Medical Laboratory Technician to Medical Technologist Transition Pathway (MTTP)

You are eligible for the MTTP if you meet ALL the following criteria:
1. graduate of an associate degree MLT/CLT program accredited by NAACLS.
2. hold certification as an MLT(ASCP), CLT(NCA), or equivalent.
3. have 1-year of full-time work experience as an MLT/CLT (or will have at the point of taking the CLSC courses).
4. have been admitted as a degree seeking student by East Carolina University (to apply, contact ECU Office of Admissions at 328-6133 or go to the website www.ecu.edu/admissions).
Note: Be sure to have the registrar(s) at all college(s) you have attended, send an official transcript directly to the Registrar, East Carolina University, Whichard 105, Greenville, NC 27858-4353. On your ECU admissions application indicate CLSC as your intended major.

Once admitted to ECU as an undergraduate degree-seeking student, the Registrar Office will evaluate your transcript(s) for transfer credit. ECU will not give credit for any of your MLT courses, but there is a mechanism that we use in CLSC to compensate for this which is explained below. ECU will give you credit for any other courses, though, that have an equivalent course at ECU or as elective credit.

The courses that are in the pre-professional phase of the CLSC degree are taken in departments outside of CLSC, therefore, we have no control over when and how they are offered. The pre-professional courses you must take are listed below as the specific ECU course along with the equivalent course at a community college if you prefer to take these courses in your home community. You will not have to take those courses for which you receive transfer credit.

Pre-professional Phase Courses

Science Prerequisite Courses

Professional Phase (CLSC) courses

Automatic Credit:

In recognition of a MLT/CLT education, you will be given credit for the following 7 required courses based on meeting the eligibility requirements for the MTTP. These courses are:

Clinical Projects:

You will not be required to do the usual 28-weeks (4 days per week) of clinical rotations that the entry-level CLS/MT students do. Instead, you will register for and do an individualized "clinical project" in each of 4 areas. The "clinical project" will be determined by the CLSC instructor for the given area based on the MLT clinical rotations content you completed in your associate degree program, your work experience, and your preferences for additional knowledge and skills. The "clinical project" may be only literature research and written reporting or may also include some specified clinical rotation time. The 4 "clinical project" courses, which normally are undertaken in the student's last 2 semesters, are:

Internet Courses via Blackboard System of ECU:

In order to allow you to be able to work and still pursue coursework, the CLSC faculty have placed all classroom (i.e., lecture) courses on the web so that you can do these courses without having to come to campus lectures. Upon registering for the course, you can go onto ECU's Blackboard system to access the course lecture notes, assignments, web links, and other resources for each of the courses listed below, and complete them at your convenience. You will have to come to campus only for the proctored written exams that can be scheduled around your work schedule.

Note: These internet courses are projected to be available beginning Fall 2009.

* Will require a brief experience in a clinical molecular diagnostics laboratory approved by the CLSC faculty.

** Will require completion of a senior research project under direction of a CLSC faculty.

On-line Laboratory Competency Courses:

The courses below will be taken with a combination of website course materials, proctored written and practical exams, and a knowledge/skills procedures and tests checklist that must be completed under the supervision of a nationally certified CLS/MT with clinical experience in the subject area who is approved by the CLSC faculty.  The clinical site (lab) where each of these courses' checklists is to be performed must also be approved by the CLSC faculty.  Completion of these courses will require on-campus written and practical exams as well.

GRADUATE WITH BS IN CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE !!

It should take you approximately 2 years to complete the MTTP to your BS degree taking a full academic load each semester (15-18 credits/semester). If you continue to work and take 1 to 2 courses per semester, it would take about 4 to 5 years for completion of the BS degree in CLS. The MTTP represents 2 years of coursework beyond your MLT associate degree which required 2 years to complete (i.e., 4 years total on a full-time basis).

For further information on the MTTP, contact:

Richard Bamberg, Ph.D., MT(ASCP)SH, CLD, CHES
Professor and Chairman, Department of Clinical Laboratory Science
School of Allied Health Sciences
East Carolina University
Health Sciences Building, 3410B
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
(252)744-6060