Department of Medical Laboratory Science

Medical Laboratory Science Master of Science Program

The Medical Laboratory Science Master of Science Program is open to full time and part time students who are planning to continue their careers in the clinical or biotechnology laboratory. As a Sloan Foundation approved Professional Science Masters™ Program, it is designed to equip mid career professionals with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to advance in their chosen specialty.

The curriculum is divided into three major component areas.

The first part is the integrated Biomedical Engineering/Biotechnology core in which students learn to improve their communication skills with professionals in other specialty fields such as engineers and computer programming. In addition, courses in statistics and ethics are also required to complete the required skill set.
The second section consists of courses in advanced clinical laboratory specialty areas such as biochemistry, hematology, immunology and microbiology. These courses are designed to advance the student’s understanding of current concepts of laboratory medicine and to further their application of these concepts to solve problems.
The final section consists of courses known by the Sloan Foundation as “plus” courses. These courses apply focused management and communication skills to the clinical or biotechnology laboratory setting as well as the larger healthcare related environment.

For more information, please contact:
Prof. James T. Griffith
Chancellor Professor
Department of Medical Laboratory Science
College of Arts and Sciences
508.999.8328
jgriffith@umassd.edu

Degree Requirements

Candidates for the MS in Clinical Laboratory Science must complete a minimum of 34 credits of coursework. Graduate coursework comprises 500 and 600 level courses, although up to six (6) credits of the total may be taken in advanced undergraduate (400 level) courses.

Many of these courses are being migrated to an online environment to allow part time students greater flexibility in the pursuit of an advanced degree. Faculty advisers are aware of these changes and will work with the student to develop a process of study that allows for the greatest opportunity to take advantage of these offerings.

The program requirements include 12 credits of CORE courses:

BMB 510: Intro to Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology
BMB 520: Quantitative Physiology
BMB 540: Advanced Cellular and Molecular Biology
BMB 571: Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research
BMB 570: Applied Math for Life Scientists

These are followed by 12 credits of clinical laboratory science courses:

MLS 500 Clinical Immunology
MLS 503 Advances in Clinical Microbiology
MLS 504 Hematopoietic Functions
MLS 560 Advances in Clinical Chemistry

The final nine (9) credits are drawn from the Sloan Foundation PLUS courses in Management, Leadership, Accounting or other courses appropriate to the student’s desired specialty.

Application requirements

Admission to the graduate medical laboratory Science program may be for either the fall or the spring semester. Admission is competitive and requires the completion of an undergraduate degree in clinical laboratory science or a closely related field with a grade point average that attests to the student’s ability for graduate level study.

Applying to the program

The Office of Graduate Admissions has complete information and online applications for admission.