Certificates of Biomedical Informatics
2016-2018 Student Handbook

Program Description and Goals	Admission to the Biomedical Informatics Certificate Programs
Course of Study for the Biomedical Informatics Certificate Program	Course of Study for the Public Health Informatics Certificate Program
Course of Study for the Applied Health Informatics Certificate Program

(Effective January 1, 2017 all SBMI educational program names will change from Health Informatics to Biomedical Informatics.)

Program Description and Goals

The School offers various Certificates of Biomedical Informatics designed for self-motivated professionals working in the health care and information technology fields. A certificate requires the student to complete a minimum of 15 semester credit hours.

The certificates provide professionals with an increased understanding of the opportunities and challenges involved in technology integration into healthcare. They will be able to participate in designing, planning, implementing and evaluating new software and hardware solutions at their institutions.

SBMI is experienced in providing education to working professionals. The certificate program is designed to provide quality education to professionals on their schedule as courses can be completed online

Upon completion of the 15 semester credit hour certificate, students will be awarded a certificate of completion from UTHealth. A transcript showing graduate credits may be obtained from the Registrar’s Office.

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Admission to the Biomedical Informatics Certificate Programs

The admission process to the certificate programs is designed to get the professional working applicant into the Program by meeting minimal requirements. Each applicant must submit to the Registrar’s Office the following:

1. A completed certificate application online
2. $60 application fee
3. An official transcript with the minimum of a baccalaureate or higher degree
4. See specific certificate program for additional requirements: https://sbmi.uth.edu/prospective-students/admission-requirements.htm

Requirements for International Applicants:

• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)/IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score. The official score for the TOEFL test must be submitted directly to the UTHealth Office of the Registrar from the TOEFL test centers using institutional codes 6906; no department code is required. The minimum acceptable score is an 87 on the internet-based test. The official scores for the IELTS Academic test must be submitted directly to the UTHealth Office of the Registrar from the IELTS test centers. The minimum acceptable score is a 7. Testing is at the applicant’s expense.
• International applicants who have received a diploma from a university at which English is the language of instruction are not required to submit an English Language exam. If this school is outside of an English-speaking country, evidence that indicates the language of instruction will need to be provided with your application such as a letter from the University on official letterhead.
• International applicants must submit official transcripts and a course-by-course education evaluation of all transcripts from all universities attended outside the United States. The application forms for such an evaluation may be obtained online from the service providers; Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc., www.ece.org and World Education Services, www.wes.org. Only evaluations from ECE or WES will be accepted. The results of the evaluation must be submitted directly to the UTHealth Office of the Registrar by the agency. The evaluation report is at the applicant’s expense
• Students on an F-1 student visa are not eligible to enroll in the Applied Certificate in Health Informatics programs. F-1 sponsorship is available for students in the Certificate in Public Health Informatics and Certificate in Health Informatics programs.

Application deadlines:

Fall admission - July 1
Spring admission - November 1
Summer admission - March 1

Successful completion of the program requires passing each course with a grade of a “C” or above. Students may not earn more than two “C” grades. Earning a third grade of “C” results in automatic dismissal from the certificate program. Students who complete the course of study will receive a certificate of completion. The coursework earned is at the graduate level. This coursework may be transferred into a degree-seeking program. No grade lower than a “B” will be accepted to transfer into the master’s or doctoral program.

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Course of Study for Biomedical Informatics Certificate Program

The Biomedical Informatics Certificate program offers two different options. Option 1 is a set of five predetermined courses with an emphasis in Clinical Informatics.

Effective Spring 2017 all course number alpha sequence will change from HI to BMI.

HI/BMI 5300 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics
HI/BMI 5313 Introduction to Electronic Health Records
HI/BMI 5314 Technology Assessment in Healthcare
HI/BMI 5360 Clinical Decision Support Systems
HI/BMI 6340 Health Information Visualization & Visual Analytics

HI/BMI 5300 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics should be taken in the first semester. The other four courses can be taken in any order.

Option 2 is HI/BMI 5300, Introduction to Biomedical Informatics and the student’s choice (with advice from the certificate director) of four courses selected from the course set of the school’s Master of Science program. This option allows professionals to customize their studies to meet their background and needs.

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Course of Study Public Health Informatics Certificate Program

The Public Health Informatics Certificate Program offers the following course of study:

HI/BMI 5300 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics
HI/BMI 5380 Principles and Foundation of Public Health Informatics
PH 2610 Introduction to Epidemiology
PH 1610 Introduction to Biostatistics

The fifth course is the student’s choice of one of the following courses:

HI/BMI 5313 Introduction to Electronic Health Records
HI/BMI 5381 Methods in Public Health Informatics
HI/BMI 5382 Synthesis Project of Public Health Informatics
PH 1110 Social and Behavioral Aspects of Community Health
PH 2110 Overview of Environmental Health
PH 3715 Introduction to Management and Policy Sciences
PHWM 2120 Man’s Impact on the Environment

PH 1610 Introduction to Biostatistics, PH 2610 Introduction to Epidemiology or HI/BMI 5300 Introduction to Health/Biomedical Informatics should be taken in the first semester.

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Course of Study for Applied Biomedical Informatics Certificate Program

The Applied Biomedical Informatics Certificate Program requires completion of five graduate courses. The program offers two different options. Option 1 is a set of five predetermined courses with an emphasis in Electronic Health Records (EHRs).
Effective Spring 2017 all course number alpha sequence will change from HI to BMI.

HI/BMI 5300 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics
HI/BMI 5301 The U.S. Healthcare System
HI/BMI 5306 Security for Health Information Systems
HI/BMI 5313 Introduction to Electronic Health Records
HI/BMI 5328 Systems Analysis and Project Management

HI/BMI 5300 should be taken in the first semester. The other four courses can be taken in any order.

Option 2 is HI/BMI 5300, Introduction to Biomedical Informatics and the student’s choice (with advice from the certificate director) of four courses selected from the course set of the school’s Master of Science program concentration in Applied Biomedical Informatics. This option allows professionals to customize their studies to meet their background and needs.

Address application inquiries to:
School of Biomedical Informatics Office of Academic Affairs
7000 Fannin Street Suite 650 Houston, TX 77030
(713) 500-3591 SBMIAcademics@uth.tmc.edu

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