The BS in Clinical Laboratory Science requires 129 credit hours for graduation. Students spend the first two years in prerequisite courses. The third year is spent on courses related to the basic sciences and the clinical laboratory sciences, with an introduction to work performed in clinical laboratories. The final year of the program consists solely of a 10-month practicum experience, with a mixture of classroom instruction and laboratory work.  In addition, students must spend the last 45 hours of instruction or a total of 64 hours in residence. 

The total credit hours for degree completion are divided according to the following plan:

I.  Prerequisite Courses:  University Core Curriculum, Science and Math prerequisites (99 credit hours)

University Core Curriculum (36 credit hours):  Students are to take the designated amount of credit hours in each Knowledge Area listed below.  These courses may be taken at any time prior to the Clinical Practicum at Loyola, and in certain cases, transfer courses taken prior to admission to Loyola may be eligible to fulfill this area.  For a listing of courses that fulfill each Knowledge Area, with course descriptions, see http://www.luc.edu/core/coreknowledge.shtml.

• University Writing Requirement (3)                                  

• Artistic Knowledge (3)                                                     

• Historical Knowledge (6)                                                 

• Literary Knowledge and Experience (6)                           

• Quantitative Literacy -- fulfilled with Science and Math Prerequisites below                                           

• Philosophical Knowledge (6)                                             

• Scientific Literacy -- fulfilled with Science and Math Prerequisites below                                                        

• Societal/Cultural Understanding (6)                                  

• Theological/Religious Studies (6)                              

• Ethics (to be met with either Philosophy or Theology credit) (3)                                                                            

Science and Math Prerequisites (63 credit hours):  Students must follow the normal course sequencing of these courses. Introduction to Laboratory Medicine (Fall term) and Advanced Laboratory Medicine (Spring term) must be taken in the academic year immediately prior to the student's enrollment in the Clinical Practicum. 

• CLS 301 Introduction to Laboratory Medicine (4)    

• CLS 302 Advanced Laboratory Medicine (4)                                  

• BIOL 101/111 General Biology I /General Biology Laboratory I (4)

• BIOL 102/112 General Biology II /General Biology Laboratory II (4)                             

• BIOL 242 Human Structure and Function I (4)

• BIOL 243 Human Structure and Function II (4)              

• BIOL 251/252 Cell Biology/Cell Biology Lab (5)                  

• BIOL 282 Genetics (3)                                     

• BIOL 302 General Microbiology (4)                                         

• BIOL 315 Immunology (4)                                          

• BIOL 366 Biochemistry (without lab) (3)                     

• CHEM 101/111 General Chemistry A /General Chemistry Laboratory A (4)

• CHEM 102/112 General Chemistry B/General Chemistry Laboratory B (4)                        

• CHEM 223 Organic Chemistry I (without lab) (3)

• CHEM 224 Organic Chemistry II (without lab) (3)                                     

• MATH 117 College Algebra (3)                             

• STAT 103 Fundamentals of Statistics (3)                              

II. Clinical Practicum (30 credit hours): 

An intensive, hospital‑based curriculum, corresponding to the medical school model of clinical rotations, as opposed to discrete classroom‑based units of instruction. The students will spend a total of 40 weeks in clinical rotation, which will be assigned based on content areas.  The areas include:                                                                                                                    

• Hematology/Coagulation/Urinalysis and Body Fluids (includes Special Hematology/Coagulation)  

• Chemistry (includes Special Chemistry/Immunology/Serology)                                                         

• Immunohematology [Blood Bank]                                                           

• Microbiology/Virology/Mycology/Parasitology/Molecular Pathology                                                           

• Phlebotomy & Lab Safety 

• Break                                                                                                                                                                        

Total:  40 weeks

While students may enroll as full‑time or part‑time students in all of the courses that lead up to the Clinical Practicum, the Clinical Practicum itself is a required capstone experience in a hospital setting that is structured as a full‑time commitment, lasting a total of 40 weeks. During the Clinical Practicum, laboratory instruction takes place only during the day, transpiring over the course of the summer followed by two consecutive (fall and spring) semesters. Any student who has been attending the program on a part‑time schedule until that point must commit full‑time to the Clinical Practicum unit by making appropriate arrangements.