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USD Adds Certificate in Laboratory Science at UC for Fall 2016 Start

Completion of the Certificate Program in Laboratory Technology or Regulatory Affairs can be the first step in a student’s educational pathway. All the credits from the certificate program can be applied to an existing A.S. in General Studies and ultimately toward a proposed an A.S. degree in Integrated Science. Courses are  ISCI 151-151L Integrated Science I w/Lab – 4.0 (FALL), ISCI 215-215L Good Lab Practices w/Lab – 4.0 (SPRING), ISCI 353 Regulatory Affairs – 3.0 (SPRING), and MICR 231-231L General Microbiology w/Lab – 4.0 (FALL/SPRING with Pre-Req: CHEM 106/106L or 112/112L and MATH 102 College Algebra.

Learn More about Bioscience

Sioux Falls and the surrounding region has a rapidly growing laboratory and life science industry sector highlighted by an increasing number of bio-tech companies. This growth was spurred by T. Denny Sanford’s investment in then Sioux Valley Hospital and continues to be a focus of economic development efforts by both Sioux Falls and South Dakota. Recently, USD has partnered with the City and Forward Sioux Falls to establish the Discovery District at the University Center site. The Certificate in Laboratory Science will benefit the existing companies and support the emergence and recruitment of new companies. Students that earn a certificate in Laboratory Science will be prepared to be laboratory workers that are making drugs/devices or doing analytical testing. These are “operations” or “production” people in a drug/device/testing company.

Who is the audience for the program?
The audience for this certificate includes those working in, or looking to work in, biotech companies as laboratory workers. Completion of the certificate program can be the first step in a student’s educational pathway. All the credits from the certificate program can be applied to an existing Associate’s Degree in General Studies. Additionally, USD has proposed an A.A. degree in Integrated Science and is preparing an Intent to Plan for a B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering; all of the credits earned in the Laboratory Science Certificate can be applied to these degrees. Students that are already seeking (or have already received) B.S. degrees in STEM fields can earn the certificate and better prepare themselves for jobs in the rapidly expanding bioscience field, which the Governor’s Office of Economic Development has identified as one of the key industries for growth.

The courses to be completed, the credit hours of each course, and the total number of credit hours required for the program: