HD in Medical Laboratory Technology is a higher diploma in Biomedical & Laboratory Sciences programme taught at Georgian College in Barrie, Canada. The programme runs for 6 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 7,619 per semester (CAD 3,084 per semester for local students).
This higher diploma prepares students to work as Registered Medical Laboratory Technologists, combining classroom learning, laboratory activities and clinical placements across six semesters. Students build the technical, critical-thinking and other knowledge needed to reliably collect and analyze patient samples within a fast-moving clinical setting, supporting diagnostic decisions and treatment evaluation. Coursework in clinical chemistry and clinical hematology covers operating equipment that measures components of blood and body fluids, clinical microbiology work prepares cultures of micro-organisms for identification, and students also prepare tissue samples for histological study. Hands-on practice covers blood typing and cross-matching to support transfusions and safe blood-drawing technique, building the accuracy and precision expected under the profession's quality assurance guidelines.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Three-year Ontario College Advanced Diploma and highly competitive: Georgian's Fall 2026 list recommends an 80% average. Entry needs an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, or mature student status, with Grade 12 Mathematics (C or U), Grade 12 English (C or U), Grade 11 or 12 Biology (C or U) and Grade 12 Chemistry (C or U). The requirements can also be met through Georgian's Pre-Health Sciences Pathway to Advanced Diplomas and Degrees certificate or equivalent Ontario college academic upgrading.
Graduates of Georgian's own Medical Laboratory Assistant certificate can apply with advanced standing, for which a 65% grade point average is recommended. Practising Medical Laboratory Assistants and Technicians can be assessed by prior learning recognition for advanced standing into year two, which calls for certification from the Ontario Society of Medical Technologists, the Medical Laboratory Professionals Association of Ontario or the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science; three years of practice in the role; a reference letter from a manager covering performance, the scope of practice carried out and readiness to succeed in the program; and a current CV. Advanced standing applicants use the program code MLAS when applying through the Ontario College Application Service.
Georgian publishes one set of academic prerequisites here for both applicant groups: domestic applicants apply through ontariocolleges.ca, while international applicants apply through Georgian's own applicant portal, where overseas qualifications are assessed against these Ontario courses. English, for any applicant whose first language is not English or who comes from a country where English is not an official language: Georgian's college-level band — IELTS Academic 6.0, TOEFL iBT 79, TOEFL paper 550, PTE Academic 58, Duolingo 110, CAEL 60, Cambridge C1 Advanced 170 or TOEIC public test 800 — with results older than two years refused.
Application Details
Start Date:Intakes Georgian lists on this program's own page (checked 6 September 2026): Fall 2026 at Barrie; Fall 2027 at Barrie. Campus names are the ones Georgian gives for each start; not every campus runs every intake. On Georgian's academic calendar for standard 14-week programs, the fall term opens with orientation on 8 September 2026 and classes on 9 September 2026; the fall term opens with orientation on 7 September 2027 and classes on 8 September 2027. Individual programs vary from that pattern.
Application Deadline:Georgian lists Medical Laboratory Technology as a highly competitive program for Fall 2026 entry, with a recommended average of 80% in the required course(s) — a guideline that the college says changes by year and intake, and that meeting does not by itself win a seat. It publishes no deadline unique to this program; the dates below are the college-wide ones.
DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) apply through ontariocolleges.ca. 1 February is the equal consideration date: an application received on or before it is weighed alongside every other application received by then, while later ones are handled in the order they arrive for as long as seats last. Georgian's own worked example ties each 1 February to the fall, winter and summer that follow, so the date now in force is 1 February 2027 for entry in Fall 2027, Winter 2028 or Summer 2028. Letters of acceptance for most programs start going out on 1 November (1 November 2026 in the current cycle) and keep going until a program fills; an offer is confirmed back through ontariocolleges.ca by the deadline printed on it, normally 1 May (1 May 2027 this cycle), and only one offer may be held at a time. Late applicants can still receive an offer as far as the fifth day of the term. Because this program is highly competitive, Georgian Applications received by 1 February get equal consideration for highly competitive programs; after that date Georgian continues to consider applicants on a first-come, first-served basis until programs fill., and warns that every seat may already be taken by that date; once seats are gone a waitlist is opened and ranked on academic achievement.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS have no fixed cut-off. They apply directly to Georgian through its own applicant portal, which is also where a program's availability to international students is shown, and applications are taken year-round subject to that availability — Georgian warns that a program open when you apply can be closed by the time your file is assessed, and urges applying early enough to leave time for a study permit. A CAD 100 application fee applies, and a seat is only held once the pre-admission invoice is accepted and the non-refundable CAD 2,500 deposit is paid.
