MLTs, who must have at least an associate degree, and medical technicians, who have earned a bachelor’s degree, do about 75 percent of all patient care testing in a clinical setting and help pathologists and other physicians in making a diagnosis. MLTs help to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
DCCCD’s Medical Laboratory Technology program, offered at El Centro College, can prepare you for this challenging career field. Our program is recognized locally and nationally for its outstanding faculty and student experience that includes class and lab instruction, field trips, clinical rotations and special-topic speakers.
Medical Laboratory Technology Associate Degree
Graduates of the Medical Laboratory Technology program earn the Medical Laboratory Technology Associate in Applied Sciences degree. The 72-credit-hour associate degree program blends science, liberal arts and technical courses in classroom and clinical settings.
Before you can apply for admission to the MLT program, you must first complete the 39-credit-hour Medical Laboratory Technology Core Curriculum, which includes general education and related health classes and can be completed in two semesters.
You can then apply for admission to the MLT program, which accepts students via a competitive selection process based on grade point average in the primary prerequisite courses. MLT courses begin in mid-May of each academic year. Over a 16-month period, you’ll take lecture, lab and clinical course work.
When you graduate, you’ll be eligible to take the Board of Certification exam to become licensed as a medical laboratory technician through the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Our students’ pass rate on this exam is generally more than 90 percent each year, well above the national pass rate average.
Medical Laboratory Technicians vs. Clinical Laboratory Technicians
Note that you may hear the designation clinical laboratory technician used interchangeably with medical laboratory technician. The scope of practice for CLTs and MLTs is identical. However, the official CLT designation was granted by an agency that merged with ASCP in 2009, so only those technicians who took the CLT exam before the merger hold that designation.
Other Degree and Certificate Options
Dallas County Community College District offers nearly 350 career and technical degrees and certificates, plus 36 academic degrees. For more information, see a chart of our degree plans by location or visit our credit programs home page.