2024-2025 Academic Catalog

Feb 01, 2025

2024-2025 Academic Catalog

Medical Laboratory Science, BS

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About the Program

Medical Laboratory Sciences, also known as Clinical or Medical Technology, is a field in medicine where individuals perform laboratory tests on clinical specimens such as blood, microbial cultures, and tissue samples. The test results are used by physicians for diagnosis as well as for determining appropriate treatments. To become a medical laboratory scientist, students not only need a solid background in microbiology, molecular biology, immunology, and physiology but also must undergo clinical training with state-of-the-art analytical equipment used for pathogen, blood, fluid, and tissue assays. To be employed in a medical setting, graduates will have to pass the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) exam to become a certified medical laboratory scientist (MLS). Well-trained and certified medical laboratory scientists have career choices in clinical laboratory work, research, public health, forensic work, as well as in the pharmaceutical industry.

The B.S. in Medical Laboratory Science at Purdue University Northwest is a 3+1 program. The first three year (88 Credits) of course work provides students with a solid foundation in science and math as well as all general education courses required for a bachelor degree. The fourth year (32 Credits) consists of clinical training in one of four affiliated hospitals.

Degree Requirements

120 Credit Hours
Minimum grade of C- required for BIOL 10100, BIOL 10200, and MA 16031
Minimum GPA of 2.0 required for graduation

PNW General Education Core (30 Credits Minimum)

English Composition (6 Credits): ENGL 10400 - English Composition I and ENGL 10500 - English Composition II
Speech Communication (3 Credits): COM 11400 - Fundamentals of Speech Communication
Quantitative Reasoning (3 Credits): MA 16031 - Calculus I For Life Sciences
Natural Sciences (8 Credits): BIOL 10100 - Introductory Biology and BIOL 10200 - Introductory Biology
Technology (3 Credits): CIS 20400 - Introduction To Computer Based Systems
Humanities (3 Credits): Select from the Humanities Core list
Social Sciences (3 Credits): Select from the Social Sciences Core list
First-Year Experience (FYE) (1 Credit): BIOL 10700 - Freshman Experience In Biological Sciences

Major Core (52 Credits)

Other Required Courses (38 Credits)

Biology Elective (3 Credits)

Biology elective courses for Medical Technology majors range from 3 to 5 credits. Choose from the following:

BIOL 35700 - Introductory Animal Physiology - may be replaced by BIOL 21400 . However, BIOL 21300 , a prerequisite of BIOL 21400 , is not counted as a biology elective to meet this requirement.
BIOL 41800 - Drugs And Disease
BIOL 50700 - Principles Of Molecular Biology
BIOL 50800 - Recombinant DNA Techniques
BIOL 51601 - Food Microbiology
BIOL 52020 - Introduction To Virology
BIOL 53300 - Medical Microbiology
BIOL 59500 - Special Assignments - Cell and Tissue Culture
or courses approved by the department.

Clinical Training (32 Credits)

Two semesters of Clinical Training are completed in one of the four program affiliated hospitals - St. Margaret Mercy Health Care Centers, North Campus (Hammond, IN), OSF Saint Francis Medical Center (Peoria, IL), Community Hospital (Munster, IN) or Hines VA Hospital (Hines, IL). Students must be eligible to work legally in the US to participate in clinical training at the affiliated hospitals. For acceptance into a clinical program: students need an overall 2.5 GPA and a minimum of 2.5 GPA in the sciences. Completion of prerequisite courses at Purdue University Northwest does not guarantee admission to an affiliated hospital program. Consult your advisor for the application procedure.

Humanities or Social Science Elective (3 Credits)

This degree requires 3-credit hours of electives from the Humanities and Social Sciences, in addition to the 3-credits required from each of these areas that must be chosen from the approved General Education list (see General Education Core above). Three credit hours of foreign languages can be used towards this requirement.

Civics Literacy Proficiency

The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue Northwest students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry.

Students will complete the Proficiency by passing a test of civic knowledge, and completing one of three paths:

Attending six approved civics-related events and completing an assessment for each; or
Completing 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship and Engagement that use C-SPAN material and completing an assessment for each; or
Earning a passing grade for one of the approved courses (or transferring in approved AP or departmental credit in lieu of taking a course)

For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.

Total 120 Credits Required

Degree Map

Requirements

Minimum Grade and Grade Point Average (GPA): Minimum grade of C- required for BIOL 10100, 10200, and MA 16031; 2.0 GPA

Experiential Learning (EL): One EL course required, most students fulfill this requirement by taking ENGL 10500. Clinical hospital course work towards this degree can also be used to fulfill the EL requirement. See the complete list here

General Education Core: General Education notations can be found within the course description. Please click on a course to see if it meets a Gen Ed requirement.

Milestone Courses noted by (m) next to the course title have been identified as being critical to your success in this field of study.

Please see the Additional Information and Guidelines section below for more information.

Semester 1 (15 Credits)

Semester 2 (17 Credits)

Semester 3 (14 Credits)

Semester 4 (14 Credits)

BIOL 24300 - Introductory Cell Biology Spring Only
CHM 25600 - Organic Chemistry For The Life Sciences II
CHM 25601 - Organic Chemistry For The Life Sciences Laboratory II
STAT 33001 - Biostatistics Spring Only
Humanities - select from Humanities Core List

Semester 5 (14 Credits)

BIOL 24400 - Genetics Fall Only
PHYS 22000 - General Physics
Biology Elective (See Note 3)
Humanities or Social Science Elective (See Note 2)

Semester 6 (12 Credits)

BIOL 42600 - Senior Capstone
BIOL 56100 - Immunology Spring Only (See Note 6)
CHM 33300 - Principles Of Biochemistry
PHYS 22100 - General Physics

Semester 7 (17 Credits)

BIOL 34200 - Biological Science Practicum (e) (See Note 5)
Clinical Training - Fall (See Note 4)

Semester 8 (17 Credits)

BIOL 34200 - Biological Science Practicum (e) (See Note 5)
Clinical Training - Spring (See Note 4)

Additional Information and Guidelines

Note 1: Additional GPA Requirement for BS Medical Technology Degree:

▪ Minimum 2.0 GPA for all required biology courses: BIOL 10100 , BIOL 10200 , BIOL 10700 , BIOL 24400 , BIOL 31600 , BIOL 42600 , and BIOL 56100 (may substitute BIOL 32020 ).

▪ Minimum 2.0 GPA for all biology courses required for graduation.

Note 2: Humanities/ Social Sciences Electives

▪ This degree requires 3-credit hours of electives from Humanities and Social Sciences in addition to the 3-credits required from each of these areas that must be chosen from the approved General Education list (see General Education Core above).

Note 3: Biology Elective (minimum 3 credits):

▪ Biology elective courses for Medical Laboratory Science majors range from 3 to 5 credits.

▪ Choose courses from the following: BIOL 35700 , BIOL 41800 , BIOL 50700 , BIOL 50800 , BIOL 51601 , BIOL 52020 , BIOL 53300 , BIOL 59500 , or courses approved by the department.

Note 4: Clinical Training (32 credits):

▪ Two semesters of Clinical Training are completed in one of the affiliated hospitals - St. Margaret Mercy Health Care Centers, North Campus (Hammond, IN), OSF Saint Francis Medical Center (Peoria, IL), Community Hospital (Munster, IN) or Hines VA Hospital (Hines, IL).

▪ An overall GPA of 2.5 as well as a GPA of 2.5 in the sciences is required for admission to this program.

▪ Completion of prerequisite courses at Purdue University Northwest does not guarantee admission to an affiliated hospital program.

▪ Consult your advisor for application procedure.

Note 5: Biological Science Practicum:

▪ One EL unit is required to graduate (0-3 credits). Most students fulfill this requirement by taking ENGL 10500. Clinical hospital course work towards this degree can also be used to fulfill the EL requirement.

Note 6: Students may take BIOL 32020 Biology Of The Immune System

Resources

The 8 semester plan of study is a recommended sequence of classes designed to show how this program can be completed within four years.

Visit the 15 to Finish website for information and resources.

For career information, click here to visit the Careers and Employment Trends page.

For Financial Aid eligibility, click here. See Important Dates and Deadlines for annual FAFSA filing deadlines and Indiana state aid deadlines. State Financial Aid recipients are required to complete 30 credits per calendar year to maintain eligibility for the 21st Century Scholars award and the On-time Frank O’Bannon grant.

Financial Guarantee: If you follow the degree map and find a course unavailable, you may be able to take the course for free in a future semester. Certain exclusions apply.

College Scorecard

The U.S. Department of Education has created a scorecard for each university and its programs. The scorecard shows data for the university such as graduation rate, average annual cost, and median earnings. Then, when certain minimum standards have been met, data are available for a specific program. That data could include median earnings, median total debt, and number of graduates. The link below will help you learn more:

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?490805-Purdue-University-Northwest&fos_code=5110&fos_credential=3