Categorical Training

Program Information
The CLS Categorical Certificate Program from UND provides advanced skills to baccalaureate prepared students, enabling them to work in high complexity clinical laboratories. The program includes four certificate categories:

Clinical Chemistry / Urinalysis
Hematology / Hemostasis
Immunohematology
Microbiology

Upon successful completion of one categorical category, the student is eligible to take an NCA (National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel) and/or ASCP (American Society of Clinical Pathologists) national certification exam in that area. If the student completes all four categorical categories, they are eligible to take the NCA and/or ASCP national certification exam for a generalist. Thus far, UND categorical students who completed a national certification exam did so with a 100% pass rate.

 

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the UND CLS Categorical Program, students must meet the following requirements:

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university
• A minimum of 20 credit hours in the biological, chemical and/or medical sciences (These credits can be part of, or in addition to the B.S. degree)
• Submit application to the UND CLS Categorical Program (application at www.medicine.nodak.edu/cls, "Misc. Forms and Handbooks", "Application to Categorical Program/Curriculum")
• Be accepted to the University of North Dakota (application at www.und.nodak.edu)
• Have the support of an accredited laboratory to sponsor your clinical rotations. This laboratory must meet the Clinial laboratory Science program's minimum competency requirements and sign an affiliation agreement with the University of North Dakota before you can begin categorical courework. Contact UND's categorical coordinator, Brooke Solberg (bsolberg@medicine.nodak.edu), for more information on this process.
  
  

Application Information

The application for UND's Clinical Laboratory Science Categorical Program can be found on their website, www.medicine.nodak.edu/cls. Choose "Misc. Forms and handbooks", "Application to categorical Program/Curriculum".

Application deadlines are as follows:
Deadine / Start Date
March 15 / Summer Semester (Mid May)
July 1 / Fall Semester (End of August)
November 15 / Spring Semester (Early January)

Applications received after the established application deadlines may or may not be considered.

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Curriculum

Certificate in Chemitry / Urinalysis

Course Number	Course Name	Credit
CLS 336	Lab Calculations	1
CLS 471	Clinical Chemistry I	2
CLS 474	Clinical Urinalysis I	2
CLS 489	Clinical Body Fluids	1
CLS 481	Clinical Chemistry II	2
CLS 485	Clinical Urinalysis II	1
CLS 491	Clinical Chemistry III	2
CLS 460	Laboratory Practice	2
CLS 465	Clinical Laboratory Management	3
	Total Number of Courses	9
	Total Number of Credits	16

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Certificate in Hematology / Hemostasis

Course Number	Course Name	Credit
CLS 325	Hematology	3
CLS 325L	Hematology Laboratory	1
CLS 336	Laboratory Calculations	1
CLS 460	Laboratory Practice	2
CLS 465	Clinical Laboratory Management	3
CLS 473	Clinical Hemostasis	2
CLS 479	Clinical Hematology I	2
CLS 483	Clinical Hemostasis II	1
CLS 489	Clinical Body Fluids	1
CLS 488	Clinical Hematology II	2
CLS 498	Clinical Hematology III	2
	Total Number of Courses	11
	Total Number of Credits	20

Certificate in Immunohematology

Course Number	Course Name	Credit
CLS 301	Immunology	3
CLS 301L	Immunotechniques Laboratory	1
CLS 336	Laboratory Calculations	1
CLS 460	Laboratory Practice	2
CLS 465	Clinical Laboratory Management	3
CLS 477	Clinical Immunohematology I	1
CLS 477L	Clinical Immunohematology I Laboratory	1
CLS 480	Clinical Immunohematology II	2
CLS 492	Clinical Immunohematology III	2
	Total Number of Courses	10
	Total Number of Credits	17

Certificate in Microbiology

Course Number	Course Name	Credit
CLS 234	Human Parasitology	2
CLS 336	Laboratory Calculations	1
CLS 460	Laboratory Practice	2
CLS 465	Clinical Laboratory Management	3
CLS 478	Clinical Microbiology	2
CLS 487	Medical Mycology	1
CLS 484	Clinical Microbiology II	2
CLS 495	Clinical Microbiology III	2
	Total Number of Courses	9
	Total Number of Credits	17

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Categorical Study Policies

FOR ANY STUDENT ACCEPTED INTO THE CLS CATEGORICAL PROGRAM:If a student receives a single D or F grade in a CLS course, the student:

(1) Will be placed on academic probation for the remainder of their time in the certificate program
(2) Must retake the course in question and successfully complete it with a passing grade (A, B or C) to be eligible for the certificate(s).

If a student receives a second grade of D or F in a CLS course, either during the same semester or in a subsequent semester following the first failing grade, the student will be terminated from the program.

While on probation, the student must comply with the following stipulations. 

a.The student must maintain a minimum 2.8 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) each semester

b.The student must receive a passing grade (A, B or C) in all CLS courses

c. The student will only be allowed to retake one course.

d. If a student is terminated from the program, the student will not be eligible for a certificate in any of the four categorical areas and will not be considered as a candidate for readmission to the categorical or any other CLS program.

Failure to comply with any stipulation (a-d) will result in termination from the program.

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Contact the CLS Categorical Program Coordinator

If you are interested or have any questions, please contact us at:
Brooke Solberg, MS, MT (ASCP)
Categorical Coordinator, Department of Pathology
University of North Dakota
School of Medicine and Health Sciences
501 N. Columbia Road Stop 9037
Grand Forks, ND 58202

p. (701) 777-2245
f. (701) 777-2404
bsolberg@medicine.nodak.edu

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