Oct 10, 2024  
2024-2025 University Catalog 
    
2024-2025 University Catalog

Medical Laboratory Sciences, BS

Location(s): West Lafayette


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About the Program


Medical Laboratory Sciences is an ideal degree path for those interested in a career in healthcare. Not only will you learn the science behind clinical diagnostics but how to perform and interpret these analyses with accuracy and precision, like a detective. The unique 3+1 design of our program means that after building a robust interdisciplinary science foundation on campus, you will spend your final year at one of our medical affiliates building advanced clinical competence and diagnostic skills.  Pursuing this undergraduate path means as a professional you will play a critical role on the patient care team providing vital information for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of disease. This is because you will attain expertise across a multitude of disciplines such as hematology, microbiology, immunohematology and more that play a significant role in the treatment and resolution of illness and disease. Along with this expertise, earning national board certification ahead of or near graduation puts you in high demand across a diverse collection of career fields such as medical practice, biomedical research, governmental, and public health agencies to name a few. In addition, Medical Laboratory Sciences will also afford you an enriched foundation should you seek to further your studies in the areas of medicine, biochemistry, toxicology, epidemiology, management, and more in professional or graduate school.

School of Health Sciences Website

Medical Laboratory Sciences Major Change (CODO) Requirements  

Degree Requirements


120 Credits Required

Departmental/Program Major Course Requirements (94 credits)


Clinical Year (32 credits)


A cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 and a minimum science (CHM, BIOL, PHYS, MA) GPA of at least 2.75 is required to apply for admission into the clinical year.

Student must have at least 88 credits completed prior to the start of the clinical year.

(Course title and number of credits per course listed below vary by clinical location. Clinical year includes coursework in Chemistry, Hematology, Serology, Immunohematology, Microbiology, Urinalysis, and special topics such as: Laboratory Management, Parasitology, etc. The course titles and credits may vary depending on the affiliate site, but will adhere to the overall total of 32 credits at the 40000 level.

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (23-24 credits)


Electives (2-3 credits)


  • An Ethics course (such as PHIL 11100 Ethics or PHIL 27000 Environmental Ethics) is highly recommended for elective credit.

GPA Requirements


  • A cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 and a minimum science (CHM, BIOL, PHYS, MA) GPA of at least 2.75 is required for admission into the clinical year.
  • 2.0 GPA required for graduation

Pass/No Pass Policy


  • A student may elect the Pass/Not-Pass grading option for elective courses only, unless an academic unit requires that a specific departmental course/s be taken Pass/Not-Pass.  Students may elect to take University Core Curriculum courses Pass / Not-Pass; however, some major Plans of Study require courses that also fulfill UCC foundational outcomes.  In such cases, students may not elect the Pass/Not-Pass option.  A maximum of 24 credits of elective courses under the Pass/Not-pass grading option can be used toward graduation requirements. For further information, students should refer to the College of Health and Human Sciences Pass / Not-Pass Policy.

University Requirements


University Core Requirements


For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the University Senate Website.
  • Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (BSS)
  • Human Cultures: Humanities (HUM)
  • Information Literacy (IL)
  • Oral Communication (OC)
  • Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
  • Science #1 (SCI)
  • Science #2 (SCI)
  • Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
  • Written Communication (WC) 

Civics Literacy Proficiency Requirement


The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry. For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.

To obtain the Civics Literacy Proficiency, students will complete an educational activity as part of their chosen Civics Literacy Pathway and pass the Purdue Civics knowledge test.  The knowledge test can be completed at any time while the pathway is being perused.  There are three different pathways:

  • Civics Event pathway - Attend six approved civics-related events and pass the required exam; or
  • Civics Literacy Podcast pathway - Complete 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement that use C-SPAN material and pass the required exam; or
  • Approved course pathway - Complete  one of the following approved courses and pass the required exam.

More details about each pathway and how to complete the requirement can be found on the Civics Literacy Student Dashboard in myPurdue.

Upper Level Requirement


  • Resident study at Purdue University for at least two semesters and the enrollment in and completion of at least 32 semester hours of coursework required and approved for the completion of the degree. These courses are expected to be at least junior-level (30000+) courses.
  • Students should be able to fulfill most, if not all, of these credits within their major requirements; there should be a clear pathway for students to complete any credits not completed within their major.

Additional Information


  • Most Medical Laboratory Sciences students graduate in August.
  • 3 years plus 1 year clinical (application required for clinical).

Sample 4-Year Plan


16-17 Credits


Spring 1st Year


15 Credits


14 Credits


Spring 2nd Year


14 Credits


Fall 3rd Year


13-14 Credits


Spring 3rd Year


14-15 Credits


Fall 4th Year


  • HSCI Clinical Courses - 10000-59999 - Credit Hours: 16.00

16 Credits


Spring 4th Year


  • HSCI Clinical Courses - 10000-59999 - Credit Hours: 16.00

16 Credits


Pre-Requisite Information


For pre-requisite information, log in to mypurdue.purdue.edu and click here.

World Language Courses


World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor. (ASL-American Sign Language; ARAB-Arabic; CHNS-Chinese; FR-French; GER-German; GREK-Greek(Ancient); HEBR-Hebrew(Biblical); HEBR-Hebrew(Modern); ITAL-Italian; JPNS-Japanese; KOR-Korean; LATN-Latin; PTGS=Portuguese; RUSS-Russian; SPAN-Spanish)

Critical Course


The ♦ course is considered critical.

In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major. Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful. These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program.”

Disclaimer


The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Consultation with an advisor may result in an altered plan customized for an individual student. The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.

Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

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