Students who accepted their offer of admission to the program will be contacted in the spring by the Program Director about scheduling a radiologic science program orientation session. Orientation sessions occur in May and June and are mandatory. During this session, the following items will be further discussed, along with program requirements, policies, and procedures.

Tuition

The website for tuition is tuition.psu.edu. The total cost of the program depends on many factors, such as in-state, out-of-state, number of general education courses already completed, part-time or full-time status, inclusion of housing, etc.

On the Penn State tuition website, click on tuition schedules and tuition calculator to estimate the tuition. The student fee, housing, and other costs are also included when clicking on tuition schedules. The tuition adjustment policy can be found here.

Students who have already completed general education courses may not be at full time status while in the program. Your advisor and the financial aid office will advise you on your best course of action.

Program Clinical Sites

Clinical Placement and Rotations

Students complete clinical placements at two main hospitals while in the program. Placements are determined by program faculty; once a placement is determined it can’t be changed. Each student goes to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for one year (three semesters) and another main hospital (one of the seven) for the other year (three semesters). Most main hospitals have other clinical sites (ex: outpatient centers) that the students must travel to for clinical rotations. Students are responsible for their own travel to and from clinical sites and the costs associated with travel. A student may be placed at a main hospital without another student. For off-site rotations, students are typically there without another student. Clinical hours are typically 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. During the last semester of the program, all students complete one week of evening shifts and one week of midnight shifts at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Clinical Visit Requirement

During the summer before entering the program, each accepted student must complete two clinical visitations at program clinical sites. One clinical visit must be at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The other clinical visit is at a main hospital of their choice (one of the seven).

Clinical Site Requirements

The clinical sites require students to complete the following to participate in clinical rotations:

  • Abuse clearances
  • Criminal background checks
  • Fingerprints
  • Medical tests (physical exam, TB test)
  • Vaccinations
  • Drug testing
  • Health insurance
  • Liability insurance – HPSO is recommended for approximately $45/year
  • Students must be 18 years old to perform patient care at Penn State Health
  • Complete CPR certification - Basic Life Support (BLS) for the Healthcare Provider administered by the American Heart Association is the only CPR certification accepted. Students must complete a hands-on skills session training. Students must maintain certification while in the program.

Students must complete these and any other items required by the clinical site to participate in clinical. The student is responsible for the cost of all clinical requirements; the costs vary. The student is responsible for completing clinical site requirements for each main hospital that they go to. Many of the requirements are completed one time, in the months before beginning the program. Annual requirements include the flu vaccine, TB test, and liability insurance.

Students must also purchase a records management profile through DISA Healthcare Technology; the cost is approximately $130. This is reviewed at the program orientation session.

Clinical sites reserve the right to turn students away if they don’t complete or pass the requirements. If a student is turned away from a clinical site, this would prevent them from completing the clinical component, and they would have to return to the program the following year, if there is a spot for them.

Other program/clinical requirements

  • Purchase at least two sets of personalized lead markers
  • Purchase uniforms for clinicals
  • Purchase textbooks
  • Other items may need to be purchased, and clinical sites may add requirements at any time