Search Menu

Medical Laboratory Technology

Program Overview

The Medical Laboratory Technology program prepares you with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform general tests in all laboratory areas, including blood banking, hematology, immunology, and microbiology. Working under the supervision of a medical technologist or pathologist, you will learn to test and analyze samples for clues to the absence, presence, extent, and causes of infections and diseases. You will also learn:

  • Clinical laboratory techniques
  • Lab equipment maintenance
  • Sample collection and storage procedures
  • Results reporting and record keeping

Certification

Graduates are eligible to take the national certification exam from the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP).

Academic Affiliate Program

Hawkeye has academic affiliate arrangements that allows you to complete the first two semesters of the Medical Laboratory Technology program at an academic affiliate college, then complete the rest of the program at Hawkeye. Academic affiliate colleges include:

  • North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC), Mason City, Iowa
  • Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC), Calmar and Peosta, Iowa

Accreditation

This program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Services (NAACLS), a non-profit organization that independently accredits clinical laboratory science programs.

NAACLS
5600 N. River Road, Suite 720
Rosemont, IL 60018-5119
773-714-8880

Program Outcomes

Hawkeye Medical Laboratory Technology program outcomes are defined by NAACLS and reported using a three-year average from 2017–2019.

  • Hawkeye Medical Laboratory Technology Placement Rate: 100%
    Employment in the laboratory field or pursuit of further education within 1 year of graduation.

  • Hawkeye Medical Laboratory Technology Graduation Rate: 94%
    The percentage of students completing the program who started the final half of the program defined as the start of the fall semester in the second year.

  • Hawkeye Medical Laboratory Technology Certification Exam (ASCP-BOC MLT): 95%
    Percentage of students who pass the exam taken within 1 year of graduation.

Careers

Positions

Graduates find employment in hospital, clinic, and independent laboratories as medical and clinical laboratory technicians.

Example Careers and Average Wages
Entry Average Experienced
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians 32,600 $48,500 $56,200

Source: 2020 Iowa Wage Report, Iowa Workforce Development

Employers

The following is a partial list of employers who have hired graduates from this program:
Business Location
Mercy Iowa City Iowa City, IA
MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center Mason City, IA
MercyOne Waterloo and Cedar Falls, IA
MercyOne Dubuque Dubuque, IA
UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital Waterloo, IA
UnityPoint Health Finley Hospital Dubuque, IA
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Iowa City, IA

Admissions Requirements

In order to be considered for the Medical Laboratory Technology program, students must provide the Admissions office with official documents showing completion of all requirements. These documents must show:

  • Updated assessment scores. -AND/OR-
  • A transcript or academic evaluation showing successful completion of course requirements (i.e. developmental coursework).

It is the student’s responsibility to:

  • Monitor their progress towards meeting admissions requirements,
  • Notify the Admissions office when requirements have been met, and
  • Provide the Admissions office evidence of meeting the requirements.

Step #1: Apply at Hawkeye

  1. Complete Hawkeye's online admissions application to apply and be considered for the Medical Laboratory Technology program.

  2. Request to have your transcripts sent to the Admissions office.

Step #2: Required Biology Course and Assessment / Success Courses

In order to be eligible for the Medical Laboratory Technology program, all students must:

  1. Meet the minimum assessment score or have completed, with a grade of "C" or higher, the required success course in each math, English, and reading.
  2. Successfully complete, with a "C" grade or higher, a minimum of one year of high school biology or any college-level general education biological sciences course.

While Hawkeye Community College is accepting Pass/Fail grades as an institution, due to accreditation, Hawkeye is not accepting College or High School Pass/Fail grades for any admission criteria.

While working to meet these requirements, students will be accepted into the Medical Laboratory Technology pre-program. Pre-program students are able to complete the necessary success courses at the same time they are working on the required general education coursework, assuming all individual course prerequisites are satisfied. See the Medical Laboratory Technology Suggested Sequence of Study for the general education and program specific courses.

Required minimum assessment scores
ACT ACCUPLACER COMPASS ACCUPLACER:
Next Generation
19 Reading 76 Reading 82 Reading 251 Reading
19 English 82 Sentence Skills 65 Writing 253 Writing
19 Math 85 Elementary Algebra 42 Algebra 259 Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics

Applicants can take the ACT assessment or the ACCUPLACER assessment at Hawkeye. Pre-registration is required.

Success Courses

Success courses can be taken at Hawkeye Community College or comparable courses at another accredited college. For appropriate college success course placement, work with a program advisor.

Success course credits do not apply towards graduation requirements.

Step #3: Program Acceptance

Applicants who have completed all admissions requirements in steps 1 and 2 will be offered acceptance based on the date their applicant file was completed. If many students share the same date for completing their applicant file, the second criteria used will be the GPA from the prerequisite courses.

Back to top