Clinical Laboratory Scientists are skilled, certified professionals trained in the theoretical and practical aspects of clinical laboratory medicine – chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology, molecular pathology, and blood banking. Clinical Laboratory Scientists have various levels of responsibility – as staff scientists, research scientists, supervisors, managers, or educators – and can work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and research centers. Approximately 70 percent of all medical decisions regarding a patient's diagnosis and treatment, as well as their hospital admission and discharge, are based upon laboratory test results obtained by Clinical Laboratory Scientists. The Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) program at MU is a unique collaboration with the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The CLS program includes three years of pre-requisite coursework, and 11 months of clinical coursework. The clinical year begins in late May, with 13 weeks of coursework in a dedicated summer student lab facility at the University of Nebraska's Medical Center in Omaha. After the initial 13 weeks in the program, CLS students return the Mid-Missouri area and complete their clinical laboratory rotations at local and regional clinical sites. Students graduate with a Bachelor of Health Science (BHS) degree in Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences with an emphasis in Clinical Laboratory Science from the University of Missouri. Upon completion of the program, students are eligible to challenge the Medical Laboratory Scientist credentialing examination administered by the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP BOC). The CLS program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) via its partnership with the NAACLS-accredited Medical Laboratory Science program of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. 

This is an emphasis area of the following major:

• Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, BHS

This major has the following additional emphasis areas:

• Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiography
• Respiratory Therapy