Compare accredited programs within 60 miles of Kerrville — tuition, formats, and career outcomes to help you choose the right fit.
Kerrville does not have its own accredited medical assistant program running today, which surprises many local students who assume the Peterson Health job market comes with a matching training pipeline right in town. It doesn't quite work that way.
Instead, Kerrville students typically build a training plan around commuting to San Antonio, Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, San Marcos, or Boerne, or pairing an online medical assistant course outline with a local clinical externship. That split between classroom flexibility and in-person requirements is the practical tension driving most decisions here: one of the biggest pros and cons of being a medical assistant is that a program forty minutes away with strong hospital ties can outperform a fully remote option that leaves you scrambling for a placement site.
Peterson Regional Medical Center anchors Kerrville healthcare as a 124-bed acute care hospital at 551 Hill Country Drive1 with more than 1,300 full-time employees across Peterson Health2 and 488 affiliated clinicians nearby.1 For a medical assistant student, that scale matters because one health system supplies many of the medical assistant externship and entry-level job opportunities in Kerr County.
Peterson Health is the largest healthcare employer in Kerr County2, and its footprint goes well beyond the main hospital. Students can gain exposure at the Community Care Clinic and Urgent Care on Junction Highway, the Medical Plaza and lab on Bandera Highway, the Surgery Center, the Pevehouse Ambulatory Care Center, and hospice and home care locations.3 The network also extends into Bandera, Comfort, and Fredericksburg.2 This range of settings lets medical assistant students practice clinical medical assistant duties and responsibilities such as front-office duties, rooming, vitals, phlebotomy, scheduling, referrals, and care coordination in real clinics rather than only in a classroom.
The growing retiree population in the Texas Hill Country is a second reason Kerrville makes sense. Older adults tend to need more frequent primary care and specialist visits, and medical assistants are often the first staff members patients see. That steady demand supports externship placements and job openings in family medicine, cardiology, orthopedics, women's health, and urgent care settings around Kerrville.
Texas does not require a state license for medical assistants, which lowers the barrier to entry. You can work as a medical assistant without certification, but employers can afford to be selective. National credentials such as CMA, RMA, or CCMA give Kerrville graduates a competitive edge for hospital-affiliated clinics and larger practices, especially when the local job market centers on one major health system.
Schreiner University is the only postsecondary institution located in Kerrville. It is a four-year university rather than a dedicated medical assistant school, so it is worth checking for allied health or prerequisite coursework, but most Kerrville students access Texas medical assistant programs at the certificate and associate levels about 60 miles southeast in the San Antonio metro corridor. That commute is doable for many students, and it usually opens up more program formats, schedules, and externship partners.
Yes, but with a major asterisk. The tension is flexibility versus hands-on requirements. Online medical assistant certificate Kerrville TX options can make the classroom portion easier, but the clinical externship still ties you to real healthcare sites in or near the Hill Country.
Schreiner University in Kerrville lists a Clinical Medical Assistant certificate online, typically running 4 to 6 months. Schreiner's program page lists $2,499 total tuition, and the university has said that cost includes 12 months of e-learning access, textbooks, workbooks, technical support, certification review, and exam registration coordination. The program prepares students for the NWCA Clinical Medical Assistant Certification and the NHA Certified Clinical Medical Assistant. For Kerrville residents, this is the most local online certificate option, but it still requires an in-person clinical component.
Other ranked programs follow the same pattern. University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio offers a hybrid certified clinical medical assistant certificate with 80 clinical hours and Saturday in-person classes. Southern Careers Institute lists a hybrid learning format with 178 clinical hours, and Pima Medical Institute lists a hybrid learning option. Fully online didactic coursework is available, but 100% remote completion is unlikely because medical assisting requires supervised patient interaction and hands-on skill checks.
Before enrolling, confirm the exact number of clinical hours and whether the program helps place you at a Kerrville-area clinic or a San Antonio corridor site. Some programs allow local clinical placement; others expect more commuting. Also verify whether online classes are live at set times or self-paced, because that affects how well the program fits your schedule.
If you work while training, ask directly about part-time pacing and evening availability. Program listings do not always show scheduling details, so request a sample weekly calendar. Accelerated certificate tracks can be efficient, but they may be harder to balance with a full-time job.
Is the Tivy High School Certified Medical Assistant program open to adults in Kerrville, or is it limited to enrolled high school students? Before you map out a commute to any campus, that is the first question to answer, because the closest program may not be the right fit if you are not eligible to enroll.
Start your commute planning by checking the Tivy High School website or the Kerrville Independent School District (KISD) career and technical education (CTE) page. Look for the Certified Medical Assistant program listing and confirm whether it is still active for the 2025-2026 school year or has been updated in the current KISD catalog. The listing should state whether enrollment is limited to high school students or open to community adults, and it may describe the class schedule, clinical expectations, and whether the program prepares students for a national certification exam.
Website details can lag behind real-world scheduling changes, so call or email the Tivy High School counseling office or CTE coordinator directly. Ask whether adult community members can apply, what the weekly time commitment looks like, and whether there are prerequisites, fees, or certification prep requirements that affect your commute. This direct step is especially important for Kerrville-area adults who may assume a local high school program is not an option.
While you are verifying the program, cross-check the certification path through the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for medical assistant job outlook and through the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) or the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) for current credentialing details. That way you can judge whether a program near Kerrville actually supports the certification you intend to pursue.
If Tivy High School or KISD confirms the program is only for enrolled students, ask the counseling or CTE staff for referrals to nearby adult education options, community college medical assistant training programs, or medical assistant trade schools. Then verify those options through their official websites or enrollment offices before committing to a longer drive. Many Kerrville-area students combine a manageable commute with online coursework, but the right distance depends on your actual eligibility and schedule, not just the school's proximity.
Driving to San Antonio for clinical labs several times weekly eats fuel, time, and energy. If that is not realistic, a hybrid or online-first program with local externship placement is worth prioritizing.
Certificates get you into an exam room faster and cheaper, while an associate degree can support future moves into billing, office management, or nursing prerequisites.
Many Kerrville clinics and hospitals prefer CMA or RMA credentialed hires, so confirm the program's accreditation actually makes you eligible before you enroll.
Local placements save on gas and lodging and build connections with hiring managers nearby, while travel-only externships add cost and logistics you should plan for early.
Costs for medical assistant training near Kerrville vary widely by credential and school type. The figures below come from school-reported program details and College Scorecard net price data, so some entries show a stated program cost while others use average net price, the amount students typically pay after grants and scholarships. Contact each school for current tuition and financial aid details because published figures can change from year to year.
| School | Program | Credential | Format | Length | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio College | Medical Assisting, A.A.S. | Associate degree | Campus | Not reported | In-district $5,542; out-of-district $9,952 |
| Pima Medical Institute-San Antonio | Medical Assistant Certificate Program | Certificate or Diploma | Campus (hybrid option available) | 9 months | Program tuition not reported; average net price $21,882 |
| University of the Incarnate Word | Certified Clinical Medical Assistant | Certificate | Hybrid | 16 weeks | Total program tuition $4,500 |
| The College of Health Care Professions-San Antonio | Medical Assistant | Associate degree | Campus (blended option available) | 36 weeks | Starts at $17,400 |
| Southern Careers Institute-San Antonio | Medical Assistant Certification and Training Program | Certificate or Diploma | Campus (hybrid format) | 9 months | Program tuition not reported; average net price $29,458 |
Does the accreditation status of a medical assistant program actually change which medical assistant certification exam you can take after graduation? The short answer is yes for several national credentials, and this is one of the most important details to confirm before you enroll in a Kerrville-area program.
CAAHEP and ABHES are the two main accrediting bodies for accredited medical assistant programs. Programmatic accreditation is different from a school's general regional or national accreditation. It reviews the specific medical assisting curriculum, clinical externship requirements, and faculty qualifications.
For the CMA (AAMA) credential, the standard education pathway requires graduation from a program accredited by either CAAHEP or ABHES.1 The AAMA also lists non-program pathways for some applicants, but the accredited program route is the most direct option for new students.2 The RMA (AMT) credential has its own eligibility routes, and published requirements do not make CAAHEP or ABHES accreditation a single fixed rule. The CCMA (NHA) credential typically requires completion of a high school diploma and a training program or work experience, but NHA does not state a Texas-specific requirement for CAAHEP or ABHES accreditation.
Texas does not require medical assistants to hold a state license, and certification is not the same as licensure.1 However, many Kerrville-area employers prefer or require a national credential before offering an interview. The credential you choose can affect which job listings you qualify for, so exam eligibility should be part of your school decision.
Before you commit, ask the school to confirm its current CAAHEP or ABHES status. If a program is not accredited, you may still complete training, but your path to CMA (AAMA) could require an alternative eligibility route. Check the certifying body's current rules and match them to the program's accrediting status.
Kerrville is not reported separately, so the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro is the closest official benchmark. While the metro median ($39,180) and Texas median ($39,520) are close, the national median is higher at $44,200. Kerrville's lower cost of living compared with San Antonio may stretch wages a bit further.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 12 percent job growth for medical assistants from 2024 to 2034, a rate much faster than average for all occupations. This translates to roughly 112,300 job openings each year nationwide, reflecting strong and consistent demand for trained professionals in this field.
Most medical assistant programs near Kerrville keep admissions straightforward, but you’ll need to line up a few documents before you can start clinical training.
Below are the top medical assistant programs serving Kerrville students, ranked by IPEDS completion data, accreditation status, and program fit.
San Antonio, TX · $23,000/yr
Best for: Working adults needing Saturday sessions
University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio is about 60 miles southeast of Kerrville and is a practical option for Hill Country students who can drive in for Saturday sessions. The university offers two distinct continuing education paths: a clinical medical assistant certificate and a separate medical administrative assistant certificate. Across the institution, the graduation rate is about 51%.
San Antonio, TX · $25,000 – $30,000/yr
Best for: Hands-on learners wanting blended clinical training
The College of Health Care Professions San Antonio campus is roughly 60 miles southeast of Kerrville. Its medical assistant training takes about 36 weeks and combines classroom work with a clinical externship, with credits that can transfer toward an associate degree. The institution reports a graduation rate of about 64%.
San Antonio, TX · $22,000/yr
Best for: Externship-focused learners wanting patient experience
Pima Medical Institute San Antonio is a hands-on option about 55 miles southeast of Kerrville. The nine-month medical assistant certificate includes lab work, phlebotomy, and a clinical externship with real patients. The institution-wide graduation rate is about 57%.
San Antonio, TX · $29,000/yr
Southern Careers Institute San Antonio offers a nine-month medical assistant program with 320 hours of lab training and a 178-hour externship. The campus is about 60 miles southeast of Kerrville, and the program prepares students for six career certifications, including CCMA and CMAA. The institution reports a graduation rate of about 61%.
San Antonio, TX · $5,000/yr (net price)
San Antonio College, part of the Alamo Colleges District, is a public two-year option about 60 miles southeast of Kerrville. It offers an Associate of Applied Science in Medical Assisting and a Level II certificate, with CAAHEP-accredited training and limited fall-entry cohorts of 24 students. Across the institution, the graduation rate is about 26%.
Below are answers to common questions about medical assistant schools near Kerrville. Use them as a starting point, and verify clinical placement, tuition, and exam eligibility directly with each program before applying.
Yes, but only at the high school level. Tivy High School in Kerrville launched a Certified Medical Assistant program for students in Fall 20231. As of 2026, no adult career school or college-based program physically located in Kerrville was found. Nearby schools within about 60 miles may offer commuting or hybrid options.
The time to become a medical assistant varies by credential and program format. Certificate programs can take as little as 18 weeks at Kilgore College3 or 6 to 7 months at Austin Community College2. Associate degree programs may take up to 2 years at schools such as Dallas College4 or Houston Community College5. Texas does not require certification to work as a medical assistant6, so program length often depends on employer and personal goals.
No Kerrville-specific published tuition was found, so the cheapest path may be a low-cost community college or workforce program within commuting range. Across Texas, examples include $1,950 at Academy of Allied Health7, $2,000 at Kilgore College including the certification exam3, and $2,995 or less at CALRegional8. Ask about fees, books, and exam costs before comparing.
It depends on the program. Some Texas MA programs include required medical assistant externship opportunities, but published sources do not confirm whether a Kerrville student can complete that externship locally or must travel to San Antonio. Contact the program's clinical coordinator before enrolling to ask where externship sites are typically arranged and whether local placement is possible.
After completing a medical assistant program in Texas, you may be eligible to sit for national credentials such as CMA (AAMA)9, CCMA (NHA)3, or CMAC (CALRegional)8, depending on your program's exam preparation. Some schools award a certificate of completion that is separate from national certification. Texas does not require certification to work, but many employers prefer it.
