MRI Technologist Training

MRI Tech Programs in Massachusetts

Every MRI technologist program a Massachusetts resident can attend, compared side by side, plus which Massachusetts health 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
$111K Avg. Salary
46 Affiliated Sites
12-18 mo Program Length
Starting at $11,500 Tuition
The path

How to become an MRI tech in Massachusetts

Five steps, the same in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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

    Massachusetts licenses radiologic technologists by category, and MRI is not one of the listed 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.

Your options

MRI programs available to Massachusetts residents

8 in-person or regional programs plus Tesla MR's hybrid option. 3 of them train 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
MCPHS (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences), Magnetic Resonance Imaging BS, Accelerated Track Boston, MA Fall start, year-round format with clinical internships; open to first-year and transfer applicants, no imaging credential required.
MRI direct
Bachelor of Science in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (BS), Accelerated TrackARRT (MR)
32 months
No
Online courses and in-person courses with clinical internships in Boston area medical facilities
Program total not published; MCPHS tuition page lists Boston undergraduate full-time tuition of $43,110 per academic year for 2026-2027, with a flat summer term rate of $19,370 for Medical Imaging and Therapeutics students taking 9 or more credits
MCPHS (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences), Magnetic Resonance Imaging BS, Fast Track Boston, MA Spring start; designed for associate or bachelor degree holders and transfer students; prerequisites include Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Calculus I, calculus-based Physics with lab.
MRI direct
Bachelor of Science in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (BS), Fast TrackARRT (MR)
16 months
No
Online courses and in-person courses with clinical internships in Boston area medical facilities
Program total not published; MCPHS tuition page lists Boston undergraduate full-time tuition of $43,110 per academic year for 2026-2027, with a flat summer term rate of $19,370 for Medical Imaging and Therapeutics students taking 9 or more credits
MCPHS (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences), Advanced Certificate in Magnetic Resonance Imaging Boston, MA (online program) Summer start; requires current ARRT, NMTCB or ARDMS certification, an associate or bachelor degree, and current CPR certification.
MRI after X-ray
Advanced Certificate in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (18 semester credit hours, 26 with clinical placement)ARRT (MR) post-primary
12 months, part-time, 3 semesters (summer, fall, spring)
Yes
Online; optional MRI clinical rotation at an MCPHS affiliated hospital offered to students in the New England region, or students find their own clinical site
$575 per credit for the online MRI Certificate, 2026-2027 academic year
Bunker Hill Community College, Medical Radiography Boston (Charlestown), MA JRCERT accredited (current award five years); fall start; application deadline February 12, 2027; mandatory information session and TEAS minimum 60% in each section.
X-ray first
A.S., Medical Imaging, Medical Radiography Option (full-time or part-time)ARRT (R)
Full-time 21 months; part-time 35 months
No
In-person with clinicals
Not published
Quinsigamond Community College, Radiologic Technology Worcester, MA JRCERT accredited (current award eight years); admits up to 20 students per year depending on clinical placements; fall start.
X-ray first
Associate in Science, Radiologic Technology (72 credits)ARRT (R)
7 semesters
No
Full-time day program, in-person with clinicals, about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days Monday to Friday
$227 per credit in-state, $433 per credit out-of-state/international (academic year not stated on the page)
Springfield Technical Community College, Radiologic Technology Springfield, MA JRCERT accredited; graduates eligible for the ARRT national certification exam.
X-ray first
Associate in Science in Diagnostic Medical Imaging, Radiologic TechnologyARRT (R)
21 months, including a 12 week summer clinical practicum
No
In-person with clinical practicum
Not published
Brown University Health School of Medical Imaging with Rhode Island College, MRI Program (neighboring state) Providence, RI JRCERT accredited MRI program (current award 8 years); application period December 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027; requires RIC enrollment or an associate degree or higher, GPA 2.7, TEAS 60.
MRI direct
Certificate from the School of Medical Imaging; MRI is a concentration of the Rhode Island College BS in Medical ImagingARRT (MR)
Five semesters
No
Combination of in-person, hybrid, and distance education components, with in-person assessments and clinical training
Tuition for degree holder applicants is $5,000 per semester for each of five semesters, paid to the School of Medical Imaging (academic year not stated); Rhode Island College student tuition not published on this page
University of Hartford, Certificate in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (neighboring state) West Hartford, CT Fall start, rolling admission; applicants must be certified and registered in radiography, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, or sonography and licensed in Connecticut.
MRI after X-ray
Certificate in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (21 credits)ARRT (MR) post-primary
10 months
Yes
Classroom instruction and clinical experience, evening classes
Not published

Verified against each program's own website between Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 21, 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 Massachusetts, and which ones are in our clinical network

Tesla MR has 46 affiliated clinical sites in Massachusetts. An affiliated site is a facility in our clinical network where students can be placed. The others are places MRI techs work in Massachusetts that we have not affiliated with yet.

Affiliated site Employer, not yet affiliated

Shields Health

Affiliated site
  • Anna Jaques Hospital MA
  • Baystate Franklin Hospital Greenfield
  • Baystate Health Springfield
  • Baystate Wing Hospital Palmer
  • Brighton Brighton
  • Brockton Brockton
  • +19 more locations

Atrius Health

Affiliated site
  • Atrius Health Boston
  • Boston Boston
  • Chelmsford Chelmsford
  • Concord Concord
  • Norwood Norwood
  • Plymouth Plymouth
  • +1 more locations

Rayus Radiology

Affiliated site
  • Chelmsford Chelmsford
  • Dedham Dedham
  • Haverhill Haverhill
  • Peabody Peabody
  • Springfield Springfield
  • Woburn Woburn

Beth Israel Deaconess Plymouth

Affiliated site
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Plymouth Plymouth

Beth Israel Lahey Health

Affiliated site
  • New England Baptist Hospital Boston

Emerson Hospital

Affiliated site
  • Emerson Hospital Concord

Longwood MRI Specialists

Affiliated site
  • Longwood MRI Specialists Brookline

Signature Healthcare

Affiliated site
  • Signature Healthcare Brockton

Plus 8 more imaging groups in the area.

Pulled from Tesla MR's site database on September 21, 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.

Deep network · Massachusetts

Massachusetts is one of our larger markets, with 46 affiliated sites across several health systems. Students here are typically placed within the existing network.

  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 Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health licenses radiologic technologists in set categories: general radiography, mammography, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, PET, radiologist assistant, CT, and nuclear medicine advanced associate. Magnetic resonance imaging is not among the categories on the state application 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

Massachusetts licenses radiologic technologists by category, and MRI is not one of the listed categories. Employers require ARRT (MR) or ARMRIT certification.

MRI technologist salary in Massachusetts

BLS reports a May 2025 median of $110,600 for MRI technologists in Massachusetts, with about 1,490 employed statewide (BLS OEWS, state estimates). The national median is $95,480. For comparison, Massachusetts radiologic technologists, which includes X-ray and CT, have a median of $103,620.

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.

Massachusetts MRI tech job market

Massachusetts has one of the strongest MRI job markets in the country, driven by:

1. Academic medical center density. Greater Boston has Mass General, Brigham and Women’s, Beth Israel Deaconess, Tufts Medical Center, Boston Children’s, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and more. Each operates multiple MRI scanners, often including high-field research magnets.

See our Boston MRI programs guide for a deeper look at the Boston-area job market and employer landscape.

2. Research imaging demand. Massachusetts’ concentration of medical research institutions creates demand beyond clinical care. Research MRI positions at places like the Athinoula A. Martinos Center at MGH or the neuroimaging labs at MIT require skilled technologists and often pay premium rates.

3. Aging New England population. The broader New England demographic trends toward older populations, driving increased demand for diagnostic imaging across the region.

The practical result: Massachusetts offers excellent career prospects for MRI technologists at all experience levels, with the Boston metro providing the most opportunities and highest compensation.

MRI programs by city in Massachusetts

Looking for MRI training in a specific Massachusetts city? See our detailed guides:

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. 2 of the Massachusetts programs in the table above take students with no imaging credential; their lengths are listed in the Length column. 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 Massachusetts median of $103,620 versus $110,600 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 Massachusetts the harder part is often getting a seat, since campus MRI cohorts are small and most admit once a year. Every path ends with a national registry exam, ARRT or ARMRIT.

Yes. MCPHS (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences), Magnetic Resonance Imaging BS, Accelerated Track and Tesla MR's hybrid certificate both accept students with no prior imaging credential. The post-primary certificates in the table require an existing ARRT, ARDMS, or NMTCB registry, so check the prior X-ray column 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 Massachusetts health systems are listed on this page.

MRI tech schools in nearby cities and states

Boston, MassachusettsSpringfield, Massachusetts10+Worcester, Massachusetts10+ConnecticutNew HampshireNew YorkRhode IslandVermont
Take the next step

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Join hundreds of students training at clinical sites across the country. No prerequisites, no application fee, rolling admissions.

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MRI Training in Massachusetts 12-18 months · No prerequisites
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