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Doctorate in Health Informatics


HIMSS Approved Education Partner SealThe UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics (SBMI) is the first school in the nation to offer an advanced, practice degree in health informatics. The Doctorate in Health Informatics (DHI) provides unique curriculum that was custom-built for executive-level professionals seeking a terminal, applied degree in the field of health informatics.

The program is best suited for individuals who have at least three (3) years of informatics experience at the management or supervisory level. An applicant who lacks substantial informatics in her or his background must at least have advanced IT work experience.

The DHI is a 63-semester credit hour program for students who already hold a master’s degree in health informatics, or a related field. Students without a master’s degree in health informatics, or a related field, can enter the program with a bachelor’s degree. However, those students must complete 33 semester credit hours of didactic coursework before starting the DHI curriculum.

This practice doctorate provides informatics leaders with the advanced education required to translate evidence from original research, evaluate current practices, and utilize critical thinking to accelerate the adoption of best informatics practices in clinical and healthcare organizations. Because the program is geared towards working professionals, instruction for the DHI is in a hybrid environment with more than 50% of the coursework taught online. Students will be required to make visits to SBMI’s campus each semester to meet with their classmates, instructors and advisors.

Rather than write a dissertation for the culminating project, the DHI program requires a large-scale translational project that students must complete in a healthcare organization.


Important Dates for Fall 2019
  • August 22-24, 2019 – DHI Student Orientation
  • October 17-19, 2019 – John Glaser Society

 Admission Requirements
  1. ✓ Application Form
  2. ✓ A completed online application & $60 application fee
  3. ✓ Official transcripts from every post-secondary school attended
  4. ✓ A baccalaureate or higher degree (master’s degree preferred)
  5. ✓ No minimum requirement. Majority of successful applicants have a GPA of 3.0 or greater
  6. ✓ A resume or curriculum vitae
  7. ✓ For international applicants, a minimum TOEFL score of 87 is acceptable on the internet-based test. A minimum IELTS score is 7. F-1 sponsorship is not available for students in the DHI program.
  8. ✓ Submit a three-page single spaced personal statement that addresses the following items:
    1. ✓ A brief summary of your background in all relevant fields including management or executive level healthcare experience.
    2. ✓ A statement of the applicant’s short and long-term career objectives, including specific information regarding short-term objectives. Be sure to include how those objectives fit the opportunities provided by the SBMI educational environments.
  9. ✓ Proposed area of interest for translational practice project
  10. ✓ A Letter of Support from the healthcare organization willing to facilitate the translational practice project. The Letter of Support must be on the healthcare organization's official letterhead. The Letter of Support should not be from the same person as a Letter of Recommendation. The Letter of Support should include background on the healthcare organization (including the indication of size and the type of activities), the area the institution expects the student to perform the project in, and whether or not the organization will provide any type of support (monetary or technical) for the applicant’s project.
  11. ✓ Three letters of reference from supervisors or colleagues. At least two letters should be from supervisors
  12. ✓ Interview with the SBMI Admissions, Progression and Graduation (APG) Committee by invitation only

 Curriculum
Doctorate in Health Informatics *
Courses Credits
BMI 5300 - Intro to Biomedical Informatics (required) 3
BMI 6305 - Social Dynamics and Health Information (required) 3
BMI 6311 - Leadership and Decision Making (required) 3
BMI 6316 - Change Management in Health Informatics (required) 3
BMI 6324 - Health Information Technology Policy (required) 3
BMI 6328 - Healthcare Delivery in an EHR-Enabled Environment (required) 3
BMI 7070 - Fellowship in Health Informatics (required) 21
BMI 7170 - Project Advisement (required) 3
BMI 7350 - Scholarly Foundations of Advanced HI Practice (required) 3
BMI 7351 - Evidence-based Health Informatics Practice (required) 3
BMI 7360 - Advanced Project Management (required) 3
BMI 7361 - Vendor Relations and Contract Negotiations (required) 3
BMI 9950 - Project Evaluation and Writing (required) 9
Total Hours 63
*Program does not begin until Fall 2019.
Students can transfer in satisfactory courses from a previously earned MS degree.
*Required Courses - any substitutions must be pre-approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs prior to course registration.

SBMI Contact Information:

For more information or questions about the DHI program, please contact:

Office of Academic Affairs
School of Biomedical Informatics
(713) 500-3591

DHI Program Coordinators

Susan Fenton, PhD
SBMIAcademics@uth.tmc.edu

Angela Ross, DNP
Angela.M.Ross@uth.tmc.edu

Debora Simmons, PhD
Debora.J.Simmons@uth.tmc.edu

Admission Deadlines

For a summary of the admission requirements for the degree and non-degree programs click here.

Only one DHI cohort will be admitted annually. Each cohort will begin in fall.

Fall Deadline - March 1 


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→ Admission Requirements for All Programs