Surgical technology programmes train the person who sets up and guards the sterile field in an operating theatre — preparing instruments and equipment before the case, scrubbing in alongside the surgeon, passing instruments through the procedure, and counting every sponge and needle before the patient is closed. It is a short, intensely practical credential, taught mostly as a certificate and mostly at technical colleges.
The degrees this program covers
Predominantly a CERTIFICATE field: of 326 Florida completions in the 2023 federal award year, 208 were certificates of one to two years and 114 were associate degrees, across 25 public institutions. ⚠ Technical colleges carry a large share of it — Sheridan, Orange, Lorenzo Walker, Erwin, Traviss, Lindsey Hopkins and Suncoast between them produce roughly a third of the state's graduates. ⚠⚠ The delivery split matters more here than the credential name: the same training exists as college-credit courses and as a clock-hour PSAV programme of about 1,030 hours divided into three occupational completion points, and only the first counts toward a degree. ⚠⚠⚠ And unlike every other health programme on this site, FLORIDA DOES NOT LICENSE THIS OCCUPATION — there is no state board and no state credential, so the accreditation of the programme you choose is the only thing standing between you and an unusable qualification. Check CAAHEP or ABHES accreditation yourself before enrolling. ⚠ A much shorter related credential exists: the central service (sterile processing) technician, about 210 clock hours.
Careers this program leads to
Each one sets out the courses along the way, the licence or certification at the end,
and the sources behind it.
Neighbouring fields that share much of the same coursework, and often the same employers.
⚠ Read these before you commit to a major — which doors a neighbouring degree
keeps open is the part no catalog tells you, and it is far cheaper to change now than later.
25 institutions awarded a credential in this field in 2023,
at these levels: Associate, Certificate (1-2 years), Certificate (2-4 years).
A school appears here if it awards anything in the field, however limited
its offering — a technical college teaching only practical nursing has a nursing
program. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.
Source: federal IPEDS completions data for 2023, first majors only —
the most recent year published. ⚠ It records what was awarded, which is
strong evidence of what is offered, but a program launched since 2023
will not appear here. Check the institution’s own catalog before applying.
Updated 21 September 2026.
⚠ Program pages describe a field of study, not one school’s degree — always
read the catalog of the institution you are applying to.