Skip to Content
SBMI Horizontal Logo

Undergraduate Accelerated Master’s Program (4+1)
Certificate of Biomedical Informatics
2023-2024 Student Handbook

Program Description and Goals Admission to the Accelerated 4 + 1 Program Application Deadlines Curriculum for Certificate Programs

Program Description and Goals

Undergraduate students have the opportunity to earn both a Bachelor of Arts/Science and a Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics over the course of five years through the Accelerated Master’s Program. The program is an integrated program that overlaps graduate curriculum into the student's undergraduate work, which provides the opportunity to graduate with the bachelors at the same time as their Graduate Certificate in Biomedical Informatics. The student’s undergraduate degree program must be in an appropriate area, e.g., biomedical science, pre-med, nursing, health sciences, life sciences, management information systems, or computer science to qualify for admission to the Accelerated 4+1 Program.

McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics has collaboration agreements with the following institutions whose students are eligible to participate in this integrated curriculum:

  • Texas A&M International University (TAMIU)
  • University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV)

The student will graduate with an undergraduate degree in their selected major course of study, but will also have the opportunity to complete a master’s degree in Biomedical Informatics in one additional year instead of the customary two years.

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

Back to Top

Admission to the Accelerated 4 + 1 Program

The admission process for the Accelerated Masters 4 + 1 program requires the submission of both a PreApplication (https://sbmi.uth.edu/prospective-students/academics/4-plus-1-uam.htm) and a McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics application. Both applications must include all supplemental documents.

Step 1:
Prospective students are to complete the 4 + 1 Pre-Application where the applicant will upload the following items:

  1. Copy of TAMIU or UTRGV Degree Audit or unofficial transcript
  2. One Letter of Recommendation
  3. Essay Question
  4. See the Accelerated Masters 4 + 1 Program Admission Requirements webpages for additional information:

All documents for the Pre-Application must be submitted by October 15th for the Spring admission deadline, February 15th for the Summer admission deadline, and June 15th for the Fall admission deadline.

Candidates who successfully make it through the pre-application process will be cleared to begin step 2.

Step 2:
Upon meeting the requirements in Step 1, candidates are to submit the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics Application.

The applicant should present a completed application and official documentation through GradCAS of the following:
  1. $38 application fee
  2. Goal statement
  3. One Letter of Reference
  4. An official transcript with minimum of a 3.0 GPA or higher in an appropriate area. Any dual credit or AP credits must be verified on the transcript from the present college or an official transcript from the awarding college or program.

Back to Top

Application deadlines:

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

Any student receiving a grade of less than a “B” in a required or elective course must retake the course and receive a grade of “B” or higher to continue on in their academic program. The original grade of “C” will remain on the student transcript. Students are not permitted to earn more than two grades of “C”. The third grade of “C” will result in dismissal from McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics.

No grade lower than a “B” will be accepted for transfer into the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics master’s or doctoral program.

Back to Top

Curriculum for Certificate Programs

The course requirements for earning both the undergraduate degree and graduate certificate from the school will vary by participating institution. Please contact the McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics Accelerated 4+1 Program Coordinator for additional information. Courses marked with a * have a $100 Course Fee. Courses marked with a ** have a $50 Course Fee.

TAMIU Certificate offerings:

Applied Biomedical Informatics
BMI 5300 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3 credit hours)
BMI 5306 Security for Health Information System (3 credit hours)
BMI 5313 Foundations of Electronic Health Records and Clinical Information Systems (3 credit hours)
BMI 5301 The U.S. Healthcare System (3 credit hours)
BMI 5328 Systems Analysis and Project Management (3 credit hours)

Biomedical Informatics
BMI 5300 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3 credit hours)
BMI 5313 Foundations of Electronic Health Records and Clinical Information Systems (3 credit hours)*
BMI 5310 Foundations of Biomedical Information Sciences I (3 credit hours)
BMI 5360 Clinical Decision Support Systems (3 credit hours)
BMI 6340 Health Information Visualization and Visual Analytics (3 credit hours)

Public Health Informatics
BMI 5300 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3 credit hours)
BMI 5380 Principles of Public Health Informatics (3 credit hours)
PHM 2612 Epidemiology I (3 credit hours)
PHM 1690 Introduction to Biostatistics in Public Health (4 credit hours)

The fifth course is the student’s choice of one of the following courses (Minimum of 3 credit hours):
BMI 5313 Foundations of Electronic Health Records and Clinical Information Systems (3 credit hours)*
BMI 5381 Methods in Public Health Informatics (3 credit hours)
BMI 5382 Synthesis Project of Public Health Informatics (3 credit hours)
PHM 1110 Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health (3 credit hours)
PHM 2110 Public Health Ecology & the Human Environment (3 credit hours)
PHM 3715 Management and Policy Concepts in Public Health (3 credit hours)

UTRGV Certificate offerings:

Applied Biomedical Informatics
BMI 5300 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3 credit hours)
BMI 5306 Security for Health Information System (3 credit hours)
BMI 5313 Foundations of Electronic Health Records and Clinical Information Systems (3 credit hours)*
BMI 5301 The U.S. Healthcare System (3 credit hours)
BMI 5328 Systems Analysis and Project Management (3 credit hours)**

Biomedical Informatics
BMI 5300 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3 credit hours)
BMI 5330 Introduction to Bioinformatics (3 credit hours)
BMI 5333 Systems Medicine: Principles and Practice (3 credit hours)
BMI 5353 Statistical Methods of Genomic Data (3 credit hours)
BMI 5327 Standards in Health Informatics (3 credit hours)

Public Health Informatics
BMI 5300 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3 credit hours)
BMI 5380 Principles of Public Health Informatics (3 credit hours)
PHM 2612 Epidemiology I (3 credit hours)
PHM 1690 Introduction to Biostatistics in Public Health (4 credit hours)

The fifth course is the student’s choice of one of the following courses (Minimum of 3 credit hours):
BMI 5313 Foundations of Electronic Health Records and Clinical Information Systems (3 credit hours)
BMI 5381 Methods in Public Health Informatics (3 credit hours)
BMI 5382 Synthesis Project of Public Health Informatics (3 credit hours)
PHM 1110 Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health (3 credit hours)
PHM 2110 Public Health Ecology & the Human Environment (3 credit hours)
PHM 3715 Management and Policy Concepts in Public Health (3 credit hours)

For Accelerated 4+1 Program Information, contact:

Jeanette Broshears, PhD
Program Manager
McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics
80 Fort Brown Street, RAC N2.200
Brownsville, Texas 78520
Telephone: 956-755-0678
Email: [email protected]

Back to Top