Houston Community College Masthead (Imagemap)
Finding the Right Educational Degree Plan for You

Step 1: Career Cluster

Step 2: Educational Pattern

Step 3: Degree Plan

3. Creating a Workforce Career Degree Plan

Workforce Career Plan for the Health and Medical Sciences Cluster

You have chosen the Workforce Career pattern of education in the Health and Medical Sciences (HLTHM) career cluster. The Workforce Career Pattern means that you will be taking mostly Technical Job-focused courses and a few General Education courses for the completion of your Marketable Skills Achievement Award (MSA), Certificate of Completion and/or Associate in Applied Science degree at Houston Community College.

Careers related to Health, Fitness, Medical, Dental, Diagnostic Services, Nursing, Health Care, Health Information, Medical Therapies, Health Administration, Emergency Care, Paramedics.

Your educational degree plan will be a Certificate of Completion or an Associate in Applied Science

Workforce Education Awards offered at Houston Community College:

  • AAS indicates Associate in Applied Science degree (~2 years full-time or 4 years part-time study)
  • Certificate indicates Certificate of Completion (length varies from 1-3 semesters study)
  • MSA indicates Marketable Skills Achievement Award (~1 semester study)


AAS Cardiovascular Technology (64 sem. hours)
 
AAS Clinical Laboratory Technician (67 sem. hours)
 
ATC Diagnostic Medical Sonography (47 sem. hours)
 
Certificate Dental Assisting (37 sem. hours)
 
AAS Dental Hygiene (70 sem. hours)
 
AAS Emergency Medical Services (65 sem. hours)
Certificate Emergency Medical Services - Technician (39 sem. hours)
 
AAS Health and Fitness Instructor (60 sem. hours)
Certificate Health and Fitness Instructor (17 sem. hours)
 
AAS Health Information Technology (69 sem. hours)
Certificate Health Information Technology - Health Information Analysis (18 sem. hours)
Certificate Health Information Technology - Health Information Coding (43 sem. hours)
 
AAS Histologic Technician (67 sem. hours)
 
Certificate Medical Assistant (42 sem. hours)
 
AAS Nuclear Medicine Technology (72 sem. hours)
ATC Nuclear Medicine Technology (48 sem. hours)
 
AAS Nursing (67 sem. hours)
 
AAS Occupational Therapy Assistant (71 sem. hours)
Certificate Occupational Therapy Assistant (47 sem. hours)
 
Certificate Pharmacy Technician (26 sem. hours)
 
AAS Physical Therapy Assistant (72 sem. hours)
 
AAS Radiography (67 sem. hours)
ESC Radiography - Computed Tomography (14 sem. hours)
 
AAS Respiratory Therapist (72 sem. hours)
 
Certificate Surgical Technology (39 sem. hours)
MSA Surgical Technology - Accelerated Alternative Delivery (10 sem. hours)
 
Certificate Vocational Nursing (44 sem. hours)

Note: Each award above is designed to be an exit point to the world of work enabling the graduate to have the skills for entry level and more advanced occupations. Each award above is also designed to build upon each other. Thus, a student can achieve a Marketable Skills Achievement Award (MSA) and then go to work. The MSA Completer can continue his/her education applying the MSA courses toward a Certificate of Completion in the same field. The Certificate of Completion graduate can continue his/her education and apply the Certificate courses toward the Associate in Applied Science degree (AAS) in the same field. There are also many creative and non-traditional accredited universities who will transfer the AAS degree toward a bachelor degree either in the same field or in a related field. Thus, at each point of completion, the student will possess skills directly impacting performance in the work world and the student can continue progressing in his/her educational pathway eventually attaining the associate and the bachelor degree.

The courses in each award above are detailed in the college catalog in force at the time of your first enrollment at HCC.

Look at the Academic Transfer Pattern in this Cluster

Choose a different Career Cluster

If you have comments or suggestions, email  

The Houston Community College System does not discriminate on the basis of
race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, or disability.