Online Students

The ISU MLS online program is designed for remote, or out-of-state students, who cannot reasonably attend one of our 3 college campuses located in Pocatello, Meridian, and Idaho Falls.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! Both the Bachelors and Masters level programs can be completed 100% remotely as long as the following two criteria are met:

  1. The applicant has laboratory sponsorship
  2. There is an affiliation agreement between ISU and the sponsor laboratory

Sponsorship indicates that a clinical laboratory has agreed to be responsible for the online student's hands-on instruction. This includes:

  1. Weekly laboratory instruction (typically 6-8 hours a week) during the Fall and Spring semesters.
  2. Sponsor the 12-week clinical rotations at the end of the MLS professional block of courses (typically the third and final summer semester).

Sponsor laboratories must have the capability to cover all areas of instruction, including Hematology, Chemistry, Urinalysis, Microbiology, and Blood Bank.

All other course work in the program is 100% online.

Any clinical laboratory may serve as a sponsor, under two conditions:

  1. Sponsor laboratories must have the capability to cover all areas of instruction, including Hematology, Chemistry, Urinalysis, Microbiology, and Blood Bank.
  2. A successful affiliation agreement must executed between the sponsor laboratory and Idaho State University.

Sponsorship indicates that a clinical laboratory has agreed to be responsible for the online student's hands-on instruction. This includes:

  1. Weekly laboratory instruction (typically 6-8 hours a week) during the Fall and Spring semesters.
  2. Sponsor the 12-week clinical rotations in all subject areas at the end of the MLS professional block of courses (typically the third and final summer semester).

For more information on the specifics of sponsor laboratory duties, please contact Rachel Hulse at rachelhulse@isu.edu

The sponsor laboratory must have a formal affiliation agreement with Idaho State University which describes the educational duties of the student.

An affiliation agreement is a legal document between Idaho State University and the sponsor laboratory that details:

  1. the relationship of the entities
  2. the roles of the entities
  3. the responsibilities of the sponsor and Idaho State University
  4. the assurance for completion of students assigned clinical requirements in the event that an affiliation is discontinued

Idaho State University has a standard affiliation agreement, although site-specific agreements are also allowed. In order to obtain an affiliation agreement, please contact Rachel Hulse rachelhulse@isu.edu.

More Frequently Asked Questions

In order to become an online student in the Idaho State University Medical Laboratory Science program, a student must:

  1. Have clinical sponsorship.
  2. Apply directly to the ISU MLS Program.
  3. Apply to Idaho State University

Applications instructions for the undergraduate (first and second BS students) students:

Applications for graduate students:

As long as the applicant has the necessary sponsorship, affiliation agreement, program prerequisites , and a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, you will be guaranteed to have a spot in the next ISU MLS cohort

The MLS program is one-year (3 semesters) in length, with each cohort running from August to August.

The curriculum is as follows:

Fall semester- 16 credits

MLS 4410 Phlebotomy Practicum 1 cr
MLS 4412/5512 Urinalysis and Body Fluids 1 cr
MLS 4414/5514 Hematology and Hemostasis 3 cr
MLS 4416/5516 Medical Microbiology I 3 cr
MLS 4418/5518 Medical Chemistry and Instrumentation 3 cr
MLS 4420/5520 Medical Immunology 2 cr
MLS 4422/5522 Basic Concepts Transfusion Medicine 2 cr
MLS 4424/5524 Medical Laboratory Fundamentals 1 cr

Spring semester- 16 credits

MLS 4431/5531 Medical Microbiology II 3 cr
MLS 4433/5533 MLS Management and Education 2 cr
MLS 4435/5535 Molecular Diagnostics 3 cr
MLS 4437/5537 Critical Analysis of Lab Information 3 cr
MLS 4439/5539 Advanced Concepts in Transfusion Medicine 2 cr
MLS 4441/5541 MLS Research 1 cr
MLS 4455/5555 MLS Student Laboratory Practices 2 cr

Summer semester-6 credits

(These are clinical rotations, for a total of 12 weeks)

MLS 4491 Microbiology Practicum 2 cr
MLS 4492 Hematology and Urinalysis Practicum 2 cr
MLS 4493 Transfusion (Blood Bank) Practicum 1 cr
MLS 4494 Chemistry and Automation Practicum 1 cr

Upon successful completion of the above courses, students will gain eligibility for the ASCP Board of Certification MLS exam.

Graduate students will have an additional 16 credits and project work before their graduate degree is completed, but they are eligible for the ASCP BOC exam at the conclusion of the first year, as listed above.

  1. Completion of the University general education requirements (see Academic Information and Graduation Requirements). The following objective courses also satisfy specific program requirements:
  2. Completion of the following required courses:

For transfer equivalences from other universities, please see visit ISU's transfer equivalent site

If you have questions about course equivalences or prerequisites, please email a copy of your unofficial transcripts to Dr. Rachel Hulse at hulsrach@isu.edu

Tuition and fee information can be found here:

Our program qualifies for discounted tuition through the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), and Western Graduate Regional (WGRP) for students located in the following states/regions:

Furthermore, fully online, out-of-state students may qualify for further tuition discounts. Contact the Financial Aid Department for more details: