Masters Degrees in Health Informatics, USA

The Health Care Informatics master’s program at MTSU, a concentration in Professional Science, emphasizes the skills and experience that will prepare the next generation of professionals to be competitive in the business and healthcare information technology workforce. This interdisciplinary degree is well suited to traditional students as well as working professionals. The M.S. in Professional Science is a groundbreaking master's degree in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines that helps equip students for work in public and private business enterprises and in academia. Health Care Informatics is designed around concentration courses in information systems applications and security, project management, business intelligence/analytics, and healthcare law, and electives in valuable specialty areas like Six Sigma and Lean Productivity Systems. This concentration is supplemented by a core of business courses in accounting, statistics, managerial communication, leadership, and a capstone internship experience. The program supports both part-time and full-time students, and limited graduate assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis.​

The Master of Science (M.S.) with a major in Professional Science includes a business core with specific concentrations in Actuarial Sciences, Biostatistics, Biotechnology, Engineering Management, Geosciences, and Health Care Informatics.

The Professional Science Master's, as it is commonly called, combines the business management skills commonly found in the traditional M.B.A.-type program with advanced learning in specific science fields.

This interdisciplinary program is a partnership among the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, and the Jennings A. Jones College of Business.

Career

Healthcare informatics and healthcare information technology make up one of Nashville’s most advanced industries today, and graduates in these fields typically secure employment earning salaries around double the national average. Nashville and the Middle Tennessee region also represent the second-fastest growing technology job market and the eighth-fastest growing economy nationwide. As a result, there is currently such surging demand for data scientists in Middle Tennessee that current graduation rates in these fields cannot supply enough qualified professionals, with even larger employment projections in coming years both in Tennessee and nationwide. The M.S. program in Health Care Informatics prepares graduates to enter one of many data science and technology sectors. There is a clear focus on competence, attitude, and job readiness in the MTSU program. Potential professional positions include:

Clinical and business informatics process lead
Clinical EMR support specialist
Clinical informatics manager
Clinical quality consultant
Clinical/business analyst
Director of clinical informatics
Director of health informatics
Health information systems project manager
Informatics analyst
Informatics consultant
Informatics specialist
Information analyst
Manager of clinical and business informatics
Population health analyst
Solutions analyst

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Program overview

The master of science in health systems administration provides strategic skills for today’s health care management professionals. Now, as never before, health care is rapidly transforming. The pace of technology and innovation are changing how, when, and where healthcare is provided, and who is providing it. Concurrently, health care consumers have high expectations for quality and responsiveness to their needs—delivered in a cost-effective manner. To provide these strategic skills, this post-graduate degree builds on a foundation of courses in policy and law formation, healthcare economics, finance, insurance reform, innovation, information technology, systems, operations and leadership. The course work is built on a foundation of skills and knowledge sets identified and endorsed by national health care leadership organizations. Graduates of the program are prepared to assume clinical and business leadership roles across the diverse healthcare industry.

The health care industry is changing rapidly due to healthcare reform and the Affordable Care Act. The MS degree encompasses course work that provides the graduate with a breadth of knowledge in areas key required for effective management of healthcare organizations: research, governance and economics, finance, health insurance, process improvement, project management and informatics. The curriculum also provides graduates a broad view of health care issues that administrators and leaders must be prepared to deal with effectively: change and innovation, leadership theory and application, bioethics, and human resources. Finally, the curriculum prepares the graduate to develop and implement plans designed to create and steer health care organizations of the future. Graduates will not only lead today’s healthcare organizations, they will create patient-centered facilities of the future.

Plan of study

The program requires 39 credit hours at the graduate level and can be completed in two years or less. Students may complete the program on a part-time basis. Students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average. Toward the end of their program of study, students complete a capstone project consisting of a community research experience. Upon matriculation, each student works with the program chair to develop a plan of study for their research experience.

Curriculum

Health systems administration, MS degree, typical course sequence:
First Year
-Research Methods
-Reinventing Health Care
-Health Care Operations Management
-Bioethics
-Lean Sigma in Health Care (summer)
Second Year
-Human Resources in Health Care
-Finance for Health Care Professionals
-Health Insurance and Reimbursement
-Health Care Informatics
-Elective (summer)
Third Year
-Health Care Leadership
-Health Systems Planning
-Capstone

Other admission requirements

-Submit two letters of reference from individuals who have the opportunity to observe the applicant’s work output.
-Submit official transcripts (in English) of all previously completed undergraduate and graduate course work.
-Complete an interview with the program chair (for those without health care experience).
-Complete a graduate application.

It is recommended that applicants have a minimum of three years of experience in a health care or health-related organization as either a practitioner or manager. Applicants who do not meet this requirement may be asked to complete certain undergraduate courses as a bridge for the content knowledge required for the graduate program. They may also be required to complete a graduate level internship in health care prior to graduation. All credentials must be submitted and reviewed by faculty prior to the completion of 12 credit hours of graduate work in the program.

Additional information

Maximum time limit:
University policy requires that graduate programs be completed within seven years of the student's initial registration for courses in the program. Bridge courses are excluded.

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The Art and Science of Health Data Analytics

USF’s Master of Science in Health Informatics program is focused on training the next generation of informaticists in the art and science of health data analytics. Healthcare and technical professionals learn everything from the basics of programming to cutting-edge statistical and machine learning methods in interprofessional, project-based classrooms.

Two tracks are available for students to pursue. Students may follow a track, or take any combination of courses that best suit their goals:

• Health Data Analytics - for students who want advanced training in data science
• Clinical Informatics - for clinicians and executives who are preparing for leadership positions

We seek highly motivated students who have a passion for improving healthcare through the application of data science and information technology. Our ideal student will have either:

• Clinical background (e.g., MD, RN, DPT, PsyD, PharmD, Allied Health, other post-baccalaureate clinical degree, or equivalents)
• Science or Engineering background with an interest in healthcare
• Healthcare Executives, Health IT leaders, and others involved in healthcare that wish to gain broad and deep knowledge in Health Informatics.
• Strong academic background, passion for healthcare, and quantitative aptitude

Program Features

REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS IN THE CLASSROOM

Classroom projects engage interdisciplinary teams of students to tackle real-world problems from faculty research or industry partners.

PROGRAMMING AND DATA ANALYTICS SKILLS

All students, regardless of background, learn programming skills in the context of working with healthcare data.

ENTREPRENEURIAL PERSPECTIVE

Located in the epicenter of the global digital revolution, our program engages with the Silicon Valley startup community. Interested students are given startup mentoring opportunities.

INTERNSHIP AND PRACTICUM OPPORTUNITIES

Students are required to complete a Capstone Experience consisting of original research, substantial project in health and biomedical informatics, or an internship with industry partner. We provide support for students in finding their internships and projects.

ADVANCED CLINICAL TRAINING

Clinically trained students are able to take graduate level nursing courses that fully count toward an advanced nursing degree including Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) at USF.

Job Outcomes

Our graduates are well-prepared for current and future challenges in this field. Importantly, our graduates have the technical skill to work with computer scientists and programmers, and a deep understanding of the healthcare environment to work with doctors, nurses, psychologists, and other healthcare professionals.

Our graduates have found opportunities in large hospitals or medical centers, research institutions, startups, government health agencies, and global health organizations. Positions have included Clinical Data Analyst, Director of Clinical Informatics Research, Statistical Analyst, Senior Programmer Analyst and Advanced Research or Clinical training (MD, DNP, PhD in Biomedical Informatics).

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Why get a dual degree in public and behavioral health?

The MPH-MSBH dual degree has been designed to prepare practitioners who are committed to eliminating health disparities, working with vulnerable populations, and creating social and physical environments that promote good health for all. This program is ideal for students who want a broad, in-depth knowledge base in public health with an emphasis on behavioral health skills. Courses are practice oriented and applied skills are emphasized. Dual degree students graduate with the knowledge to design, implement, and lead evidence-based health care and community programs.

The dual degree requires approximately 60 units. Full-time, dual degree students should be able to complete their course work in 6 semesters (24 months). Students can attend on a part-time basis and spread the program over three years. The course sequence can be adjusted on an individual basis.

On completing the dual degree program, graduates will have two degrees: Both the Master of Public Health and the MS in Behavioral Health. By pursuing this dual degree option, students will achieve a substantial savings in time and credits over completing these two degrees separately.

The dual degree has been designed to help students understand and address the social, emotional and environmental determinants of health and wellbeing. The program stresses the needs of underserved and at-risk populations. It teaches students how to implement and monitor programs; set up budgets, timelines and tracking tools; and write a grant proposal. Students also learn about ethics and policy, research methods, epidemiology, and statistical analysis and their roles in program development.

There is substantive focus on how to develop evidence-based interventions that have a high likelihood of success, use behavior change theory and holistic models and frameworks, and are based on community needs and assessment.

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USF’s Master of Science in Biology is research-intensive, providing personalized, hands-on training in a faculty member’s laboratory. Working together with their advisers, students design an independent, faculty-directed research project that culminates in a formal written thesis.

The focus of USF’s Master of Science in Biology program is hands-on lab research with full-time faculty and the completion of a major lab research project. Students who have successfully completed the program are prepared to pursue further postgraduate work or to enter into a technical position in a related research or industrial laboratory.

Spring 2018: Areas of Research

Unlike other programs, students are required to apply for a concentration and an opening in a specific faculty member’s laboratory. To qualify for admission to the MS in biology program, you must be interested in pursuing research in one of the following areas:

Conservation Genetics & Systematics - Jennifer Dever
Microbial Ecology, Mycology & Bioinformatics - Naupaka Zimmerman
Marine Biology & Physiology - Nicole Thometz
Parasitology - John Sullivan
Plant Evolution & Ecology - John R. Paul
Virology - Juliet Spencer

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