Medical Assistant Program at Portland Community College-Cascade Campus

✔️ Page Updated: December 26th, 2025 | Current for 2026, learn more about our data 🛈

The CAAHEP-accredited Medical Assisting Certificate at Portland Community College is an accelerated, 9-month program featuring paid externships and exceptional graduate success, including a 92.21% national exam pass rate.

This page provides up-to-date program costs, graduation and employment data, accreditation details, contact information, and interactive resources – including a Google map and campus video – to help you quickly evaluate whether PCC is the right medical assisting school for you.

CMA AAMA: Medical Assistant Program Overview at PCC

Portland Community College (PCC) offers a highly regarded Certificate in Medical Assisting designed to quickly prepare students for the fast-growing healthcare sector in the Portland metropolitan area. This focused program is typically completed in just nine months, providing a low-cost, accelerated route into a stable career. Students benefit from flexible classes offered both in-person and online across multiple sites, including the Cascade, Sylvania, and Willow Creek campuses, plus the Washington County Workforce Training Center in Beaverton, which is especially convenient for those west of Portland.

Program Highlights and Curriculum

• The comprehensive curriculum covers essential Clinical procedures, such as venipuncture and EKG administration.
• Students learn critical Administrative skills, including electronic health record (EHR) management.
• Deep training is provided in Communication Skills, including culturally competent and trauma-informed care.
• A standout feature is the opportunity for paid externships, allowing students to earn money while gaining crucial clinical hours.

Career Outlook and Success Rates

PCC’s commitment to student success is clear: recent data shows exceptional outcomes with a 92.21% national exam passage rate and a high job placement rate (93% of graduates are employed within a month). The Oregon Employment Department forecasts a 23.3% increase in Medical Assistant job openings through 2032, with Portland-area wages averaging around $49,950 annually. The program is nationally accredited, and graduates are highly respected by local healthcare giants like OHSU, Kaiser Permanente, and Providence, who often hire directly from the program.

PCC’s Medical Assistant Program Data

Our Data

Our Medical Assistant Program Data is carefully researched and curated from the following government and higher education organizations.

• CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs) – CAAHEP is the largest programmatic accreditor for health sciences education and the official medical assisting program accreditor for the National CMA (AAMA) Certification Exam.
• IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) – A comprehensive database of U.S. colleges and universities.
• Peterson’s Database – Includes detailed college information and their Distance Learning Licensed Data Set.
• College Scorecard – A U.S. Department of Education tool offering key statistics on college costs, graduation rates, and student outcomes.
• NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) – The primary federal source for data and analysis on education in the U.S. such as cost of tuition. Our data shows average cost of tuition and fees for Public 2 year institutions per state.
• BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) – May 2024 Occupational Outlook Handbook Medical Assistants Data for Salary and Employment. Our data shows the mean annual salary and the total number of employed MAs per state.

• View All Medical Assistant Programs
• View Online Medical Assisting Programs
• View Medical Assistant Schools in Oregon