HD in Medical Laboratory Technology is a higher diploma in Biomedical & Laboratory Sciences programme taught at Cambrian College in Sudbury, Canada. The programme runs for 6 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 7,580 per year for local students.
The higher diploma builds analytical, interpretation, and critical-thinking skills for reporting patient results as a Medical Laboratory Technologist, combining classroom learning, laboratory exercises, and clinical placements to perform complex analyses used in diagnosis and treatment. Phlebotomy training covers collecting blood specimens for laboratory testing and other health care needs. The curriculum prepares students for entry-level practice across five disciplines: transfusion science, covering the preparation and storage of blood products; clinical hematology, covering cellular and non-cellular blood components and hemostasis; clinical chemistry, covering substances present across blood, urine, and other body fluids, and clinical microbiology, involving the preparation and staining of specimens to identify infection; and clinical histotechnology, involving the processing and staining of specimens to reveal cellular structures. Certified graduates can work across hospitals and private or public laboratories.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: DOMESTIC ENTRY. Ontario Secondary School Diploma (30 credits) or an equivalent, or mature student status - 19 or older before classes begin and without an OSSD, assessed individually, with pre-testing for readiness possible. Required subjects: any grade 12 English at the (C) or (U) level; any grade 12 mathematics at the (C) or (U) level; any grade 12 chemistry at the (C) or (U) level; and any biology at grade 11 (U) or (C) or grade 12 (U). A minimum of 65% is required in grade 12 mathematics; the page sets no separate minimum for the other three.
This is a limited enrolment program: the prerequisite grades that secure an offer are decided each cycle by the size and strength of the applicant pool, and post-secondary study already completed is weighed as part of the application.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS. Cambrian's program page states this program is not currently available to international students. Cambrian's international English table sets its minimums by credential level and prints three rows only - Diploma / Certificate, Grad Certificate and Degrees. The diploma and certificate line is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band below 5.5; TOEFL 550 on the paper-based test or 80 on the internet-based test; PTE (Pearson) 58; Duolingo 105 to 115. The table prints no separate line for an Ontario College Advanced Diploma, which is what this credential is, so confirm with Admissions which line governs before booking a test. International applicants, and domestic applicants presenting transcripts earned outside Canada, must send official notarised documents with a certified translation where they are not in English, have them assessed by a certified credential evaluator, and include a copy of a valid passport.
AFTER ADMISSION - lab and placement clearances, not conditions of the offer. For first and second year labs, due by 30 September for students entering in the fall: proof of tetanus-diphtheria (a primary series of three doses, the most recent within ten years); pertussis (an adult dose after age 18); polio (a primary series of at least three doses); measles-mumps-rubella and varicella (two documented vaccinations each, or bloodwork showing immunity); COVID-19 (a primary series of two to three doses); hepatitis B vaccination plus antibody bloodwork proving immunity; and WHMIS. Influenza vaccination is optional but recommended. Before the final clinical year, on a deadline that moves with the placement start date: a two-step Mantoux TB skin test; N95 mask fit testing (valid two years); a vulnerable sector criminal record search (valid one year); WHMIS (valid three years); Workplace Health and Safety in Four Steps and AODA (neither expires); and a signed Student Declaration of Understanding (valid one year).
Application Details
Start Date:Intakes Cambrian lists for this program on its own page, read 6 September 2026: September 2026 (Schedule A fall term: Day 1 orientation 8 September 2026, classes from 9 September 2026, term ends 18 December 2026). Term dates come from Cambrian's published 2026-27 Academic Schedule A, which most programs follow and which is built from 14-week blocks with September, January and May starts. Not every program admits in every term, and the intakes above are the ones this program's page lists for the 2026-27 year; check the program page before applying, because an intake already under way may be closed.
Application Deadline:DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents). Cambrian publishes no deadline that belongs to this program alone; what follows is the college-wide Ontario colleges cycle plus Cambrian's own term cut-offs, and it applies to every full-time program. Apply at ontariocolleges.ca. Applications received there by 1 February are given equal consideration - they are assessed together, and Ontario residents are preferred where a program is oversubscribed. After 1 February applications are handled first-come, first-served for as long as seats remain, and your file is judged on what has reached the Admissions Office by the transcript submission deadline. For entry in Fall 2027 the provincial cycle runs as follows: the ontariocolleges.ca application opened on 26 September 2026, colleges may issue offers from 1 November 2026, the equal consideration date is 1 February 2027, an offer must be accepted by 1 May 2027, and tuition deposits fall in June 2027 on each college's own date.
This is a limited enrolment program, which makes the 1 February date matter more than usual: holding the published requirements does not secure a place, and where qualified applicants outnumber the seats Cambrian selects among them. The minimum prerequisite grades that actually secure an offer are set each cycle by the size and strength of the applicant pool, so they are not published in advance.
COLLEGE-WIDE LAST DAY TO APPLY. Separately from the equal consideration date, Cambrian's 2026-27 Academic Schedule A sets a hard last day to apply for admission on Day 3 of each term - for this program's intakes that is 10 September 2026 for the fall 2026 start. To begin, all transcripts and documents must already be with the College and you must be ready to pay the deposit and start classes by Day 5 (14 September 2026, 15 January 2027 or 14 May 2027). The schedule prints this as an all-programs date and does not distinguish domestic from international applicants. The non-refundable deposit is due 15 June 2026 for the september start.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS. Cambrian states this program is not currently available to international students; the routes below apply only to programs its program list shows as open. For those programs Cambrian directs international applicants away from the domestic ontariocolleges.ca form to the OCAS international service (Cambrian's college code is CAMB, up to three program choices), or to an authorised agent filing in Cambrian's own application portal. The 1 February equal consideration date is part of the domestic Ontario colleges cycle and Cambrian publishes no closing date of its own for international applicants; files are assessed individually as they arrive. Cambrian does say that some programs fill faster than others and advises acting early, and that the letter of acceptance carries an expiry date past which no student may enrol. Once the offer is accepted and fees are paid you need an Ontario Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) before you can apply for a study permit, so leave time for that step.
