Bachelor's in Clinical Laboratory Science

Clinical Laboratory Science is designed for students who seek a Bachelor of Science degree, national certification and Florida licensure as a clinical laboratory scientist.

Your knowledge of the human body in health and disease is broadened in courses that include physiology, chemistry, human genetics, microbiology, transfusion medicine, immunology, hematology and molecular diagnostics. Clinical experiences at community laboratories are integrated within the curriculum and enhance your growth as professionals. Graduates of this program have diverse skills for employment in a clinical or research setting. The CLS curriculum also serves as a solid preparation for medical, dental, veterinary, pharmacy, and graduate school.

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Clinical Laboratory Science Certificate

Molecular Diagnostics Certificate

The CLS program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), 5600 N. River Road, Suite 720, Rosemont, IL 60018, 773-714-8880.

The following outcome measures are published yearly:

Year

2022

2023

2024

Placement

100%

Graduation

89%

96%

100%

FGCU Pass Rate

71%

89%

75%

National Pass Rate

75%

81%

80%

Graduates of the program will find career opportunities in a variety of settings:

Hospital laboratories
Physician group practices
Regional reference laboratories
Industrial biotechnology
Clinical management
Medical and pharmaceutical sales
Research
Laboratory computer information systems

Product development
Forensic medicine
Clinical education
Public health laboratories
Government
Veterinary laboratories
Laboratory consultant
Infection control

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Accreditation
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Institutional Accreditation

View information on FGCU institutional accreditation.

Program Accreditation

The CLS program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), 5600 N. River Road, Suite 720, Rosemont, IL 60018, 773-714-8880.
Admissions Information
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Admissions Information for the 2025-2026 Catalog Year
If you are not yet an FGCU student, visit the Admissions Office Website
If you are a newly-admitted FGCU student please be sure to sign up for an Eagle View Orientation session. As part of this session you will be meeting with an academic advisor who will assist you in registering for classes for your major.
Program Admission Requirements
The B.S. in CLS program at FGCU has been designated as specialized admissions. Consequently, the selection process is competitive and all qualified applicants may not be admitted to the program.
- Submit a FGCU Undergraduate Admission Application and satisfy all applicable university admission requirements.
- TOEFL or IELTS scores that meet minimum university admission requirements are required from applicants who have earned their bachelor's degree outside the United States in a country where English is not the official language. This requirement is not limited to international students.
- Submission of a completed CLS supplemental application after completion of common prerequisites.
- Earn a grade of C or better (a grade of C- or less is not acceptable) in each common prerequisite course.
- Earn a minimum combined GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) for all common prerequisite courses.
- Applicants must be admitted to FGCU and supplemental application materials must be received prior to the established deadline.
Admission Deadlines
Visit the Admissions Office Web site for information on admission deadlines of the university.
Download the Clinical Laboratory Science supplemental application.

Criminal Background Check Information

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Costs - In State and Out of State

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Program Requirements
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Program Requirements for the 2025-2026 Catalog Year
The General Education Program Website is located at https://www.fgcu.edu/academics/undergraduatestudies/generaleducation/
Program Progression and Additional Graduation Requirements
For timely degree completion, students must complete appropriate milestones. Failure to meet milestone requirements may result in required major reselection. Refer to the program website or CLS Student Guidebook for further information on milestones and progression standards.

In addition to the program requirements, students must:
- Earn a minimum of 120 credits with a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 on all course work attempted at FGCU.
- Earn, within the 120 total credits, a minimum of 48 credits at the upper division (3000-4999 level).
- Earn a grade of C or above in all courses identified in Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 below. A grade of C- does not satisfy the requirement of a minimum grade of C.
- Satisfy the College-Level Skills and foreign language entrance requirements.
- Satisfy the Service-Learning requirement.
- Satisfy the Civic Literacy requirement.
- Satisfy the residency requirement: 30 of the last 60 credits must be completed at FGCU.
- Complete the summer course enrollment requirement.
- Submit an Application for Graduation by the deadline listed in the FGCU Academic Calendar.
Program Requirements
1. FGCU General Education Program (https://www.fgcu.edu/academics/undergraduatestudies/generaleducation/)
  To prevent or minimize excess hours, select general education courses that satisfy common prerequisite requirements for your intended major.
2. Common Prerequisites
  For this major, common prerequisite courses with an asterisk (*) require prior knowledge and skills demonstrated through degree acceleration programs (e.g., the College Board's Advanced Placement Program [AP], International Baccalaureate Program [IB], College-Level Examination Program [CLEP], Advanced International Certificate of Education Program [AICE]); dual enrollment; placement exam; or college coursework.
  
  FGCU Course: BSC 1010C General Biology with Lab I (4) Minimum grade of C
  Acceptable Substitute: BSCX010C or (BSCX010 and BSCX010L) or BSCX011C or (BSCX011 and BSCX011L)
  
  FGCU Course: BSC 1085C Hum Anat & Physio w/Lab I (4) Minimum grade of C
  Acceptable Substitute: BSCX093C or (BSCX093 and BSCX093L) or BSCX085C or (BSCX085 and BSCX085L) or ZOOX733C or (ZOOX733 and ZOOX733L) or (ZOOX731 and ZOOX731L)
  
  FGCU Course: BSC 1086C Hum Anat & Physio w/Lab II (4) Minimum grade of C
  Acceptable Substitute: BSCX094C or (BSCX094 and BSCX094L) or BSCX086C or (BSCX086 and BSCX086L) or PCBX703C or (PCBX703 and PCBX703L) or (PCBX134 and PCBX134L)
  
  FGCU Course: *CHM 1045 General Chemistry I (3) and CHM 1045L General Chemistry I Laboratory (1) Minimum grade of C
  Acceptable Substitute: CHMX045C or (CHMX045 and CHMX045L)
  [Prerequisites of MAT 1033 minimum grade of C then MAC 1105 minimum grade of C; or relevant accelerated credit; or placement exam]
  
  FGCU Course: CHM 1046 General Chemistry II (3) and CHM 1046L General Chemistry II Lab (1) Minimum grade of C
  Acceptable Substitute: CHMX046C or (CHMX046 and CHMX046L)
  
  FGCU Course: CHM 2210 Organic Chemistry I (3) and CHM 2210L Organic Chemistry I Laboratory (1) Minimum grade of C
  Acceptable Substitute: CHMX210C or (CHMX210 and CHMX210L)
  
  FGCU Course: CHM 2211 Organic Chemistry II (3) and CHM 2211L Organic Chemistry II Laborator (1) Minimum grade of C
  Acceptable Substitute: CHMX211C or (CHMX211 and CHMX211L)
  
  FGCU Course: MCB 2010C Microbiology with Lab (4) or MCB 3020C General Microbiology (4) Minimum grade of C
  Acceptable Substitute: MCBX013C or MCBX020C or (MCBX020 and MCBX020L) or (MCBX023 and MCBX023L) or MCBX010C or (MCBX010 and MCBX010L)
  
  FGCU Course: *STA 2023 Statistical Methods (3) Minimum grade of C
  Acceptable Substitute: STAX014 or STAX023 or STAX024 or STAX321
  [Prerequisites of MAT 1033 minimum grade of C; or relevant accelerated credit; or placement exam]
3. Required Courses in the Major (57 credits)
  Minimum grade of C (not C-) is required in each course
  
  BCH 3023C Biochemistry (3)
  HSC 3161 Genetics for Health Sciences (3)
  IHS 3203 Mgmt. & Leadership in Hlthcare (3)
  IHS 4504 Research Methods in Health Care to Health Care Sys (3)
  IHS 4938 Senior Seminar (3)
  MLS 3038 Essentials of Clinical Lab Sci (3)
  MLS 3220 Biological Fluid Analysis (2)
  MLS 4191 Molecular Diagnostics (3)
  MLS 4308 Hematology/Hemostasis (3)
  MLS 4404 Diagnostic Microbiology (3)
  MLS 4462 Diagnostic Virology, Mycology Parasitology (3)
  MLS 4505 Clinical Immunology (2)
  MLS 4550 Immunohematology & Transfusion (3)
  MLS 4627 Clinical Biochemistry (3)
  MLS 4820C Clinical Biochemistry Practicu (3)
  MLS 4821C Clinical Microbiology Practicu (3)
  MLS 4822C Clinical Hematology Practicum (3)
  MLS 4823C Clinical Immunohematology Practicum (3)
  MLS 4826C Clinical Immunology Practicum (2)
  PCB 4233C Immunology (3)
4. Sustainability Course Graduation Requirement (3 credits)
  Select at least 3 credits in sustainability coursework (SCGR Attribute)
5. Additional Electives - as needed to reach total credits required for the degree
Total Credits Required: 120
Degree Map
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Course Description
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Official Course Descriptions

Search for official course descriptions by using the Course Description Search utility.

Go to the Course Descriptions Search Web page, then follow these steps:
1. Select an Academic Year from the TERM dropdown (required)
2. Select a course prefix from one of the SUBJECT dropdowns (required)
3. Enter search words in the TEXT field (optional, but will narrow the search results)
4. Press Search
Course Schedule
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Getting started with the Course Schedule Search

Search for program courses by using the Course Schedule Search utility.

Go to the Course Schedule Search page, then follow these steps:
1. Select an Academic Year from the TERM dropdown (required)
2. Select one or more of the search options to narrow your results (for example, CAMPUS, COLLEGE, DEPARTMENT, LEVEL, PREFIX*, COURSE ATTRIBUTE**). For virtual or web courses, select VIRTUAL in the CAMPUS field.
3. Press Search.
*A course prefix is a three-letter designator for a major division of an academic discipline (for example, ACG for Accounting , BSC for Biological Science, ENC for English Composition). See the Degree Requirements page for a list of courses (with prefix and number) that can be used to fulfill degree requirements.

**A course attribute identifies specific characteristics of courses that can be used in a Degree Evaluation to satisfy a degree requirement. (Course attribute examples are Humanities courses - GEHM and Social Science courses - GESO.)
Learning Outcomes
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Academic Learning Compact

Consistent with its mission and guiding principles, Florida Gulf Coast University is committed to academic excellence and continuous quality improvement, as supported by a sound teaching-learning process. Within this process, students and instructors share responsibility for learning that is a movement from the simple to the complex, the concrete to the abstract, and the dependent to the independent. The Academic Learning Compact (ALC) initiative supports the teaching-learning process by clearly identifying expected core student learning outcomes in the areas of content/discipline knowledge and skills, communication skills, and critical thinking skills; aligning curricula with expectations; and using assessment to guide continuous improvement.

Content/Discipline Knowledge and Skills
Graduates will be able to:
1. Collect, process, and analyze biological specimens from patients, such as body fluids, cells,and other substances, according to established clinical laboratory protocol.
2. Practice safety procedures in the clinical laboratory environment.
3. Practice high standards of ethical behavior in interactions within healthcare settings.
4. Using the principles of research and inquiry, investigate clinical laboratory science problems, offer plausible solutions, and discuss findings.
Content/discipline knowledge and skills are assessed at the college and departmental levels through assignments, examinations, and other projects completed in the following courses: IHS 3203 Management & Leadership in HSO; IHS 4938 Senior Seminar; MLS 3038C Essentials of CLS; MLS 4820C Clinical Biochemistry Practicum; MLS 4821C Clinical Microbiology Practicum; MLS 4822C Clinical Hematology Practicum; MLS 4823C Clinical Immunohematology Practicum; MLS 4826C Clinical Immunology Practicum; Students will take a mock Clinical Laboratory Science Technologist level Board of Certification Exam.
Communication Skills
Graduates will be able to:
1. Using the principles of research and inquiry, investigate clinical laboratory science problems, offer plausible solutions, and discuss findings.
2. Demonstrate professional communication skills in the health science field.
Communication skills are assessed through assignments, examinations, and other projects completed in the following courses: IHS 3203 Management & Leadership in HSO; IHS 4938 Senior Seminar; MLS 3038C Essentials of CLS; MLS 4820C Clinical Biochemistry Practicum; MLS 4821C Clinical Microbiology Practicum; MLS 4822C Clinical Hematology Practicum; MLS 4823C Clinical Immunohematology Practicum; MLS 4826C Clinical Immunology Practicum.
Critical Thinking Skills
Graduates will be able to:
1. Collect, process, and analyze biological specimens from patients, such as body fluids, cells,and other substances, according to established clinical laboratory protocol.
2. Practice safety procedures in the clinical laboratory environment.
3. Using the principles of research and inquiry, investigate clinical laboratory science problems, offer plausible solutions, and discuss findings.
Critical thinking skills are assessed through assignments, examinations, and other projects completed in the following courses: IHS 3203 Management & Leadership in HSO; IHS 4938 Senior Seminar; MLS 3038C Essentials of CLS; MLS 4820C Clinical Biochemistry Practicum; MLS 4821C Clinical Microbiology Practicum; MLS 4822C Clinical Hematology Practicum; MLS 4823C Clinical Immunohematology Practicum; MLS 4826C Clinical Immunology Practicum.
Tuition, Fees, and Financial Assistance
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Tuition and Fees

Information on Tuition, Fees and estimated total Cost of Attendance is available on the Office of the Bursar.

Financial Aid Opportunities

Visit FGCU's Financial Aid for information about grants, additional scholarships, loans, and student employment.
Current Clinical Affiliates
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Marieb College of Health & Human Services

Department of Health Sciences

10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, Florida 33965

239-590-7453

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