Sonography – Echocardiography Technology Admission Requirements

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Apply to M State

To be considered for the Sonography-Echocardiography Technology program, students must be accepted to M State as an undergraduate student. The application for the Sonography-Echocardiography Technology program is separate.

New to M State - Follow the admissions checklist at www.minnesota.edu/admissions.

Returning to M State - Submit an online application for admission at www.minnesota.edu/admissions. If you have attended another college since you last attended M State, you will also need to request the official transcript be sent to the M State Processing Center.  

M State Processing Center
1414 College Way 
Fergus Falls, MN 56537

Students should allow up to six weeks for transfer work to be received, evaluated and entered onto their Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) audit. Transfer courses will not count toward admission to the program until they have been evaluated by the M State transfer specialist and successfully transferred.

Current M State student - If you are currently attending M State, you will not need to update your application to the college.

Apply to Sonography - Echocardiography Technology program

The Sonography-Echocardiography Technology program is a spring semester start program and an application must be submitted for an applicant to be considered for the program. Students who miss the spring start deadline may be eligible to enroll in general education courses and complete program admission requirements prior to the next spring start.

You must be accepted to M State to access the program application.

Sonography-Echocardiography Technology Program Application

*If you experience issues logging in to the application, please contact logan.schmidt@minnesota.edu. 

Placement testing

Sonography-Echocardiography Technology applicants must complete all developmental English and/or math courses with a grade of C or higher. Placement in these courses may be determined by ACT, SAT, Accuplacer assessment or high school GPA. Guided self-placement for students who do not have an ACT, SAT, Accuplacer or high school GPA on file cannot be used for Sonography-Echocardiography Technology applicants.

Complete the Accuplacer assessment to determine which, if any, English and/or math developmental courses you need to complete. Sign up for the Accuplacer assessment at www.minnesota.edu/testing.

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Math requirement

Math scores on the Accuplacer/ACT or high school GPA must place the student into MATH 1114 College Algebra or higher. Students testing into developmental math must complete the highest-level developmental course with a grade of C or higher prior to starting the program.

English requirement

Reading scores on the Accuplacer/ACT or high school GPA must place the student into ENGL 1101 College Writing. Students testing into developmental English must complete the highest-level developmental course with a grade of C or higher prior to starting the program.

Entrance exam

Students must score at the “Moderate” competency level (74%) or higher on the Health Science Reasoning Test - Associate Degree (HSRT-AD).

HSRT-AD scores expire one year after the test date. HSRT-AD scores must be valid at the time of the application deadline.

Applicants are allowed to take the HSRT-AD up to two times for the Spring 2025 application cycle. If taking the test for a second time, applicants must wait two weeks (14 calendar days) between test attempts. 

The HSRT-AD must be taken at an M State campus. For more information regarding the HSRT-AD, including special accommodations, exam dates and how to register, visit www.minnesota.edu/hsrt-exam. 

All eligible Sonography-Echocardiography Technology program applicants are ranked by their HSRT-AD Overall score.

Prerequisite courses

The following courses must be completed prior to the start of the core Sonography-Echocardiography Technology program spring semester: 

• BIOL 2260 Human Anatomy & Physiology I Lecture (3 credits)*
• BIOL 2261 Human Anatomy & Physiology I Lab (1 credit)*
• HLTH 1116 Medical Terminology (3 credits)
• PHYS 1105 Fundamental Concepts of Physics (3 credits)

All prerequisite courses must be completed or in-progress at the time of the application deadline (September 15). If courses have been completed or are in-progress at another college, transcripts must be received at M State prior to the application deadline.

While applicants are not required to complete prerequisite courses prior to the application deadline, students must have earned a grade of C or higher in completed prerequisite courses. Students who have earned a grade of less than C (D, F, FN, FW) in any of the prerequisite courses will not be eligible until the grade has been replaced with a grade of C or higher.

*Course must have been completed within five years prior to the program start date. For the spring 2025 program start, the course must have been taken in spring 2020 or later.

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Admission to the Sonography-Echocardiography Technology program

Applicants who meet all requirements for admission will have the greatest chance of being admitted into the program. Students are encouraged to submit the program application even if they are in the process of meeting all the requirements for admission to the program.

Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria will be awarded seats in the following order: 

1. HSRT-AD Overall score - those with the highest scores will be awarded a seat.
2. HSRT-AD Analysis score - will be used only if a tie-breaker is needed.
3. HSRT-AD Inference score - will be used only if an additional tie-breaker is needed.

Accepted students who have prerequisite courses in-progress must earn a grade of C or higher in the course to be eligible to start the Sonography-Echocardiography program.

Acceptance notification

Each student who has submitted a complete admissions file by the posted application deadline will receive an email from the college indicating whether they have been accepted into the program, placed on the program waiting list as an alternate or are currently ineligible for the program. Be sure to provide your current email address on your program application. 

Applicants will be notified within 30 days after the application deadline.

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Minnesota Department of Human Services background study

Accepted students will need to complete a Minnesota Department of Human Services background check. A $40 fee will be required for processing the background check and fingerprinting/photo.

Accepted students who choose not to complete the background study or who do not clear may not be permitted to attend clinical experiences or service learning opportunities. In such cases, the college cannot guarantee alternative learning opportunities, which ultimately will affect the students’ ability to complete the program.

National Background Check

M State does not require a National Background Check for admission to the Sonography-Echocardiography Technology program, but the National Background Check is necessary when required by a clinical site. The program director will assist with this process if/when necessary. Students required to complete a National Background Check are responsible for the fees. A discrepancy may prevent the student from participating in or completing the clinical requirement.

Health forms

Accepted students are required to complete a health form before they are eligible to start core Sonography-Echocardiography Technology courses.

On-campus open lab

Students spend six hours of lab per week with an instructor. Students are expected to spend additional time on their own during open lab time. Use of open lab is critical to students' success in the program.

Clinical internship

Students will be placed at a clinical internship for approximately the last six months of the program. For many students, this may require relocation. Clinical sites vary each year for a multitude of reasons. Placement locations will be distributed to students as soon as possible; however, that will likely be the same semester clinical starts.