Return to MLS Program Resource Center
| Are there scholarships available? | Yes! There are a variety of scholarships available to UWM students, including some specific to health sciences. | See the Panther Scholarship Portal page for more information. |
| Can I still work while completing the MLS submajor during the summer session or my clinical rotations? | Yes! This question is up to the individual, depends on how many hours you work, and if it is impacting your performance in school. If a student does work, they will still be required to attend all classes and clinical rotation hours and will not be accommodated due to work schedules, so any work hours must be done outside of scheduled class and rotation time. | |
| Can I take a vacation while completing the MLS submajor during the summer session or my clinical rotations? | Generally speaking, no, unless it falls outside of scheduled class time/rotation time. Once the summer session begins (end of year 3/beginning of year 4), courses are short and compact. This schedule means that missing just one week could be an entire course, which would prohibit the student from continuing in the submajor. When in clinical rotations, students are scheduled based on the sites staffing and availability, and students do not get vacation hours during this time. Much like summer, missing rotation time may result in missing a required area, which could again prohibit the student from completion of the submajor. Students should not plan or schedule any vacations during this time, and should not expect to be accommodated for vacation requests. | |
| Do I need to find my own clinical rotation? | No. The BMS Program has affiliation agreements and relationships with several hospital systems in the area, and students are not responsible for finding or setting up their own clinical rotations. Student placements are ultimately at the discretion of the BMS program. | See the Clinical Affiliates page for more information. |
| Do I pay tuition during clinical rotations? | Yes, UWM tuition is based on the amount of UWM credits that you are enrolled in. Though students will be off-site for the majority of their clinical rotation, they still enroll in UWM based courses, complete assessments during rotations that are administered by UWM, and earn grades and course credits for clinical hours. | See the Student Financial Services - Tuition page for more information. |
| Do I still get a winter break and spring break during clinical rotations? | Once rotations begin, students no longer follow the UWM schedule and rely completely on the schedule determined by their clinical site. Clinical sites typically give a short break around Christmas/New Years, but this break is not as long as the UWM Winter break (perhaps 1-2 weeks). Some sites will give students a spring break that follows the UWM spring break, but it is at their discretion based on scheduling. Students should plan to be in rotations during the entire rotation period (end of October-beginning of May, Monday through Friday). Any breaks or time off will be determined by the clinical site based on their scheduling of the student. | |
| How do I apply for financial aid during the summer session? | The summer session is considered an extension of the previous academic year. A separate application is not required, so this should be considered when applying for aid during the prior academic year. | See the Student Financial Services - Summer page for more information. |
| How does the class schedule work once clinical rotations begin and I am off campus? Do I still need to come back to campus for classes once clinical rotations begin? | Just prior to clinical rotations (during the Fall semester), students are enrolled in several courses that take place on the UWM campus. The majority of these courses end prior to the start of rotations (end of October), but there are a few that continue to the end of the semester. Once rotations begin, the few courses that continue to the end of the semester, as well as future courses taken in the spring, are administered primarily online. Once student clinical rotations begin, there are limited requirements to physically come back to campus for class (possibly once per month). | |
| What are the hours for clinical rotations? What shift do clinical rotations occur on? What is the start time and end time for clinical rotatons? | As a starting point, students should expect to be in clinical rotations Monday through Friday from 7/8am to 3/4pm, but the specific hours are determined by each clinical site. Most rotations occur on first shift. Some sites may require students to come in for a short second or third shift rotation if there is specific testing that is only performed on those shifts, but this is fairly rare. Sites may also offer a short second or third shift rotation as an option to the student if the would like to see what it's like working on one of these shifts. The specific hours vary by clinical site, and also may change depending on the area that the student is working in (i.e. the phlebotomy rotation might start earlier then the chemistry rotation). Rotations in certain areas may start as early as 5:00am, and this specific information will be shared with the student at the beginning of the rotation. | |
| What clothing do I wear during clinical rotations? | Each clinical site will have their own dress code, but generally scrubs or business casual are acceptable as long as they follow standard laboratory attire (no open toed shoes, clothing that completely covers the legs, etc.). Most students prefer to purchase and wear scrubs. With few exceptions, there are usually no specific colored scrubs required at our clinical affiliates, but students can reach out to Brad at bkdepons@uwm.edu if they have specific questions about dress code for their specific clinical site. | |
| Why do some sites start clinical rotations later than or end sooner than others? | Rotation completion is not based on the amount of HOURS spent at a clinical site, rather it is based on competency assessments. The amount of time physically spend in clinical rotations varies from site to site. It is at the discretion of the clinical site to determine how best to train and evaluate the student for competency in each area based on their staffing and resources. Some sites utilize the entire rotation window (end of October through beginning of May), while others may not start rotations until November/December, and others may start right away but end early in March or April. The length of rotation is dependent on several factors, including staffing at the clinical site, how long the students spend at the site each day, how many areas are available to train in, extenuating circumstances that require a later start date/earlier end date (such as construction or implementation of a new computer system), and the volume of samples (i.e. a larger site may allow the student to see more samples in a shorter period of time). Regardless of clinical site, all students receive the same entry level training, and must be found competent using the same competency assessments and criteria. |