Individuals who wish to enter the healthcare field but cannot afford the money and time required to complete a doctoral program may want to consider enrolling in an online college degree program in an emerging sector, such as nuclear medicine.

To help prospective healthcare professionals launch careers in this fast-growing field, a total of three universities in Missouri and Arkansas recently partnered to create a masters degree program in nuclear medicine, the Kansas City Infozine reports.

The curriculum combines campus-based instruction and online college courses to enable students from across the country earn a graduate-level degree in this field. After they complete their coursework, these students will be prepared to take the national certification exams that could help them launch a new career.

The nuclear medicine field is expected to grow quickly in the coming years as more healthcare providers begin to adopt new technologies in place of old systems.

As a result, the demand for nuclear medicine technologists is projected to grow faster than the average for all other occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.