General Admission Requirements

Applicants to the Reading Hospital School of Medical Laboratory Science will be considered for admission based on several criteria:

• Overall/cumulative grade point average (GPA) and science GPA (Biology and Chemistry courses) with a minimum 2.5 GPA
• College/University affiliation or non-affiliation
• In-person interview (virtual interviews must be requested and approved)
• Two Letters of Reference from relevant academic instructors or advisors. Graduate applicants may also submit references from professional colleagues who can attest to the applicant’s potential as a medical laboratory science student.
• A Resume
• A Career Statement (one-paged double space essay on "Why do you want to be an MLS?").
• Students will be considered without regard to age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, national origin, or other legally protected classification.

The Program Director and members of the faculty interview qualified candidates and make the final decisions on student acceptance and class size. The Program Director reserves the right to make final decisions for admissions requirements for prerequisite coursework. The usual class size is ten students per year, although the faculty committee reserves the right to modify the class size due to circumstances in any year

Applicants Without a Baccalaureate Degree

Applicants must have successfully completed a minimum of three years (90 semester hours) in an accredited college or university. The Medical Laboratory Science Program has affiliations with several colleges/universities that are listed below on this webpage. These academic institutions provide the necessary prerequisite courses for entry into the MLS program. Students from these affiliated colleges/universities are given preference for admission into the program. Prospective MLS applicants that are enrolled in a non-affiliated college/university seeking acceptance in Reading Hospital’s MLS program as a 3+1 student may also be considered and accepted; however, their college/university must agree to establish a temporary affiliation agreement, assuring the student will receive appropriate credit for the time spent during the clinical year. The prospective MLS student from non-affiliated colleges does not have to assist in the process of establishing a new affiliation agreement.

Prospective students may begin the application process as early as after completion of their 4^th full time semester (sophomore year), but must have successfully completed three full years in an accredited college or university before starting the MLS program. The minimum courses required are:

• Chemistry – 16 semester hours, including general chemistry, organic chemistry, or biochemistry
• Biology – 16 semester hours, including microbiology, immunology, and anatomy or physiology
• Mathematics – 3 semester hours; statistics is strongly recommended
• Other Recommended (but not required) Coursework(s) includes genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, histology, or hematology

Survey courses may not qualify as a fulfillment of the chemistry and biology prerequisites. Once accepted, the student must maintain a 2.5 average GPA in any outstanding college courses and prerequisites. Some affiliated colleges may require a higher GPA than the RH MLS program requires in order to apply and be accepted into the RH MLS program. The RH MLS Program strongly advises all prospective 3+1 MLS applicants to work with their college advisors to ensure all GPA requirements are met prior to applying to the Reading Hospital MLS program to ensure a smooth on-boarding process into the hospital based MLS internship program. Prospective students may apply without all pre-requisites completed but will have to complete all pre-requisites by the start of the MLS program. The hospital program may withdraw a student's acceptance for failure to maintain this 2.5 GPA minimum, or for failure to successfully complete all required prerequisites, or any of the other post acceptance information. Additionally, the Program Director may make exceptions for applicants, on a case-by-case basis, for acceptable prerequisites prior to admission, or matriculation, into the MLS program. Prospective students may contact the Program Director before and after applying for any and all pre-requisite inquiries. The courses taken during the previous three years shall meet the requirements of the college or university, so that the student will be granted a baccalaureate degree by the college when students complete the MLS program as 3+1 option students (as described in the affiliation agreements between the RH MLS program and its affiliated colleges and universities).

Applicants With a Baccalaureate Degree

Applicants who have earned a baccalaureate degree from either an affiliated or non-affiliated accredited college or university may also be considered if they meet the necessary entrance requirements.

Candidates who apply seven years or more after receiving their B.A. or B.S. degree must update their academic preparation to the approval of the program (grade C+ or better.) Courses in microbiology, organic chemistry or biochemistry, and immunology are often used to ensure academic preparedness and therefore must be updated. Additionally, the Program Director may make exceptions for applicants, on a case-by-case basis, for acceptable prerequisites prior to admission, or matriculation into the MLS program. Prospective students may contact the Program Director before and after applying for any and all prerequisite inquiries.

Applicants with degrees from foreign universities must have their transcripts evaluated for U.S. equivalency by an approved evaluation agency. A Satisfactory score on the test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) may be required.

Students must also satisfy certain institutional requirements before beginning the program and immediately after the start of each program year. Refer to SHS Policy 300.