Health Informatics

Main Content

The Master of Health Informatics (MHI) program is a comprehensive program that prepares students for professional roles in the field of health informatics within the healthcare organizations. The program is offered through the School of Health Sciences in the College of Health and Human Sciences.

Master of Health Informatics (M.H.I.) in Health Informatics

To earn the MHI, students must complete 36 credit hours of the core MHI courses including: MHI 510, MHI 511, MHI 515, MHI 525, MHI 531, MHI 536, MHI 551, MHI 566, MHI 581, MHI 583, MHI 584, and MHI 593.

Course material covers topics specific to the healthcare informatics field including, but not limited to, healthcare systems, knowledge management, personnel development and oversight, electronic health records, strategic leadership and marketing, legal and ethical foundations, systems design, modeling, database management, security, privacy, and health information exchange. Upon completion of the program, students are expected to be equipped to operate effectively in administrative roles in healthcare organizations. Special project assignments, case readings, presentations, and journal article reviews are an integral part of the curriculum. Course delivery may be via synchronous and asynchronous methods.

All students graduating from the MHI program will be required to meet the qualifications of the Graduate School at SIUC. Students will be required to complete a culminating scholarly work which includes a research paper.

Students must earn a “B” in all required MHI courses.  If a student earns less than a "B" in any MHI course, they must retake it, only once. If they earn less than a “B” the second time, they are dropped from the MHI program due to unsatisfactory academic performance. Students dropped due to unsatisfactory academic performance will not be allowed re-entry into the MHI program at a later date.

MHI courses are restricted to MHA, MHI students, and concurrent admitted students from the MSRS, and/or MSDOS, with MHI Advisor approval. Online MHI courses are restricted to those online MHI students; on campus MHI courses are restricted to those on campus MHI students. The MHI program strictly prohibits students for changing delivery formats unless there is a well-documented medical reason proposed to the MHI Program Director to consider for approval.

Up to 9 credit hours of transfer credit may be allowed from other regionally accredited academic institutions upon review and approval by the MHI Program Director, or designee. The student will submit through the MHI Academic Advisor the full course syllabi of the course they would like to be considered as transfer credit. This must be submitted for consideration prior to the end of the first semester after being admitted to the MHA program. No late submissions for transfer credit will be considered. 

A 2.7/4.0 GPA or better (SIU calculation) on the entire last undergraduate GPA earned at the time of application is required for admission to the MHI program. Students with a 2.5-2.7/4.0 undergraduate GPA (SIU calculation) may enter as a non-declared student, following Graduate School policies, and will be allowed to take up to 9 credit hours of MHI courses. At the end of the 9 credit hours, the student must hold a 3.0/4.0 GPA to be then admitted to the MHI program. Students not meeting the 3.0/4.0 GPA at the end of the 9 credit hours will not be allowed to take any other MHI courses.

The MHI program follows Graduate School policies. The MHI program will not petition to retain a student who does not meet the academic performance guidelines of the Graduate School.

All international applicants must demonstrate proficiency in the English language by submitting an approved English Language Competency Test score with their application. These applicants must have one of the following minimum scores for consideration:

  • 550 on the paper-based TOEFL
  • 80 on the internet-based TOEFL
  • 6.5 on the IELTS
  • 105 on the Duolingo English Exam

This applies to all international applicants. No waivers or exemptions will be provided. Students must provide a copy of their scorecard, verifying test results, with their application to the MHI. Given the accelerated nature of the MHI, the academic program does not agree to or approve late arrivals.

M.H.I. Concurrent Degrees

The MHI offers concurrent degrees with other graduate programs as provided below. All students interested in a concurrent degree option must meet with the MHI academic advisor to design a plan for completing both degrees. All Graduate School policies and procedures apply as well as program policies and procedures for both concurrent degrees as noted in the Graduate Catalog, and/or each individual program’s Student Handbook and/or website, as applicable.

A concurrent degree allows students to complete the requirements of two programs and be awarded two master’s degrees at the same time with the benefit of shared coursework between the two programs. If a student is awarded a single degree, they will not be eligible for the concurrent pathway which allows up to 9 hours of coursework to be shared between two degrees.

When entering any program offering a concurrent degree option (MHI, MHA, MSRS, MDOS Track II), students will be advised on the concurrent degree option and the eligibility requirements. Students will sign a document acknowledging that if the first degree is conferred that the shared hours in the concurrent option are forfeited.

Additionally, if a student chooses to have the first degree conferred, a second document will be signed by the student acknowledging that the concurrent degree option (and shared hours) will be forfeited.

  1. MHI/MHA - offers the MHI student the opportunity to earn two Master's degrees for just 21 additional credit hours. For the MHI student who is interested in advancing their career by also earning the Master in Health Administration (MHA), students will complete the following additional MHA/HCM course all with a B or higher including:

    MHA 520 - Healthcare Policy (3 CH)
    MHA 575 - Current Events Seminar in Healthcare (3 CH)
    MHA 580 - Managerial Epidemiology and Evidence Based Management (3 CH)
    MHA 582 - Healthcare Economics (3 CH)
    MHA 585 - Financial Issues in Healthcare (3 CH)
    MHA 593 - Advanced Research in Healthcare Informatics (3 CH)
    -AND- one of the following:
    HCM 463 - Environment of Care (3 CH), or
    HCM 464 - Infection Prevention Informatics (3 CH), or
    HCM 465 - Infection Prevention and Control Operations (3 CH)

    Students must be admitted separately to the MHI and MHA programs and all policies apply for each program independently.

  2. MSRS to MHI - prepares students for data analytics roles in healthcare organizations within and beyond the field of radiology. The Master of Science in Radiologic Sciences (MSRS) requires 36 credit hours for degree completion. For the MSRS student who is interested in advancing their career by also earning the MHI, they will complete just 21 additional credit hours of MHI courses all with a B or higher including:

    MHI 510 - Effective Healthcare Operations (3 CH)
    MHI 515 - Systems Analysis, Design and Database Management in Healthcare (3 CH)
    MHI 525 - Health Informatics Applications and Project Management (3 CH)
    MHI 566 - Managing Health Information (3 CH)
    MHI 581 - Health Information Interoperability (3 CH)
    MHI 583 - Health Informatics Essentials (3 CH)
    MHI 584 - Applied Data Analytics in Healthcare (3 CH)

    Students must be admitted separately to the MSRS and MHI programs and all policies apply for each program independently.

  3. MDOS Track II to MHI - prepares Master of Science in Medical Dosimetry (MDOS) Track II students for analytical roles pertinent to clinical and administrative positions in healthcare, within and beyond the field of medical dosimetry. MDOS - Track II students interested in advancing their career by also earning the MHI will complete just 21 additional credit hours of MHI courses all with a B or higher including:

    MHI 510 - Effective Healthcare Operations (3 CH)
    MHI 515 - Systems Analysis, Design and Database Management in Healthcare (3 CH)
    MHI 525 - Health Informatics Applications and Project Management (3 CH)
    MHI 566 - Managing Health Information (3 CH)
    MHI 581 - Health Information Interoperability (3 CH)
    MHI 583 - Health Informatics Essentials (3 CH)
    MHI 584 - Applied Data Analytics in Healthcare (3 CH)

    Students must be admitted separately to the MDOS Track II and MHI programs and all policies apply for each program independently.

For more information contact:

School of Health Sciences
Phone: 618-453-7211
Email: health.sciences@siu.edu