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Ready to Learn More About the M.S. In Health Care Informatics?
Prepare for your career in health informatics or healthcare analytics with our HIMSS-approved program. Earn your degree at our San Diego campus or completely online.
Take our core health informatics curriculum, or specialize in health data analytics or healthcare leadership.
Now more than ever, professionals who know how to securely capture, analyze and use health data are in demand. Whether you currently work in healthcare or are new to the industry, USD’s HIMSS-approved M.S. in Health Care Informatics can help you develop the technical, programmatic and analytic skills that employers are looking for.
Designed with working professionals in mind, our practical, flexible program allows you to take classes on campus in the evenings, or 100% online. Both formats provide an experienced cross-disciplinary faculty, exceptional student support, and the option to take specialized coursework in health data analytics and healthcare leadership.
Projected job growth (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Salaries for high-level health informatics professionals
Time needed to complete M.S. in Health Care Informatics
You don’t need to have health care experience to enroll in the M.S. in Health Care Informatics program. While some of our students do work in a variety of clinical and non-clinical roles, many of our students are preparing to enter the health care field for the first time. Regardless of your prior professional experience, our program is designed to build from a foundation that will prepare you for future success.
Our student profile includes mostly working professionals from the following roles:
Applications are accepted year-round, and new students can start in September, January or May.
Fueled by technology advancements that are reshaping the medical world, health informatics is among the nation’s fastest-growing job sectors. With high demand for qualified informatics professionals in a wide range of positions, employers are paying top dollar (often six figures and above) to recruit the best talent for these important roles.
*Salary estimates vary and are often adjusted in real time based on changing data. Salary figures listed here are estimates from leading employment sites such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LinkedIn, Springboard, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, Indeed and Salary.com.
Online students receive a course schedule designed to help guide them through each term; on-campus students receive a customized degree plan.
Whether you specialize in Health Data Analytics, Health Care Leadership, or Health Informatics, our curriculum will prepare you with the most in-demand skills sought after by employers.
As a student in the M.S. in Health Care Informatics program, you will develop your technical, programmatic and analytic competencies while addressing contemporary issues in health informatics such as population health analysis, data security, clinical documentation and workflow optimization.
You will also be able to customize your coursework by choosing one of three specialized learning tracks:
Health Care Informatics (HCI) Track
Health Care Analytics (Data Science Track) Track
Each of the University of San Diego’s high-quality academic programs is regionally accredited by the Western Association of Colleges and Schools. Accreditation is an important quality indicator for college and university degree programs, and regional accreditation is generally regarded as the gold standard that assures you will receive a rigorous education and be able to apply for federal financial aid.
Our expert faculty instructors have professional experience working in health care, and the informatics field in particular. Their expertise, experience and insight about this emerging industry provide students with relevant information and expectations about the health care informatics field.
As a HIMSS Approved Education Partner (AEP), we congratulate the administration of the University of San Diego for creating an online M.S. in Health Care Informatics that provides an intensive curriculum exposing students to MBA-type courses in many different topics so critical to the health informatics. We are pleased to see topics like financial management, strategic planning and leadership, systems analysis and design, data hygiene/cyber security and others. Further, we applaud the design of the 37-unit program that provides students with the opportunity to take two 7-week courses…
JoAnn W. Klinedinst, M.Ed., CPHIMS, PMP, DES, FHIMSS, FACHE
Vice President of Professional Development, HIMSS
The health informatics field resides at the intersection of computer science, information management, and healthcare. Its purpose is the automation, management and improvement of health information in the support of health care delivery. The field has been growing rapidly due to advancemets in electronic medical records and cloud computing. You can learn more about the field as well as the career potential, by reading this blog post: What is Health Informatics? [Definition + Jobs and Salary Information]
Another good resource is this post: Opportunities in Health Informatics are Vast for Those with a Master’s Degree.
Nursing informatics is a subspecialty of nursing and falls under the broader health informatics umbrella. Nursing informatics deals directly with patient care and is geared toward nurses who want to improve patient safety through the use of computer science, information technology and nursing science. You can read more details about the program differences in this blog post.
If you’re a nurse, you can choose whether to advance your studies with an MSN in Nursing Informatics, or an MS in Health Care Informatics. If you plan to continue working in a patient-facing role, you might find that the MSN provides more growth opportunities with your current employer (and even a bump in pay, depending on your union contract). If you are moving away from a clinical role and find that you enjoy functions such as data analytics and information technology, you may find that the MS in Health Care Informatics will serve you quite well. One important note: at University of San Diego, the MSN program is only offered in the traditional campus-based format, whereas the MS program is offered both online and on campus.
Our M.S. in Health Care Informatics program was designed with input from health system employers who recognized the need for professionals to help implement and optimize electronic medical records, secure patient data, train staff members on the use of EHRs, and help improve patient outcomes and enhance the patient experience by leveraging robust data analysis skills. Employers were looking for health informaticists who understood the unique challenges of working with healthcare data, and who could take a leadership role in developing and improving systems and processes. Read the blog post What Skills Do You Need for a Successful Career in Health Care Informatics? to get a clearer picture of the knowledge and skills you’ll need to work in the field, and take a look at our Program Curriculum for an inside look into what you’ll be learning as a student in the M.S. in Health Care Informatics program.
Graduates of our program are employed with hospitals, clinics, medical devices companies, health insurance companies and data/analytic companies. They are employed as clinical analysts, data management professionals, clinical information systems specialists, EHR implementation managers, in managerial roles and in marketing and sales for medical device companies.
Graduates of our program are prepared to sit for certification by HIMSS. Nurse informaticists can also seek accreditation through the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Read more about the different certifications offered for professionals working in health informatics.
Yes, both our on-campus and online programs were designed to be completed while working full time. For online students, the flexible one-class-at-a-time format allows you to do your coursework and participate in the discussion topics from wherever you are, at whatever time works best for you. Read more about things you should consider before earning your degree online. Students in the campus-based program can choose to attend class two or three days a week, and most classes are held in the evenings.
Study time will vary based on the course and your comfort level with the material being presented. Most online and part-time campus students say they spend about 20 hours per week completing their coursework and participating in discussion boards. For full-time, campus students, the time investment is greater.
Our approach to graduate-level health informatics curriculum is unique for several reasons.
Absolutely! We understand that you are more than your undergraduate GPA . Your undergraduate GPA may potentially be offset by work experience, an admission essay, or fulfillment of a graduate-level course to show readiness for success in your graduate degree. During your admission interview, our Academic Director will explore your career goals and identify any ways our team might be able to better support you through your graduate studies. Ultimately, our goal is your success. We want to ensure that the students who are admitted to our program have the experience, tools and resources they need to graduate from the program and pursue their career goals.
Your bachelor’s degree can be in any discipline, and health care experience is not required. If you have not worked in health care, you will be required to complete an online medical terminology course which is not part of the degree curriculum. This will help give you a foundational understanding of the terms and concepts discussed throughout the program.
Whether you attend online or on-campus, you’ll find the faculty and curriculum substantially the same. Below is a list of the primary differences:
Please refer to the specialization pages for more information about specific courses included in each track.
Download free Career Guide: “A Career in Health Care Informatics: How Big Data & Technology Are Creating New Opportunities to Work in Health Care”
Earn your master’s degree on a schedule that’s convenient for you.