The College of Professional and Global Education is pleased to offer a one-year post-baccalaureate training program for Clinical Laboratory Scientist. Designed to address the critical shortage of clinical laboratory scientists, the Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS) Certificate Program has established partnerships with a consortium of clinical laboratories for the required bench training. The CLS program will provide both didactic and practical clinical training in hematology, clinical chemistry, blood banking, microbiology, and immunology to prepare students to sit for the State of California CLS licensing exam (American Society of Clinical Pathology MLS exam).
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Access a pre-recorded information session here.
Read the Clinical Laboratory Scientist Brochure Certificate Program Brochure.
The curriculum/courses in the Clinical Laboratory Scientist Certificate Program are:
Program admissions requirements for the Clinical Laboratory Scientist Certificate Program is a minimum of a bachelor's degree (baccalaureate) with specific course requirements, received by May of the year the internship begins. (This will be approved by the program director and accepted by the State of California for licensure).
Also:
- 16 semester units (24 quarter units) in chemistry, including:
a. Quantitative analysis or analytical chemistry; and
b. Clinical chemistry or biochemistry
- 16 semester units (24 quarter units) in biology, including medical, clinical, or pathogenic microbiology, hematology, and immunology.
- 3 semester units (4 quarter units) of physics, mathematics, or statistics.
- Prefer at least 4 units of upper-division biology laboratory instruction and at least one, and preferably all, of the following courses: physiology, genetics, biostatistics, and a lab class that includes molecular biology techniques.
- Core courses (hematology, immunology, medical microbiology, and clinical chemistry or analytical chemistry (quantitative analysis) and biochemistry must have been completed within 7 years of the internship.
- Proof of enrollment in or completion of all coursework must be received no later than February 2.
- For candidates with foreign degrees whose language of instruction was not English, a minimum 80 IBT, 7 IELTS, or PTE score of 53 or higher or DuoLingo score of 105 or higher is required. IN ADDITION, an upper division course in hematology (with lab) or medical microbiology (with lab) taken in the U.S.A. with a grade of B or better.
- Students must complete all admission requirements by May of the year the internship begins.
- A minimum GPA of 2.75 (overall, science and last 60-semester units on a four-point scale. International students must have their transcripts evaluated by the U.S.A. credentials evaluation service IERF and their grades must be converted to a 4-point scale (course by course evaluation).
- Three (3) recommendation forms completed by upper-division/graduate course instructors or work supervisors, with at least one recommendation form from an instructor. (Download the form and send it to recommenders to complete.)
- Pending application to Laboratory Field Services for a Clinical Laboratory Scientist Trainee License. Final acceptance for admission to the program is contingent upon receiving this license.
- Candidates must have United States citizenship or permanent residency in the U.S. to be admitted to the programs.
- Prospective students will be allowed to apply to the program up to 3 times. After three (3) unsuccessful attempts, the applicant will no longer be eligible to enter the program.
Applications for the Clinical Laboratory Scientist Certificate Program will be accepted from October 1 of the year preceding the internship until January 15 of the year the internship begins. Moving forward, the applications will be submitted via Cal State Apply. Below are application worksheets to help prepare you for application submission:
The per unit cost for the Clinical Laboratory Scientist Certificate Program is $675.
The total cost of the CLS Certificate Program is $12,825.
Please note that the total program cost does not include other related expenses in the program.
The CLS Certificate Program has been approved as a Gainful Employment Program by the Department of Education. Access the Gainful Employment Disclosure. Eligible trainees can apply for Federal Financial Aid to support them during the year that they are in the program.
CLS Outcome Measures | 2024 (n=40) | 2023 (n=32) | 2022 (n=32) |
| External certification or licensure results (when exam taken within 12 months of completion of program) - % pass | 95% | 97% | 97% |
| Graduation rates - % graduated | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Attrition rates - % did not complete | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Placement rates (i.e., employment positions in the field of study or pursuit of further education) - % hired | 95% * | 97.0% | 97.0% |
*Data shown is in the process of being collected.
Clinical affiliates of the CLS Program include:
Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center (Los Angeles)
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles)
Children’s Hospital of Orange (Orange)
Emanate Health: Queen of the Valley (West Covina) and Intercommunity (Covina) campuses; students spend one-half year at each facility.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital (Valencia)
Keck Hospital of USC (Los Angeles)
Los Angeles County, Department of Health Services (DHS) facilities:
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (Torrance)
Los Angeles General Medical Center (Los Angeles)
Olive View-UCLA Medical Center (Sylmar)
Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (West Hills)
Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (Sacramento)
Saint Francis Medical Center (Lynwood)
San Antonio Regional Hospital (Upland)
St. Joseph Hospital (Orange)
USC Arcadia Hospital (Arcadia)
USC Verdugo Hills Hospital (Glendale)
California State University programs for professions that require licensure or certification are intended to prepare the student for California licensure and certification requirements. Admission into programs for professions that require licensure and certification does not guarantee that students will obtain a license or certificate. Licensure and certification requirements are set by agencies that are not controlled by or affiliated with the California State University and licensure and certification requirements can change at any time.
The California State University has not determined whether its programs meet other states’ educational or professional requirements for licensure and certification. Students planning to pursue licensure or certification in other states are responsible for determining whether, if they complete a California State University program, they will meet their state’s requirements for licensure or certification. This disclosure is made pursuant to 34 CFR §668.43(a)(5)(v)(C).
The California State University, Los Angeles is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), among other accrediting agencies. For more information, please visit CSU Accreditation & State Authorization.
The Clinical Laboratory Scientist program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS). For more information, you can contact NAACLS directly at 5600 N. River Road, Suite 720, Rosemont, IL 60018, or by calling (773) 714-8880. You can also reach them via email: info@naacls.org, or by visiting www.naacls.org.
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For more information about the Clinical Laboratory Scientist Certificate Program, email Gloria Preza or call (323) 343-6065.