Dallas College

Respiratory Care Program


1 Associate Degree
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Are you a problem-solver who’s also compassionate, sensitive and personable? Are you ready for a fast-growing health career? If so, take a look at our Respiratory Care program. Respiratory therapists (also called respiratory care practitioners) provide hands-on care that helps people recover from a wide range of medical conditions that affect the lungs.

Respiratory Care Program at a Glance

Dallas College offers many different ways to reach your career goals. Whether you want to jump into the workforce quickly or spend more time building advanced skills, we have the programs that fit your needs and timeline.

Associate Degrees

Estimated total tuition cost2:

$5,940

Estimated time to complete1:

2 years

  • El Centro3

Which Degrees and Certificates are Right for Me?

Associate Degrees

Dallas College's associate degrees provide a strong academic foundation for career entry or transfer to a four-year institution.

Can I Transfer?

Our Associate of Applied Science degrees and certificates may not fully transfer to a four-year college or university.

  • If your goal is to transfer, you may want to explore our Core Curriculum and Transfer Pathways.
  • You may also want to explore a transfer degree, like an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science.
  • The classes you take will count towards a bachelor's degree and are designed to be accepted by any public college or university in Texas.

If you're not sure if this is the right choice for you, you can talk to a Pathway Specialist for guidance.

Pathway Specialist

Questions About Degrees and Certificates?

We know applying to college can be confusing. If you are not yet a Dallas College student, you have a whole team of recruitment coaches to help guide you through programs and the enrollment process.

Current students, contact your success coach (advisor) who can answer any questions you have about Respiratory Care Program programs and your degree and certificate options.

Contact a Recruitment Coach

What Can I Earn? Will There Be Plenty of Jobs?

Demand is growing for caring respiratory therapists who can work one on one with patients to improve their breathing. Check out a few of the incredible career opportunities you’ll be ready for. Your future starts here!

Female doctor helping child use nebulizer inhaler face mask.

Respiratory Therapists

$39/hr

Median Salary

234

Job Openings

+20%

Projected Outlook

Top Skills:

  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Listening
  • Monitoring
  • Speaking
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Active Learning
  • Service Orientation
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Complex Problem Solving

All jobs data gathered for Dallas/Fort Worth. Source: Dallas College Labor Market Intelligence and Lightcast4.

“Respiratory therapists are not just technicians trained to deliver treatments and therapies with different types of equipment. We have to truly comprehend a wide range of topics and how they relate to a patient’s condition.” Read Shawn Terry, B.A., RRT, RCP's story.
Shawn Terry
Shawn Terry, B.A., RRT, RCP
Respiratory Care Practitioner, Parkland Health and Hospital System

A Look Inside Respiratory Care

Are you a problem-solver who is also compassionate, sensitive, and personable?

If so, the Respiratory Care program at Dallas College is for you.

Respiratory therapists, also called respiratory care practitioners, provide hands-on care that help people recover from a wide range of medical conditions that affect the lungs.

There are a wide variety of specializations including critical care, long-term care, pulmonary rehabilitation, home care, medical device sales, and more.

So, why choose Dallas College to jumpstart your career?

As a student, you will benefit from our dedicated faculty and have access to the most advanced equipment available to health care students in our simulation teaching labs.

Graduates are eligible to sit for the Therapists Multiple Choice and Clinical Simulation exam in order to earn the CRT or RRT credential from the National Board for Respiratory Care.

For more information, visit our website and begin your Dallas College experience.

The Respiratory Care program is located in the Downtown Health Sciences Center (formerly El Centro's Center for Allied Health and Nursing) at Market and Pacific streets, a block north of the El Centro campus. The program's goal is to prepare graduates with demonstrated competence in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains of respiratory care practice as performed by Registered Respiratory Therapists (RRTs).

The center comprises 55 classrooms and labs that contain some of the most advanced equipment available to educate health care students.

The center's high-tech equipment includes:

  • Teaching labs that simulate surgical and hospital settings for specific program applications.
  • Microphones and cameras in each classroom to capture audio and video instruction.
  • Three classrooms with videoconferencing for two-way viewing.
  • Two simulation labs with computerized patient mannequins.

The Respiratory Care Program program has its own admissions process, timeline and requirements. Visit the School of Health Sciences Information Packets and Sessions page to view the Respiratory Care Program information packets.

Please email the Health Occupations Admissions Office or call 972-669-6400, press 1 for Admissions, followed by 2 for Nursing and Allied Health Admissions, to receive an information packet and information session details.

This program also requires a criminal background check and drug testing.

Accreditation and Affiliations

The Dallas College Respiratory Care program (program ID 200103, AAS) at the El Centro Campus, is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com) . View CoARC's outcomes data for all its accredited programs. CoARC accredits respiratory therapy education programs in the United States. To achieve this end, it utilizes an 'outcomes based' process. Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which the educational goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented.

Find Out More About Dallas College

Sign up to receive additional information about Dallas College or call 972-669-6400.

School of Health Sciences

Dallas College

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1Length of time is based on catalog degree plans. Prerequisites may be required, which are not included in this estimate. For most programs, full-time student status is assumed, a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester.

2Cost for credit courses is based on tuition rates for program hours for Dallas County residents. The price of most required learning materials (books, software, supplies, etc.) is included with the price of tuition. Certain programs may have additional costs above the standard tuition. Continuing Education and Ed2Go courses may vary by program. Please review the Area of Study Overview and/or the Health Information Packets for additional costs and details. Visit our Paying for College site to learn more about cost, financial aid, scholarships and more.

3Each location offers a unique combination of certificate and degree options. Not all degree and certificate offerings are available for admission/start at all campuses every semester.

4A portion of Lightcast’s data comes from O*NET Online by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Lightcast has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

HB1508 Notice

This program may lead to an occupational license for which a prior criminal history may make a student ineligible.

For more information, please visit DallasCollege.edu/HB1508.

Updated June 25, 2026