| Type | Mostly online; blended programs with on-campus labs in Florida |
|---|---|
| Locations | Clearwater campus and Tampa Educational Center, Florida; online programs open in most states (not CO, CT, MA, MS, NY, ND, RI, DC or Puerto Rico) |
| Credentials | Diplomas and associate degrees (AS/AAS) |
| Program length | About 14 weeks (EMT, restricted enrollment) or 4 months (phlebotomy) to 20 months (dental associate degree); most diplomas about 11 months, most associate degrees about 18 |
| Accreditation | ABHES (institutional); CAHIIM for Health Information Management |
| Federal aid | Yes, under a provisional agreement with the U.S. Department of Education (July 2024, to March 2027); GI Bill accepted |
| Founded | 1994 per UMA (some sources say 1993), Clearwater, FL |
| Owner | Nonprofit: UMA Education, Inc., part of Vocate Education Solutions (formerly Clinical and Patient Educators Association) |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
About Ultimate Medical Academy
Ultimate Medical Academy trains people for healthcare support jobs, mostly online. UMA dates its start to 1994 in Clearwater, Florida, and began teaching online in 2009. College Navigator counts 8,932 undergraduates, 99% of them studying only online; UMA itself reports more than 15,000 students and 100,000 alumni. Its largest programs by graduates are medical billing and medical office administration.
UMA is a nonprofit. Since 2015 it has belonged to a 501(c)(3) organization, Clinical and Patient Educators Association, which was renamed Vocate Education Solutions in 2025 and whose group also includes American Institute in Connecticut and New Jersey. Hands-on programs are taught at the Clearwater campus, and UMA Online is based at the Tampa Educational Center. Recent changes: the Nursing Assistant program closed in February 2026, and UMA stopped enrolling Colorado residents in June 2026.
Programs: online across most states, hands-on training in Florida
Lengths are UMA’s typical completion times from its program pages; UMA says completion times vary. “Online” programs are open to residents of most states (see Admissions and schedule). Costs are tuition only, at UMA’s published $475 per credit hour.
| Program | Credential | Length | Delivery and where | Prepares for | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Billing and Coding | Diploma; associate degree | 11 months; 18 months | Online | AAPC CPC | $475 per credit |
| Medical Office and Billing Specialist | Diploma; associate degree | 11+ months; 18+ months | Online; blended at Clearwater | NHA CBCS | $475 per credit (online) |
| Medical Administrative Assistant | Diploma; associate degree | 11 months; 18 months | Online; blended at Clearwater | NHA CMAA | $475 per credit (online) |
| Pharmacy Technician | Associate degree (61.5 credits) | 18 months, 180-hour externship | Online | PTCB PTCE, NHA ExCPT | About $29,200 |
| Health Information Management | Associate degree (63 credits) | 18 months, 90-hour practice experience | Online | AHIMA RHIT (CAHIIM-accredited) | About $29,900 |
| Healthcare Management; Health and Human Services (64 credits); Healthcare Accounting | Associate degrees | About 18 months (Healthcare Accounting: not stated) | Online | No exam named | $475 per credit |
| Clinical Medical Assistant | Diploma; associate degree | 11 months; 18 months, 180-hour externship | Blended at Clearwater; online for Florida residents only | CMA, RMA, CCMA | $475 per credit (online; Clearwater associate) |
| Patient Care Technician | Diploma (31.5 credits) | 12 months, 165-hour externship | Blended; Clearwater and Tampa | NHA CPCT/A, CPT | In catalog |
| Phlebotomy Technician | Diploma (8 credits) | 4 months, 80-hour externship | Blended, Clearwater | NHA CPT | In catalog |
| Dental Assistant with Expanded Functions | Diploma (26 credits); associate degree (62 credits) | 12 months; 20 months | Blended, Clearwater | RDA (UMA’s term); Florida Board of Dentistry-approved | Diploma in catalog; $475 per credit (associate) |
UMA also runs an Emergency Medical Technician course in Tampa, open only to employees of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. Its 15-month Medical Assistant diploma is no longer enrolling and has been replaced by Clinical Medical Assistant. UMA has no registered nursing or practical nursing program; an RN associate degree announced in Tampa in 2012–13 is not in the current catalog.
What the main programs cover
Medical Billing and Coding
The diploma takes about 11 months online and the associate degree about 18. Core courses are Diagnostic Coding; Procedural Coding I and II; Healthcare Settings, Claim Cycle and Claims Processing; Billing and Coding Application with Simulation; Medical Law, Ethics and Records Management; Anatomy, Physiology and Pathophysiology I; and Medical Terminology. The associate degree adds English composition, critical thinking, college math, general biology and sociology. UMA’s program page mentions no externship. Graduates are prepared for the AAPC’s Certified Professional Coder (CPC) exam.
Patient Care Technician
The 31.5-credit diploma runs about 12 months, with online coursework and weekly on-site labs. Courses are Introduction to Allied Health; Phlebotomy and Lab Procedures; Foundations of Patient Care; Patient-Centered Communication; Mental Health Foundations; and ECG, followed by a 165-hour clinical externship. It prepares students for the NHA’s CPCT/A and CPT exams. UMA’s program page lists Clearwater and Tampa. UMA points out that patient care technician is not a licensed occupation in Florida, so no CNA exam is required.
Clinical Medical Assistant
This program replaced UMA’s 15-month Medical Assistant diploma. The diploma takes about 11 months and the Health Sciences associate degree about 18. Students at Clearwater take it in blended format; the online version is open to Florida residents only. Both end in a 180-hour externship, and UMA matches the student with a local site. Graduates can sit for the CMA, RMA or CCMA exams. UMA’s 2024–25 report to its accreditor has no results for this program yet.
Pharmacy Technician
UMA’s program page lists pharmacy technician training only as an associate degree in Health Sciences: 61.5 credits over about 18 months, studied online and ending in a 180-hour on-site externship. Applicants take a skills assessment before admission. The program prepares students for two national exams, the PTCB’s PTCE and the NHA’s ExCPT. UMA does not claim ASHP accreditation. Residents of Arkansas, Kansas and Minnesota take state-specific required courses. UMA reported 76% retention and 55% placement for the degree in 2024–25.
Health Information Management
The Health Information Management associate degree is 63 credits over about 18 months online, with a 90-hour professional practice experience. It is UMA’s only program with programmatic accreditation: CAHIIM accreditation runs through 2033–34, and the program prepares graduates for AHIMA’s Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) exam. Residents of Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota and Texas take state-specific required courses. UMA’s accreditor report for 2024–25 shows 70% retention and 73% placement.
Dental Assistant with Expanded Functions
Taught only at Clearwater in blended format, this program is a 26-credit diploma of about 12 months or a 62-credit associate degree of about 20 months. It covers expanded-function duties, dental radiology and CPR, and includes an externship worth 3.5 credits; UMA does not state its hours. The Florida Board of Dentistry approves the program under Rule 64B5-16 of the Florida Administrative Code; it is not accredited by CODA. UMA’s program page says it prepares graduates for the Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) credential.
Cost and paying for it
UMA’s tuition page (checked October 2026) lists $475 per credit hour for all online programs, diplomas and associate degrees alike, and for associate degrees at Clearwater. Tuition for Clearwater diplomas, such as phlebotomy and patient care technician, is published only in the catalog. College Navigator gives $29,925 for UMA’s largest program, a 63-credit associate degree, in 2024–25. Tuition includes textbooks and e-books, software, library access, externships for select programs and certification exam prep where applicable.
UMA takes federal student aid (Pell Grants, Direct Loans and PLUS loans; school code 035493), but some diploma programs are not eligible for it. Florida students can use FSAG, Bright Futures and CSDDV. For military students UMA accepts the GI Bill, with Yellow Ribbon, Military Tuition Assistance and TA Top-Up, and MyCAA (up to $4,000, at most $2,000 a year), and offers a tuition discount for active duty, Guard and Reserve members.
Admissions and schedule
UMA has open admission: applicants need a high school diploma or equivalent and English proficiency, and no SAT or ACT. Pharmacy Technician applicants also take a skills assessment. Classes start every 2 to 3 weeks. Online coursework is asynchronous with weekly deadlines, while labs and externships run on set schedules.
Students in a Florida campus program must be located in Florida. Online programs are open in most states, but UMA’s 2026 catalog (Vol. 7.4) says it is not currently enrolling residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Washington DC or Puerto Rico. Colorado was added in June 2026. Online Clinical Medical Assistant is for Florida residents only.
Accreditation, federal oversight and results
UMA is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES), with the Clearwater campus (I-213) and UMA Online (I-213-02) listed separately, and licensed by Florida’s Commission for Independent Education. CAHIIM accredits the Health Information Management degree, and the Florida Board of Dentistry approves the dental assisting program.
UMA’s agreement to take part in federal student aid is provisional. In its Program Participation Agreement, signed by UMA on 17 July 2024 and by the U.S. Department of Education on 19 July 2024, the Department states that UMA does not meet its standards of financial responsibility and requires an irrevocable letter of credit of at least 10% of the federal aid UMA received the year before. The agreement also states that the Department has opened an investigation into UMA’s compliance with federal student aid rules; we found no public outcome. The provisional agreement runs to 31 March 2027.
College Navigator gives a graduation rate of 55% within 150% of normal time for students who started in 2021–22, and 68% of full-time first-time students returned in fall 2024. Florida’s Commission for Independent Education reports, for 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, completion of 84.73% and placement of 64.53% at Clearwater, and 56.10% and 65.95% for UMA Online. UMA’s ABHES report for the same year shows placement by program from 0% (dental assisting associate degree) and 47% (Healthcare Accounting) to 86% (Medical Assistant associate degree) and 98% (EMT). UMA publishes no certification exam pass rates. Its federal student loan default rate was 0.0% for the FY2021 cohort.
Before you enroll
- UMA still takes federal aid, but under a provisional agreement that requires a letter of credit and states that the Department of Education had opened an investigation into UMA’s federal aid compliance (July 2024). Ask UMA about the investigation’s status before borrowing.
- Check that UMA enrols in your state: online programs exclude CO, CT, MA, MS, NY, ND, RI, DC and Puerto Rico, online Clinical Medical Assistant is for Florida residents only, and campus programs require students to be located in Florida.
- “Online” programs can still need on-site hours: Pharmacy Technician has a 180-hour externship and Health Information Management a 90-hour practice experience. UMA’s admissions page lists no background check, but reviewers report being removed over background checks, so ask what your externship site requires.
- Results differ a lot by format and program. In 2024–25, 56% of UMA Online students completed versus 85% at Clearwater, and the dental assisting associate degree reported 0% placement.
- At $475 per credit, the online associate degrees whose credits UMA publishes (61.5 to 64 credits) cost about $29,200 to $30,400 in tuition, and some diploma programs are not eligible for federal aid.
Externships and career help
UMA’s career services offer résumé help, job-search support and interview coaching, and UMA says graduates get access to 48,000 employers nationwide. Career advisors stay available after graduation, and alumni can join the ConnectUMA network. An externship team places students in the programs that include one. UMA does not name employer partners. It has no student housing.
What students say
On Niche, UMA Online averages 4.58 out of 5 from 1,437 reviews and the Clearwater campus 4.43 from 706 (checked October 2026). Niche collects reviews through its own student surveys; whether UMA invited any of them is not known. Trustpilot tells a different story: 2.2 out of 5 from 106 reviews, 69% of them one-star; Trustpilot notes UMA has no recent history of asking for reviews there.
- Praised: the flexible, asynchronous schedule for working adults, supportive instructors and advisors, and tutoring and job-search help.
- Criticized: sudden unenrollment, sometimes near graduation and including over background checks; slow or inconsistent financial-aid and stipend communication; too few hands-on and externship options for online students; and a cluster of September 2026 Trustpilot reviews reporting UMA’s systems down for days, blocking access to financial aid.
Sources
UMA Catalog Vol. 7.4 (2026–27) · UMA programs · Tuition · Student consumer information (June 2026) · Program Participation Agreement (2024) · Accreditation · College Navigator · Niche (UMA Online)
Programs & Courses
Online: billing, coding and medical office
- Medical Billing and Coding (diploma or associate degree)
- Medical Office and Billing Specialist (diploma or associate degree)
- Medical Administrative Assistant (diploma or associate degree)
Online: associate degrees
- Pharmacy Technician (Health Sciences)
- Health Information Management
- Healthcare Management
- Healthcare Accounting
- Health and Human Services
Blended and on-site programs in Florida
- Clinical Medical Assistant (diploma or associate degree; online for Florida residents)
- Dental Assistant with Expanded Functions (diploma or associate degree)
- Patient Care Technician (diploma)
- Phlebotomy Technician (diploma)
- Emergency Medical Technician (Crisis Center of Tampa Bay employees only)
Campus Locations
Clearwater, FL 1255 Cleveland St, Clearwater, FL 33755
Tampa, FL 9309 N. Florida Ave, Suite 100, Tampa, FL 33612