| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Private nonprofit health-careers college; blended programs (online theory, on-campus labs) and one fully online bachelor’s |
| Campus | 1, in Los Angeles, California |
| Credentials | Five associate degrees (AAS), an online Bachelor of Science in Health Science and a Master of Occupational Therapy |
| Typical length | 77 weeks (seven 11-week modules) for most associate degrees; 66 weeks for MRI; 101 weeks for the master’s |
| Accreditation | ABHES (institutional) since 2015, plus CAAHEP, CAPTE, ACOTE and ABHES for individual programs |
| Federal aid | Yes: Pell Grants and federal loans, plus Cal Grant |
| 2026-27 cost | $43,774.79 to $64,619.89 in total for the associate degrees (terms starting 5 October 2026); one price for all students |
| Founded | 1982 in Los Angeles; run by Community Based Education and Development, Inc., a California nonprofit |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
CBD College: a nonprofit health-careers college in Los Angeles
CBD College is the trading name of Community Based Education and Development, Inc., a California nonprofit public-benefit corporation. It began in Los Angeles in 1982, received California course approval in 1994 and moved to its current building on Wilshire Boulevard in December 2012. It trains only for health careers: five associate degrees in imaging, surgical technology and therapy assisting, an online Health Science bachelor’s for students who already hold a healthcare associate degree, and a Master of Occupational Therapy that started in January 2025. Except for the bachelor’s, every program is blended, with theory online and labs and clinicals in person. The Pharmacy Technician and Medical Assistant diplomas, the Dental Assistant program and the Health Information Technology degree are no longer offered.
Seven programs, all in health care
The college’s 2026-27 catalog lists seven programs. All modules last 11 weeks.
| Program | Credential | Length | Delivery | Prepares for | Programmatic accreditation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic Medical Sonography | AAS, 120 quarter credits | 77 weeks | Blended; day or evening | ARDMS RDMS (abdomen) | CAAHEP |
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) | AAS, 90 quarter credits | 66 weeks | Blended | ARRT MR (primary pathway) | None (institutional ABHES only) |
| Surgical Technology | AAS, 91 quarter credits | 77 weeks | Blended; day or evening | NBSTSA CST | ABHES |
| Physical Therapist Assistant | AAS, 101.5 quarter credits | 77 weeks; starts Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct | Blended; evening classes available | National PTA exam plus California’s Jurisprudence Assessment Module | CAPTE |
| Occupational Therapy Assistant | AAS, 113 quarter credits | 77 weeks | Blended | NBCOT COTA | ACOTE |
| Master of Occupational Therapy | MOT, 114 quarter credits | 101 weeks | Blended | NBCOT OTR, once the program is accredited | ACOTE preaccreditation only |
| Health Science | BS (degree completion), 90 quarter credits | 77 weeks | Fully online, approved states only | No licence | None (institutional ABHES only) |
Sonography is accredited by CAAHEP, Physical Therapist Assistant by CAPTE, Occupational Therapy Assistant by ACOTE and Surgical Technology by ABHES, according to the college’s consumer disclosures. The MRI degree has no programmatic accreditation, and the Master of Occupational Therapy holds only ACOTE preaccreditation, which means it is not yet accredited.
What the main programs cover
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
The sonography degree runs seven 11-week modules. Theory is online and scanning labs are on campus, with up to 30 students on each morning or afternoon lab shift, and students can choose a day or evening schedule. Coursework covers the abdomen, small parts, obstetrics and gynecology, and vascular scanning; there is no echocardiography. Modules 6 and 7 are Clinical Practicum I and II at outside facilities. Applicants follow an extra admission procedure on top of the college’s general requirements.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
The MRI degree is six 11-week modules (90 quarter credits) in a blended format, with Clinical I, II and III placed in modules 4 to 6. It follows the ARRT’s primary pathway to the MR registry exam. Unlike the sonography, PTA, OTA and surgical technology programs, it has no programmatic accreditation; it is covered only by the college’s institutional ABHES accreditation. MRI graduates who continue into the online Health Science bachelor’s can receive the Signal Boost Scholarship.
Physical Therapist Assistant
The PTA degree is 101.5 quarter credits over seven 11-week modules, blended, with evening classes available. Classes start four times a year, in January, April, July and October, with up to 42 students in each start. The program includes full-time clinical rotations. It prepares graduates for the national PTA exam set by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy and for California’s Jurisprudence Assessment Module. PTA applicants follow an extra admission procedure.
Surgical Technology
Surgical Technology became an associate degree in 2022-23, replacing an earlier diploma. The AAS runs seven 11-week modules (91 quarter credits), with day or evening classes and practice in mock operating rooms on campus. Modules 6 and 7 are an externship at Los Angeles-area hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. Graduates are prepared for the Certified Surgical Technologist exam from the NBSTSA, which gave the program a merit award in 2013 for a pass rate of 90% or more, according to the college.
Occupational therapy: assistant degree and master’s
The Occupational Therapy Assistant AAS is 113 quarter credits over seven 11-week modules, blended, with fieldwork placements, and leads to the NBCOT exam for certified OT assistants. The Master of Occupational Therapy began on 6 January 2025 and runs nine modules (114 quarter credits, 101 weeks) with fieldwork. Applicants need a bachelor’s degree and grades of C or better in Medical Terminology, anatomy and physiology, Introduction to Psychology and Introduction to Statistics.
Online Health Science bachelor’s
The Bachelor of Science in Health Science is a fully online degree-completion program: applicants need a healthcare associate degree of 90 quarter credits from an accredited school, and the bachelor’s adds another 90 over seven modules. It leads to no licence. California is not part of the NC-SARA agreement on online study, so the college lists the states where it is authorized or exempt, and students must live in one of them. No entrance test is required for this program.
2026-27 program prices and how students pay
CBD College charges one price for each program, whatever the student’s state, billed by module and quarter credit. The 2026-27 catalog gives these estimated total charges for terms starting 5 October 2026. Totals include tuition, fees, books, uniforms, certification costs and a background check.
| Program | Tuition | Total charges | Core rate per quarter credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic Medical Sonography (AAS) | $61,099.95 | $64,619.89 | $608.51 |
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging (AAS) | $45,883.56 | $48,756.25 | $652.07 |
| Occupational Therapy Assistant (AAS) | $51,208.89 | $54,129.05 | $541.53 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant (AAS) | $52,174.68 | $55,932.14 | $636.18 |
| Surgical Technology (AAS) | $42,050.20 | $43,774.79 | $567.65 |
| Health Science (BS, online) | $17,700.24 | $18,881.47 | $213.64 |
| Master of Occupational Therapy | $88,700.01 | $92,055.39 | $778.07 |
General-education courses cost $150 per quarter credit, and the $100 registration fee is not refundable. The college’s consumer disclosures page lists each total $25 lower than the catalog. Payment plans carry no interest or fees.
Students can use federal aid (Pell Grants, FSEOG, Federal Work-Study, Direct Loans and Parent PLUS loans) and state aid: Cal Grant A, B and C, with all five associate degrees on the Cal Grant C priority list, plus the Chafee Grant and Department of Rehabilitation funding. In 2024, 78% of students took federal loans. The average net price was $23,033 a year in 2024, according to IPEDS data on Data USA.
| College award | Amount and who qualifies |
|---|---|
| Lifelong Learners Grant | $2,000 off the final module for graduates who go on to a higher credential |
| Signal Boost Scholarship | $7,700 ($1,100 a module) for MRI graduates who enter the Health Science bachelor’s from the 5 October 2026 start; up to $9,700 with the Lifelong Learners Grant |
| Presidential Grant | Up to $1,000 a module for OTA and PTA (modules 2-7) and MOT (modules 1-8); 20 a year, need-based, 3.0 GPA, applied after other aid |
| Merit-Based Select Clinical Partner Scholarship | $3,000, once, for up to 10 surgical technology students in module 6 or 7 |
| UMIH Employee Scholarship | Full tuition for employees of a partner imaging employer |
Veterans
CBD College is approved for VA education benefits through CalVet, the state approving agency, and evaluates prior credit for veterans. Students received $678,681.12 in veterans’ aid in 2024, according to the college’s BPPE annual report.
Admissions and schedule
Applicants must be at least 17, hold a high-school diploma or equivalent and a government photo ID, and pass an online orientation course. Programs that require it use the Wonderlic SLE or WAST entrance test, and students go through a background check; some programs admit students conditionally. Sonography, PTA, the bachelor’s and the master’s have extra admission steps. Students in online study must live in a state where the college is authorized.
Every program runs in 11-week modules. PTA starts quarterly, sonography and surgical technology offer day or evening schedules, and PTA has evening classes.
Accreditation and outcomes
CBD College has been institutionally accredited by ABHES since 3 August 2015, with accreditation continued in 2019, and is approved to operate by California’s Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). Before ABHES it was accredited by ACCET.
The college’s 2023-2024 School Performance Fact Sheet, the outcome report California requires, gives these 2024 results. On-time completion means graduating within the program’s normal length; placement counts graduates employed in the field among those available for work.
| Program | Students who began | Finished on time | Finished within 150% of length | Employed in the field | Licence exam pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic Medical Sonography | 134 | 58% | 90% | 74% | – |
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging | 198 | 59% | 74% | 60% | – |
| Occupational Therapy Assistant | 51 | 35% | 71% | 56% | 69% (24 of 35, NBCOT) |
| Physical Therapist Assistant | 91 | 33% | 70% | 63% | 80% (51 of 64, NPTE) |
| Surgical Technology | 93 | 2% | 46% | 69% | – |
| Health Science (BS) | 38 | 79% | 92% | 74% | – |
Surgical Technology’s figures stand out: 2 of 93 students who began finished on time, and 46% finished within 150% of the program’s length. Earlier state reports also showed very low on-time completion for the program.
In June 2026 the BPPE reduced a fine against the college from $2,501 to $501 and lowered the citation from Class A to Class C. According to the modified citation, it followed a July 2025 unannounced inspection and was for not collecting and keeping the data behind the college’s 2022-23 performance fact sheet, and also cited a records rule; it includes an order to correct the problem and notes no earlier discipline.
What the program accreditors report
The PTA program’s CAPTE report (updated January 2026) gives ultimate pass rates on the national PTA exam, counting graduates who passed after any number of attempts, of 86.8% for 2024 graduates and 82.3% for 2025 (figures that can still change as more graduates test), and 93% employment within a year for 2023 and 2024 graduates.
The sonography program’s report to its accreditor shows that only 51% of 2024 graduates (63 of 124) sat the credential exam, against a 60% benchmark.
Before you enroll
- The MRI degree has no programmatic accreditation, unlike the college’s sonography, PTA, OTA and surgical technology programs.
- The Master of Occupational Therapy is not yet accredited; it prepares for the NBCOT OTR exam only once it is, so ask the college where the ACOTE process stands.
- Few Surgical Technology students finish on time: 2% of 2024 starters did. Plan for the program to take longer than 77 weeks.
- The online bachelor’s is open only to residents of states where the college is authorized or exempt, and it requires a healthcare associate degree first.
- Pharmacy Technician, Medical Assistant, Dental Assistant and Health Information Technology are no longer offered.
Campus, housing and clinicals
The only campus is at 3699 Wilshire Blvd, 4th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90010, about 25,000 square feet with labs, lecture rooms, a job-search lab and resource library, and a student lounge. The college has no student housing. Clinicals and externships take place at hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and imaging sites in the Los Angeles area; these are not CBD College campuses.
What students say
On Niche, CBD College is rated 4.38 out of 5 from 48 reviews, with an overall grade of B minus (checked October 2026). Reviewers most often praise knowledgeable, supportive instructors, a hybrid format that works for students with jobs, and hands-on labs. The most common complaints are high tuition, a slow financial-aid office that communicates poorly, and uneven teaching, with limited lab hours and more students than the labs and clinical sites can easily take. Forty-eight reviews is a small sample, the most recent dated reviews run from August 2024 to about September 2026, and we could not tell whether the school invited them.
Facts checked October 2026.
Programs & Courses
Diagnostic Imaging
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography (AAS)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) (AAS)
Surgical Technology
- Surgical Technology (AAS)
Physical and Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapist Assistant (AAS)
- Occupational Therapy Assistant (AAS)
- Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT)
Online Degree Completion
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science (online, approved states only)
Campus Locations
Los Angeles, CA 3699 Wilshire Blvd, 4th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90010