professional masters program biomedical informatics

The Honors Cooperative Masters Program in Biomedical Informatics

The Biomedical Informatics program offers the Honors Cooperative Program (HCP) Masters degree or Professional Masters, a part-time, online or distance education program.

The Professional M.S. program in biomedical informatics was initially funded by the Sloan Foundation and was part of an initiative to create a new type of degree program at the master's level in the sciences. As the degree of complexity has grown in science, so has the need for technical education beyond the undergraduate level. In many cases, individuals with advanced training who wish to extend their research areas to include biomedical informatics generally need to obtain additional training. Traditional programs at the master’s and Ph.D. level offer training in research skills which are redundant or unnecessary, and can be too specialized or too lengthy. We address the need for advanced didactic training via the part-time Professional M.S. degree in Biomedical Informatics.

The Professional M.S. program is designed for the needs of students interested in non-academic careers, however, the program requirements for the degree are identical to those for the full time, residential Masters program. However the research component (and therefore the practicum) is not required. The research component is replaced by the requirement for employment in the field of biomedical informatics or other highly-related field. There is no difference in scientific focus and the University does not make a distinction between a distance education MS vs. a residential MS degree.