Northern Michigan University

Master's in Clinical Molecular Diagnostics (Genetics)

Clinical molecular diagnostics is the future of the healthcare industry. Molecular tests are utilized with increasing frequency in areas of medicine including genetic disorders, infectious diseases, detection and monitoring of cancer, pharmacogenomics, and identity testing. Northern’s Master's of Science degree in Clinical Molecular Genetics (CMG) program is designed to provide a rigorous graduate level education for clinical laboratory scientists and biologists in the field of molecular diagnostics. The CMG program is intended for laboratory science professionals who are already trained and competent in a medical laboratory or related discipline. Northern’s program places emphasis on developing students to be knowledgeable in the clinical applications of molecular genetic tests for acquired, inherited, and infectious diseases.

The CMG program is designed to provide flexibility for working professionals while also being suited for students interested in performing research at NMU. The CMG program consists of interactive web-based courses, a week long on-campus laboratory experience (required for thesis only), and a flexible curriculum design that allows for distance or on-campus degree completion. Students have the option to select between an infectious disease or human genetics concentration. Degree completion can be attained through an on-campus research thesis in Clinical Molecular Genetics, a project in Clinical Molecular Genetics, or a capstone in Clinical Applications of Genetic & Genomic Technologies.

The web-based courses allow students greater flexibility in learning but are no less rigorous than traditional classroom based courses. Initial courses provide the groundwork knowledge while subsequent courses develop the student’s ability to critically apply that knowledge and establish the foundation for a successful thesis or capstone project.