Visit each of the FAQ sections below to learn more.
The master's and certificate programs can be completed 100% online with the option of in-person courses offered at our Houston campus. The Certificate and Masters programs in Applied Biomedical Informatics are only available online.
The Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Informatics is a full-time, in-house program.
The Doctorate in Health Informatics (for executive-level professionals seeking a terminal, applied degree in the field of health informatics) is a hybrid with more than 50% of the coursework taught online.
Yes; courses taken in an SBMI certificate program with a grade of a “B” or higher are transferrable into an applicable SBMI masters and doctoral programs. The specific academic programs build upon themselves.
Students enrolled full-time usually complete the certificate in two semesters and the master’s in five semesters. Students enrolled part-time must complete the certificate in three years and the master’s in eight years.
Average time for completion of the Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Informatics program is four to five years.
Average time for completion of the Doctorate in Health Informatics is four years.
Note that maximum program lengths vary depending on year and semester of program entry. Please refer to a specific catalog for more details.
SBMI holds informational webinars several times a year to discuss the programs we offer and the admissions process with prospective students. To see a list of upcoming webinar dates, click here: Prospective SBMI Student Webinar Sessions
Prospective students can contact the SBMI Office of Academic Affairs at anytime and request a meeting to discuss our graduate programs.
The applied track is more of a hands-on approach and students use different information systems to advance patient care. The applied track curriculum educates students in the correct and safe utilization of information systems to promote better quality of care for patients.
The research track focuses more on an abstract approach to information systems used in the healthcare field. This can include natural language processing techniques used for building clinical decision support systems or formulating algorithms used for health care datamining.
In essence, students in the research track pilot processes and innovate new technologies that are then evaluated, implemented and utilized daily by students in the applied track.
There is no part-time Ph.D. program. The master's and certificate programs are all offered part-time.
Students enrolled at TAMIU or Texas A&M International University have the opportunity to complete the graduate certificate in biomedical informatics during their fourth year of undergraduate study.
The 4+1 allows for SBMI graduate courses to satisfy advanced program electives in the majors of biomedical science, applied technology, biology, psychology, mathematics, and computer science.
Upon graduation from TAMIU, these students have the opportunity to complete the remaining master’s in biomedical informatics program requirements at SBMI in one year.
Yes, all students must be covered by private health insurance or an insurance policy obtained under the Affordable Care Act. Student who do not have insurance can purchase a policy provided by the UT System by clicking HERE or online at HealthCare.gov during open enrollment.
No; you must apply for and be offered admission to the school to be eligible to enroll in SBMI classes
The application is 100% online. You will upload all admission requirements to your application. All documents that are uploaded to your application are considered unofficial documents.
Only if admitted and if you accept our offer of admissions, will official transcripts/test scores be required for submission.
To monitor your application and the receipt of any outstanding documents, please log in to your self-service center.
Please allow 4-6 weeks for an admissions decision to be received. Doctoral decisions can take up to 12 weeks as an interview may be requested.
Applicants to the Non-Degree/Certificate and Master level programs are eligible to apply Fall, Spring, and Summer terms.
Applicants to our doctoral programs who miss the deadline may consider applying to a Non-degree/Certificate program to take coursework applicable to the degree plans. Admissions/application requirements must still be submitted by the deadline.
All applicants with international college transcripts must submit a "course-by-course with GPA calculation" evaluation report by one of two independent organizations; Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) or World Education Services (WES). The evaluation report needs to include the official copy of the transcripts used for the evaluation. WES and ECE are the only two agencies that we will accept for admission to any of our programs. If all education was completed outside the U.S., you must have a U.S. equivalent of a bachelor's degree or higher.
International applicants are required to report TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) results. The minimum acceptable score for TOEFL is 87. The minimum acceptable score on IELTS is 7. TOEFL/IELTS scores may be waived for applicants completing prior schooling with the mode of instruction in English. For more information, please visit our prospective student page and/or e-mail SBMIAdmissions@uth.tmc.edu.
GRE scores are only required for admissions consideration to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program. No substitutions or waivers are allowed.
ETS - TOEFL and GRE scores are sent electronically directly to our Registrar’s Office. Please send your results by using the institutional code 6906; no department code is necessary.
IELTS scores must be mailed to our Registrar’s Office:
UTHealth Houston
Attn: Office of the Registrar
7000 Fannin, Ste 2250
Houston, TX 77030
There is no minimum GPA requirement for admissions consideration into our programs. The application is reviewed in a holistic manner. A recommended cumulative GPA of a 3.0 or higher is encouraged.
Academic (professors/advisors) and/or professional (current/previous employers, supervisors, etc.) letters of recommendations are recommended. These individuals should speak on behalf of your character and potential success in our program.
For current students of the School of Biomedical Informatics who are applying to another SBMI program, it is highly recommended that a reference letter from at least one SBMI faculty member be submitted.
At the time of submitting an application, you will list and enter contact information for recommenders. The LOR is submitted electronically by the recommender via the application.
You must submit and meet the admission/application requirements for each school you apply to. Admissions to one program does not guarantee admissions to SBMI.
Please note: You cannot have completed more than 50% of your coursework/credit hours from either school/program to be eligible for the dual program. You must notify each school of your intent to pursue the dual degree program to ensure you follow the correct degree plans. Additionally, at the time of applying to the Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics, you must provide us with a copy of your admissions letter to the corresponding partnering school.
SBMI has collaboration agreements in the following areas with these respective institutions whose students are eligible to participate in this integrated curriculum:
Doctor of Medicine/Master of Science (MD/MS)
McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Doctor of Pharmacy/Master of Science (PharmD/MS)
University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy
Master of Science/Master of Public Health/ (MS/MPH)
Doctor of Philosophy/Master of Public Health (PhD/MPH)
UTHealth Houston School of Public Health
Once admitted to each individual school/program, you will be assigned individualized advisors for each program and school, separately. It is important that you communicate with each advisor from each school to ensure proper degree plans and forms are on file to fully reflect your account as a dual degree student for both schools.
As a dual degree student, you are still required to abide by each individual schools’ policies, procedures, and individualized degree plans. You must meet with your academic advisors at each program/school to ensure you are properly complete requirements for each degree.
Currently, all of our degrees and programs are considered STEM eligible.
We recognize degrees obtained from universities accredited by:
Biomedical Informatics is the science of collecting, processing, and converting data – ranging from molecules to populations – into actionable information, knowledge, and intelligence. By educating current and future informaticians and problem solvers across Texas, the nation, and the world, SBMI is contributing to the innovation of new biomedical discoveries to improve health care delivery. Our students are learning to aid in disease prevention by conducting outstanding basic and applied research while developing impactful information technology products and solutions.
This video serves as a great introduction to biomedical informatics: What is biomedical informatics?
People who have a degree in biomedical informatics have a wide variety of career opportunities. The type of informatics career that an individual can pursue is, to some extent, dependent on his or her background, and selected area of study. Biomedical informatics trained professionals may become:
These professionals often work in hospitals and health systems, community health centers, physician practices and clinics, health care agencies within the federal and state government, and for health information technology system vendors, eHealth and health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and consulting services.
Resources for current job opportunities can be found on our Financial Services page.
Admission requirements vary for each program. Visit the admission requirements webpage to view the requirements for each program.
The application is 100% online. You will upload all application requirements to your application. All documents that are uploaded to your application are considered unofficial documents.
If you are offered admission to one of our programs you will at that time be required to submit official copies of your transcripts, education evaluations, and test scores to the UTHealth Registrar’s Office. If you submit an education evaluation that includes your transcripts it is not necessary to submit another official copy of these transcripts.
Please send official GRE and TOEFL scores to the UTHealth Registrar’s Office directly from ETS using institutional code 6906; no department code is necessary.
Physical Address P.O. Box
UTHealth - Office of The Registrar UTHealth - Office of The Registrar
7000 Fannin, Ste 2250 PO Box 20036
Houston, Texas 77030 Houston, Texas 77225-0036
To monitor your application and the receipt of any outstanding documents, please log in to your self-service center
SBMI does not allow auditing of courses. You will need to apply to the program to take courses.
Yes, all courses taken in the certificate or non-degree programs are transferrable into the master’s or Ph.D. programs if you have received a grade of “B” or higher in your coursework.
Yes, all courses taken in the research track master’s program are transferrable to the Ph.D. program if you have received a grade of “B” or higher in your coursework.
The minimum acceptable score for TOEFL is a 87 on the Internet-based test. The minimum acceptable score for IELTS is a seven (7).
GPA of 3.0 or greater out of 4.0 scale.
We recognize degrees obtained from universities accredited by
Previous educators, employers or someone who can speak to your utilization of informatics, your academic ability or your potential to be a good fit for informatics.
For current students of the School of Biomedical Informatics who are applying to another SBMI program, it is highly recommended that a reference letter from at least one SBMI faculty member be submitted.
We strongly recommend that you submit all of your applications materials by the application deadline.
Please send your results from ETS using institutional code 6906; no department code is necessary.
The GRE is only a requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Informatics program and no substitutions are allowed.
Waivers of the GRE requirement are not taken into consideration for our Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Informatics program.
No, SBMI utilizes a holistic review process for all applicants. This enables us to give careful consideration to all the credentials presented by the applicant. This ensures that no single factor leads to either accepting or excluding the applicant from admission.
The majority of successful applicants have individual GRE scores (quantitative, verbal and analytical) in the 50th percentile for our doctoral program.
We do not accept MCAT or GMAT scores for admissions to our programs.
You must submit TWO applications – one to the School of Biomedical Informatics and one to the School of Public Health. The application for SBMI is to be completed using ApplyNow and the application for the master’s in public health is to be completed with SOPHAS.
You do not need to apply for both programs at the same time. However, you cannot have more than 21 hours in each college in order to be eligible for the dual program. You must notify each college of your intent to pursue a dual program so the appropriate degree plans can be completed.
F-1 students who complete a graduate certificate at SBMI are not eligible for F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT). F-1 students should contact the Office of International Affairs for more information.
A cost estimate breakdown for the School of Biomedical Informatics can be viewed on the Registrar's website. Depending on if you are a Texas Non-Resident or Texas resident, your amount per credit hour will vary. Fees are assessed every term based on the courses and number of courses you enroll in.
Yes; students are encouraged to apply early for the given term in which they are interested in enrolling. New Student Scholarships are considered when the application is being reviewed for an admissions decision.
We also offer competitive scholarship opportunities to our current students.
Being awarded a competitive scholarship of $1,000 or more not only entitles you to the financial reward of the actual scholarship, but it also makes you eligible to be assessed tuition at a resident rate for three consecutive semesters.
In addition, Graduate Assistant (GA), Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) and Student Assistantships (SA) may also make students eligible to resident tuition for the duration of the position.
You can also visit our Resources under the “Financial Services” section for other opportunities.
Non-Degree students or students pursuing a Certificate as their only academic program are not eligible for federal financial aid. Non-Degree/Certificate students may be eligible for SBMI scholarships if funds are available.
Only degree-seeking students are eligible to apply for Financial Aid. For students seeking financial assistance, please contact the Office of Student Financial Services.
Yes; our OPE ID is 00495100. You can find more information here: https://www.uth.edu/student/veterans/ or contact Winston Matranga, Veteran Affairs Coordinator at 713-500-3351 or Winston.Matranga@uth.tmc.edu.
Courses completed in the certificate or non-degree program are transferrable into an applicable master’s or doctoral program if you have received a grade of “B” or higher in your coursework. The same is true of applicable master’s courses that can be applied to an appropriate SBMI doctoral program. Students are encouraged to speak with their academic advisor upon consideration. An application to the new SBMI program of interest is required for admissions (i.e., M.S. to doctoral). Please note: Admissions to any SBMI program is not guaranteed.
Please contact the Office of Academic Affairs at SBMIAcademic@uth.tmc.edu to discuss your circumstance and create a plan of action that best suits you.
Students may drop courses through their myUTH account before Census Day (12th day of class) in the fall and spring and prior to the fourth day of class in the summer. After census day, to drop a course, an SBMI Drop/Withdrawal Form must be submitted to SBMIAcademics@uth.tmc.edu.
Withdrawing from all courses requires submission of an SBMI Drop/Withdrawal Form. Please be aware of the refund policy.
An approval or permission code is the key that allows you to register and enroll in the courses on myUTH. Please note, approval/permission codes are required for the following courses:
Review the Note Section of the course in myUTH that you are trying to enroll to confirm if approval is required.
An email showing prior approval from the instructor must be forwarded to the Office of Academic Affairs (SBMIAcademics@uth.tmc.edu) in order to issue the approval/permission code.
Click this link to view a video tutorial: Course Registration
The full list of courses (updated every semester) can be found on the course offerings page
You can obtain the schedule by clicking on the following link: Two-Year Course Rotation.
Students may drop courses through their MyUTH account before the 12th day of class in the fall and spring and prior to the fourth day of class in the summer. An Add-Drop/Withdrawal/Audit form must be used after the 12th class day in the fall and spring and after the fourth class day in the summer. A grade of “W” will be assigned by the instructor.
Withdrawing from all courses requires submission of an Add-Drop/Withdrawal/Audit form and a resignation form. Please be aware of the refund policy.
Yes; Students can apply completed course credits to an applicable program, no more than five (5) years after the course was successfully completed, with a grade of “B” or better. Transfer credit is awarded upon approval of a completed Petition of Equivalency Credit form.
The maximum number of transferable semester credit hours is three for the certificate program, 12 for the master’s program, 21 for the DHI program, and 36 for the PhD program.
An approval code is the key that allows you to register and enroll in the courses on MyUTH. Please note, approval codes are only required for the following courses: practicum, directed study, preceptorship, research in biomedical informatics, and dissertation. An email showing prior approval from the instructor must be forwarded to the Office of Academic Affairs (SBMIAcademics@uth.tmc.edu) in order to issue the approval code.
This link will provide you information regarding Poster Sessions.
A final copy of a student's dissertation, translational project, state of the science, or practicum capstone report is due to the Office of Academic Affairs via Canvas. During the final semester of enrollment, students will be enrolled in a Graduation Canvas course. The required document (including signed cover page) should be uploaded in the appropriate assignment within that Canvas course.
Students in the final semester of an academic program are added to a “Graduation/Certificate Completion” course in Canvas. Within that course, students should upload required documents which must be submitted to the SBMI Office of Academic Affairs prior to the completion of their program. Failure to submit the required documents will result in a delay of the student receiving their certificate or diploma.
A final copy of your dissertation, translational project, or practicum capstone report is due to the Office of Academic Affairs via Canvas. The required document (including signed cover page) should be uploaded in the appropriate assignment within that Canvas course.
Commencement is held once a year every May for Summer, Fall and Spring graduating students. Specific details of the event are shared directly with eligible students.
People who have a degree in biomedical informatics have a wide variety of career opportunities. The type of informatics career that an individual can pursue is, to some extent, dependent on his or her background and selected area of study. Biomedical informatics trained professionals may become:
These professionals often work in hospitals and health systems, community health centers, physician practices and clinics, health care agencies within the federal and state government, and for health information technology system vendors, eHealth and health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and consulting services.
Only students in the Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics program must complete the practicum course.
Students in the Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics program must complete 135 contact hours to earn the three credit hours that are required. Practicum hours can be completed in one semester or over the course of three semesters (1 semester credit hour per semester).
Typically, students will have completed 24 credit hours in their respective program before enrolling in a practicum. That credit hour total should also include their respective writing course; BMI 6313 (Scientific Writing in Healthcare) in the Research Track or BMI 5371 (Business and Technical Writing) in the Applied Track.
Students needing assistance with practicum placement must contact the Practicum Coordinator at least 30 days before the start of the semester.
Please contact the SBMI practicum coordinator for information on how to enroll in the practicum course (Keisha.C.Smoke@uth.tmc.edu).
The practicum coordinator can provide assistance in securing a practicum site.
If you have secured a site, please contact both your faculty practicum advisor and the practicum coordinator for information on getting practicum agreements filed. Please note that both an affiliation and program agreement must be filed if the site is not directly associated with UTHealth Houston.
Students will have an on-site practicum preceptor they will report to. He or she will assign the student tasks, monitor student progress on-site, arrange the practicum work schedule, etc. If you encounter issues while at your practicum site, you can contact your faculty practicum advisor for assistance.
A practicum project can be completed remotely/virtually. The details for these types of projects vary for each student. As such, we require practicum eligible students to work with the practicum coordinator to facilitate the ideal experience.
Requirements for practicums outside of Texas or the United States will vary for each student. Some requirements include but are not limited to legal documentation/agreements, Office of International Affairs (OIA) approval, advisor consent, and more. We ask that any student considering a practicum of this format work with the practicum coordinator well in advance.
Yes; this is permissible for dual degree students as long as the project is germane to both programs. It is also important that the student meet all practicum requirements for both degrees and enroll in all required practicum credit hours at both schools. Our practicum coordinator can assist in this process.