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Medical coding technician education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a medical coding technician. Medical coding technicians usually study health care administration, business, or computer information systems. 30% of medical coding technicians hold a associate degree, and 22% hold an bachelor's degree. We analyzed 1,953 real medical coding technician resumes to see exactly what medical coding technician education sections show.
The most common colleges for medical coding technicians are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online medical coding technician courses to help get the education required to be a medical coding technician.
There are certain medical coding technician certifications that you should consider. These medical coding technician certifications include Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) and Certified Coding Specialist (CCS).
What education do you need to become a medical coding technician?
What degree do you need to be a medical coding technician?
- Associate, 30%
- Bachelor's, 22%
- Diploma, 17%
- High School Diploma, 12%
- Other Degrees, 19%
What should I major in to become a medical coding technician?
Most common colleges for medical coding technicians
| Medical coding technician common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 16.48% |
| DeVry University | 8.79% |
| Ashford University | 5.49% |
| St. Petersburg College | 5.49% |
| Bryan College | 4.40% |
Best majors for medical coding technicians
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Health Care Administration | 41.4% |
| 2 | Business | 14.4% |
| 3 | Computer Information Systems | 5.7% |
| 4 | Nursing | 4.9% |
| 5 | Insurance | 4.6% |
Best colleges for medical coding technicians
The best colleges for medical coding technicians are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.
A medical coding technician 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 coding technicians. 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 coding technicians.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Enrollment
9,142
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
4. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
5. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$9,625
Enrollment
17,407
6. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
7. Maria College of Albany
Albany, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$15,140
Enrollment
876
8. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
In-state tuition
$14,760
Enrollment
31,451
9. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
10. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
20 best online courses for medical coding technicians
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1. 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...
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. Medical Coding: ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code Training
Learn medical coding and prepare yourself for today's healthcare workplace...
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5. 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...
6. Medical Terminology and the Human Body Fundamentals
In this Introduction to Medical Terminology and the Human Body course, you will learn about the medical language that is used to describe the human body. Throughout each Lesson, the roots of terms are explained to help students understand how medical terminology works in healthcare and to increase their knowledge and understanding of the material discussed. This course will provide you with a better understanding and working knowledge of medicine that is required for understanding of medical...
7. AMCI Introduction to Medical Coding (I2MC) Course
Introduction to Medical Coding (I2MC) Course...
8. Medical Coding CPC (Certified Professional Coder) Training
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9. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers
COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across the globe and all providers must be prepared to recognize, stabilize and treat patients with novel coronavirus infection. Following completion of this short course physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals will have a unified, evidenced-based approach to saving the lives of patients with COVID-19, including those who are critically ill. Learning modules are broken into short videos presented in a richly illustrated and compelling manner. The...
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11. Medical Terminology
Introduction to the meaning of various roots, terms and combining forms that are components of medical words...
12. Data Science for Healthcare Claims Data
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13. Understanding HIPAA for the Medical Office
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14. Introduction to Medical Imaging
Your guide to the history, science, math, and economics of medical imaging systems (e.g., X-ray, CT, MRI, Ultrasound)...
15. Medical Writing for Healthcare Professionals
Launch your scientific and medical writing career today. Learn from an experienced medical writer!...
16. Practical Regulatory Affairs 2020 - European Medical Devices
A practical course discussing the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) in real-world situations...
17. Medical Terminology 101
For those in healthcare, billing, and more. Boost earning ability and marketable skills by learning to speak medicine...
18. Medical Device Regulation 2017/745 EU regulatory affairs.
Understand regulations for medical devices in simple terms to gain market approval of a medical device in the EU...
19. Medical Devices Quality Management System - ISO 13485:2016
Awareness and Application for the requirements of ISO 13485:2016 for Medical Device Development and QMS...
20. Deep Learning with PyTorch for Medical Image Analysis
Learn how to use Pytorch-Lightning to solve real world medical imaging tasks!...
Top 10 most affordable universities for medical coding technicians
The most affordable schools for medical coding technicians are California State University - Bakersfield, suny farmingdale, and baruch college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for medical coding technicians 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 coding technicians.
1. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
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. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
5. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
6. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
7. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
8. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
9. Lehman College of the City University of New York
Bronx, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,210
Cost of attendance
14,359
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 coding technicians
The hardest universities for medical coding technicians to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Northwestern University.
Some great schools for medical coding technicians 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 coding technicians 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. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
6. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
7. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
8. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
9. Yale University
New Haven, CT • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,517
10. University of Rochester
Rochester, NY • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,422
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for medical coding technicians
The easiest schools for medical coding technicians to get into are D'Youville College, mount saint mary's university, and gwynedd mercy university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a medical coding technician 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 coding technicians.
1. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
2. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
3. Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,031
4. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
5. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
6. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
7. AdventHealth University
Orlando, FL • Private
Admissions rate
87%
SAT average
1,016
8. Presentation College
Aberdeen, SD • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,050
9. Ottawa University
Ottawa, KS • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,024
10. Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Standish, ME • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,069
Average medical coding technician salary by education level
| Medical coding technician education level | Medical coding technician salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $40,200 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $34,153 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $37,293 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $36,105 |
Medical coding technician education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common healthcare practitioner and technical questions.
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025