MRI Technologist Training

MRI Tech Programs in Charlotte

Every MRI technologist program a Charlotte resident can attend, compared side by side, plus which Charlotte hospital systems are in Tesla MR's clinical network and exactly how placement works.

Comparing programs nationally? See MRI tech school formats, costs, and certification paths. Checking accreditation? See every accredited MRI tech certification program.

View Program Details Compare every program near you
MRI technologist student training at a clinical site
$80K Avg. Salary
15 Affiliated Sites
12-18 mo Program Length
Starting at $11,500 Tuition
The path

How to become an MRI tech in Charlotte

Five steps, the same in North Carolina as anywhere else. Where you do step four is what changes by city.

  1. Confirm you are eligible

    A high school diploma or GED is the floor. You do not need a prior X-ray, radiography, or healthcare credential for the ARMRIT route. Some in-person programs below do require one, so check the table.

  2. Pick the credential you are aiming for

    Employers in Charlotte hire both ARRT (MR) and ARMRIT technologists. ARRT usually means a two-year degree or a prior radiography license. ARMRIT is the certificate route for career changers.

  3. Choose a program format that fits your life

    Full-time campus programs are faster if you can stop working. Hybrid programs put the coursework online and the clinical hours at a facility near you, which is how most working adults finish.

  4. Complete supervised clinical hours

    Every path ends at a scanner. Clinical training is the part that depends on local capacity, so ask any program how placement works before you enroll. Ours is explained below.

  5. Pass the registry exam and get hired

    North Carolina does not license MRI technologists; employers require ARRT (MR) or ARMRIT certification. Once certified, you can apply to the hospital systems and imaging groups listed further down this page.

Your options

MRI programs available to Charlotte residents

6 in-person or regional programs plus Tesla MR's hybrid option. Only one of them trains you in MRI directly without a prior X-ray credential. Facts come from each school's published pages. Confirm with the school before you apply.

Published cost is what each school states on its own site. Some schools publish tuition only; others include fees, books, or uniforms; public colleges often distinguish in-district from out-of-district rates. Each row says which. For the national list with accreditor and entry requirement for every program, see accredited MRI tech certification programs.

Program Path Credential Length Prior X-ray? Format Published cost
Tesla MR Online coursework, clinicals near you
MRI direct
Certificate (ARMRIT exam eligibility)ARMRIT
12 to 18 months
No
Hybrid: online lectures, in-person clinicals
$11,500 to $13,400 by payment plan
Forsyth Technical Community College Winston-Salem, NC (about 80 mi) Selective admission ranked on GPA, TEAS score, and healthcare experience
MRI direct
AAS in Magnetic Resonance ImagingARRT (MR)
2 years, day classes
No
In-person; evening and weekend clinical rotations required
About $6,645 in-state total (tuition, fees, books, uniforms)
Cabarrus College of Health Sciences Concord, NC Requires an active ARRT registry in a primary imaging science
MRI after X-ray
Advanced Specialty Certificate in MRIARRT (MR) post-primary
2 semesters (32 weeks)
Yes
Clinicals scheduled by faculty at affiliated sites, including evenings and weekends
$10,213 tuition and fees plus $750 books
Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC (about 160 mi) Requires ARRT, NMTCB, or ARDMS registry or eligibility
MRI after X-ray
MRI Diploma (45 credits)ARRT (MR)
45-credit diploma, day or evening
Yes
Hybrid classroom and online; clinical sites up to 45 miles from campus
$3,420 in-state tuition plus fees, books, and exam
Carolinas College of Health Sciences (Atrium Health) Charlotte, NC No standalone MRI program
X-ray first
AAS in Radiologic Technology (X-ray)ARRT (R); MRI later via a post-primary certificate
5 semesters, 72 credits
No
In-person; 1,150+ clinical hours at Atrium Health facilities
Not published on the program page
Novant Health Presbyterian School of Radiologic Technology Charlotte, NC Next class starts July 2027; applications Oct 2026 to Jan 2027
X-ray first
Certificate in Radiography (X-ray)ARRT (R); MRI is an introductory rotation only
22 months, full-time
No
In-person; 2 class days and 3 clinical days per week
$6,310 tuition and fees plus about $1,200 books and uniforms
Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC New program, first cohort fall 2025; no MRI program
X-ray first
AAS in Radiography (X-ray)National radiography certification
About 2 years
No
In-person at Central Campus; clinicals at partner sites
Not published

Verified against each program's own website between Sep 2, 2026 and Sep 14, 2026. Tuition, length, and admission rules change; the school's page is the authority. Tesla MR is not a degree-granting institution and does not participate in federal financial aid. See accreditation. The schools named here are not affiliated with Tesla MR and do not endorse it; their names belong to their owners. Spot an error? Email info@teslamr.com and we will review it within 10 business days.

Where you would train and work

MRI employers in Charlotte, and which ones are in our clinical network

Tesla MR has 15 affiliated clinical sites in the Charlotte area. An affiliated site is a facility in our clinical network where students can be placed. The others are places MRI techs work in Charlotte that we have not affiliated with yet.

Affiliated site Employer, not yet affiliated

Atrium Health

Affiliated site
  • Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte
  • Cabarrus Concord
  • Cabarrus Imaging Concord
  • Huntersville Huntersville
  • Imaging Center Kenilworth Charlotte
  • Imaging Center Morehead Charlotte
  • +7 more locations

OrthoCarolina

Affiliated site
  • OrthoCarolina Ballantyne Charlotte
  • OrthoCarolina Spine Center Charlotte
  • OrthoCarolina Concord Concord
  • OrthoCarolina Gastonia Gastonia
  • OrthoCarolina Huntersville Huntersville
  • OrthoCarolina Matthews Matthews
  • +2 more locations

Charlotte Radiology

Employer, not yet affiliated
  • Carolinas Imaging Services - Ballantyne Charlotte
  • Carolinas Imaging Services - Concord Concord
  • Carolinas Imaging Services - Huntersville Huntersville
  • Carolinas Imaging Services - Indian Trail Indian Trail
  • Carolinas Imaging Services - SouthPark Charlotte

Duke Health

Employer, not yet affiliated
  • Lake Norman Hospital Imaging Mooresville
  • Lake Norman Imaging Mooresville

Novant Health

Employer, not yet affiliated
  • Presbyterian Medical Center Charlotte

Pulled from Tesla MR's site database on September 14, 2026. Affiliations are added and change over time; the assessment you receive during admissions is the one that applies to you.

Clinical placement

How clinical placement works

Our Clinical Sites team leads placement. You are not expected to find or negotiate your own clinical site. We look for a facility within a reasonable commute of your home and widen the search only if we need to.

Timing depends on facilities having capacity when you reach clinicals. If your area is thin, we tell you during admissions, not after you enroll, and we talk through the options with you.

Established network · Charlotte

We have 15 affiliated sites in the Charlotte area. Most students here are placed within that network, and the site team adds facilities as students need them.

  1. We look at your area during admissions

    If you already have a facility in mind, maybe where you work, we reach out and see whether you can train there. If not, our site team maps the hospitals and imaging centers near your home and starts the conversation.

  2. You get a straight answer before you enroll

    Clinicals are still months away at this point, so a site's answer is usually "we expect so, check back closer to the date." We tell you what we heard and what it means for your timeline.

  3. You start the coursework while the site work continues

    Most students begin Phase I and Phase II before a specific facility is named. That is normal, and the site team keeps working your area in the background.

  4. Your site is confirmed as clinicals approach

    Once clinicals are weeks away rather than months, facilities can commit to dates. We work to have your placement set before Phase III begins. Which facility and which shift depends on who has capacity at that time.

MRI licensing in North Carolina

North Carolina does not require a state license for MRI technologists. The North Carolina Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Board of Examiners oversees radiologic technologists, but MRI is exempt because it does not use ionizing radiation. Charlotte employers, including Atrium Health and Novant Health, post MRI roles that accept ARRT (MR) or ARMRIT certification; read the individual posting, because some hospital roles still ask for ARRT.

What MRI techs earn in Charlotte

The BLS reports a median of about $80K for MRI technologists in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro (OEWS, May 2025). Entry-level pay sits below that, with shift differentials and specialty work pushing experienced techs above it. See the MRI technologist salary guide for the full breakdown by state.

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Key Takeaway

A site count on a web page is not the number that matters. What matters is what the site team finds when it looks at your specific location, and that happens during admissions, before you commit.

ARMRIT Accredited Nationally recognized certification
334+ Clinical Sites Partner network in 38 states
Starting at $11,500 Payment plans available

Frequently Asked Questions

Our Clinical Sites team leads placement. You are not expected to secure your own site. If you know a facility, you can propose it, but we review it, confirm capacity, sign the agreement, and approve it.

The site team keeps working your area, looks at nearby facilities and any leads you bring us, and talks through the options with you, which can include a farther site or adjusting your timeline. Placement timing depends on facilities having capacity, so we give you our read on your area during admissions rather than after you enroll.

Each student is matched to a facility with capacity for their dates. If one facility cannot take everyone, the site team works the other affiliated sites listed on this page and adds new ones as needed.

Yes. The ARMRIT route does not require a prior radiography credential. Several in-person programs in the comparison table do, so check that column before you apply anywhere.

Explore more MRI programs

Fayetteville, North Carolina3+North Carolina$85K
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