The end of the twentieth century saw an explosion of data discovered from living organisms, especially in areas of molecular biology and genetics. The goal of bioinformatics is to deal with this flood of data, organize it as comprehensible information, and turn it into useful knowledge. For example, the flow of information from the Human Genome Project will revolutionize medical practice and biological research in this century, and enable an understanding of most inherited diseases. Study of the genomic code, coupled with new understanding of its organization, regulation and function in cells, and in development of organisms, is forming the basis for designing new treatments for many diseases and for understanding and modulating health problems associated with aging. Genome information is quickly becoming the basis for designing new drugs. It is also central to the improvement of genomes of economically important crops and animals.
Experienced bioinformaticians are limited in number, while the need for them in industry, academe, and government has grown rapidly. Full understanding and application of this new data requires a large body of intelligent, creative, and experienced scientists with a firm understanding of both computation and biology. There is a current and projected shortage of such people and a pressing need for educational institutions to teach bioinformatics. In the mid-1990s, biosciences industries discovered the importance of bioinformatics to their goals and quickly stripped academic centers of many experts who would normally serve to educate a new generation of students. New directions following the unraveling of the genomic code also point to greatly increased information flow and an increasing scale in the application of computing methods to biosciences.
The Department of Computer and Information Science and the Department of Biology in the School of Science collaborate closely with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and other departments in the School of Medicine. Many ongoing projects funded by federal agencies need the knowledge and technology of bioinformatics. The Department of Computer and Information Science has obtained funds from the Research Laboratories at Eli Lilly and Company for research in bioinformatics. Individual faculty members in the Department of Computer and Information Science and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are also engaged in a research initiative in Bioinformatics.
The Master of Science in Health Informatics (36 cr.)
The School of Informatics offers a Master of Science in Health Informatics to address needs emanating from the rapidly changing health care environment. Research and educational programs in medical, nursing, and health informatics are growing at a rapid rate nationally. This can be attributed in large part to the increasing complexity and importance of health care reimbursement, which has created a need for improved classification, storage, and analysis of medical information to establish best clinical practice and cost efficiency. Users of health informatics include clinicians, researchers, health care educators, health organization administrators, health policy analysts, health information administrators, quality improvement directors, and chief information officers. Those who are professionally involved in health informatics work in a variety of settings, including acute care hospitals, managed care organizations, consulting firms, claims and reimbursement organizations, accounting firms, home health care agencies, long-term care facilities, corrections facilities, pharmaceutical companies, behavioral health organizations, insurance companies, state and federal health care agencies, and health computing industries.
The IUPUI campus is uniquely suited to conduct graduate education in health informatics through its health schools, research centers, and affiliated academic units. The School of Medicine has a long history of fellowship training and research in medical informatics. The School of Allied Health Sciences offers an undergraduate degree in health information administration. This baccalaureate program prepares professionals to plan and manage health information systems. The curriculum is grounded in computer systems, health law, medical documentation, and organizational management. The School of Nursing, which is the largest in the country, is in the forefront in the development of nursing informatics, with a particular emphasis on consumer health informatics. The School of Library and Information Science offers master’s and doctoral degrees in information science, which are distinguished by their sociotechnical orientation. The school also has a broad research thrust exploring the interconnection of social, behavioral, and technological issues associated with the use of information and communication technologies. The Department of Computer and Information Science offers a master’s degree in Computer Science with a specialization in databases and data mining. The department supports the computer science requirements of the M.S. in Health Informatics. Faculty in the department are externally funded to conduct research in medical informatics and bioinformatics. Other academic programs at Indianapolis and Bloomington in public health, applied health sciences, and hospital administration offer important supporting course work.
General Requirements for the M.S. in Health Informatics
To receive the Master of Science in Health Informatics, students must complete 36 credit hours of prescribed courses. In addition to core courses, students choose, in consultation with advisors, a set of concentration electives. Examples of concentration areas include:
- knowledge-based health care information,
- health services informatics, and
- clinical databases
Knowledge-based health care information focuses on the storage, organization, evaluation, and dissemination of health and medical knowledge (e.g., textbooks, journals, other media, and information) to support evidence-based practice and patient education. End-users of knowledge-based health care information include clinicians, patients, health educators, and health planners.
Health services informatics focuses on information management in health care systems and addresses such diverse needs as patient flow, resource allocation, billing, and compiling and reporting of data. This involves developing information systems for processing and storing clinical data, complying with medical documentation requirements of accrediting and governmental agencies, and setting health information policies.
Clinical databases focuses on the storage of medical data and linkage of electronic systems. Study in this concentration would be based on an electronic medical record system which would include existing standards and coding, links between health-related databases, and data extraction for clinical care and management. Research would be oriented to using such databases to learn more about disease and health maintenance (e.g., clinical epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, public health informatics, and nursing informatics).
Prerequisites (12 cr.)
All students applying for the M.S. in Health Informatics should have prerequisite courses or equivalencies in the following areas:
Anatomy, biology, or physiology
(200-level or higher) | 3 cr. |
Computer Science CSCI N301
(or equivalent) | 3 cr. |
| Medical Terminology | 3 cr. |
| Statistics | 3 cr. |
To receive a master’s degree, the applicant must be admitted as a graduate student and complete 36 credits in health informatics-related courses numbered 500 or above as listed below. The following courses are offered at IUPUI; courses may also be taken at IUB with approval of the advisor.
Core Courses (15 cr.)
All of the following are required:
INFO I501 Introduction to Informatics (3 cr.)
INFO I502 Information Management (3 cr.), P: INFO I501
INFO I503 Social Impact of Information Technologies (3 cr.)
INFO I530 Seminar in Health Informatics Applications (3 cr.)
Choose one of the following:
PBHL G651 Biostatistics for Public Health (3 cr.)
NURS R505 Measurement and Data Analysis (3 cr.)
SPEA H518 Public Health Statistics (3 cr.)
Electives (15 cr.)
Electives may be selected from existing graduate courses in numerous schools and other academic units, depending on student need. Of these 15 credit hours, 9 credit hours must be selected from the list of informatics and computer science courses. (This list is neither exhaustive nor exclusive.) In consultation with their advisors, students will have wide latitude in choosing appropriate courses.
Informatics and Computer Science
CSCI 503 Operating Systems (3 cr.)
CSCI 504 Concepts in Computer Organization (3 cr.)
CSCI 536 Computer Networks (3 cr.)
CSCI 541 Database Systems (3 cr.)
CSCI 542 Distributed Database Systems (3 cr.)
CSCI 565 Programming Languages (3 cr.)
CSCI 590 Topics: Artificial Intelligence (3 cr.)
NURS T619 Computer Technologies (3 cr.)
SLIS L542 Introduction to Human Computer Interaction (3 cr.)
SLIS L570 Online Information Retrieval (3 cr.)
SLIS L571 Information Networking (3 cr.)
SLIS L574 Communication in Electronic Environments (3 cr.)
SPEA H628 Healthcare Information Systems (3 cr.)
SPEA V516 Public Management Information Systems (3 cr.)
SPEA V519 Database Management Systems (3 cr.)
SPEA V613 Implementation of Information Systems (3 cr.)
Design, Measurement, and Evaluation
AHLT W520 Research Methodology for Allied Health (3 cr.)
AHLT W570 Research Communication in Allied Health (3 cr.)
ECON E528 Economic Analysis of Health Care (3 cr.)
NURS L650 Data Analysis for Clinical and Administrative Decision Making (3 cr.)
NURS R500 Nursing Research Methods I (3 cr.)
NURS R600 Nursing Research Methods II (3 cr.)
NURS R601 Instrument Development for Health Behavior I (2 cr.)
NURS R602 Instrument Development for Health Behavior II (2 cr.)
NURS R720 Metanalysis of Health/Illness or Disease/Illness (3 cr.)
NURS T617 Evaluation in Nursing (3 cr.)
PBHL G652 Biostatistics II (3 cr.)
SPEA H517 Managerial Epidemiology (3 cr.)
SPEA H521 Management Sciences for Health Services Administration (3 cr.)
SPEA H615 Strategic Management, Decision Making, and Evaluation II (3 cr.)
SPEA V541 Benefit-Cost Analysis of Public and Environmental Policies (3 cr.)
Health Sciences
AHLT W510 Trends and Issues in Allied Health (3 cr.)
AHLT W560 Topics: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (3 cr.)
HPER C501 Program Planning in Public Health Education (3 cr.)
HPER C515 Health Education in Clinical Settings (3 cr.)
NURS M560 Teaching Strategies to Promote Client Functioning (3 cr.)
PBHL P503 Public Health Community Project (3 cr.)
SOC R515 Sociology of Health and Illness (3 cr.)
SPEA H501 Introduction to Health and Medical Care Organization (3 cr.)
SPEA H503 Health Systems Organization and Management (3 cr.)
Project/Thesis (6 cr.)
As a capstone experience, students will complete either a project, planned in conjunction with their advisor, or a researched-based thesis, supervised by a research advisor and a thesis committee. Core and support faculty from the participating schools will have a wide range of research interests that will provide graduate students with choices relevant to their concentration areas.
INFO I691 Thesis/Project in Health Informatics (1-6 cr.)
Master of Science in Media Arts and Science
The Master of Science degree develops specialized skills and knowledge in new media with the purpose of preparing students to manage and conduct research on Internet and Web environments and multimedia production techniques. Like all new media programs, the masters degree is focused on applied research and application. The course of study is oriented toward professional practice and relies on a theory base drawn from fundamental disciplines which study communication as sight, sound and motion.
Skills and knowledge embedded in this degree program include: web page and multimedia research design, computer programming and database programming, multimedia authoring language skills and data collection, software, multimedia development of audio and video impact on users, digital graphics assessment techniques, and writing and editing of materials for multimedia evaluation and assessment.
The Master of Science in Media Arts and Science includes required courses in new media with specific emphasis of philosophy and principles of the field as well as techniques using technology in communication and cybernetic/human interaction theory. Graduates will be prepared to conduct research in the development and effects of using communication technology in academic, social, and vocational settings. Opportunity will exist within the field for students to conduct applied research in media related disciplines.
Career options include 2D/3D artist, animator, creative technologist, multimedia producer, director of software development, electronic publisher, hypermedia specialist, Internet developer, graphic artist, interactive trainer, music producer, multimedia developer, composer, techno-artist, video/audio editor, webmaster, and web site designer.
Application Procedures
See section on application procedures for informatics.
Admissions Requirements
Students must hold a Bachelor’s degree with demonstrated media arts skills. Students must have an overall grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 point scale.
- Students will be required to attend an interview to assess the applicant’s computer literacy, personal skills, and professional experience.
- Students must present a portfolio. This can include a multimedia application and/or an original computer software program.
- Students also must submit three letters of recommendation to support the application for admission.
- Arrange for official transcripts to be sent from all colleges and universities attended by the applicant. Transcripts indicating “issued to student” are not considered official. An official transcript bears the original signature of the registrar and/or original seal of the issuing institution. Transcripts should be mailed directly by a registrar, or given to the applicant by the registrar in a sealed and signed envelope. International applicants should refer to the guidelines outlined in the International Graduate Application for Admission form. If the student has not completed all undergraduate course work at the time of application, the admission decision will be based on information available at the time of application. However, a final transcript showing graduation must be submitted before enrollment. Students who have taken course work on any Indiana University campus do not need to submit an Indiana University transcript.
Degree Requirements
The Master of Science degree is a 30 credit-hour program that includes a core of 18 hours and a specialization area of 12 hours. Electives will be available which allow students to specialize in “major field” areas within the new media graduate curriculum.
Required Core Courses (18 hours)
N500 Foundations of Media Arts Production
(3 cr.)
N501 TPCS: Principles of Multimedia Technology (3 cr.)
N502 Digital Media Motion and Simulation Methods (3 cr.)
N503 Multimedia Design Applications (3 cr.)
N504 Advanced Interactive Design Applications (3 cr.)
N505 Internship in Media Arts and Technology (3 cr.) or N506 Media Arts and Technology Major Project (3 cr.)
N510 Web Database Concepts (3 cr.)
Specialization Core Courses (12 hours)
Specialization courses must be selected from the 400 and 500 level courses offered in the schools of: Informatics, Art, Journalism, Music, Library and Information Science, or the departments of Computer Science, and Computer Technology.
Area 1:
Computer Technology
Computer Science
Library Information and Science
New Media
Area 2:
Music
Art
Journalism
New Media
The specialization core MUST be approved by the School of New Media academic advisor and the head of graduate studies PRIOR to enrollment in the courses.
