Persons interested in professions in the medical laboratory field will now be able to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences from the School of Health Professions at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston by attending courses on the campus of The University of Texas of the Permian Basin. The degree is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS).

The degree prepares students for the Clinical Laboratory Science professions including biotechnology, forensic science, immunohematology, microbiology, epidemiology, immunology, pharmaceuticals, veterinary science, molecular biology, clinical chemistry, public health and transplant immunology.

You may apply to the UTMB-UTPB program if you satisfy admission requirements. Course lectures are offered from UTMB via video-teleconferencing to UTPB and/or streaming media over the Internet; labs are completed on the UTPB campus. Some travel may be required for completing clinical preceptorships, depending upon the availability of training hospitals and clinics in your area. The UTPB program is offered as a full-time, 2-year program for biology majors and a part-time, 3.5-year program for working MLT students. The actual time required for completion will depend upon the number of credit hours in which you enroll per semester. After successful completion of the program, your BS-CLS degree is conferred by UTMB.

Clinical laboratory scientists may work as generalists or as specialists in the laboratory. They may apply technological expertise in various specialty areas such as immunology, cell-marker technology, transplantation, toxicology, cancer research or biotechnology and cytogenetics.

The baccalaureate degree offers medical laboratory technicians the chance for better salaries and enables them to perform higher level tasks. Clinical laboratory scientists earn around $4 per hour or $8,000 per year more than medical laboratory technicians.

Baccalaureate-level trained technologists are given the responsibility to exercise more independent judgment in identifying errors and solving problems.

Clinical laboratory scientists are considered the detectives of the health care industry, performing laboratory procedures to provide crucial information in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a shortage of workers in this field, with the need for clinical laboratory scientists rising 17 percent-or 120,000 jobs-by 2010.

William Fannin, vice president of Business Affairs at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, said, "U.T. Permian Basin is excited to partner with the U.T. Medical Branch-Galveston to make this program available to West Texans. The Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences offers a gateway to great careers and West Texans will not have to leave the Basin to follow those careers. The degree will offer added local resources for the growing health industry in Midland and Odessa."