Beginning the fall semester of 2025, the science department at Elizabethtown College will offer a medical laboratory science major. This announcement comes five years after the 2019-2022 addition of the chemistry laboratory science major at the college. Dr. Jeffrey Rood and Dr. Kristi Kneas, professors and the chairs of the chemistry and biochemistry department who had a hand in bringing this major about, offered insights into what the major has to offer. 

The new major will allow students to study the content needed to pursue career opportunities in laboratory settings, physical health care and biomedical research as well as give students a foundational background in the area of analytical chemistry. The major allows both a traditional four year bachelor’s degree as well as a 3+1 program that allows students to complete coursework for their first three years followed by a year of specialized clinical training at a local and accredited medical laboratory science institution in the field. The major will include classes “heavily weighted” towards courses that study biological instrumentation and working in clinical care. The program inherently requires courses a biology or chemistry major would take, which opens the doors further for internship opportunities. 

“It is great for our students who show an interest in healthcare but aren’t sure what to do,” Rood said. 

“Even prior to implementation, there was a desire from students to be engaged in healthcare, not as practicing healthcare providers but as lab partners who work closely with clinicians,” Kneas agreed. 

The new major is built for students who are drawn to both chemistry and healthcare settings, which would involve testing treatments for clinicians and building patient care plans. However, the career opportunities are wide, ranging from public health to epidemiology and even data science.  

  The genesis for the new program began in February 2023, when Kneas met with a variety of hospital administrators from central Pennsylvania, many of whom expressed shortages in the field of medical laboratory scientists. With an aging working population, greater access to healthcare and a growing emphasis on the sciences, the major seeks to fill the growing professional need as well as growing interests of students. According to Dr. Rood, three current students have already begun plans to transfer into the new program. 

Despite these new additions, both Dr. Rood and Dr. Kneas are quick to assure students that there will be no major changes in the existing curriculum of the sciences.   

“There is nothing new on the course level,” Rood said. The classes for this major will be built on existing biomed and analytical chemistry classes that are put together to prepare students for clinical work. 

“We want to be clear that this major is made up of both biology and chemistry electives and is very interdisciplinary,” Kneas said. “This major will enrich existing classes with more in-depth labs and will produce competitive students who have experience and will be able to work hands-on.”  

When it comes to other Medical Laboratory science programs offered at different institutions, prospective students need not look further. Etown introduces hands-on instrumentation courses beginning sophomore year for some students, a relatively accelerated program in comparison to typical college programs. Additionally, the lab on campus is well-equipped and features state-of-the-art facilities for students.  

“I’ve heard of the medical laboratory sciences through different seminars the department has held, and through different posts on LinkedIn,” Mackenzie Stein, a sophomore biology major with a concentration in health professions, said. “I think it is a viable career path that combines medicine and research, though I’m leaning towards the dental field now. They [the biology department and its professors] are all so willing to help students find internships and research opportunities. They are phenomenal.” 

Stein is not alone in her enthusiasm for both the department and the growing opportunities within it. “It’s great to see they are expanding the biology and chemistry departments in this way,” sophomore environmental science student Nolan Yost said. “The professors are very skilled in their areas of expertise, and I’ve been able to learn about so many different professional niches just by talking to them.”    Students interested in more information on these majors are encouraged to attend Admitted Students Day and to contact their respective advisors during the upcoming advising period.