Health Professions

Profession

Radiologic Technology is a medical specialty that uses x-rays for diagnostic and research purposes. 

Highly simplified, a typical procedure would involve you to;

1. consult with the physician (Radiologist) as to the correct procedure for the patient;
2. educate the patient as to the procedure you will be performing on them,
3. position the patient for the most optimal image, and
4. acquire images of the patient.

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Some of the primary responsibilities for Radiologic Technologists are:

• Operating equipment used to produce medical images.
• Caring for the ill and injured.
• Positioning patients for diagnostic examinations.
• Calculating proper exposure factors.
• Processing images and assessing the diagnostic quality of the radiographs.
• Assisting the radiologist with fluoroscopic examinations, treatments with ionizing radiation, diagnostic testing, angiographic procedures, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and mammography.

To learn about the job outlook for Radiologic Technologists, please visit Employment Outlook

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) offers a Radiologic Science Major: Radiologic Technology Emphasis in which a student could earn a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree.

The student can accomplish this in two years of course work at UWL and a two-year internship at an affiliated hospital. The first two years at UWL are typically occupied with fulfilling general education requirements, as well as taking introductory prereq classes.  Further information is available in the Radiologic Technology advising guide Rad Tech Sample Schedule

Students typically apply for admission to the Radiologic Technology program in the middle of their sophomore year.  Once accepted, the student will begin their internship at UW Health in Madison, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, or Northcentral Technical College in Wausau.

UWL is academically affiliated with these hospital-based programs.

All Radiologic Technology programs are fully accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT). Upon successful completion of the student's internship at one of the programs, graduates are eligible to take certification examinations.  UWL graduates have done very well on these exams and have an excellent record of employment after graduation and certification.

Professional Licensure Disclosure

If you plan to apply for licensure in a state other than Wisconsin after completion of this program, you should refer to the Professional Licensure Disclosure website and contact the other state's appropriate licensing board to determine whether the UWL program meets licensure requirements in that state.

Admission to the program is on a competitive basis. The number of students admitted to the major is dependent on the number of clinical internship sites, their student capacity and the qualifications and competitiveness of the students. As a result, we encourage students to apply to all clinical partners. 

1. Students will apply for admission to the professional program in December, after having taken or registered for all general education and pre-professional requirements. 
2. Applicants are required to have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale and a grade of "C" or higher in all general education and pre-professional courses. Applicants are required to have a minimum pre-professional grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
3. Students must have a recent set of immunizations prior to admission to comply with hospital policy, this includes COVID-19.
4. Applicants are considered without regard to sex, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, disability, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, or parental status.
5. Students for whom English is a second language must earn a minimum score of 600 (paper-based), 250 (computer-based), or 100 (internet-based) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or a score of 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam within two years prior to application to the program.
6. Applications must be submitted in full by deadline to the school of radiologic technology.
7. After receiving applications, the clinical programs will contact applicants directly via email with instructions for submitting the application fee electronically.

Selection process 

The university will sponsor clinical interns each year as necessary.

The size of the program is limited by the clinical internships. Students must make formal application to the program during the fall semester to meet the Monday, December 2 deadline. Refer to the sample degree plan file. To be accepted to the program, the program maintains a selection committee composed of representatives from the university, healthcare community, and the clinical affiliates. The committee evaluates each application on the basis of the applicant’s past academic performance (a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 is required for admission into the professional program), their references, their interest in the healthcare field, their past work experience, and the results of a formal interview. Based on these factors, the applicants are ranked and accepted for entry into the professional program.

Acceptance is effective at the beginning of the fourth year and conditional upon successful completion of all courses in progress at the time of notification of acceptance. Selection is also conditional upon students’ compliance with state laws for caregivers including submission to a criminal background check. Students take the pre-professional core courses in La Crosse.

Students who successfully meet program requirements in the pre-professional core courses will interview with the clinical internship sites and upon selection by one of the sites will be placed for the clinical internship.  Students are encouraged to apply to all programs that are affiliated with UWL.

UW Health

UW Health will conduct a virtual Open House on Monday, October 28 from 3:30 to 4:30.  

Please refer to the UW Health Application Checklist to verify current requirements.

The UW Health application is available for download here.   Please complete a copy of the UWL Rad Tech course table and substitute the UWL course table for the course table found on page 3 of the UW Health application.

• You will need to list 3 references on the application and have each reference complete the UW Health Reference Form.
  • It is preferred that references come from both educational and employment sources. Personal references from relatives, friends and social acquaintances are not acceptable.
• You will need to document any previous health care experience you have had.
  • If you have worked as a CNA, you can include a copy of your certification.
• You will need to make a statement regarding your completion of a CPR course and include a copy of your card or state when you plan to become CPR certified.
  • This should be American Heart Association Health Care Provider CPR course or Red Cross equivalent
• Complete at least 4 hours of job shadowing and have the technologist you shadowed fill out the Verification of Job Shadow/Observation Experience Form
• You will include an autobiographical statement of 200 words or less describing why this field interests you. Include your qualifications for becoming a radiologic technologist.
  • The essay must be typed, double-spaced, signed and dated by the applicant to verify authenticity.
• Submit official transcripts of all post-secondary course work.
  • Official transcripts must be mailed from the college or university that issued them.
    • You’ll need to send an additional transcript after Fall 2024 semester grades are submitted and appear on your transcript.
• Submit the non-refundable $50 payment via the following link UW Health Payment
  • If you need assistance with application fees, please contact RadSci@uwlax.edu.

 Applications are due to Pete Amann (4033 HSC) by December 2.  

Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin

• Students may use the UW Health School of Radiologic Technology application and all components (job shadow verification, autobiographical statement, etc.) as their application to this program as well.
  • We will have this on file if you have also applied to UW Health, and you are encouraged to do so.
  • If you are using your UW Health application, there is no application fee.
  • Applications will be due to Pete Amann (4033 HSC) by December 2.
• For all applicants, there will be a mandatory in-person meeting at Froedtert in mid-February, prior to admissions interviews
• Students are encouraged to have health care work experience to enhance application, but CNA is not required.
  • Work experience can be CNA or other experiences.
• CPR is not required as it will be taken at the beginning of the program.

Northcentral Technical College

The application is available the Northcentral website.  Students planning on starting the core program courses in the Fall 2024 semester should select "Spring 2024" on their application.

Students are to submit unofficial transcripts for all post-secondary coursework when applying.  Once all post-secondary coursework is completed, with grades posted, students will be required to forward official transcripts.

Students gain acceptance through a petition process to be submitted in the spring.  Radiography Petition Process.

Students who have met all program petition requirements and have submitted a complete petition form during the designated petition window will be invited to take the Health Education Systems, Inc. (HESI) A2 Exam in the spring.

Radiologic technology affiliated clinical internship sites:

• University of Wisconsin Hospital, Madison, WI
• Northcentral Technical College in Wausau, WI
• Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI

Tuition and costs of professional education

While at the clinical internship, which spans two academic years, students will pay the base tuition rate to UWL, in addition to a “clinical experience fee” which will be assessed each semester in the program. These fees are a percentage of the base tuition rate and may fluctuate slightly and are approximately $7,000 per academic year. Additionally, students may have fees, assessed by the clinical internship program, which are associated with professional costs like textbooks, caregiver background checks, scrubs, etc.