The Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics degree program prepares students in the field of health informatics, which integrates health sciences, information technology, computer science, data science, and behavioral sciences. The program combines interdisciplinary knowledge from these areas with practical, specialized skills in health informatics to improve patient care, and individual and population health.

The program may be completed on a full- or part-time basis leading to completion of the objectives of the undergraduate BS program.

Policies

For policies governing all undergraduate degrees, see AP.5 Undergraduate Policies.

Advising

Each student is assigned an academic advisor who is a faculty member within their academic department or a professional academic advisor within the Office of Student Affairs (OSA). Academic advisor assignments are listed on the College of Public Health website, and students are expected to meet with their advisor regularly (at least once each semester) to seek advice about academic schedules and program plans. Students also should meet with their advisor if they are experiencing academic difficulty.

Student Responsibilities

All students are responsible for knowing the requirements of their major as specified in the university catalog for their catalog year; academic deadlines outlined in the semester academic calendar; and university policies and procedures as stated in the catalog.

Students also should run their own degree-evaluation to identify graduation requirements and progress towards their degree. While academic advisors can give advice to students, students are responsible for the academic planning decisions they make. Academic advisors cannot be held responsible for mistakes made by students in selecting courses that may not count toward their degree and thus delay a desired graduation date.

Minimum Grade Requirement

A minimum grade of C must be obtained in all major requirements. Students who earn more than 6 credits of C grades must either repeat one of those courses and earn a C+ or higher or change programs.

Writing Intensive Requirement

The university requires all students to complete at least one course designated "writing intensive" within the major. Students majoring in nutrition fulfill this requirement by successfully completing HAP 465 Integration of Professional Skills and Issues (Mason Core)

Banner Code: PH-BS-HINF

Degree Requirements

Total credits: 120

Students must fulfill all requirements for bachelor's degrees, including the Mason Core requirements.

Mason Core Requirements

Foundation Requirements
Written Communication
ENGH 101Composition (Mason Core)3
or ENGH 100 Composition for Multilingual Writers (Mason Core)
or ENGH 123 Language-Enhanced Composition for Multilingual Writers (Mason Core)
Oral Communication
Any Mason Core Oral Communication course3
Quantitative Reasoning
STAT 250Introductory Statistics I (Mason Core)3
Information Technology and Computing
Any Mason Core Information Technology course 13
Exploratory Requirements
Arts
Any Mason Core Arts course3
Global Contexts
Any Mason Core Global Contexts course 23
Literature
Any Mason Core Literature course3
Natural Science
Any Natural Science courses with lab 38
Social and Behavioral Science
Any Mason Core Social and Behavioral Science 43
Global History
Any Mason Core Global History course3
Integration Requirements
ENGH 302Advanced Composition (Mason Core)3
Writing Intensive 5
Mason Apex 6
Total Credits38
1

Students are recommended to take IT 104 for the Information Technology requirement.

2

Students are recommended to take GCH 205 for their Global Understanding requirement.

3

Students are recommended to take BIOL 103/BIOL 105 and CDS 101/CDS 102 for the Natural Science requirement.

4

Students are recommended to take ECON 103 for the Social and Behavioral Science requirement.

5

This program includes the writing intensive course as a part of the major requirements; this course is therefore not counted towards the total required for Mason Core.

6

This program includes a Mason Apex course as a part of the major requirements; this course is therefore not counted towards the total required for the Mason Core.

Core Courses

MATH 108Introductory Calculus with Business Applications (Mason Core)3
GCH 300Introduction to Public Health3
HAP 201Health Professions Careers3
HAP 202Medical Terminology3
HAP 301Health Care Delivery in the United States3
HAP 308Public Health Informatics3
HAP 318Introduction to IT Methods for Healthcare3
HAP 360Introduction to Health Information Systems3
HAP 361Health Databases3
or CDS 302 Scientific Data and Databases (Mason Core)
HAP 430Process Improvement in Healthcare Organizations3
HAP 436Electronic Health Data in Process Improvement3
HAP 440Mobile Health3
HAP 455Computer Programming in Health Applications3
HAP 456Health Data Mining and Analysis3
HAP 458Clinical Informatics Applications in a Health Care Setting3
HAP 459Health Data Standards and Interoperability3
HAP 460Information Technology Project Management3
HAP 461Internet and Web Technology Applications for Healthcare3
HAP 462Privacy and Security in Health Informatics3
HAP 464Electronic Health Record Configuration and Data Analysis3
HAP 465Integration of Professional Skills and Issues (Mason Core)3
HAP 489Pre-Internship Seminar3
HAP 498Health Administration Internship (Mason Core)4
Total Credits70

Electives

Students will meet with an advisor to identify 12 credits of electives to support the student's professional area of interest. Courses from a variety of disciplines, including computational data science, computer science, cyber security engineering, mathematics, statistics, and health administration and policy, are beneficial for students to consider.

Recommended courses listed below:

CDS 292Introduction to Social Network Analysis (Mason Core)3
CDS 303Scientific Data Mining3
CDS 403Machine Learning Applications in Science3
CS 112Introduction to Computer Programming (Mason Core)4
CYSE 101Introduction to Cyber Security Engineering3
HAP 309Healthcare Accounting3
HAP 312Healthcare Law3
HAP 395Healthcare Finance3
HAP 396Strategic Health Management and Planning3
HAP 410Introduction to Health/Medical Practice Management3
HAP 416Leadership and Management of Health Systems I3
HAP 417Leadership and Management of Health Systems II3
HAP 425Health Economics and Policy3
HAP 442Introduction to Health Care Politics and Policy3
HAP 445Introduction to Health Services Research3
HAP 467Advanced Information Technology Project Management3
MATH 113Analytic Geometry and Calculus I (Mason Core)4
MATH 114Analytic Geometry and Calculus II4
STAT 344Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists I3
BINF 401Bioinformatics and Computational Biology I3

Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics Sample Plan of Study 

Detailed four year plans can be found on https://publichealth.gmu.edu/students/academic-advising