A moment to pause and think of a feasible alternative

From my advisor:

I have attached information on the CLS minors in Chemistry/Hematology and Hematology/Immunohematology. There is no Chem/Heme major, only a major in Clinical Laboratory Science. If you choose to do the Chemistry/Hematology minor, you would need to change your major to another department, such as Biology.

I have also worked out a sample curriculum for the Chemistry/Hematology minor if you choose to do that one. The thing to keep in mind is that if you change your major, you will probably have additional courses to take to meet those requirements. I looked at the requirements for a B.S. in Biology as an example, and if the department will not accept your CLS courses as electives towards the Biology degree, you might have to take an additional 36 credits to complete that degree.

To switch to a minor, you would have to submit a change of major form to the Registrar, and let them know you are taking a minor as well. Check to see when the deadline for this is. You can begin the minor pathway in January, since you are already in the program.

With regard to the national certification exam (there is no state version), you would take two exams instead of one. You would not take the generalist exam that the CLS graduates take, but a categorical certification exam for each area of your minor. You would need to take two exams, one for Chemistry and one for Hematology. This works out to be more expensive, because the fee for each exam is $210.

You would not necessarily be as valuable to an employer as someone who has a full CLS degree, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t get a job. A lot of laboratories hire lab professionals for limited areas of the lab, such as Chemistry and Hematology.

Whether you could graduate in 2013 depends on the major you switch to and how long it takes you to complete those course requirements.

If you take the Chem/Heme minor, you would still go through clinical rotations.

If you have any other questions, please let me know.

It's an option I am considering.