Medical Assistant Program at Carl Sandburg College

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

Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, IL, offers a 4.1-star rated Medical Assisting Certificate and AAS degree pathway, providing CMA and RMA eligibility at an estimated certificate cost of $8,789.

This page provides up-to-date program costs, graduation and employment data, accreditation details, contact information, and interactive resources – including Google Reviews, Maps, and Campus Videos – to help you evaluate this CAAHEP accredited program.

CMA AAMA: Medical Assistant Program Overview at CSC

The Medical Assisting program at Carl Sandburg College, located on the Galesburg campus in Illinois, offers a comprehensive educational pathway designed to prepare students for an essential and dynamic career in healthcare. The curriculum provides training for crucial administrative, clinical, and laboratory tasks, enabling graduates to become highly competent, entry-level medical assistants.

Program Options and Structure

Carl Sandburg College provides two distinct paths: a **Medical Assisting Certificate** (34 credit hours) and an **Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree**. To offer flexibility, courses are delivered face-to-face, virtually, or online, although mandatory in-person attendance is required for labs and specific required classes such as ALH 155 and MDA 125.

Career and Financial Information

• The estimated cost for the 34 credit-hour certificate is approximately **$8,789**.
• Medical assisting is a highly promising field, with employment projected to grow **19% from 2019–2029**.
• Sandburg reports solid outcomes, including a four-year average job placement rate of 40.74% and a retention rate of 76.47%.

Accreditation and Certification

The program is accredited by **CAAHEP**. Upon graduation, students are eligible to take both the Certified Medical Assisting (CMA) exam and the Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) exam. Obtaining these nationally recognized credentials is necessary for working in all 50 states.

Clinical Placement Requirements

Prior to clinical placement in the local healthcare community, students are required to complete a physical exam, a background check, a drug screen, and specific immunizations.

Contact Information

For more information, prospective students can contact Program Director **Cathy Gebru** at the Galesburg campus, located at 2400 Tom L Wilson Blvd.

CSC’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 Illinois