Admissions

Prerequisites
There are two ways you may enter the Cytogenetic Technology Program. You may be accepted if you have completed your bachelor's degree and meet the requirements listed below. Or, you may enter as a senior from an affiliated academic institution which has agreed to accept our curriculum as valid fourth-year completion of its bachelor's degree.

Whichever path you choose, you must receive your bachelor's degree by the time you complete this program. Students entering as fourth-year seniors are expected to complete their bachelor's degree requirements when they complete their Cytogenetic Technology Program.

The following prerequisites are required to apply for admission:

• Students entering from an affiliated college or university - must have completed three years (90 semester hours) of study, including:
  - 20 semester hours of biology - with microbiology, genetics and cell biology highly recommended
  - 8 semester hours of chemistry - with biochemistry highly recommended
  - 3 semester hours of math beyond algebra - with statistics recommended
• Persons who have completed a bachelor's degree - must have 16 semester hours in biological or medical sciences, 8 semester hours of chemistry and 3 semester hours of math beyond algebra - with statistics recommended.
• Basic computer skills
• College/university cumulative grade point average of at least 2.75 (4.0 scale). Applicants are not selected based on grades alone.

International Applicants
U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Immigrant Status is required for admission to the Cytogenetic Technology Program.

Policies and Responsibilities
The following Mayo School of Health Sciences' policies affect applications and admissions to its programs:

Modern allied health education requires that the accumulation of scientific knowledge be accompanied by the simultaneous acquisition of essential skills, and professional attitudes and behavior. The goal of MSHS programs is to graduate the best possible healthcare practitioners. Further, MSHS must also ensure that patients are not placed in jeopardy by students with impaired intellectual, physical or emotional functions. Therefore, admission to educational programs in the school is offered only to those applicants who meet qualifications for education and training in the art and science of the respective allied health profession. Applicants should possess the following general qualities:

• Critical thinking
• Sound judgment
• Excellent communication skills
• Emotional stability and maturity
• Empathy
• Physical and mental stamina
• Ability to learn and function in a wide variety of didactic and clinical settings

Fluency in written and spoken English is essential for success in the program and to ensure patient safety. Applicants must demonstrate objective competency in English through the admission interview and may be required to submit results from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination or equivalent examination.

Applicants will be judged not only on their scholastic accomplishments, but also on their physical and emotional capacities to meet the requirements of the program’s curriculum and graduate as skilled and effective practitioners, with reasonable accommodations, if applicable. To preserve the welfare of students and patients, each MSHS program will establish minimum standards which are deemed essential for safety in practicing that respective profession. Applicants seeking accommodations should initiate their request with the specific Program Director.

In addition to these general qualities, admissions committees for each program may require additional specific admission standards. Documentation of these program-specific standards is available from each individual Program Director.

Additional Admission Requirements

Applicants offered admission to MSHS programs must also comply with the following prevailing institutional policies and procedures:

1. Immunization
2. Occupational Health Review and/or Physical Exam
3. Background Study
4. Drug Screen
5. Health Insurance
6. HIPAA, Confidentiality, and other training deemed necessary by Mayo Clinic and/or the MSHS Program in which you are offered admission.

Specific questions about these requirements may be directed to the school.

Failure to comply or to provide requested documentation is grounds for rescinding an admission offer or terminating admission.

• Technical Standards
  

You must be able to perform the essential functions of the profession and meet the standards of the curriculum. Students seeking exceptions to these standards or reasonable accommodations should initiate their request with the program's director.

In addition, the following program essential standards are required. The student must be able to:

• Have full use of both hands for activities including keyboarding, computer entry, capping/uncapping tubes, microscope manipulation
• Identify and distinguish colors, have clear vision (short and distance)
• Use phone for client contact, hear alarms, timers and equipment functioning
• Use automated laboratory instruments including vortex mixers
• Work various shifts with long duration of microscope and work-sustained stationary positions

Students will be working with materials below 60 degrees and higher than 80 degrees Fahrenheit, respirators, ionizing radiation and latex gloves.