MRI technologist training

MRI Tech Programs in New Jersey

8 in-person or regional programs plus Tesla MR's hybrid option, compared side by side below. 2 local programs and Tesla MR admit you without a prior X-ray credential.

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

MRI technologist student training at a clinical site
$104K Avg. Salary
0 Affiliated Sites
12-18 mo Program Length
Starting at $11,500 Tuition
Your options

MRI programs available to New Jersey residents

8 in-person or regional programs plus Tesla MR's hybrid option. 2 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
AIMS Education (MRI Technologist) Piscataway, NJ ARMRIT accredited, ARRT approved, ABHES institutional accreditation; requires college algebra plus 30 college credits or 1 year of patient care experience; starts listed for January and August 2027
MRI direct
Associate of Applied Science in MRI Technology (66 credit hours, 1,000 clinical hours)ARRT (MR) or ARMRIT
24 months (6 semesters)
No
Hybrid: online lectures, in-person lab and clinical training
Not published
AMG Medical Institute (MRI Technologist) Bloomfield, NJ Page says prerequisites are built in; start dates listed for September 2026 and January 2027
MRI direct
Credential type not stated (1,800 hours: 800 didactic, 1,000 clinical and lab)Not stated
About 18 months (5 terms)
No
In-person: on-campus lectures and lab, plus clinical hours
Not published
North Jersey Imaging Academy (Passaic County Community College), MRI Paterson, NJ Requires ARRT certification in a primary modality and a current NJ DEP license; next MRI lecture listed for spring 2027
MRI after X-ray
Certificate courses: MRI Lecture plus MRI ClinicalARRT (MR) post-primary
Not stated
Yes
Lecture live online in the evening; clinical in person at affiliates on day, evening and weekend hours
MRI Lecture $1,000 and MRI Clinical $1,000, subject to change (academic year not stated)
Rowan College at Burlington County (MRI Certificate) Mount Laurel, NJ Requires ARRT (R) or (T), NMTCB or ARDMS; fall start; applications April 1 through June 15
MRI after X-ray
Certificate in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (20 credits)ARRT (MR) post-primary
Not stated
Yes
Hybrid coursework with in-person clinicals
Program total not published; Health Sciences tuition listed at $258.50 per credit for county residents and $277.50 out of county, plus course fees (academic year not stated)
Rowan College of South Jersey, Cumberland (MRI Technologist) Vineland, NJ Must have graduated from an accredited radiography program and passed the ARRT exam
MRI after X-ray
Non-credit certificate of completion (approved for 69 ARRT CE credits)ARRT (MR) post-primary
6-month full-time program (6 to 9 months time commitment)
Yes
Live online once a week, plus at least 16 hours a week at a clinical site
Not published
Bergen Community College (Radiography) Paramus, NJ JRCERT accredited
X-ray first
Health Professions AAS, RadiographyARRT (R)
24 months
No
In-person classroom, laboratory and off-site clinical education (about 1,700 clinical hours)
2026-2027: $169.45 per credit for Bergen County residents, $348.05 out of county, plus $47.05 per credit in fees
Middlesex College (Radiography) Edison, NJ JRCERT accredited; selective admission (2.75 minimum GPA, TEAS); starts in July
X-ray first
AAS in Radiography (71 credits)ARRT (R)
Two years (4 semesters plus summer sessions)
No
In-person coursework, laboratory practice and clinical externships
Effective summer 2026: $218.50 per credit for Middlesex County residents including fees, $228.50 out of county
Brookdale Community College (Radiologic Technology) Lincroft, NJ JRCERT accredited and approved by the NJ Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners; fall start
X-ray first
Radiologic Technology AAS (71 credits)ARRT (R)
Two years full time (4 semesters plus summer terms)
No
In-person, full time: 35 to 40 hours a week of classroom, lab and clinical
2026-27: $253.75 per credit including fees for Monmouth County residents, $332.75 out of county

Verified against each program's own website between Sep 18, 2026 and Nov 5, 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 New Jersey

Five steps, the same in New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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

    New Jersey 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.

Where you would train and work

MRI employers in New Jersey, and which ones are in our clinical network

We are still building our network in New Jersey. An affiliated site is a facility in our clinical network where students can be placed. The others are places MRI techs work in New Jersey that we have not affiliated with yet.

Affiliated site Employer, not yet affiliated

We have not mapped New Jersey employers yet. Tell us where you live and our site team will do it for your application.

Pulled from Tesla MR's site database on November 5, 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.

Growing here · New Jersey

We are still building our network in New Jersey. If you apply, the site team maps your area first and tells you what to expect before you commit.

  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 New Jersey

New Jersey does not license MRI technologists. The NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s radiologic technology FAQ asks whether a license is needed to perform ultrasound or MRI procedures in New Jersey and answers no, and MRI is not among the license types the DEP lists. X-ray technologists do need a state license, which is why New Jersey’s post-primary MRI courses ask for one.

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

New Jersey does not license MRI technologists. Employers require ARRT (MR) or ARMRIT certification.

MRI technologist salary in New Jersey

BLS reports a May 2025 median of $103,930 for MRI technologists in New Jersey, with about 1,250 employed statewide (BLS OEWS, state estimates). The national median is $95,480. For comparison, New Jersey radiologic technologists, which includes X-ray and CT, have a median of $95,000.

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 New Jersey

Major healthcare employers in New Jersey include RWJBarnabas Health, Hackensack Meridian Health, Atlantic Health System, Virtua Health, Cooper University Health Care, CentraState Healthcare System. These systems operate hospitals, outpatient imaging centers, and specialty clinics across the state. The state’s position between the New York City and Philadelphia labor markets creates intense competition for qualified technologists, driving salaries above the national median. RWJBarnabas Health and Hackensack Meridian Health are the dominant systems, each operating numerous imaging centers across the densely populated state. New Jersey’s high population density means MRI facilities are closely spaced, giving technologists significant job mobility.


More resources

ARMRIT Accredited Nationally recognized certification
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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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey median of $95,000 versus $103,930 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 New Jersey 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. AIMS Education (MRI Technologist) 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.

Two accreditors matter. ARMRIT's Commission on Accreditation lists AIMS Education in Piscataway with full accreditation and AMG Medical Institute in Bloomfield with provisional accreditation (armrit.org, September 2026); Tesla MR holds full ARMRIT accreditation through September 2031. JRCERT accredits radiography degrees, which is the X-ray-first route. The post-primary MRI certificates at the county colleges prepare you for the ARRT (MR) exam and rely on the college's regional accreditation.

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 New Jersey health systems are listed on this page.

MRI tech schools in nearby cities and states

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