| Message from the Dean | Academic Calendar | Administration | Mission Statement |
| About SBMI | Application Information | Enrollment Status | Certificate and General Admission Process |
The School of Health Information Sciences is a non-traditional place where excellence in research, education and service is pursued and the future leaders of Health Informatics are trained. This is the first program of its kind in the State of Texas and one of the few found the in the Western hemisphere. The varied and talented cadre of professionals at our School represents expertise both in the theory and practice of informatics applied to biomedical science and health care, as well as pursuing cutting edge research with a focus on translational informatics moving research from the lab to the bedside. Students find our performance based, highly interdisciplinary, team-oriented education and research programs stimulating, challenging and career enhancing.
Both the Masters and Doctoral degree programs are offered in the unique environment of the Texas Medical Center, the most concentrated area of biomedical and healthcare expertise, knowledge and skills on the planet. There are outstanding opportunities for students to be involved in informatics applied to health care and biomedical research in the many clinical and research components of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the more than forty other healthcare related entities in the surrounding Texas Medical Center. Students interact with highly qualified and experienced faculty active in research and developing solutions for a wide array of Health Informatics problems. Through such research consortia and centers as: the Gulf Coast Consortia for Structural and Computational Biology, Center for Computational Biomedicine, Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Informatics Research, Institute for Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, and NASA/Johnson Space Center you will interact with the best and brightest on the frontiers of human experience. As a Masters degree student you will learn to apply our most advanced understanding of healthcare and biomedical knowledge to improve biomedical discovery and the delivery of healthcare. As a Doctoral student you will work with leading researchers in a broad array of Health and Biomedical Informatics areas to advance the state-of-the-art and open up new areas such as translational informatics inquiry for future generations.
Students and faculty in our programs come from numerous health professions, basic sciences, biomedical sciences, social sciences, cognitive sciences, engineering, bioengineering, and computer science backgrounds. The “transdisciplinary” nature of our educational and research programs makes them unique, rewarding and resulting in breakthrough discoveries. Our faculty and students are involved in making groundbreaking contributions to healthcare, biomedical discovery and educational research. This includes inventing and evaluating new ways to capture, store, access, and evaluate healthcare and biomedical research knowledge and information. Advances in computational biomedicine, pioneered at our school, are revolutionizing the study of the molecular basis of normal and abnormal biological processes as well as discovering the meaning of genomic and proteomics data, the structural and functional basis of the molecular machinery of the cell. We are exploring the relationships between brain function and structure, improving biosecurity, understanding human-computer interaction, inventing new nanotechnology, and changing space medicine. We are also innovative in the use of educational research and technology, revolutionizing how we design and implement online educational and learning environments for both biomedical scientists and healthcare professionals. If this is the kind of challenge and learning environment you are looking for, then join us and become part of the informatics leaders of tomorrow. Help us invent the future of health care and biomedical discovery.
Jack W. Smith, MD, PhD
Dean
| Fall Term 2009 | |
| Aug 1 - Aug 25 | Orientation - Entering Students Registration |
| Aug 31 | Classes Begin |
| Dec 11 | Classes End |
| Dec 14 - 18 | Final Examinations |
| Spring Term 2010 | |
| Dec 17 - Jan 7 | Orientation - Entering Students Registration |
| Jan 11 | Classes Begin |
| Mar 8 - 12 | Spring Break |
| April 30 | Classes End |
| April 28 - (May 3 - 7) | Final Examinations |
| Summer Term 2010 | |
| May 24 | Summer Term Begins |
| May 24 | Classes Begin |
| Aug 13 | Classes End |
| Aug 16 - 17 | Final Examinations |
| Fall Term 2010 | |
| Aug 1 - Aug 25 | Orientation - Entering Students Registration |
| Aug 30 | Classes Begin |
| Dec 10 | Classes End |
| Dec 13 - 17 | Final Examinations |
| Spring Term 2011 | |
| Dec 15 - Jan 7 | New Student Orientation |
| Jan 10 | Classes Begin |
| May 7 - 11 | Spring Break |
| April 29 | Classes End |
| May 2 - 6 | Final Examinations |
| Summer Term | |
| May 1 - 20 | New Student Orientation |
| May 23 | Classes Begin |
| Aug 12 | Classes End |
| Aug 15 - 16 | Final Examinations |
Note: At the discretion of the Dean, the attendance of certain individuals may be required on a scheduled university holiday and on other than the usual scheduled class dates because of practicum/preceptorship requirements. Holidays will be announced in the class schedule each semester/session.
| Administration | |
| Jack W. Smith, MD, PhD | Professor and Dean |
| Jiajie Zhang, PhD | Professor and Associate Dean for Research |
| Randolph H. Scott, PhD, MBA | Associate Dean for Management |
| Robert W. Vogler, DSN, M. Ed | Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs |
| Kelly Polk, JD | Assistant Director of Admissions |
The Mission of the School of Health Information Sciences is to improve healthcare and biomedical research by developing, refining and advancing the field of Biomedical Informatics through research, curriculum development, service, and by training professionals in all areas of the discipline including bioinformatics, clinical informatics, computational biomedicine, and public health informatics. This mission is consistent with the mission of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston as a comprehensive health science university that educates health science professionals, discovers and translates advances in the biomedical and social sciences and models best practices in clinical care and public health.
The School of Health Information Sciences (SHIS) was originally founded in 1973 as the School of Allied Health Sciences. The School is the youngest of the six schools at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H). UTHSC-H is located in the world-renowned Texas Medical Center (TMC), the largest medical center in the world.
In 1992, UTHSC-H determined it would focus on graduate education in the health sciences. At that time the School began the shift from traditional allied health baccalaureate programs toward the development of graduate programs to join the other professional and graduate schools in the university. In 1998 the School created the Department of Health Informatics and began to offer an MS in Health Informatics. In 2001, the name of the School was changed to the School of Health Information Sciences which also subsumed all faculty and students in the Department. The school now offers a Master of Science in Health Informatics, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Informatics and has recently developed Certificate Programs in Health Informatics for non degree seeking students. The school will continue to develop other additional programs to meet future informatics needs.
The School of Health Information Sciences is located in the University Center Tower, 7000 Fannin Street, Suite 600, Houston, TX, 77030.
Applications for the programs in the School of Health Information Sciences may be obtained online at http://registrar.uth.tmc.edu
u. Additional information may be obtained by contacting the office of the Registrar at:
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSCH)
Office of the Registrar
7000 Fannin, Ste 2250
Houston, TX 77030
Telephone: (713) 500-3361
Email: [email protected]
Specific requirements for admission to the certificate and degree programs are given in the program section of this catalog. Subject to approval of the Dean, each program’s faculty has the responsibility to select applicants for admission.. Admission of applicants is made without regard to, race, gender, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or disability.
All official transcripts of all previous academic credit must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar. Courses with grades of “D” are not transferable for admission or graduation credit.
Waiver or alteration of any course or credit-hour requirements, other than those mandated by statute, for admission to the School or of courses offered by the School, must be based upon a review of the circumstances, a justification and review by the faculty, and final written approval by the Dean. Requirements mandated by statute will not be waived or altered.
A Texas resident may apply for admission to and enroll as an undergraduate student who has applied under Texas Education Code 51.931, “Right to an Academic Fresh Start”. If an applicant elects to seek admission under this section, SHIS shall not consider academic course credits or grades earned by the applicant 10 or more years prior to the starting date of the semester in which the applicant seeks to enroll. An applicant who applies under this section and is admitted as a student may not receive any course credit for courses undertaken 10 or more years prior to enrollment.
If a student who enrolls under this section completes a prescribed course of study, earns a baccalaureate degree, and applies for admission to SHIS, the School, in considering the applicant for admission into the postgraduate or professional program, shall consider only the grade point average of the applicant established by the course work completed after enrollment under this section, along with any other criteria the School uses in evaluating applicants for admission.
In order to register, a student must have on file in the Office of the Registrar all official transcripts and documents of all previous academic work, as well as having met all admission requirements.
A student who knowingly falsifies or is a party to the falsification of any official University record (including transcripts, application for admission) will be subject to disciplinary action, which may include dismissal from the University.
Student Immunizations and Health Records Policy in the Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOOP 6.07)
All students registering at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (“university”) are required to furnish an immunization record signed by a heath care provider. Contact the Student Health Clinic, 713-500-5171, for more information or on the web at http://med.uth.tmc.edu/administration/ stud_health/index.html.
The School of Health Information Sciences requires the Tuberculin Skin test or chest x-ray.
A student is considered officially enrolled if tuition and fees are paid by the twentieth class day of the fall and spring semesters and by the fourth class day of a summer session. Students that matriculate in the School of Health Information Sciences fall into one of the following categories.
International Student: a student who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. All non-U.S. citizens must have a hold removed by the International Office prior to processing registration. An international applicant seeking admission to the School must submit the following:
Student Enrollment
Students enroll each semester by using UTLINK on the web at http://UTLINK.uth.tmc.edu. There is no on-site enrollment. Enrollment dates are announced in the online Schedule of Classes. http://registrar.uth.tmc.edu.
Certificate Admission Process
Completed applications are reviewed by the Director of Certificate programs. Recommendations are made to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for or against admission. The Director of Certificate programs advises all certificate students.
General Admission Process for Degree Programs
The School admissions committee reviews completed applications to graduate degree programs. The committee makes recommendation for or against an interview with an admissions advising committee. The committee makes recommendations to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. All applicants are required to discuss their interests and enrollment plans with a faculty member of the focus area of study and/or the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs of the School prior to an admission decision being rendered.
In assessing the academic success of the student and his/her potential contributions to the knowledge base and practice in the field of study, the following criteria, and material reviewed in evaluating each, will be utilized in making admission decisions.
Each focus area may also identify additional factors that will be considered by the School’s admissions committee. Additional focus area criteria are set forth in the program section of the catalog. The admission criteria include, but are not limited to:
Additionally, a personal interview is required when initiated by invitation from the departmental admission committee. Applicants who meet the listed criteria will be invited to interview. The Director of Admissions will schedule personal interviews. In addition to the listed criteria, the applicant’s communication skills and understanding of the program may be evaluated based on the personal interview. Admissions decisions will be made after all interviews are completed. Completed applications with all supporting documentation must be received July 1 for fall admission, March 15 for summer admissions, and November 1 for spring admissions to the certificate and masters program and February 1 for the doctoral program.
| Master of Science in Health Informatics and Master of Science in Applied Health Informatics Application Deadlines | |
| Fall admissions | July 1 |
| Summer admissions | March 15 |
| Spring admissions | November 1 |
| Doctor of Philosophy in Health Informatics Application Deadlines | |
| Fall admissions | February 1 |
| Spring admissions | November 1 |
Address application inquiries to:
Assistant Director of Admissions, Kelly Polk, J.D. Office of Academic Affairs
7000 Fannin, Ste 800
Houston, TX 77030
(713) 500-3476
[email protected]
Address personal interview inquiries to:
Assistant Director of Admissions
School of Health Information Sciences
7000 Fannin, Ste 800
Houston, TX 77030
(713) 500-3476