William Miller, PhD, MHA
Program Director
william.miller2@scranton.edu
570-941-4527
Program Description
The Master of Science in Health Informatics at The University of Scranton will provide graduates with an innovative and forward-looking understanding of an ever-evolving discipline located at the intersection of information science, computer science, and health care. This interdisciplinary focus is used to explore the resources, devices, and methods required to optimize the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information in health care. The program explores a number of health informatics tools that include not only information and communication systems, but also emerging and innovative technologies. Graduates will understand how health informatics is applied across the broad-spectrum of health care and learn how to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams to achieve goals in person-centered environments.
Program of Study
This program of study consists of ten, 3-credit hour and two 1.5 credit hour online courses for a total of 33 credits. Each course is offered online in a seven-week format. The capstone course, which is split into two 1.5-credit hour courses at the end of the program provides the opportunity to use learning from previous courses for a precepted experience to complete an applied health informatics project.
Admission Requirements
An applicant for the program must possess a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university and have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.00 on a grading scale of 4.00. Applicants falling below this level may submit other evidence of their ability to complete graduate work such as grades in other graduate level courses, scores on the Graduate Record Examination, and/or a record of progressively higher work responsibilities. A completed application, together with official transcripts of undergraduate and graduate work taken elsewhere, letters of recommendation, and other supporting documents, should be received at least ten days before the term in which the student wishes to begin graduate study. International students, whose native language is not English, must demonstrate their proficiency in English by meeting criteria established for admission to the University.
Accelerated MS in Health Informatics
Students enrolled in any University of Scranton undergraduate program may seek early acceptance and admission into the MS in Health informatics (MSHI) Program. Students are eligible to apply for this admission option if they have achieved a GPA of at least 3.5 after completing 60 credit hours or a GPA of at least 3.25 after completing 90 credit hours. A completed application, together with official transcripts of undergraduate work to date, letters of recommendation, and other supporting documents, should be received at least ten days before the term in which the student wishes to begin graduate study.
Health Informatics with Data Analytics Specialization
This specialization provides students with additional competencies beyond the health informatics program to meet the growing demand for individuals who can help healthcare organizations to turn health data into actionable information. Students will have an overview of descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics, and will be able to use data mining and data visualization techniques. The Data Analytics Specialization consists of three 3-credit courses: BUAN 571 - Introduction to Business Analytics , BUAN 572 - Data Mining and BUAN 577 - Data Visualization . HAD 522 - Health Care Operations and Quality is not required for the specialization. The MS in Health Informatics degree with this specialization requires 39-41 credits for completion.
Health Informatics with Health Leadership Specialization
This is a nine-credit specialization consisting of three courses from the MHA program: HAD 501 - Health Care Financial Management I ; and HAD 522 - Health Care Operations and Quality . Students are able to complete this specialization using only six additional credits as HAD 522 - Health Care Operations and Quality is currently part of the informatics curriculum.
Health Informatics Curriculum
*All students must take these courses, however, these are the only ones in which Accelerated students can enroll prior to earning their undergraduate degree.
Clearances: Students are required to comply with clearance and other requirements for the healthcare organization or agency for the capstone course. These clearances generally include a criminal background check and may include FBI fingerprinting, two-step tuberculosis testing, hepatitis B vaccination, flu vaccination and/or drug screening as well as other requirements. These clearances may require additional fees at the student’s own expense. Delays in completion of these requirements may delay enrollment and/or completion of capstone course requirements.
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