Organization of the Program

The first three-year sequence of university-based courses prepares students for the clinical rotations. The fourth year of the CLS program consists of a combination of clinical courses on campus and full-day hospital based clinical rotations.

The Clinical Internships will consist of a minimum of thirty hours per week for 24-30 weeks of laboratory instruction during the twelve-month clinical period.

Internship Year Admission Criteria/Procedure

To be admitted to the clinical year of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program, all candidates must:

Be admitted to Mercy University.
Submit official transcripts from all high schools and universities attended to the Mercy University Admissions Office.
Complete all Natural Science courses within the major with a grade of C or higher.
Have a minimum GPA of 2.5 in both Natural Science courses within the major and the overall GPA to be accepted into the program.
Submit a recommendation form a Natural Science course faculty or laboratory work supervisor on the required .recommendation form. The recommendations must be recent (not over 6 months old). All Recommendation Forms must be submitted in a sealed envelope with the recommender’s signature over the seal. Forms are available on the CLS program webpage.
Submission of all components of the application by March 31st for consideration for the following Fall semester.

Clinical Laboratory Science Program Admission Requirements for students seeking a second Bachelor of Science degree

Applicants to the CLS program with previous BS degrees from an accredited institution of higher education who have completed the required program prerequisites will be admitted to the CLS program with advanced standing. Up to a maximum of 90 credits can be applied from the applicant’s prior bachelor’s degree to the CLS program. Applicants who meet the application criteria, will be eligible to begin the clinical 4th year of the program and graduate in 12 months.

Program Admission requirements for students with a completed BS degree include:

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education with a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA (out of 4.0 scale)
Completion of the following pre-requisite courses with a grade of C or higher and a Science GPA of 2.5 or higher:
- General Biology with lab – 8 credits
- General Chemistry with lab – 8 credits
- Organic Chemistry I and II with lab – 8 credits
- Biochemistry with lab – 4 credits
- Microbiology with lab – 4 credits
- Human Physiology with lab – 4 credits
- Immunology – 3 credits
- Molecular Biology with lab - 4 credits
Submission of an application form for the program. Forms are available on the CLS program webpage: https://www.mercy.edu/academics/programs/clinical-laboratory-science.
Submission of a recommendation from a Science course faculty or laboratory work supervisor on the required recommendation form. The recommendation must be recent (not over 6 months old). Forms are available on the CLS program webpage: https://www.mercy.edu/academics/programs/clinical-laboratory-science.
Submission of all components of the application by June 15th for consideration for the following Fall semester.

Deadlines for Applications into the Program

Current Mercy University students seeking a first BS degree in CLS should submit applications by March 31st for consideration for the following Fall semester.

Students with an existing BS degree and all required pre-requisites should submit applications by June 15th for consideration for the following Fall semester.

Progression Criteria

Students enrolling in natural science courses and clinical laboratory science courses must earn at least a letter grade of C in all Prerequisite courses. Students must complete course with a grade of ‘C’ or higher to enroll in Clinical Laboratory Science courses. Students in the clinical laboratory science major may not repeat a CLSC course more than once. Any student who receives less than the required minimum grade in a course required in the curriculum more than once will automatically be dismissed from the program. Students must receive a ‘C’ or higher in all required courses.

Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 overall and in the natural science major concentration to be eligible to enroll in courses with the prefix “CLSC” and in the clinical rotations. Students must have a grade of ‘C’ or higher in natural science courses.

Clinical Requirements

All students must complete the following before starting clinical rotations. Copies of these documents/clearances must be submitted electronically to the Clinical Placement Coordinator by the specified due date. No one is allowed to begin clinical without the following:

Liability malpractice insurance
Health clearance approval
Immunization titers - MMR, Hepatitis B, Varicella, Hepatitis C
Flu vaccine, and any other vaccine as required by clinical sites
PPD or chest x-ray/Quantiferon Gold test (if PPD positive)
*Criminal background check - Depending on clinical site requirements
*Drug screen - Depending on clinical site requirements
*Fingerprints - Depending on clinical site requirements.

Program Accreditation Status

The Clinical Laboratory Science Program is accredited by The National Accreditating Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS). NAACLS contact information is: NAACLS, 5600 N. River Road, Suite 720, Rosemont, IL 60018-5119. Phone number is 773-714-8880 x382 and fax number is 773-714-8886. NAACLS’s website is www.naacls.org and email is info@naacls.org. Clinical Laboratory Technology is a licensed profession in New York State and Mercy University’s program in Clinical Laboratory Science is registered with the New York State Education Department as a licensure-qualifying program. The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification administers certifying examinations and awards certification. Graduates who intend to work in New York State must file an application for licensure with the New York State Education Department Office of the Professions to begin the application process. Licensure requirements include passing the ASCP Board of Certification examination.

Program Dismissal Review

In cases in which a student has been dismissed from the Clinical Laboratory Science Program, the student may request a dismissal review when they believe that extenuating circumstances affected their academic performance in the program. The student must follow the SHNS Program Dismissal Review Policy detailed at the beginning of the School of Health and Natural Sciences section.

Complaints that Fall Outside the Realm of Due Process

The Clinical Laboratory Science Program is committed to meeting its mission as it relates to serving our students, potential students, staff, faculty, adjunct faculty, clinical faculty and the public consumer of our services. To that end, we are committed to ensuring that exceptional complaints for which there is no established University, School or program policy or procedure are considered and resolved in a timely, fair, consistent and equitable manner.

Procedure: Complaint to the Program: Complaints should be addressed to the Program Director through the online form located here.
If the program director is the subject of the complaint, the complaint should be addressed to the Dean, School of Health and Natural Science.

Professional Licensure

If you are interested in obtaining professional licensure, please check with the appropriate licensing body in the state where you intend to practice. For additional information and detailed requirements, please refer to the specific program of interest on the “School Resources” section of the Mercy University NC-Sara webpage.

Clinical Laboratory Science, B.S.

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Overview

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Majors

Concentrations