Student Learning Outcomes

Students graduating from this program will:

• Identify and extract data necessary for a given research question.
• Use statistics to analyze and interpret data.
• Design a testable research question or hypothesis.
• Identify responsible conduct of research resources and develop strategies for protecting oneself from scientific misconduct.
• Communicate scientific outcomes.
• Describe common epidemiologic studies, test for causal associations, and evaluate potential noncausal associations. (Applicable only to Epidemiology and Biostatistics emphasis)

Program Description

The Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics at the School of Medicine, in cooperation with the School of Science and Engineering, offers the Master of Science in Bioinformatics degree.  Students may complete the degree without an area of emphasis or may choose one of five emphasis areas (Clinical Research, Computational Bioinformatics, Genomic Bioinformatics, Individualized Informatics, or Epidemiology and Biostatistics).

The program is designed to prepare a new generation of informatics professionals who will have the necessary skills to work collaboratively for the advancement of health sciences. Graduates are expected to be effective team members who can contribute to education, research, and development in the fields of bioinformatics and/or clinical research. This degree program prepares students to assume a variety of professional informatics positions in translational research and development, institutional management, public policy, information systems, hospitals, private industry, or as members of a clinical research team.  Students interested in pursuing a career involving independent conduct of research should enroll in the thesis/capstone track.  A non-thesis track is available for students pursuing industry careers, where demonstration of specific skills and expertise are valued. Students completing the M.S. Bioinformatics degree may also choose to continue their education at advanced graduate levels.

Program Goals

1. Produce competent researchers at the interface of biomedical and health informatics and clinical research
2. Produce graduates able to establish partnerships with stakeholders and the community
3. Produce effective communicators
4. Produce ethical and responsible researchers

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 30 to 36 credit hours are required to earn the Master of Science in Bioinformatics degree (30 for non-thesis track and 36 for thesis/capstone track). Students must complete the program of study while maintaining a 3.0 or better grade point average.  The total number of credit hours, required coursework, elective course work and Thesis or Capstone requirements vary based on the MS Bioinformatics emphasis area and final research experience selected by the student. These options are shown in the tables below.

*Students may choose to complete either a 3 credit hour Capstone course with 3 additional elective credit hours, or no thesis, in place of Research and Thesis credit hours.

Admission Requirements

Please visit our Admissions Page to learn about our requirements.