Degree: Master of Science (MS)
Field of Study: Biomedical and Health Informatics

Program Overview

The Master of Science in Biomedical and Health Informatics (BHI) program offers non-thesis and thesis-based options. While the usual time to completion with a full-time schedule is 16 months, students have the option of doing the non-thesis program intensively in 11 months. Part-time students are welcome to do the program at their preferred pace!

The BHI program offers pragmatic, interdisciplinary areas of study immediately relevant in contemporary health systems or research enterprises. Our Master’s degree program is unique in that it encompasses both biomedical research and clinical care informatics with applications to precision medicine, accountable care organizations, and reproducible science. Our program provides grounding across multiple disciplines and will be of interest if you seek a career in which you:

• Analyze patient diagnoses, treatments and outcomes, based on electronic health records, to inform best practices in clinical care
• Design or manage studies in the clinical setting to inform quality and safety process improvements
• Collaborate in biomedical research, including the analysis of large genetic and various “omics” studies, integrated with clinical or population data, to advance the understanding of diseases
• Design and manage studies that draw from clinical, cohort or population data to inform the assessment and development of devices, therapeutics or other interventions

We bring together a diverse group of faculty from across Case Western Reserve University – the School of Medicine, clinical faculty from our affiliated hospitals, the Weatherhead School of Management, and the Case School of Engineering – for a cross-disciplinary approach that offers the opportunity to craft tailored areas of study grounded in core competencies:

• Data analytics
• Biomedical, clinical and/or population health research
• Computational and systems research design

For current CWRU undergraduate students: The MS in Biostatistics program is an eligible program for those seeking the Combined Bachelor's/Master's Program, which allows for the completion of both a Bachelor's (any major) and Master of Science in Biostatistics in 4 – 5 years. This program is intended to be an honors graduate program for highly motivated and qualified Bachelor's students who wish to pursue an advanced degree. Students admitted to the program may, in their junior and/or senior year, take up to nine credit hours of graduate courses that will count toward both Bachelor's and Master's requirements. Students interested in the Combined Bachelor's/Master's Program program must have 75 completed credit hours of coursework to apply.

Important Note: The program information contained on this page is current as of May 1st, 2024. For the most current information, we advise you to review the MS in Biomedical and Health Informatics program handbook.

Graduate Policies

For graduate policies and procedures, please review the School of Graduate Studies section of the General Bulletin.

Program Requirements

Non-Thesis Program

This program requires 27 credit hours of coursework and a 3 credit hour project or internship/practicum, with a report that is evaluated by the student’s mentorship/advisory committee.

Thesis Program

This is for students who may want to continue into a PhD program. It requires 24 credit hours of course work and 6 credit hours developing and presenting a thesis, evaluated by the mentoring/advisory committee. 

Course List

The required curriculum contains courses that expose students to both the Biomedical and Health Domain and the Computation and System Design Domain.  However, students will need to select a class from the Data Analytics Domain to meet their requirements.

a

Non-thesis Program requires 9 credit hours of electives. Thesis Program requires 6 credit hours of electives.

b

Non-thesis Program requires PQHS 602 for 3 credit hours. Thesis Program requires PQHS 651 for 6 credit hours.

Important Note: The program information contained on this page is current as of May 1st, 2023. For the most current information, we advise you to review the MS in Biomedical and Health Informatics program handbook. You can find the most recent Program Handbook here.

Sample Plan of Study