

School of Information
Master of Science in Health Informatics
Course Delivery
Total Credits
Approximate Cost per Credit
$735 out of state
Time to Completion
Change Lives in Your Nine-to-Five
Kent State University’s online Master of Science in Health Informatics program is designed to fit your busy schedule. As part of our program, you’ll have the opportunity to delve into an innovative, technology-driven field that’s reshaping the healthcare industry. Much of the work in health informatics is focused on using the advancements of modern technology to find new solutions for existing problems in areas like biomedical science, public health and patient care.1
Our practitioner faculty integrate real-world experiences and case studies from the field, blending theory and practice within the program’s curriculum. In this program, you’ll also be able to intern at a healthcare facility of your choice and network with health informatics experts, forming relationships that can help you in your job search after graduation.

Program Details
Class time for Kent State's online Master of Science in Health Informatics program is 100 percent online to help you balance your education with working full time.
- 36 credits, consisting of seven required courses, four electives and a culminating experience
- 7-week-long courses, with two courses taken sequentially each semester
- To keep class sizes small and maximize collaboration, we offer multiple sections of each course
- Graduate in as little as two years
- No GRE required for admission
Move Forward
Once you are admitted to the program, your Admissions Advisor will craft your personalized degree plan, giving you a clear course sequence and path to graduation.
Master of Science in Health Informatics
Kent State University’s online Master of Science in Health Informatics program helps provide you with the necessary expertise to make healthcare information procedures safe, secure and user-friendly for providers and patients.
Master’s Program Outcomes
Students in the online MS in HI program will master technology that will streamline the healthcare process and expedite doctor-patient interactions. Between the required courses and the electives that comprise the degree, you’ll graduate with new skills in many of these areas, among others:
- The areas encompassing health informatics management, including the planning, selection, deployment and management of various health information technologies
- The fundamentals of law for health informatics and information management
- Conceptual foundations of health records management
- The use of well-defined and well-integrated clinical analytics throughout the healthcare value chain
- The foundational principles of usability and human factors as applied to safety and quality in health informatics technology
- Various types of standardized healthcare terminologies
- The basic requirements for clinical decision support systems and the challenges associated with developing and deploying new applications
- Topics related to technology requirements, technology implementations, risk assessment and buy-in
- Issues related to the use of information technology in healthcare as seen from an ethical, political and regulatory perspective
- Business process management and workflow management
- The practical contexts, methods and tools associated with semantic analysis
- The fundamental concepts and practices of information architecture
Career Outcomes with a Master of Science in Health Informatics
The Master of Science in Health Informatics degree prepares graduates to use emerging technology to optimize digital healthcare and improve patient outcomes. Our graduates thrive in vital industries, including:
- Healthcare
- Educational services
- Scientific/other professional services
- Technology
Learn more about potential careers in health informatics.
Admissions Requirements
- Completed online application
- Complete bachelor’s degree, with a GPA of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale), from an accredited university
- Three letters of recommendation from professors and/or employers
- Application fee: $45
- Official transcripts
- Statement of purpose
- Resume/CV
- No GRE required for admission
The application process is simple and we’re here to guide you through it.
Our Admissions Advisors are available to answer your questions regarding admissions requirements for the program. If you have questions, please email us at onlinedegrees@kent.edu or call us toll-free at +1 844-234-4073.
Important Dates
Application Resources

Our step-by-step application checklist will help ensure the success of your application submission.
Download Checklist
Application FAQs
Each applicant is required to create an account in the online application system, which allows people to save their applications and track the progress of materials submitted via the application system.
I am a U.S. citizen. Where should I send my application materials?
Graduate Admissions
P.O. Box 5190
Kent, Ohio 44242
Please be sure to include your full name and Kent State ID (9-digit number starting with 8) on all submitted documents. For questions, contact Graduate Admissions at +1 330-672-2661 or gradapps@kent.edu.
I am not a U.S. citizen. Where should I send my application materials?
Office of Global Education
Kent State University
106 Van Campen Hall
625 Loop Rd.
Kent, OH 44242
USA
For questions, contact International Admissions at +1 330-672-7970 or intladm@kent.edu.
Courses
The Master of Science in Health Informatics degree is comprised of three major components:
- Seven core courses
- Four elective courses
- One culminating experience
Required Courses (21 credits)
HI 60401 HEALTH INFORMATICS MANAGEMENT (3 CREDITS)
HI 60402 LEGAL ISSUES IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
Introduction to the fundamentals of law for health informatics and information management. Elements of the course include general legal principles and healthcare; legal electronic medical records (EMR); Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rules and security rules; access, requests and disclosure of health information; required reporting and mandatory disclosure laws; risk management and quality improvement; compliance; workforce overview; and related ethics and social issues.
HI 60403 HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS (3 CREDITS)
Introduction to information systems and their applications in healthcare used for managerial and clinical support. Study the fundamentals of information systems, including electronic medical records (EMR), and information security. Understand the role of standardized codes, vocabularies and terminologies used in health information systems. Analyze management and enterprise systems, and identify the key elements to manage information resources effectively and the trends affecting the development of health information systems and networks.
HI 60410 HEALTH RECORDS MANAGEMENT (3 CREDITS)
Conceptual foundations and practicum for health records management, including the planning, implementation and operation of electronic medical records (EMR); the management of EMR in management and enterprise systems; identifying, selecting and evaluating EMR and health information systems, applications and repositories; and issues of data quality, integrity, migration and interoperability.
HI 60411 CLINICAL ANALYTICS (3 CREDITS)
The use of well-defined and well-integrated clinical analytics throughout the healthcare value chain can be transformative. Through careful implementation of health analytics, hospitals can transform unwieldy amalgamations of data into information that can improve patient outcomes, increase safety, enhance operational efficiency and support public health. Given the immense size of the data challenge, the distinctness and geographic spread of many healthcare-related activities, and the fact that so many healthcare activities are conducted by different entities which must interact with each other, there is really no other way to provide operations management tools necessary to deliver personalized medicine and to control spiraling costs. Since clinical analytics is an immature discipline, we carefully examine the practices of those institutions who are standard setters in the industry.
HI 60414 HUMAN FACTORS AND USABILITY IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
Provides students with the foundational principles of usability and human factors as applied to safety and quality in health informatics technology. Course readings and materials review the concepts of human factors, usability and the cognitive consequences of health information technology on clinical performance and decision making. Attention is given to the role of mobile computing in healthcare, as well as information visualization.
HI 60636 STANDARDIZED TERMINOLOGIES IN HEALTHCARE (3 CREDITS)
Electives (12 credits)
Choose 12 credits from the following courses:
HI 60412 CLINICAL DECISION SUPPORT (3 CREDITS)
Provides a practical survey of clinical decision support systems that collect clinical data and enable the transition to clinical knowledge in real world applications intended to improve quality and safety of patient care. Students become familiar with the basic requirements for clinical decision support systems and the challenges associated with the development and deployment of new applications within the healthcare setting.
HI 60413 CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
Designed to cover the process of change management in large healthcare organizations in light of current trends. Topics related to technology requirements, technology implementations, risk assessment and buy-in are among those covered.
HI 60415 HEALTH INFORMATICS INQUIRY AND ASSESSMENT (3 CREDITS)
Provides a foundation for understanding research in health informatics with a focus on user and experience design research. Through lectures, readings, discussions and assignments, students review user research methods, data collection techniques and communication strategies within the healthcare context. Students then apply this knowledge to creating a research plan for assessing health information technology and communicating results to key organizational stakeholders.
HI 60416 ETHICS, POLITICS AND POLICY IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
HI 60417 PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
HI 60418 CLINICAL ANALYTICS 2 (3 CREDITS)
HI 60691 SEMINAR IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
HI 60792 ELECTIVE INTERNSHIP IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (FOR STUDENTS WITH NO HEALTHCARE BACKGROUND) (2-3 CREDITS)
HI 60195 SPECIAL TOPICS COURSES IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
HI 61096 INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATION IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
DSCI 51510 PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND TEAM DYNAMICS (3 CREDITS)
KM 60301 FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (3 CREDITS)
KM 60311 BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT (3 CREDITS)
KM 60370 SEMANTIC ANALYSIS METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES (3 CREDITS)
UXD 60101 INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE (3 CREDITS)
Culminating Experience Requirement (3-6 credits)
Select a minimum of three credits from the following options:
HI 66092 MASTER'S INTERNSHIP IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
HI 66098 MASTER'S PROJECT IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
HI 66198 MASTER'S RESEARCH PAPER IN HEALTH INFORMATICS (3 CREDITS)
HI 66199 THESIS I (2-6 CREDITS)
Academics FAQs
Is the health informatics program accredited by an outside organization?
What do you mean when you talk about the culminating experience?
Please explain the difference between a project, a research paper and an internship.
All of the options require a log of completed hours (minimum 150) to be turned in at the end of the term and a 30-50-page paper summarizing the experiences, answering the research questions and explaining project deliverables. You will have a preceptor for each of the options. In some cases, you may have an on-site preceptor as well as a supervising faculty member.
Do I have to sit for the certification exam upon graduation or is it optional?
Do I have to take all electives in HI or do I have some flexibility of choice?
Do I have to complete the culminating experience at Kent or can I do it where I live?
Tuition and Financial Aid
The online Master of Science in Health Informatics consists of 36 credits.
Ohio Residents | Out of State | ||
Per Credit Hour | Approximate Program Cost | Per Credit Hour | Approximate Program Cost |
$725 | $26,100 | $735 | $26,460 |
An additional distance learning fee for all students enrolled in a distance learning course is $15 per credit hour. Program tuition and costs are estimated and subject to change. For comprehensive tuition information, please refer to the tuition rates posted on the Bursar’s website.
We recognize that pursuing a graduate degree is a significant investment. Your Admissions Advisor can answer your questions on program costs, discuss how a Kent State degree compares to others and connect you with financial aid representatives when you are ready to discuss your financial options.
Please contact an Admissions Advisor for more information on tuition and fees either by email at onlinedegrees@kent.edu or toll-free at +1 844‑234‑4073.
Immersive Online Curriculum
Practitioner Faculty
Health Informatics Career Potential
Advance Your Career with Kent State
- Retrieved on November 2, 2020 from amia.org/about-amia/science-informatics