Program Overview
The Health Informatics (HINF) graduate program is housed within the Institute for Health Informatics (IHI) and comes under the umbrella of Health Sciences Education and Training. The program has a diverse faculty drawn from multiple departments and divisions throughout the University of Minnesota. The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) is responsible for the ongoing operation of the program. The DGS reports to the IHI Director for all academic matters. The Graduate Program Coordinator and Graduate School provide support and assistance with admissions, student progress, and the granting of degrees.
There are three degrees offered through the Institute for Health Informatics and a fellowship program. These consist of the Master of Health Informatics (MHI), Master of Science (MS), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) as well as the Clinical Informatics Fellowship. In addition to these three degrees, we also offer a dual degree PharmD/MHI and MD/MHI degree. Students currently pursuing a graduate degree interested in informatics can choose to pursue our minor in informatics. Both the MHI and the MS degrees are offered fully online or in-person or both, however the PhD is in-person only.
Director of Graduate Studies
David Pieczkiewicz, PhD
[email protected] (for general inquiries)
612-626-6079
Master of Health Informatics
The MHI program is designed to train individuals who are interested in using information technology to solve health care problems. The curriculum consists of 31 credits of coursework. Students take a sequence of core informatics courses and add electives to specialize their degree. MHI students have an average graduation time of 1.6 years or 5 semesters.
Master of Science
The MS program is for both health professionals and non-health professionals who are interested in seeking additional training in health informatics. The curriculum consists of 36 credits. Students take a sequence of core health informatics and biostatistics courses and then finish their degree with a master's thesis or additional coursework. MS students have an average graduation time of 2.3 years or 7 semesters.
Doctor of Philosophy
The PhD program is designed for students seeking the highest level of advanced training in the area of health informatics. It is a degree where students apply their knowledge and skills to an original research project that they report in a doctoral thesis. Students take a sequence of core courses in health informatics, computing, and biostatistics, and electives in technical and health science areas, and pursue one of four tracks: Data Science and Informatics for Learning Health Systems; Clinical Informatics; Translational Bioinformatics; or Precision and Personalized Medicine (PPM) Informatics. Students pursuing the Data Science and Informatics for Learning Health Systems track are expected to complete the University’s Data Science MS degree en route to the PhD.
- Clinical Informatics Track
- Data Science & Informatics Track
- Precision & Personalized Medicine Track
- Translational Bioinformatics Track
Program Performance Measures
We admit MHI and MS students in both fall and spring. PhD students may only begin in the fall. We do not have any programs that begin in the summer. In 2020-2021, we had 27 MHI, 14 MS, and 21 PhD applicants. 24 MHI, 7 MS, an 14 PhD applicants were offered admission to the program and 13 MHI, 5 MS, and 4 PhD applicants matriculated. MS students have an average graduation time of 2.3 years or 7 semesters and our MHI students have an average graduation time of 1.6 years or 5 semesters. 83% of our alumni have reported being employed in an informatics-related position within 1 year of graduating from the program. To review additional data from our past admissions cycles, please look at the Graduate School's website.
Clinical Informatics Fellowship
This fellowship program is designed for physicians who seek to develop skills in formal informatics evaluation and to obtain broader informatics expertise including implementation science, data science, usability, and data management. In this two-year program, fellows complete rotations within the MHealth Fairview system and the Veterans Administration Medical Center as well as elective rotations focused on self-designated clinical informatics. Click here for a short video for an overview on the fellowship.