Health Informatics, M.S.

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Mission

The Master of Science in Health Informatics (MSHI) program seeks to provide students at Governors State University (GSU) with a complete education in understanding the role of advanced informatics (i.e. the application of technological devices, resources, methods/techniques) in transforming the healthcare delivery field. This program is designed to assist students in developing their academic and professional skills through their education experiences at GSU; through computational and healthcare courses at GSU; and through opportunities to participate in civic engagement.

The Master of Science in Health Informatics and certificate programs are STEM designated.

The College of Health and Human Services graduate Health Informatics degree is a program devoted to understanding how information technology (IT) and computing science can be used to transform the way that healthcare is delivered. It influences patients, providers, payers, policy-makers, and technology vendors. The health informatics program’s central academic objectives are:

Academic Objective 1: To enable students to understand the inter-relationships between information technology and healthcare services delivery, and the ways in which they mutually influence and transform each other.

Academic Objective 2: To provide students with technical, computational, analytical, and data analytics skills necessary to succeed in a mid-level health informatics role.

Admission Requirements

Have earned a degree in Health Informatics, B.S. or equivalent.
GPA of 3.0 or higher for the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work or a cumulative 3.0 GPA.
Complete an interview with the Admissions Committee scheduled on a mutually agreeable date and time. International students may request an interview via telephone, Skype, or web conference.
All international applicants must submit official academic credentials with an evaluation from Educational Credentials Evaluation (ECE) or World Education Services (WES) and may be required to submit a minimum acceptable score on the Test of English as a Second Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the program students are expected to:

Have knowledge to access health data, use it to describe current performance and apply it to healthcare organizations to forecast trends and patterns to improve operations.
Develop advanced computational, analytical, and technical skills.
Explain the applications of healthcare informatics and how they are used in healthcare organizations to transform care.
Demonstrate the capacity to make sound and ethical decisions related to healthcare informatics.
Gain insight into the resources needed to optimize the use of information technology in areas of healthcare research and clinical services delivery.
Be eligible for entry-level and mid-level health informaticist positions in healthcare delivery systems, consulting firms, governmental organizations and research organizations.

Admission to Candidacy

After admission as a degree-seeking student, a student also must apply for candidacy. Application forms are available from the student’s advisor. Application for candidacy should be made during the trimester in which the student expects to fulfill the candidacy requirements. Unsuccessful applicants to candidacy will not be permitted further registration in courses in the degree program. To qualify for degree candidacy, a student must:

have earned a grade of “B” or better in three of the following five courses: HLAD-7101 , HLAD-7102, HLAD-7106, HLAD-7109, and MIS-6201 or CPSC-8820 ;
complete all prerequisite course work listed in the Required Preparation Section;
apply for candidacy after earning a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 15 graduate-level credit-hours;
demonstrate adequate oral and written communication abilities appropriate for the profession;
demonstrate adequate interpersonal skills appropriate for the profession; and
no more than one course with a grade of “C+, C, or C-” toward degree requirements. When a student made a second “C+, C, or C-” in a class, the student must repeat the “C+, C, or C-” course only once to meet the degree requirements..

Skill levels noted in items four and five above are evaluated based on the professional judgment of the faculty and administrators through regular review of student progress.

More detailed candidacy information is available from the student’s advisor.

Required Preparation

Students are also expected to be computer literate and may be required to take a computer course or workshop to achieve literacy. Students without this or acceptable equivalent course work may be admitted to the program, but can only enroll in graduate courses for which they have satisfied the appropriate prerequisites. Students may seek a waiver for prerequisites by submitting a written request with supporting documentation to the advisor for evaluation during their first semester of enrollment. Students conditionally admitted to the MSHI program may be asked to complete the following deficiency courses:

Students who complete the BS in Health Informatics at GSU are eligible to complete the MS in Health Informatics provided they have a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work or a cumulative 3.0 GPA. Students will also need to complete the university graduate application.

Degree Requirements (33 Hours)

The student must complete all course requirements and earn a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Total - 33 Hours

The degree requirements for the Master of Science in Health Informatics require that a candidate must have completed all of the coursework identified for the Health Informatics, B.S. (or equivalents) and complete at the Master Degree level the courses below. All required courses must be completed with a grade of “B” or better. Students must meet all university requirements for a master’s degree.