Austin State Hospital Medical Lab Program Costs $845. Here Is How Its Graduates Do.
A certificate, MLS program in Austin, About 49 weeks of rotations, full time weekdays. 100% of its graduates passed the certification exam over 2021 to 2023.
The Short Version
- Its certification exam rate (100%) is above the Texas program median of 90.0%.
- 100% of graduates looking for work in the field found a job, by NAACLS's measure.
- 100% of students who started finished the program.
- Its published cost is at or below the median for Texas medical lab programs that publish one ($9,730).
- At 10% of the local median wage for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, the program cost is paid back in about 0.1 years.
These lines are generated from the numbers on this page and change when the data does.
How Graduates Do
NAACLS requires every accredited program to publish the same outcome measures, so they can be compared program to program. 4
| Year | Certification pass rate |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 100% |
| 2022 | 100% |
| 2021 | 100% |
Graduates who passed a medical laboratory certification exam (usually the ASCP Board of Certification exam), as the program publishes it for NAACLS. Programs report a three-year figure or yearly rates; where only yearly rates are published we show the newest year rather than averaging them. Job placement: graduates who found jobs in the field or continued their education, as the program reports it to NAACLS.
Where the Money Goes
Nine of every ten dollars goes to books (about). Students are paid a stipend of about $600 a month as state Professional Trainees. Affiliated universities may charge their own tuition. Housing is the student's own.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Program tuition (none charged) | $0 |
| Books (about) | $800 |
| Liability insurance (about) | $45 |
| Total 1 | $845 |
* How we calculated this: We added the page's approximate book and insurance costs; the program charges no tuition.
Not included: prerequisite courses and living costs. Undated program page, live Nov 2026.
Jobs and Pay in the Austin Area
About 1,860 clinical laboratory technologists and technicians work in the Austin area. The middle half earn between $46,740 and $75,680 a year; new graduates usually start toward the lower end. Texas expects about 2,450 openings a year statewide through 2034, from new positions, retirements and people changing jobs, with the number of jobs growing 15.6% (from 29,740 to 34,380).
Other Medical Lab Programs in the Austin Area
Compare all 3 medical lab programs in the Austin area
| Program | certification exam rate | Job placement | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin State Hospital (this page) Certificate, MLS, Austin | 100% | 100% | $845 |
| Texas State University BS, MLS, San Marcos | 100% | Not reported | Not published |
| Austin Community College AAS, MLT, Austin | 97.8% | 97.0% | Not published |
Program Facts
- Credential
- Certificate, MLS
- Length
- About 49 weeks of rotations, full time weekdays
- Schedule
- Hospital-based, in person
- Starts
- Summer orientation, then one class a year (4 students)
- Before you apply
- Bachelor's in a related science with 16 hours biology, 16 hours chemistry and statistics, or 90 to 100 hours toward an affiliated MLS degree.
- Entrance exam
- None stated
- Accreditation
- NAACLS, Accredited (NAACLS award Sep 23, 2022; next self-study due Oct 1, 2026; accreditation ends Oct 31, 2027)
- Leads to
- ASCP Board of Certification (BOC) exam, MLT or MLS
Sources and Dates
- Austin State Hospital MLS Program page, Undated program page, live Nov 2026.
- Austin State Hospital program outcomes page, Program page table covers 2020 to 2023 (4, 4, 3 and 4 graduates); 100% completion, placement and ASCP BOC pass each year..
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians (29-2010), May 2025 estimates.
- National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS), checked Nov. 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Texas and metro areas (employment and wage percentiles), May 2025 estimates.
- Texas Workforce Commission, long-term occupational projections, 2024 to 2034.
Every number was checked against its source on Nov. 4, 2026. Spot an error? Report it. Program Outcomes is independent and not affiliated with any school or NAACLS. Our independence policy