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Biomedical & Nutritional Sciences

Applied Biomedical Sciences Major

The Applied Biomedical Sciences degree provides students with a quality education in the biomedical sciences and life long laboratory skills. Students take a core of laboratory science courses including clinical chemistry, clinical hematology, clinical immunology and medical bacteriology.

The academic program includes scientific and clinical knowledge using current methodology, instrumentation and techniques relevant to the biomedical laboratory. Students can elect to enroll in the five-year BS/MS program and take courses in their senior year that will count toward the master’s degree. For more information, see graduate catalog.

The Applied Biomedical Sciences degree offers three options: 

  • Clinical Science Option
  • Medical Laboratory Science Option
  • Pre-Medical/Pre-Health Option 

Clinical Science Option

Students pursuing the Clinical Science option obtain advanced coursework and independent research experiences under department faculty supervision. During Directed Study and Senior Research courses, emphasis is placed on the theories and techniques utilized in clinical laboratory research. Many students have presented their research results at state, regional, and national science meetings, and have been co-authors of papers published in respected science journals.

The Clinical Science option allows students to select science specialization courses according to their interest. The choice of up to fifteen credits of free electives allows students planning to pursue specific graduate programs the ability to fulfill required prerequisites.

Students will develop skills and knowledge required for success in advanced degree programs, including critical and independent thinking, research design, normal and pathophysiology, analytical method evaluation and scientific literature assessment.

View the complete Degree Pathway.

Medical Laboratory Science Option

Medical Laboratory Science combines the challenges and rewards of both medicine and science. Medical Laboratory Scientists perform tests on various body fluids and tissues to determine the presence or absence of disease, to monitor response to disease, and to aid in health maintenance. They are indispensable laboratory specialists that develop, perform, and interpret a wide range of complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

The Medical Laboratory Science option prepares students for entry-level laboratory positions and a future in a constantly growing area of health care. Students pursuing the Medical Laboratory Science option will acquire the clinical laboratory technical skills as well as the medical knowledge required to provide physicians and other health care professionals essential information about the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of disease.

The curriculum consists of classroom lectures and on-campus student laboratory experiences in each of the clinical laboratory disciplines. These sessions provide the foundation for subsequent hands-on clinical practice in off campus clinical laboratories of affiliated hospitals and reference laboratories.

After completing their degree, students are qualified to sit for the Board of Certification examination for Medical Laboratory Scientists offered by the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP).

This program is fully accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). For more information please visit the NAACLS website.

There is no direct entry into the Medical Laboratory Science option. For more information see Medical Laboratory Science Admission Policy.

View the complete Degree Pathway.

Pre-Medical/Pre-Health Option

The Applied Biomedical Sciences Pre-Medical/Pre-Health option offers students a strong basic science foundation, together with multiple clinically-focused health science lecture and laboratory courses. The program prepares students for graduate training in both basic science and health professions programs while also providing all the necessary prerequisite courses to apply to medical, dental, veterinary, optometry, pharmacy, podiatry, and chiropractic schools, as well as physician assistant programs.

View the complete Degree Pathway.

For additional information about programs, contact the Department of Biomedical & Nutritional Sciences.