Wisconsin School of Histotechnology 

Histology is the study of microscopic structures of tissues. Tissue samples typically come from humans, but may also come from animals or plants.

A certified histotechnologist prepares these tissue samples for analysis. As part of a medical laboratory team that includes pathologists and lab managers, a histology technician plays a critical role in diagnosing and treating diseases like cancer.

Histologists perform tissue preparation tasks requiring patience and fine motor skills. They need to be able to work quickly but carefully, either independently or in group settings. Responsibilities include:

• Ensuring specimens are properly accessioned, labeled and suitable for testing
• Performing frozen sections on fresh tissues for rapid diagnosis
• Working with formalin-fixed tissues
• Processing tissue using equipment designed to ensure full preservation and infiltration by paraffin
• Identifying tissue types for proper orientation during embedding and cutting
• Cutting thin, microscopic slide sections from paraffin blocks on a microtome
• Performing a variety of special stain procedures, immunohistochemistry, coverslipping, verification and distribution of slides
• Maintaining quality control of patient specimens throughout histology processes
• Performing and documenting cleaning, maintenance, troubleshooting and repair of instruments and equipment

Our 12-month, hospital-based program provides students with academic and practical experience in histology. Student experience combines textbook work, classroom time and hands-on experience in one of our labs.

Class sizes are limited due to the one-on-one attention given to each student.

The Wisconsin School of Histotechnology offers a Route 2 Study program. This means students entering our school must already have an associate degree/minimum of 60 semester hours of academic credit with at least 12 combined credits of both biology and chemistry, or a baccalaureate degree with at least 30 combined credits of both biology and chemistry.

Learn More About Histotechnology Program Requirements

Upon completion of the program, students are eligible to take the ASCP HT or HTL certification exam through the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification.

We’re proud of a 100% examination pass rate for previous graduates of our program. In 2019, nearly 63% of all WI ACL histology techs are graduates of our school.

This is a paid externship with a current hourly rate of $15.50. Students are full-time employees of Advocate Aurora Health Care and are eligible for benefits.

There is no tuition cost for the program and textbooks are provided.