MLS Curriculum
Required Courses
Course Title | Number | Credits | Semester(s) offered | Prerequisite Course(s) |
Biostatistics for Laboratory Professionals | CLSC 708 | 3 | Summer Session II | |
Principles of Molecular Diagnostics | CLSC 710 | 3 | Fall | |
Molecular Genetics and Diseases | CLSC 720 | 3 | Spring | CLSC 710 |
Research Methods | CLSC 730 | 3 | Fall | CLSC 708 |
Method Evaluation | CLSC 735 | 3 | Spring | CLSC 730 |
Clinical Laboratory Administration | CLSC 750 | 3 | Spring | |
Educational Methods and Applications | CLSC 770 | 3 | Fall | |
Capstone I | CLSC 780 | 3 | Fall or Spring | All required MLS courses are pre- or co-requisites |
Capstone II | CLSC 790 | 3 | Fall or Spring | CLSC 780 |
Elective 1 | 3 | Fall or Spring | ||
Elective 2 | 3 | Fall or Spring | ||
Total Credits | 33 |
Required Courses for Recent UNC CLS Graduates
(within the past 10 years)
Students who graduated from the UNC-CH Clinical Laboratory Science program within the past 10 years will take CLSC 772 (Education and Research in CLS: 3 credits) instead of CLSC 730 and 770. They are not required to take CLSC 750 and will take one additional elective for a total of 30 credits.
Course Title | Number | Credits | Semester(s) offered | Prerequisite Course(s) |
Biostatistics for Laboratory Professionals | CLSC 708 | 3 | Summer Session II | |
Principles of Molecular Diagnostics | CLSC 710 | 3 | Fall | |
Molecular Genetics and Diseases | CLSC 720 | 3 | Spring | CLSC 710 |
Method Evaluation | CLSC 735 | 3 | Spring | CLSC 772 |
Education and Research in CLS | CLSC 772 | 3 | Fall | CLSC 708 |
Capstone I | CLSC 780 | 3 | Fall or Spring | All required MLS courses are pre- or co-requisites |
Capstone II | CLSC 790 | 3 | Fall or Spring | CLSC 780 |
Elective 1 | 3 | Fall or Spring | ||
Elective 2 | 3 | Fall or Spring | ||
Elective 3 | 3 | Fall or Spring | ||
Total Credits | 30 |
Electives
All elective courses applied to the MCLS degree must be taken during the time in which the student is enrolled in the program, and must be approved by the student’s advisor. Students may choose electives in the Division of CLS, in other UNC Departments, or at another college or university. One of the electives can be an undergraduate course, as long as the content is applicable to the student’s capstone project. Up to 6 credits of electives that are taken during enrollment in the MLS graduate program may be transferred from another college or university for the degree.
Options for Electives
Students are encouraged to seek out elective courses that support their individual professional goals. The courses listed below are possible options, but students are not limited to these.
- Within the Division of CLS:
- Students may take other courses offered by the Division of CLS, such as CLSC 722: Molecular Diagnostic Science Applications, CLSC 775: MLS Education Practicum, or CLSC 765: Principles of Health Care Systems and Leadership.
- At UNC-CH:
- The UNC Graduate School has online professional development courses in leadership and management: http://gradprofdev.unc.edu/courses/.
- The Carolina Health Informatics Program offers online courses open to graduate students. For more information go to: https://chip.unc.edu/mps-bmhi.
- The Gillings School of Global Public Health offers the following online courses in epidemiology. These require instructor permission. For further information contact Lorraine Alexander (lorraine_alexander@unc.edu) or Valerie Hudock (vhudock@email.unc.edu).
Summer EPID 600: Principles of Epidemiology for Public Health
Fall EPID 750: Fundamentals of Public Health Surveillance
Spring EPID 759: Methods in Field Epidemiology
Summer EPID 758: Principles and Methods of Applied Infectious Disease - The Gillings School of Global Public Health offers HPM 776/777: Heathcare Quality and Information Management. https://www.med.unc.edu/ihqi/training/unc-gillings-schol-of-global-public-health/.
Interested students should first talk with Bill Gentry (wgentry@email.unc.edu) about the course requirements and obtain permission to take the course. - Additional courses in Health Policy and Management may also be available from the Gillings School of Global Public Health. Contact Valerie Hooker (vhooker@email.unc.edu) with questions.
- UNC’s Kenan-Flager Business School offers a number of weekend residential courses, including topics relevant to healthcare. Interested students should contact Michael Stepanek (Michael_stepanek@unc.edu) about available courses, course requirements and to obtain permission.
- At other schools:
- NC State University’s Non-Degree Studies (NDS) program provides access to credit courses as a visiting student on a part-time basis. Students should select graduate level courses (numbered 500 or higher).
- The University of Florida online Master’s of Science is open to all non degree seeking students.
Course Formats
All required courses are available online. Electives may be on campus, online, or hybrid (online and on-campus components). Students may also take elective courses at other colleges and universities.
Advising
Enrolled students will be assigned a CLS faculty advisor who will review the student’s proposed plan of study and work with the student to adjust the plan as needed. MCLS-MLS students also have assistance from the Department of Health Sciences Student Services office for issues related to registration and graduation.