Admission Requirements

• Students must achieve an overall (cumulative) GPA of 2.5 and successfully pass all program pre-requisite courses
• An associate degree from a MLT program
• Certification (BOC preferred) - if uncertified, then you must have documentation of 5 years of work experience in a MLT position within a multidisciplinary laboratory
• Current and continued employment in a clinical laboratory – prefer laboratory that offers testing in all major disciplines

Admissions Criteria

1. The MLS admissions committee ranks applicants based on the following criteria:
2. Pre-requisite course GPA
3. Overall GPA
4. Recommendation letters
5. One-on-one interviews which score applicants for:
   1. Professionalism
   2. Academic Preparedness
   3. Communication
   4. Alignment with the mission of the MLS program

Admissions Process

1. If you are not a current UK student, apply to UK
2. Complete the College of Health Sciences and MLT to MLS online application.
3. Have your direct supervisor complete a statement of support form. Also, provide three recommendation forms.
   • Your current direct supervisor MUST complete the statement of support form and a recommendation form. The other two recommendation forms should be completed by professionals (additional laboratory administrator, pathologist, co-worker external to the laboratory, educator) who are familiar with your abilities. 
4. Provide official transcripts from all colleges you have attended. The transcripts must have an official seal.

   Foreign Graduates

   If you are a foreign graduate, you need to: 1) submit your foreign transcripts to an approved credentialing company, 2) take the TOEFL test, and 3) submit your application to the University of Kentucky as soon as possible.  

   Your first step is to submit all of your higher education transcripts to World Education Services (WES). The MLS Program will only accept transcript evaluations from WES in consideration of admittance into the Program. This is usually a lengthy process which is why you need to submit these as soon as possible. Once your transcripts have been evaluated, by WES, we can appropriately advise you for the Medical Laboratory Science Program and/or consider your application for admittance.

   Your second step is to take the TOEFL test and submit scores to the MLS Program. In order to be eligible for admissions into the MLS Program, a minimum score of 26 in each category is required: Reading, Listening, Speaking, & Writing. Refer to the TOEFL website (http://www.ets.org/toefl) for more information regarding the test.

   Your third step is to submit your University of Kentucky undergraduate application. As a foreign graduate, admission may be a lengthy process as foreign transcripts, WES evaluation, and TOEFL scores are individually reviewed. In addition, course syllabi may be required to ensure equivalency therefore we highly encourage submission of syllabi along with the above documents. This review is to ensure that you have met all general education core requirements and MLS prerequisite courses, and to ensure sufficient undergraduate credit hours. This review process (by the University of Kentucky undergraduate admissions office) needs to be completed for the MLS Program to adequately evaluate your MLS application. If this review process is in progress during the MLS application review period, it is possible for foreign graduates to be accepted on a conditional basis pending completion of missing courses/credit hours.

5. Mail the statement of support form and recommendation forms to:

   Office of Student Affairs
   University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences
   Wethington Bldg., Rm. 111
   900 South Limestone Street
   Lexington, KY 40536-0200

   Mail transcripts to:

   UK Undergraduate Admission
   100 WD Funkhouser Bldg
   Lexington, KY 40536-0054

6. Other documents that must be uploaded with the above MLT to MLS application in step 1 include:
   • Resume/Curriculum Vitae. Your resume or curriculum vitae should include the following:
     • Objective statement that addresses your interest in completing advanced degree and states your career goals
     • Include all higher education institutions attended and dates of graduation (completion)
     • Include all employment history within medical laboratory science field. Need start/end dates, role/position and description of duties
     • Include current place of employment and laboratory areas routinely assigned in
     • Include phlebotomy experience
     • Indicate certifications
   • Provide Proof of being an MLT/CLT. This may include any one of the following items:
     • Copy of MLT/CLT degree
     • Documentation of MLT/CLT certification
     • Letter from MLT/CLT program director

After the deadline for applying to the MLT to MLS program, application packets will be reviewed. Qualified applicants may be asked to participate in a brief phone interview with MLS faculty member(s).

Contact us today:

(859) 218-0473
CHS-Admissions@uky.edu

For more information about the program courses and requirements to complete the degree, contact the MLT/MLS coordinator Chad Guilliams at (859) 218-0855 or Chad.Guilliams@uky.edu.   

NOTE: Per state laws, distance education courses and programs must be legally authorized in a state prior to offering courses or programs to students residing there. In addition, programs in fields regulated by licensure or certification may not meet the educational requirements for licensure in certain states. Therefore, program availability varies by state. Students should check UK Online to determine if a distance education program at the University of Kentucky is available in their state of residence or meets the educational requirements for licensure in their state.   

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR RELOCATING DURING THE COURSE OF THE PROGRAM: All distance education students should keep in mind that relocating during the course of a program to another state could impact whether that student can continue in the course and/or meet the eligibility requirements of that state.

Application Fee

• A separate application fee of $25.00 is required for admission to the MLT to MLS online program. Your application will not be processed without the $25.00 fee.
• The application fee cannot be waived nor deferred, and is non-refundable.
• We accept Visa, Discover, American Express and MasterCard. Credit/debit cards are also accepted.

Pay MLS Application Fee Here