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Medical Laboratory Science - B.S.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Laboratory Science allows students to combine three years of study at Kent State with 12 months of professional training at an approved hospital. Medical laboratory scientists are trained to perform complex chemical, microscopic and microbiological procedures. Graduates are eligible to sit for the Board of Registry of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists Exam.

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Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Laboratory Science

Advance your career in healthcare with Kent State’s Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Laboratory Science. Delve into extensive coursework covering crucial topics, from microscopic procedures to laboratory management. Our program is designed to equip you with the expertise needed for careers in clinical research, teaching, and laboratory services.

Program Information for Medical Laboratory Science - B.S.

Program Description

Full Description

The Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Laboratory Science allows students to combine three years of study at Kent State with 12 months of professional training at an approved hospital. Medical laboratory scientists are trained to perform complex chemical, microscopic and microbiological procedures. Graduates are eligible to sit for the Board of Registry of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists Exam.

Professional Licensure Disclosure

This program is designed to prepare students to sit for applicable licensure or certification in Ohio. If you plan to pursue licensure or certification in a state other than Ohio, please review state educational requirements for licensure or certification and contact information for state licensing boards at Kent State's website for professional licensure disclosure.

Admissions for Medical Laboratory Science - B.S.

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.

First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the admissions website for first-year students.

First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning a minimum 525 TOEFL score (71 on the Internet-based version), minimum 75 MELAB score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score or minimum 48 PTE Academic score, or by completing the ELS level 112 Intensive Program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Transfer Students: Students who have attended any other educational institution after graduating from high school must apply as undergraduate transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Former Students: Former Kent State students or graduates who have not attended another college or university since Kent State may complete the reenrollment or reinstatement form on the University Registrar’s website.

Admission policies for undergraduate students may be found in the University Catalog's Academic Policies.

Some programs may require that students meet certain requirements before progressing through the program. For programs with progression requirements, the information is shown on the program's Coursework tab.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  1. Be certified as professional medical laboratory scientists.
  2. Perform assays of clinical samples in a hospital or laboratory setting.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of human physiology and familiarity with human health issues.
  4. Interpret chemical and molecular data for clinical diagnosis.
Coursework

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Major Requirements (courses count in major GPA)
BSCI 10110BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (ELR) (KBS) (KLAB) 4
BSCI 10120BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS (ELR) (KBS) (KLAB) 4
BSCI 30050HUMAN GENETICS 3
BSCI 30130HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY 3
BSCI 30140CELL BIOLOGY 4
BSCI 30171GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY 4
BSCI 40148PRINCIPLES OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE 3
BSCI 40174IMMUNOLOGY 3
CHEM 10060GENERAL CHEMISTRY I (KBS) 4
CHEM 10061GENERAL CHEMISTRY II (KBS) 4
CHEM 10062GENERAL CHEMISTRY I LABORATORY (KBS) (KLAB) 1
CHEM 10063GENERAL CHEMISTRY II LABORATORY (KBS) (KLAB) 1
CHEM 20481BASIC ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I 4
CHEM 30105ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY I 3
CHEM 30107ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY I (WIC) (min C grade) 11
CHEM 30284INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 4
CHEM 30301INORGANIC CHEMISTRY I 3
CLS 49010CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY: THEORY 24
CLS 49011CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY: APPLICATIONS 4
CLS 49012CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY: THEORY 1
CLS 49013CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY: APPLICATIONS 1
CLS 49014CLINICAL MYCOLOGY: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS 1
CLS 49015CLINICAL PARASITOLOGY: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS 1
CLS 49020CLINICAL CHEMISTRY: THEORY 4
CLS 49021CLINICAL CHEMISTRY: APPLICATIONS 3
CLS 49022URINALYSIS: THEORY 1
CLS 49023URINALYSIS: APPLICATIONS 1
CLS 49030IMMUNOHEMATOLOGY: THEORY 2
CLS 49031IMMUNOHEMATOLOGY: APPLICATIONS 2
CLS 49032COAGULATION: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS 1
CLS 49033CLINICAL HEMATOLOGY: THEORY 2
CLS 49034CLINICAL HEMATOLOGY: APPLICATIONS 2
CLS 49040TOPICS IN LABORATORY MANAGEMENT 1
CS 10062PROGRAMMING FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN SCIENCES 3-4
or EMAT 25310 CREATIVE CODING
MATH 11022TRIGONOMETRY (KMCR) 3
MATH 30011BASIC PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS 3
Additional Requirements (courses do not count in major GPA)
UC 10001FLASHES 101 1
Kent Core Composition6
Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (minimum one course from each)9
Kent Core Social Sciences (must be from two disciplines)6
General Electives (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credit hours, including 39 upper-division credit hours)5
Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
1

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement.

2

Students who complete the required in-hospital clinical experience fulfill the experiential learning requirement.

Graduation Requirements

Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
2.000 2.000
  • Students are expected to consult with a medical technology advisor before registering for courses each semester.
  • The fourth year clinical training is NOT guaranteed, but it is required to graduate with this major. Acceptance to clinical training is at the discretion of the clinical affiliates, is highly competitive and is based on multiple criteria. Typically, clinical affiliates will interview students with a minimum 3.000 major GPA and hospital experience.
  • Students declared in the Medical Laboratory Science major are not required to meet the College of Arts and Sciences' foreign language requirement.

The following Biological Sciences (BSCI) courses may NOT be used in the elective category for majors or minors in the Department of Biological Sciences:

BSCI 10001HUMAN BIOLOGY (KBS) 3
BSCI 10002LIFE ON PLANET EARTH (KBS) 3
BSCI 10003LABORATORY EXPERIENCE IN BIOLOGY (KBS) (KLAB) 1
BSCI 10005SMALL ANIMAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY FOR VETERINARY TECHNICIANS 4
BSCI 11010FOUNDATIONAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY I (KBS) (KLAB) 3
BSCI 11020FOUNDATIONAL ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY II (KBS) (KLAB) 3
BSCI 16001HORTICULTURAL BOTANY 3
BSCI 20019BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION 4
BSCI 20021BASIC MICROBIOLOGY 3
BSCI 20022BASIC MICROBIOLOGY LABORATORY 1
BSCI 21010ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY I (KBS) (KLAB) 4
BSCI 21020ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY II 4
BSCI 26002ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF PEST MANAGEMENT 3
BSCI 26003PLANT IDENTIFICATION AND SELECTION I 3
BSCI 26004PLANT IDENTIFICATION AND SELECTION II 3
BSCI 30050HUMAN GENETICS 3
BSCI 40020BIOLOGY OF AGING 3
Roadmap

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester OneCredits
!BSCI 10110 BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (ELR) (KBS) (KLAB) 4
!CHEM 10060 GENERAL CHEMISTRY I (KBS) 4
!CHEM 10062 GENERAL CHEMISTRY I LABORATORY (KBS) (KLAB) 1
MATH 11022 TRIGONOMETRY (KMCR) 3
UC 10001 FLASHES 101 1
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours16
Semester Two
!BSCI 10120 BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS (ELR) (KBS) (KLAB) 4
!CHEM 10061 GENERAL CHEMISTRY II (KBS) 4
!CHEM 10063 GENERAL CHEMISTRY II LABORATORY (KBS) (KLAB) 1
Kent Core Requirement 3
General Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Three
!BSCI 30140 CELL BIOLOGY 4
!CHEM 20481 BASIC ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I 4
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours14
Semester Four
!BSCI 30130 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY 3
BSCI 30171 GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY 4
!CHEM 30301 INORGANIC CHEMISTRY I 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours16
Semester Five
BSCI 30050 HUMAN GENETICS 3
BSCI 40148 PRINCIPLES OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE 3
!CHEM 30105 ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY I 3
!CHEM 30107 ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY I (WIC) 1
MATH 30011 BASIC PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS 3
 Credit Hours13
Semester Six
!BSCI 40174 IMMUNOLOGY 3
!CHEM 30284 INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 4
CS 10062
or EMAT 25310
PROGRAMMING FOR PROBLEM SOLVING IN SCIENCES
or CREATIVE CODING
3-4
Kent Core Requirement 3
General Elective 2
 Credit Hours15
Semester Seven
!CLS 49010 CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY: THEORY 4
!CLS 49011 CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY: APPLICATIONS 4
!CLS 49012 CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY: THEORY 1
!CLS 49013 CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY: APPLICATIONS 1
!CLS 49014 CLINICAL MYCOLOGY: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS 1
!CLS 49015 CLINICAL PARASITOLOGY: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS 1
!CLS 49020 CLINICAL CHEMISTRY: THEORY 4
 Credit Hours16
Semester Eight
!CLS 49021 CLINICAL CHEMISTRY: APPLICATIONS 3
!CLS 49022 URINALYSIS: THEORY 1
!CLS 49023 URINALYSIS: APPLICATIONS 1
!CLS 49030 IMMUNOHEMATOLOGY: THEORY 2
!CLS 49031 IMMUNOHEMATOLOGY: APPLICATIONS 2
!CLS 49032 COAGULATION: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS 1
!CLS 49033 CLINICAL HEMATOLOGY: THEORY 2
!CLS 49034 CLINICAL HEMATOLOGY: APPLICATIONS 2
!CLS 49040 TOPICS IN LABORATORY MANAGEMENT 1
 Credit Hours15
 Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
Program Delivery
  • Delivery:
    • In person
  • Location:
    • Kent Campus

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries for Medical Laboratory Science - B.S.

Graduates of Kent State University's Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science are prepared for careers in clinical laboratories, healthcare settings, diagnostic services, and more. They can work as clinical laboratory technologists, performing complex tests and analyses, contributing to patient diagnostics, and supporting healthcare teams in hospitals, clinics, and research institutions.

Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians

7.3%

faster than the average

337,800

number of jobs

$54,180

potential earnings

Health specialties teachers, postsecondary

20.5%

much faster than the average

254,000

number of jobs

$99,090

potential earnings

Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.