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Medical billing and coding externship education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
5 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a medical billing and coding externship. Medical billing and coding externships usually study health care administration, insurance, or business. 43% of medical billing and coding externships hold a diploma, and 23% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 6,101 real medical billing and coding externship resumes to see exactly what medical billing and coding externship education sections show.
The most common colleges for medical billing and coding externships are the Remington College and the Remington College.
There are also many online medical billing and coding externship courses to help get the education required to be a medical billing and coding externship.
There are certain medical billing and coding externship certifications that you should consider. These medical billing and coding externship certifications include Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) and Medical Assistant.
What education do you need to become a medical billing and coding externship?
What degree do you need to be a medical billing and coding externship?
- Diploma, 43%
- Associate, 23%
- Bachelor's, 8%
- High School Diploma, 5%
- Other Degrees, 21%
What should I major in to become a medical billing and coding externship?
Most common colleges for medical billing and coding externships
| Medical billing and coding externship common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Remington College | 21.40% |
| Everest University - South Orlando | 13.02% |
| Florida Technical College | 12.33% |
| Concorde Career College | 7.21% |
| Brown University | 6.05% |
Best majors for medical billing and coding externships
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Health Care Administration | 51.9% |
| 2 | Insurance | 19.3% |
| 3 | Business | 6.3% |
| 4 | Health/Medical Preparatory Programs | 5.0% |
| 5 | Medical Assisting Services | 2.9% |
Best colleges for medical billing and coding externships
The best colleges for medical billing and coding externships are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard University.
A medical billing and coding externship with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for medical billing and coding externships. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become medical billing and coding externships.
1. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
2. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$10,726
Enrollment
45,769
3. Baylor University
Waco, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$45,542
Enrollment
14,159
4. Temple University
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$16,970
Enrollment
28,965
5. Ball State University
Muncie, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,896
Enrollment
15,529
6. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
7. Butler University
Indianapolis, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$41,120
Enrollment
4,553
8. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
10. Washington State University
Pullman, WA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,584
Enrollment
25,675
20 best online courses for medical billing and coding externships
Advertising disclosure
1. Medical Billing and Coding Fundamentals
Through this Specialization, students learn the essential skills of an Insurance Billing Specialist. Knowledge of human anatomy and medicine is necessary for any healthcare role, so students are also taught this terminology and structure. Additionally, this Specialization includes skills to stand out to employers by teaching professionalism, communication, and soft skills specific to an allied health environment...
2. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...
3. ICD 10 & 11 Medical Coding and Billing
Preparation for Medical Coding Certification Exam...
4. Medical Coding: ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Training
Learn medical coding and prepare yourself for today's healthcare workplace...
5. Medical Emergencies: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) assess a basic medical patient 2) describe general pharmacologic principles and the skills associated with medication administration, 3) explain airway physiology, the assessment of the airway and available interventions for airway management, 4) identify, assess and formulate a plan to stabilize a patient with a...
6. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
7. AMCI Introduction to Medical Coding (I2MC) Course
Introduction to Medical Coding (I2MC) Course...
8. A Specialty Approach to Learning Medical Billing and Coding
Volume One: Medical Hematology...
9. Patient Safety
Preventable patient harms, including medical errors and healthcare-associated complications, are a global public health threat. Moreover, patients frequently do not receive treatments and interventions known to improve their outcomes. These shortcomings typically result not from individual clinicians’ mistakes, but from systemic problems -- communication breakdowns, poor teamwork, and poorly designed care processes, to name a few.\n\nThe Patient Safety & Quality Leadership Specialization covers...
10. Medical Terminology
This specialization is intended for anybody that is interested in developing skills in medical language or preparing for further studies in the medical field. Learners will be able to identify common prefixes, suffixes, roots and abbreviations so they can recognize most medical terms used by medical professionals. Learners will also have an understanding of the structure of an electronic health record and extract vital information from it. Moreover, learners will gain basic knowledge of the...
11. Medical coding for U.S. healthcare industry
Jump start your career in the fastest growing career choice in the healthcare industry...
12. Speak Medical Spanish to Your Patients and Clients
Spanish essentials for healthcare; program teaches correct pronunciation, pain management and medication, among others...
13. Medical Coding CPC (Certified Professional Coder) Training
ICD 10, CPT, HCPCS, Rules and Regulations...
14. Data Science for Healthcare Claims Data
Learn and practice how to transform raw healthcare claims data into valuable knowledge and actionable insights!...
15. Medical Terminology 101
For those in healthcare, billing, and more. Boost earning ability and marketable skills by learning to speak medicine...
16. Understanding HIPAA for the Medical Office
A healthcare professional's guide to understanding the requirements HIPAA...
17. Medical Terminology
Introduction to the meaning of various roots, terms and combining forms that are components of medical words...
18. Medical Devices Quality Management System - ISO 13485:2016
Awareness and Application for the requirements of ISO 13485:2016 for Medical Device Development and QMS...
19. Medical Writing for Healthcare Professionals
Launch your scientific and medical writing career today. Learn from an experienced medical writer!...
20. Introduction to Medical Imaging
Your guide to the history, science, math, and economics of medical imaging systems (e.g., X-ray, CT, MRI, Ultrasound)...
Top 10 most affordable universities for medical billing and coding externships
The most affordable schools for medical billing and coding externships are Hunter College of the City University of New York, california state university - bakersfield, and baruch college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for medical billing and coding externships are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for medical billing and coding externships.
1. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
2. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
3. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
4. Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$4,831
Cost of attendance
19,559
5. Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences
Memphis, TN • Private
In-state tuition
$11,900
Cost of attendance
21,002
6. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$8,987
Cost of attendance
25,527
7. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
8. University of Colorado Denver
Denver, CO • Private
In-state tuition
$9,283
Cost of attendance
22,243
9. Augusta University
Augusta, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$8,604
Cost of attendance
20,618
10. Clayton State University
Morrow, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$5,419
Cost of attendance
17,697
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for medical billing and coding externships
The hardest universities for medical billing and coding externships to get into are Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard University.
Some great schools for medical billing and coding externships are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for medical billing and coding externships based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
4. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
5. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
6. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
7. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,456
8. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
Admissions rate
26%
SAT average
1,427
9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
Admissions rate
23%
SAT average
1,434
10. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for medical billing and coding externships
The easiest schools for medical billing and coding externships to get into are Mount Saint Mary's University, adventhealth university, and notre dame de namur university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a medical billing and coding externship without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for medical billing and coding externships.
1. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
2. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
3. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
4. Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,139
5. Pennsylvania State University - DuBois
DuBois, PA • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,079
6. Fresno Pacific University
Fresno, CA • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,053
7. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
8. Life University
Marietta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
94%
SAT average
979
9. University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, IN • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,062
10. Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Standish, ME • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,069
Average medical billing and coding externship salary by education level
| Medical billing and coding externship education level | Medical billing and coding externship salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $41,569 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $36,527 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $38,758 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $36,664 |
Medical billing and coding externship education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025