BHS in Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences with Emphasis in Clinical Laboratory Science
Degree Program Description
Clinical Laboratory Scientists are skilled, certified professionals trained in the theoretical and practical aspects of clinical laboratory medicine – chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology, molecular pathology, and blood banking. Clinical Laboratory Scientists have various levels of responsibility – as staff scientists, research scientists, supervisors, managers, or educators – and can work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and research centers. Approximately 70 percent of all medical decisions regarding a patient's diagnosis and treatment, as well as their hospital admission and discharge, are based upon laboratory test results obtained by Clinical Laboratory Scientists. The Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) program at MU is a unique collaboration with the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The CLS program includes three years of pre-requisite coursework, and 11 months of clinical coursework. The clinical year begins in late May, with 13 weeks of coursework in a dedicated summer student lab facility at the University of Nebraska's Medical Center in Omaha. After the initial 13 weeks in the program, CLS students return the Mid-Missouri area and complete their clinical laboratory rotations at local and regional clinical sites. Students graduate with a Bachelor of Health Science (BHS) degree in Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences with an emphasis in Clinical Laboratory Science from the University of Missouri. Upon completion of the program, students are eligible to challenge the Medical Laboratory Scientist credentialing examination administered by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP BOC). The CLS program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) via its partnership with the NAACLS-accredited Medical Laboratory Science program of the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Major Program Requirements
To earn the BHS in Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences with an emphasis in Clinical Laboratory Science degree, students must meet degree requirements below as well as University requirements, including University general education. The CLS program requires an application, including an interview, and students are encouraged to work with an advisor in order to best structure the prerequisites and prepare for the program application. The application process is competitive, and meeting minimum criteria does not guarantee admission. There are a limited number of clinical positions available. A minimum 2.5 cumulative in addition to a math/science course GPA are required to be considered for acceptance. Students must complete the courses below with a grade of C- or higher to earn the BHS in Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences with an emphasis in Clinical Laboratory Science degree.
| Program Prerequisites | 45 | |
| ENGLSH 1000 | Writing and Rhetoric | 3 |
| or ENGLSH 1000H | Honors Writing and Rhetoric | |
| MATH 1100 | College Algebra | 3 |
| STAT 1200 | Introductory Statistical Reasoning | 3 |
| or STAT 1300 | Elementary Statistics | |
| or STAT 2500 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics I | |
| or ESC_PS 4170 | Introduction to Applied Statistics | |
| 1000-level or higher Psychology course | 3 | |
| CDS 3100W (optional but strongly recommended for MU General Education WI requirement) | 3 | |
| Biological sciences elective (at least 16 hours of Biological Science, including the following) | ||
| BIO_SC 1500 | Introduction to Biological Systems with Laboratory | 5 |
| or BIO_SC 1500H | Introduction to Biological Systems with Laboratory Honors | |
| or BIO_SC 1010 & BIO_SC 1020 | General Principles and Concepts of Biology and General Biology Laboratory | |
| or BIO_SC 1030 | General Principles and Concepts of Biology with Laboratory | |
| BIO_SC 2200 | General Genetics | 4 |
| or BIO_SC 2200H | General Genetics - Honors | |
| MICROB 3200 | Medical Microbiology and Immunology | 4 |
| or MICROB 2800 | Microbiology for Nursing and Health Professions | |
| or BIO_SC 3750 & BIO_SC 3760 | General Microbiology and Microbiology Laboratory | |
| V_PBIO 3551 | Introduction to Immunology I | 3 |
| or MICROB 4304 | Immunology for Health Professions | |
| Physical sciences requirement (at least 14 hours of Chemistry, including the following) | ||
| CHEM 1400 & CHEM 1401 | College Chemistry I and College Chemistry I Laboratory | 4 |
| or CHEM 1400H & CHEM 1401H | College Chemistry I - Honors and College Chemistry I Laboratory - Honors | |
| CHEM 1410 & CHEM 1411 | College Chemistry II and College Chemistry II Laboratory | 4 |
| or CHEM 1410H & CHEM 1411H | College Chemistry II - Honors and College Chemistry II Laboratory - Honors | |
| CHEM 2100 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| 2000-level or higher Chemistry or Biochemistry course | 3 | |
| Major Core Requirements | 43 | |
| CL_L_S 4407 | Clinical Laboratory Operations | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4408 | Introduction to Clinical Hematology | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4409 | Introduction to Clinical Microbiology | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4410 | Introduction to Clinical Chemistry and Urinalysis | 1 |
| CL_L_S 4411 | Introduction to Clinical Immunohematology | 1 |
| CL_L_S 4412 | Clinical Laboratory Science Theory, Application and Correlation | 5 |
| CL_L_S 4413 | Clinical Endocrinology and Toxicology | 1 |
| CL_L_S 4414 | Clinical Chemistry and Urinalysis I | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4415 | Clinical Chemistry and Urinalysis II | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4416 | Clinical Hematology I | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4417 | Clinical Hematology II | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4418 | Clinical Microbiology I | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4419 | Clinical Microbiology II | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4420 | Clinical Immunology and Molecular Diagnostics | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4422 | Immunohematology I | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4423 | Clinical Immunohematology II | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4442 | Clinical Immunohematology Laboratory Practicum I | 1 |
| CL_L_S 4443 | Clinical Immunohematology Laboratory Practicum II | 1 |
| CL_L_S 4444 | Clinical Core Laboratory Practicum I | 1 |
| CL_L_S 4445 | Clinical Core Laboratory Practicum II | 1 |
| CL_L_S 4448 | Clinical Microbiology Laboratory Practicum I | 1 |
| CL_L_S 4449 | Clinical Microbiology Laboratory Practicum II | 1 |
| CL_L_S 4970 | Clinical Laboratory Management I | 2 |
| CL_L_S 4980W | Clinical Lab Management II - Writing Intensive | 3 |
Semester Plan
Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester. A student's actual plan may vary based on course choices where options are available.
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
| MATH 1100 | 3 | ENGLSH 1000 | 3 | ||
| BIO_SC 1500 | 5 | CHEM 1400 & CHEM 1401 | 4 | ||
| HLTH_SCI 1000 (recommended elective) | 3 | SOCIOL 1000 | 3 | ||
| PSYCH 1000 | 3 | Elective | 3 | ||
| 14 | 13 | ||||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
| CHEM 1410 & CHEM 1411 | 4 | MICROB 3200 | 4 | ||
| BIO_SC 2200 | 4 | CHEM 2100 | 3 | ||
| Humanities | 3 | HIST 1100, 1200, or POL_SC 1100 | 3 | ||
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 2 | ||
| 14 | 12 | ||||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| MICROB 4304 | 3 | 1000-level Writing Intensive course (CDS 3100W recommended) | 3 | CL_L_S 4407 | 2 |
| STAT 1200, 1300, or ESC_PS 4170 | 3 | 2000-level or higher Chemistry or Biochemistry course | 3 | CL_L_S 4408 | 2 |
| 2000+ level Humanities | 3 | Humanities | 3 | CL_L_S 4409 | 2 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 | CL_L_S 4410 | 1 |
| CL_L_S 4411 | 1 | ||||
| 12 | 12 | 8 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
| CL_L_S 4413 | 1 | CL_L_S 4412 | 5 | ||
| CL_L_S 4414 | 2 | CL_L_S 4415 | 2 | ||
| CL_L_S 4416 | 2 | CL_L_S 4417 | 2 | ||
| CL_L_S 4418 | 2 | CL_L_S 4419 | 2 | ||
| CL_L_S 4420 | 2 | CL_L_S 4423 | 2 | ||
| CL_L_S 4422 | 2 | CL_L_S 4443 | 1 | ||
| CL_L_S 4442 | 1 | CL_L_S 4445 | 1 | ||
| CL_L_S 4444 | 1 | CL_L_S 4449 | 1 | ||
| CL_L_S 4448 | 1 | CL_L_S 4980W | 3 | ||
| CL_L_S 4970 | 2 | ||||
| 16 | 19 | ||||
| Total Credits: 120 | |||||
NOTE: Third Year - Summer to be completed in Omaha.
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
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If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.
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If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring the major.
- If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit:
- the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog,
- the MU Majors website.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.