Medical Lab Tech Associate Degree | Northampton Community College
Associate Degree

Why Choose the Medical Lab Technician Program?

Ready to imagine a new career path? The associate in applied science (AAS) degree in medical laboratory technician (MLT) delivers a hands-on education to equip you with technical skills, clinical experience, and a versatile health science foundation. With this diversified set of competencies, you graduate ready to jump-start your career in the medical service industry.

 

Start Application How to Apply

 

In Collaboration with RACC

The MLT degree program is offered through a cooperative agreement between Northampton Community College (NCC) and Reading Area Community College (RACC). In this program, you’ll complete your general education requirements at NCC before applying to RACC to complete the MLT program courses. Clinical rotations can be completed at a location closer to your home for added convenience.
The cooperative agreement includes in-county RACC tuition rates for MLT program courses for students from NCC who are enrolled in the MLT program regardless of their county of residence, allowing you to save money while pursuing your professional goals.

Graduates of this program will receive their degrees from Reading Area Community College.

 

Cultivate Career-Ready Skills

Enroll in one of the best medical lab technician programs in Pennsylvania to gain hands-on learning that equips you for work in the healthcare field. Our immersive curriculum educates technicians to work in clinical and diagnostic laboratories in a wide range of settings, including healthcare labs, industrial labs, research labs, pharmaceutical labs, and more.

 

Earn Your Professional Licensure

The Medical Laboratory Technician program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science, which ensures high-quality training and education to prepare you for the workforce. After completing the program, you are eligible to take the national certifying examination to become a registered medical laboratory technician.

 

What You’ll Learn in the MLT Program

The MLT program provides a robust understanding of laboratory sciences, enhances critical thinking skills, and facilitates hands-on clinical experience, spurring new professional growth.

Your first year includes a series of general education courses, such as biology, chemistry, English, and mathematics, to prepare you for more advanced courses. As you progress through the program, you’ll study human anatomy and physiology, the chemistry of biomolecules, clinical lab techniques and instrumentation, and additional disciplines that support your work in labs and healthcare settings.

To round out your technical education, you participate in six clinical rotations, ranging from blood banks to serology to urinalysis, and work with proficient healthcare professionals. This hands-on experience cultivates a range of skills and professional development. At the end of the MLT program, you graduate equipped to:

• Collect and process biological specimens
• Evaluate the correlation of disease to laboratory test results
• Perform laboratory tests and report information such as test results, reference ranges, and specimen requirements to authorized sources
• Use state-of-the-art laboratory equipment according to established protocols
• Maintain accurate medical records

Applying to Northampton’s Medical Lab Tech Program

If you’re ready to begin your MLT education, complete our free online application! When filling out your NCC application, select Health Sciences as your program of study. You’ll work closely with your academic advisor to make sure you’re taking the right courses for the program.

Additionally, we offer rolling admissions, which means there is no application deadline. You can apply when you have the time and start your courses in the upcoming semester.

Take the next step toward becoming a Spartan. Learn more about Northampton's admissions process.

 

Tuition and Financial Aid

NCC is proud to be one of Pennsylvania’s most affordable community colleges.
With low tuition and fees and robust scholarship and financial aid opportunities, we strive to provide accessible education so you can earn your degree and invest in your future.

 

Career Opportunities for Medical Lab Technicians

In today’s healthcare field, medical laboratory techs—also known as clinical lab techs—play an essential role in performing tests under the direction of a physician specializing in diagnosing diseases’ causes and nature. They also work alongside research scientists to create new pharmaceutical drugs and improve laboratory techniques.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects medical/clinical lab technicians’ employment to remain steady over the next decade, increasing by 5% each year. Furthermore, lab techs earn a median annual wage of $60,780, exceeding the national average of $48,060.

With an MLT associate degree, graduates can work in:

• Hospitals
• Independent laboratories
• Physicians’ clinics
• Public health agencies
• Pharmaceutical firm
• Research institutions
• Industrial laboratories