MRI Technologist Training

MRI Tech Programs in Hawaii

Tesla MR's hybrid MRI program takes 12 to 18 months and needs no prior imaging credential: coursework is online, and our site team arranges your clinical training. Every other program a Hawaii resident can attend is compared below.

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

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MRI technologist student training at a clinical site
$119K Avg. Salary
9 Affiliated Sites
12-18 mo Program Length
Starting at $11,500 Tuition

Program at a glance

  • 12-18 month program
  • No prerequisites: a high school diploma or GED
  • 100% online coursework
  • Our site team handles clinical placement
  • Eligible to sit the ARMRIT exam on completion

Start your MRI career in Hawaii

No application fee. Rolling admissions year-round.

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Your options

MRI programs available to Hawaii residents

1 in-person or regional program plus Tesla MR's hybrid option. None of them train you in MRI directly without a prior X-ray credential; the local route is X-ray first, then MRI. 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
Kapi'olani Community College (University of Hawaii), Radiologic Technology Honolulu, HI JRCERT accredited (8 year award). Fall entry only; application period April 1 to May 31; best-qualified selective admission with priority to Hawaii residents. Hawaii Island and Maui cohorts listed as next expected Fall 2028. Cost figures from https://www.kapiolani.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/RAD-Admissions-and-Advising.pdf
X-ray first
Associate in Science in Radiologic Technology (85 to 89 credits)ARRT (R)
6 semesters after prerequisites (fall, spring and summer terms over 2 years), per the program's Admissions and Advising Sheet effective Fall 2024
No
Hybrid: all program courses delivered in hybrid format with at least 50% of content through the LMS, plus clinical education
Program estimate effective Fall 2024: Resident $15,998 total, Non-Resident $34,830 total, including prerequisites, fees and textbooks (tuition $131 per credit resident, $345 per credit non-resident); stated as estimated and subject to change

Verified against each program's own website between Sep 18, 2026 and Oct 9, 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.

The path

How to become an MRI tech in Hawaii

Five steps, the same in Hawaii 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 of the in-person programs in the table above do require one.

  2. Pick the credential you are aiming for

    Employers in Hawaii 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

    Hawaii licenses radiographers, radiation therapists and nuclear medicine technologists; MRI is not among the listed license categories. Employers require ARRT (MR) or ARMRIT certification. Once certified, you can apply to the hospital systems and imaging groups listed further down this page.

Where you would train and work

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

Tesla MR has 9 affiliated clinical sites in Hawaii. An affiliated site is a facility in our clinical network where students can be placed. The others are places MRI techs work in Hawaii that we have not affiliated with yet.

Affiliated site Employer, not yet affiliated

The Queen's Health Systems

Affiliated site
  • Molokai General Hospital Kaunakakai, HI
  • Queen's North Hawaii Community Hospital Kamuela, HI
  • The Queen's Health Systems Ewa Beach, HI
  • The Queen's Medical Center Honolulu, HI
  • The Queen's Medical Center – Kahi Mohala Ewa Beach, HI
  • The Queen's Medical Center – Wahiawa Wahiawa, HI
  • +1 more locations

Hawaii Diagnostic Radiology

Affiliated site
  • Hawaii Diagnostic Radiology Honolulu, HI

St. Francis

Affiliated site
  • St. Francis Honolulu, HI

HBMC

Employer, not yet affiliated
  • Hilo Benioff Medical Center Hilo, HI

Invision Imaging

Employer, not yet affiliated
  • Medical Arts Building #109 Honolulu, HI

Pulled from Tesla MR's site database on October 9, 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 · Hawaii

We have 9 affiliated sites in Hawaii. 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 technologist licensing in Hawaii

The Hawaii Department of Health’s Radiologic Technology Board publishes license applications for radiographers, radiation therapists, and nuclear medicine technologists under Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 466J. MRI technologists are not among the license categories listed on the Department’s forms page.

Employers set the credential requirement. Most postings ask for ARRT (MR) or ARMRIT, the two national MRI certifications, and both are valid in all 50 states.

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Key Takeaway

Hawaii licenses radiographers, radiation therapists and nuclear medicine technologists; MRI is not among the listed license categories. Employers require ARRT (MR) or ARMRIT certification.

MRI technologist salary in Hawaii

BLS reports a May 2025 median of $119,370 for MRI technologists in Hawaii, with about 140 employed statewide (BLS OEWS, state estimates). The national median is $95,480. For comparison, Hawaii radiologic technologists, which includes X-ray and CT, have a median of $101,700.

Entry-level pay sits below the median. Shift differentials, specialty work such as cardiac or breast MRI, and 3 to 5 years of experience push experienced technologists above it. See the MRI technologist salary guide and salary by state for the full breakdown.

Where MRI techs work in Hawaii

Major healthcare employers in Hawaii include The Queen’s Health System, Hawaii Pacific Health, Tripler Army Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Maui Health (Kaiser). These systems operate hospitals, outpatient imaging centers, and specialty clinics across the state.

Hawaii’s MRI market is constrained by its island geography, small workforce, and extreme cost of living that makes recruiting mainland technologists challenging. Tripler Army Medical Center, serving active-duty military and dependents, is one of the largest imaging facilities in the Pacific region. The state’s aging population and growing tourism industry drive steady demand for imaging services. Many facilities offer relocation assistance and housing stipends, and travel tech assignments in Hawaii command premium rates due to the high cost of living and isolated location.

More resources

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

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on the path. The X-ray-first route is a 2-year radiography degree followed by an MRI certificate, often about another year. We could not verify an MRI-specific campus program in Hawaii, so the local route starts with an X-ray degree. Tesla MR's hybrid certificate takes most students 12 to 18 months.

BLS does not break CT out separately; it reports radiologic technologists and technicians, which includes X-ray and CT, at a Hawaii median of $101,700 versus $119,370 for MRI technologists (May 2025). Nationally the figures are $80,110 and $95,480. MRI is the higher-paid modality in both sets of numbers.

The coursework is real: MRI physics, cross-sectional anatomy, pulse sequences, and safety around a magnet that is always on. Most students who put in steady weekly hours pass. In Hawaii the harder part is often finding a program at all, since we could not verify an MRI-specific campus program in the state. Every path ends with a national registry exam, ARRT or ARMRIT.

Not through a Hawaii campus program that we could verify; the in-state programs in the table are X-ray degrees. Tesla MR's hybrid certificate accepts students with no prior imaging credential and places clinicals at affiliated Hawaii sites. Check the prior X-ray column in the table above before you apply anywhere.

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 affiliated Hawaii health systems are listed on this page.

MRI tech schools in nearby cities and states

Washington
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MRI Training in Hawaii 12-18 months · No prerequisites
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