not required courses:
- Anatomy & Physiology II or III
- Basic Medical Terminology
A new incoming class is accepted into the program each May. Applications open on July 1st of the prior year and close on April 1st of the same year of admission. Applicants for admission must submit or be responsible for the submission of:
- a completed application along with a $50 non-refundable application fee. Application is available online through "Apply Now".
- official college, certificate and/or diploma-based from all undergraduate and graduate institutions attended, sent directly from the institution to the Enrollment Processing Services (EPS).
- Copies of national and/or state professional certification, license or registration, if applicable.
- TOEFL or IELTS scores (if applicable), sent directly to NSU’s EPS.
- a current curriculum vitae (CV)
- Evaluation of coursework taken at foreign institutions for U.S. institutional equivalence (if applicable)*
Foreign coursework must be evaluated by one of the following services:
- World Education Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 745
Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113-0745
(212) 966-6311
www.wes.org
- Josef Silny & Associates, Inc.
International Education Consultants
7101 SW 102nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33173
Phone: (305) 273-1616
Fax: (305) 273-1338 E-Mail: info@jsilny.org
www.jsilny.com
- Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.
P.O. Box 415070
Milwaukee, WI 53203
(414) 289-3400
www.ece.org
A student-prepared learning portfolio requesting assessment of prior experience for academic credit (only for those graduates from programs other than those from regionally accredited colleges or universities).
All admissions information should be sent to
Nova Southeastern University
Enrollment Processing Services
Attn: Cardiovascular Sonography Program
P.O. Box 299000
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33329-9905
The Office of Admissions works on rolling admissions basis. Applicants are accepted year round. To ensure that your application has received proper consideration, you should apply early.
The Committee on Admissions will not consider an application until all fees, credentials, transcripts and test scores have been received by the EPS.
The university reserves the right to modify any requirements on an individual basis as deemed necessary by the dean of the School of Health Sciences.
The school reserves the right, and the student (by his or her act of matriculation) concedes to the school the right, to require his or her withdrawal at any time the school feels necessary to safeguard its standards of scholarship, conduct, and compliance with regulation, or for such other reasons that are deemed appropriate.
The dean and program director of the cardiovascular sonography program reserve the right to require the student's withdrawal at any time for the above-mentioned reasons.
An evaluation of transfer credit will be completed prior to acceptance to the program, and applicable credit will be transferred based on all final official transcripts received. Students will be advised to take courses based on the official evaluation of their file.
Students must provide final official transcripts from all their previous colleges. Their previous academic work will then be evaluated. The Bachelor of Science in Cardiovascular Sonography course of study will transfer a maximum of 33 prerequisite semester credits (grade C or better).
Cardiovascular sonography majors enjoy clinical internships at affiliated organizations like UF Health Shands Hospital, BayCare Health System, The Cleveland Clinic, Lee Health, UNC Health Medical Center, Sarasota Memorial Health System, HCA Health System, Roper St. Francis Hospital, Baylor Healthcare, The Pepin Heart Institute, Medical University of South Carolina, Trinity Healthcare System, and many others.
Your NSU professors are dedicated to ensuring that you have a great academic experience. They regularly review the curriculum to make updates that give you an edge in today's ever-changing world. As an NSU cardiovascular sonography major, some courses you could take include Health Care and Aging, Ultrasound Physics, Venous Testing, and Correlative Imaging and Cross-sectional Anatomy.
Program Graduates, three-year running statistics*
- ARDMS SPI (Sonography Principles and Instrumentation) exam = 100%
- ARDMS RVT (Registered Vascular Technologist) exam = 90.5%
- ARDMS RDCS - AE (Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer - Adult Echocardiography) exam = 100%
- Employment rate = 100%
- Continuing education = 0%
- Continuing/returning to Military Service = 0%
- Retention rate = 77%
* Data is for the graduating classes of 2021, 2022, and 2023
Cardiovascular sonography majors enjoy clinical internships at affiliated organizations like UF Health Shands Hospital, BayCare Health System, The Cleveland Clinic, Lee Health, UNC Health Medical Center, Sarasota Memorial Health System, HCA Health System, Roper St. Francis Hospital, Baylor Healthcare, The Pepin Heart Institute, Medical University of South Carolina, Trinity Healthcare System, and many others.
Your NSU professors are dedicated to ensuring that you have a great academic experience. They regularly review the curriculum to make updates that give you an edge in today's ever-changing world. As an NSU cardiovascular sonography major, some courses you could take include Health Care and Aging, Ultrasound Physics, Venous Testing, and Correlative Imaging and Cross-sectional Anatomy.
Program Graduates, three-year running statistics*
- ARDMS SPI (Sonography Principles and Instrumentation) exam = 100%
- ARDMS RVT (Registered Vascular Technologist) exam = 90.5%
- ARDMS RDCS - AE (Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer - Adult Echocardiography) exam = 100%
- Employment rate = 100%
- Continuing education = 0%
- Continuing/returning to Military Service = 0%
- Retention rate = 77%
* Data is for the graduating classes of 2021, 2022, and 2023
Accreditation
The Cardiovascular Sonography program at NSU Tampa Bay is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Cardiovascular Technology (JRC-CVT) in both Adult Echocardiography and Noninvasive Vascular Study.
9355 - 113th St. N, #7709
Seminole, FL 33775
Phone: 844-927-3191
Fax: 844-547-0946
Contact Us
The Cardiovascular Sonography program is located at NSU's Tampa Bay Regional Campus at 3400 Gulf to Bay Boulevard, Suite 3283, Clearwater, FL 33759. Get directions here.
To contact us by phone, call 813-574-5370.
For questions about Cardiovascular Sonography at NSU, use our contact form.