Hi,
I am currently a Biochemistry major, but I would like to work in a laboratory and close from the medical field. I want to go to medical school but because I am international student my chances are very small.
I want to either major in Clinical Laboratory science, so I am wondering what would the right path be to get that as a major is.
Because I am very confused if you either have to attend a school that have that specific program on your undergraduate studies? or do you have to wait until you get your undergraduate degree and then apply for it?
Thanks in advance! I would love to hear any information about the program!
Each state has different requirements to apply to a CLS program after you have fulfilled the course requirements. After your receive your BS, you apply to a 1 year internship (clinical program) which will allow to sit for the California state exam. You would need to check the specific state of interest to see their requirements:
Many schools have Majors with a CLS emphasis, however; you can major in any field as long as you fulfill the course requirements for the internship.
Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS)
Licensure as a CLS in California requires a Bachelor’s degree with required coursework to qualify for a CLS Trainee license and entry into a training internship program. The internship is generally one year and includes practical laboratory training in all specialty areas of a cooperating medical laboratory as well as didactic training. After training the candidate must pass a comprehensive written exam* to obtain a California CLS License. Many schools also qualify their students to sit for one or more of the national certifying exams which are used as a benchmark in states without licensing laws. Once licensed, renewal will require 24 Continuing Education units per two year licensing cycle.
Required Coursework for CLS
Required Coursework Includes
18 semester or equivalent quarter hours of Biological Science
Required Courses: Medical Microbiology, Hematology and Immunology
Recommended Courses: Parasitology, Virology, Mycology
16 semester or equivalent quarter hours in Chemistry
Required Courses: Analytical Chemistry, (Quantitative Analysis) and Biochemistry
Recommended Courses: Clinical Chemistry
3 semester or equivalent quarter hours in Physics
Including instruction in Principles of Light and Electricity
Helpful Websites: http://www.camlt.org/laboratory-profession#licensing-for-cls
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/lfs/Pages/TrainingPrograms.aspx
Thanks a lot for your clarification @Gumbymom . So this program is basically something you apply for after you graduate college right?
Do you have an idea about the GPA required to get into this program?
Yes, you apply after you have received your BS degree. Each program will have be competitive since usually there are only 4-6 spots available each year. In regards to GPA requirements, many programs have a minimum 3.0 GPA requirement but again it is dependent upon the program. You would need to look up each program of interest to see if there is a minimum required. The 3.0 GPA minimum I quoted is for the UC Davis and UC San Diego CLS programs.
In most states licensure is not required, simply passing one of the National Certifying exams is all that is required. In those states most people attend a CLS/MLS program that can be completed as part of your BS degree in four years, usually in a 3+1 or 2+2 format where you take your prerequisites in your earlier years and complete your clinical training in the latter one or two. Florida and California require state licensure as do a few other states where 4+1 programs as described above are more common. Licensing remains less the rule than the exception across most of the U.S.
If you are thinking of going to Med School eventually, a BS in medical/clinical laboratory science is a great undergrad major as it will hit your usual med school pre-reqs, give you plenty of healthcare experience and a huge knowledge advantage of disease states and treatments over the typical pre-med student. My daughter is considering med school as one possible grad/prof degree and a BS of this type is my solid recommendation to her is she goes that way, plus it is a nice undergrad level professional degree you can get good full or part time work with during or before grad or med school.
Since I am a CA CLS, I am only familar with the CA CLS licensing requirements. Thank you @Skates76 for clarification on the other state’s requirements.
I am a former MT/CLS and currently an attorney who deals primarily in professional licensure. The licensure movement gained some traction in some progressive, large, and heavily regulated states back when I was still active in the field @Gumbymom , but here in the northeast we primarily license the laboratories and require them to assure that the qualifications of their personnel, usually accomplished via national certification.
Pay for CLS work is generally higher in individual licensure states since the workforce is more limited and favors the CLS from a supply and demand standpoint. I think it is a fabulous degree either as a career or as a step into either further clinical or management/healthcare administration training. (-:
Thanks a lot for the clarification @Skates76 @Gumbymom.
I would really appreciate it if I could hear your guys opinion about the options that have.
Option 1: Go to IUPUI and pursue the 3+1 program to get my BS in Clinical laboratory science. However I don’t really wanna go to Indiana because I don’t like the state but I am willing to go if its going to help me get that degree and the job that I want.
Option 2: Go to either Temple University or Loyola university Chicago, but most likely Temple U. I like both cities and I like the schools too. However, they both do not offer a clinical laboratory science program so I will have to apply for it after I graduate from one of these 2 schools with most likely a Biochemistry major (which is my current major and I like it). So I will be doing CLS after getting my Biochemistry degree. Do you think this option would lower my chances of getting the CLS of IUPUI as I will be applying to other schools.
which one of these options do u think is better?
Do you think option 2 is a good option because I am scared of graduating with a biochem degree and not be able to get the CLS BS?
Right now I am attending Arizona State and I did not like it over there at all so I am gonna be transferring to one of these schools for the Fall. I work very Hard and I am willing to work even harder in the upcoming semesters, my Fall semester was a 3.33 ( I took an engineering chemistry class that lowered my GPA), my Spring semester is a 3.74. For my freshmen year my overall GPA is a 3.55.
Thanks a lot in advance 
My D and I just visited West Virginia University and University of Kentucky this past weekend both of which have nice health science centers and offer that major. In Pennsylvania it is offered at a number of our true State schools (Temple is a ‘state related’ school as are Pitt and Penn State) such as Indiana Univ of PA, Slippery Rock, etc, plus a number of smaller private schools like Lebanon Valley College. WVU gives good merit aid that your grades sound like they would qualify for at some level.
I don’t see having the biochem major as an impediment to a 4+1 CLS as long as you have the required biology classes like microbiology and physiology. You sound well qualified for a CLS program. In PA the CLS program clinical years are run by med center schools, so checking with those schools will be helpful to ensure you meet the pre-reqs. A lot of those clinical schools will be affiliated with a number of feeder colleges, so check out some of the schools I named above, find the clinical programs they are affiliated with and see what your options are.
Any chance you might consider pharmacy school as another option after biochem? More expensive than CLS and longer, but much higher pay once you finish.
@Skates76: I was also going to mention pharmacy school as an option. I have 2 former co-workers whom got their CLS license and after working several years in the laboratory, opted to apply to Pharmacy school and pursue that career.
yeah I am ready to consider all options inthe medical field including pharmacy school. But I wanna know how hard it is to go to pharmacy school? Is it as hard as med school? What is the required GPA or the avergae GPA of people that get into pharmacy school? Because my dream job is to be a doctor but because I am international student my chances are very small so I pharmacy school would me more than great for me too.
Thanks a lot for the help for both of you I really appreciate it because I don’t really know that much people with experience to ask @Skates76 @Gumbymom.
Here is a link to a thread I started regarding my D’s current college and major search process. Lots of stuff about pharmacy early on, plus information about biomedical engineering which is another possible avenue for your interests and educational goals and background generally. Most importantly there are some really knowledgable and helpful posters in that thread who know tons about these subject areas. You might even want to PM a link to your thread to ask for their input. Hope this helps!
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1766175-any-to-add-to-the-list-p1.html