Biomedical Informatics, MS

The program is a two-year (four-semester) thesis program leading to a Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics. The major goal of the program curriculum is to train new Biomedical Informatics specialists. The program is primarily designed to enrich and improve the academic credentials of graduates. Our distinctive program emphasizes student development in four areas (coursework, experiential learning, presentation skills, and personal growth), and allows students to broaden and strengthen their academic foundation for further intellectual development and medical research. Each graduate will be able to use their preparation to investigate and apply information and communication technologies to advance research, practice, and solve problems in the related Biomedical fields in a comprehensive, competitive, and effective way.
The program is designed to include the following high-level competency areas:
· Biomedically-related courses: principal of public health informatics, biomedical imaging and process, advanced bioinformatics.
· Data science related courses: introduction to data science, data science with cloud computing, advanced data science analytic techniques, and big data related courses.
· The program has reciprocal relationships with specific courses in the graduate programs in Biomedical Engineering, and Biochemistry/ Molecular Biology.
The program will provide graduates with marketable skills for informatics careers in biology, medicine, public health, IT trainers, project managers, chief nursing officers, chief medical officers, or research scientists focused on the development of prescriptive analytics from big data sources. These uniquely trained master's graduates will be critical to existing efforts to improve health outcomes. Building a stronger presence in biomedical data sciences and informatics in clinical practice, research, and education, is a high priority for the institutions. This program also prepares students to participate in research programs in academia, healthcare, public health, and industry, as well as to apply the knowledge in clinical, government, and industry settings.
The core curriculum emphasizes biomedical applications of data science and big data knowledge. Students must complete a minimum of 32 credit hours from the courses listed below (23 core and at least 9 elective credit hours). Master's Thesis Research coursework (BIMI 9980 Master’s Thesis Research (1 c.h.) does not contribute to the minimum course requirements of the program.
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credit Hours | |
| BIMI 6100 | Elements in Biomedical Informatics | 4 |
| BIMI 6200 | Introduction to Data Science for Biomedical Informatics | 3 |
| BIMI 7100 | Statistical Machine and Deep Learning in Biomedical Practice | 3 |
| BIMI 8500 | Research Methodology of Biomedical Informatics | 2 |
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIMI 6300 | Fundamentals of Data Analytics | 3 |
| BIMI 7300 | Biomedical Data Science with Cloud Computing | 3 |
| BIMI 7500 | Genomic Sequence and Omics Data Analysis | 3 |
| BIMI 8500 | Research Methodology of Biomedical Informatics | 2 |
| Credit Hours | 11 | |
| Summer Session 1 | ||
| Master’s Thesis Research | ||
| Credit Hours | 0 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| Elective Courses | 6 | |
| Master’s Thesis Research | ||
| Credit Hours | 6 | |
| Spring | ||
| Elective Course | 3 | |
| Master’s Thesis Research | ||
| Credit Hours | 3 | |
| Summer Session 1 | ||
| Master’s Thesis Research | ||
| Credit Hours | 0 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 32 | |
ELECTIVES
Electives courses (Year 1 or Year 2): All students are required to take at least one of the following biologically relevant courses (excluding GBCH 7250 Biomedical Statistics and Data Analysis (2 c.h.)) as an elective: BMSP 6070 Advanced Cell Biology (3 c.h.); GBCH 6010 Graduate Biochemistry (4 c.h.); EPID 7810 Human Molecular Genetics (3 c.h.). Other elective courses may be substituted with permission of the Program Director.
SUGGESTED ELECTIVES
| Course ID | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | ||
| BIMI 7210 | Biomedical Informatics Workshop I - IV | 1 |
| BIMI 7220 | Biomedical Informatics Research Methods | 4 |
| BIMI 7980 | Biomedical Informatics Special Topics | 1 to 6 |
| BIMI 7990 | Biomedical Informatics Directed Independent Study | 1 to 6 |
| Spring | ||
| BIMI 6400 | Health Informatics | 3 |
| BIMI 7210 | Biomedical Informatics Workshop I - IV | 1 |
| BIMI 7230 | Biomedical Informatics Research Methods | 2 |
| BIMI 7980 | Biomedical Informatics Special Topics | 1 to 6 |
| BIMI 7990 | Biomedical Informatics Directed Independent Study | 1 to 6 |
Program String and Field of Study: MDMS_GR, BIMI
Catalog Addenda Note: This program was slightly edited on September 17, 2026.
For more information, contact the School of Medicine.