What Programs and Areas of Study Does Central Arizona College Offer?

Updated

Central Arizona College (CAC) is a community college serving Pinal County, Arizona, across five locations. It offers a mix of academic transfer programs and career and technical education, spanning health sciences, trades, business, and general studies. The exact program list changes by term, so the most reliable way to confirm what's available is to check the program listings on centralaz.edu directly.

How CAC's programs are generally organized

As a community college, CAC's offerings typically fall into two broad tracks:

  • Transfer programs — coursework designed to satisfy the first two years of a bachelor's degree, often aligned with Arizona's transfer pathways so credits carry to a four-year institution.
  • Career and technical programs — training aimed at entering a specific field or earning an industry credential, sometimes culminating in a certificate or an associate degree.

Some programs sit between the two, letting you start working after a credential while keeping the option to continue toward a degree.

Example: Diagnostic Medical Sonography

CAC's health sciences area includes a Diagnostic Medical Sonography program. A recent CAC news item notes that the program was accepting OB patient volunteers — a detail that illustrates how hands-on these health programs are, since students need real clinical scanning experience to complete their training.

That example is useful for two reasons:

  • It shows CAC runs allied-health programs that lead toward credentialed clinical roles, not just general education.
  • It signals that some programs have participation requirements beyond coursework (in this case, volunteer patients for practice scans), so prospective students should read each program page carefully before applying.

Areas of study you can expect to find

Based on how CAC describes itself — accessible, affordable, and career-focused — its catalog generally covers:

Area Typical focus
Health sciences Clinical and allied-health training, including sonography
Business and technology Career-ready skills and transferable coursework
Trades and applied programs Hands-on training for skilled occupations
Arts, humanities, and social sciences Transfer-oriented general education
Math and sciences Foundation courses for transfer and health programs

Treat this as a map of the categories, not a confirmed list of every degree — individual programs open, pause, or change each year.

How to find the current, complete list

  1. Go to centralaz.edu.
  2. Open the programs or academics section of the site.
  3. Filter or browse by area of interest (for example, health, business, or transfer degrees).
  4. Open the individual program page to check the credential offered, required courses, and any admission conditions.

If a program page doesn't answer your question, CAC lists a phone number (520-494-5111) for direct contact — useful when you need to confirm whether a specific program is accepting students in the upcoming term.

What to decide before you apply

  • If your goal is a bachelor's degree, look for transfer-oriented associate degrees and confirm the credits align with your intended four-year school.
  • If your goal is to work soon, prioritize career and technical programs that end in a certificate or a job-ready associate degree, and check whether the field requires a license or credential afterward.
  • If you're unsure, start with general education courses that count toward multiple pathways, then declare a program once you've confirmed the requirements.

The single most important step is verifying the program's current status on CAC's own site, since availability and admission requirements are set by the college and can change between terms.